Finally, Bella arrived at the mansion, after navigating a narrow road flanked by dense bushes. The trees seemed to bow, their branches creating a natural archway. At the road's end, a massive iron gate, weathered and locked, awaited.
She parked and gazed.
The mansion, large and still, stood beyond the gate, a silent giant. Even from afar, it exuded an unusual aura, as if it had been expecting her.
Bella touched her neck, retrieving the necklace she always wore. A small golden key dangled from its chain. Her fingers shook slightly as she inserted it into the padlock and turned it. The lock clicked open.
"Bella, is this really our new house?" Sophia breathed as she stepped out of the car. "It's enormous…"
"Yes," Bella murmured, a smile creeping onto her face as she walked up beside her sister. She took a breath, absorbing the scene before them.
To the left of the house, a sprawling garden stretched out, its trees heavy with fruit, despite the years of being left to their own devices. Weeds and wild grass had claimed the lawns and flower beds, but the place still held a certain beauty. Bella could almost see her grandparents or even her mother chasing each other across the terrace as children, their laughter ringing out from the balconies.
"Bella... we don't have to go back to our little house, do we?" Sophia asked, her voice tinged with hope.
Bella looked down at her seven-year-old sister and pulled her close. "No, sweetheart. We're going to make a wonderful life here. You'll go to a new school and make new friends, too."
"Yes!" Sophia shrieked, already at the gate, her eyes wide as she peered through the iron bars. "Hurry! Open it!"
Bella chuckled softly, fumbling with the lock before swinging the gate wide. The metal protested, a loud groan that shattered the estate's quiet.
"Yay!" they both yelled, sprinting back to the car, eager to drive through.
Bella cranked up the music, and the sisters began to dance, their movements a little clumsy as they tried to keep time. For a brief, blissful moment, everything felt weightless. Full of promise. Almost like a dream.
It was astonishing, really, how drastically their circumstances had shifted after years of hardship following their parents' passing.
The lawyer's voice still replayed in Bella's head, the reading of her grandmother's will, the sprawling estate, and the substantial inheritance. Her father had been cast out, a casualty of his marriage to a woman deemed unsuitable by the family. Yet, Grandma Lewis had never wavered in her affection for her grandchildren. She'd ensured Bella and Sophia would be secure.
"Come on, let's get inside," Sophia urged, pulling on Bella's arm.
Bella reached for the front door, twisting the knob. It wouldn't turn.
"Locked?" she whispered.
She rifled through her pockets, her bag, even the car, but the key was nowhere to be found. A sudden realization hit her. Lifting the welcome mat, Bella froze.
There it was.
The key.
"How did that get there?" she murmured.
"Come on!" Sophia practically bounced with excitement.
"Sophia, let's get our bags first," Bella said, though a hint of worry colored her words.
"No… let's see the house first," Sophia insisted.
Before Bella could reply, everything vanished.
She gasped awake, the dream evaporating as the real world took hold. With a heavy sigh, Bella shut her eyes again, longing for morning to arrive so she could flee once more into the serene realm of Orph.