“Hello, my love,” he said.
“Hey,gwapo1,” she responded.He could hear her smiling.
“I don’t know if I ever told you, but I prefer phone calls over emails and video calls.”
“I didn’t know that,” she sighed.Her voice sounded lush and soft on the telephone.This was why he loved phone calls better; it was more intimate and he got to focus on only one point of stimulus—her voice.It made him feel closer to her.
“I like the way your voice sounds on the phone,” he whispered.
“Yours too,” she responded.“Are you at the cottage?”
“No, I’m at Medina.Achi and I are going to Cedarthorne today.We plan on leaving after breakfast.”
“Rafa, I’m grateful, but you really don’t have to.What if something bad happens?”
“You always worry that something bad will happen, but it won’t.Besides, you’re well worth going against any trouble for, Salome Poe.”His cheeks warmed as he said it, and he grinned.
Sal gave a soft chuckle.
“And again, finally, you’ve found a place for your art exhibit,” he said, changing the subject.“Can’t seem to get over that.”
“It’ll be an art show now, not an exhibit,” she replied, sounding livelier.
“I’m sure it’s going to be amazing.”
They caught up during the rest of the call until they had to say their I-love-yous and goodbyes as Rafa started his day, and Sal ended hers.
***
The walking path along Cedarthorne Estate had no cellular signal, and his sister seemed agitated by it.
“You owe me.I swear it.”Aveline grimaced while trekking in her old hiking shoes.For the terrain around Cedarthorne, one simply needed shoes with good traction and comfortable clothes, but Aveline looked like she was about to hike up a mountain.
“Achi,” Rafa breathed as they walked a beaten path and drew further and further away from the parked car, “…you really need to lighten up.”
Aveline continued to walk ahead.“I don’t know why I agreed to relive a childhood trauma for this.”
“I’m your favorite brother, admit it.”He chuckled.
“Arthur is my favorite brother,” she snapped.
Rafa just laughed in response.
Aveline exhaled.“We’re not far now.Cedarthorne Estate stretches only to there.”Aveline pointed to a small perimeter fence.“We’re going the opposite direction.So we’re not trespassing.”Aveline turned to look at the path they had just taken.
Everything in the black books suggested there was something unknown hidden deep in St.Stephenshire.Rafa skimmed through one of them last night and remembered a name that now seemed relevant as he walked through the forested path in search of the alleged haunted cellar.Ambrosine Aster.She was among the first few settlers in St.Stephenshire whom the people accused of witchcraft.She had lived near Cedarthorne, and so he wondered how connected she was to the weird occurrences there.The black books were supposed to be transcriptions of the important events that shaped the town into what it was, but he couldn’t determine if what he read was more fiction than fact.He read in the books a line that said:The emerald lake holds qualities that many wished to channel.The early settlers camped near the lakeshore—some for healing, others to commune with spirits…Upon reading this, he closed his eyes in disbelief, and subsequently, the book itself.
Lost in his thoughts, he barely noticed that an hour had passed before Aveline let out a soft gasp.“It’s still here…” she exhaled, as though the wind had trouble escaping her lungs.
“Here?”Rafa stared ahead, eyes fixed on a patch of overgrown vines on a mound of land.“It looks like a huge anthill,” he whispered.
“That is no anthill,” Aveline responded.
Rafa walked over slowly, and in the afternoon light, the cellar somehow emerged.It reminded Rafa of an abstract painting that looked confusing from afar, but as you drew closer, the composition suddenly made more sense.A glint of light flickered through the vines as he squinted.It came from a silver padlock, which was the only thing that seemed to poke out of the thick layer of interwoven vines and chains.
“Rafa…” Aveline tentatively called to him as he got closer.But he didn’t stop.
Carefully, he came close enough to hold the large silver padlock.Although it was tarnished an inscription was engraved on the lock.He flipped it to read:A.A.
