I looked at the road ahead and geared myself to find a beautiful, bright farmhouse surrounded by acres of fields. Instead, I found myself looking at a fort-like building on the crest of a hill, surrounded by miles of forests.
I was looking at my grandaunt’s house. I looked around, wondering if we had taken the wrong path. The creaking of the gates brought home the fact that I was at the right place. My parents had decided to go to another country as a vacation and a break from work, and me, sadly. I was to stay the entire summer with my grandaunt, who I had never even met! It seemed like the lair of an evil mastermind who died a long time ago. Going by the look of the house, I realised my temporary guardian wouldn’t be much different.
A tall, thin, hooked-nose lady with her hair tied up in a bun, was standing at the door. She had the air of a prison warden. I shuddered and told myself to stop thinking of prisons. This lady was my grandaunt. My father, who seemed to be as intimidated by her as I was, hurriedly bade me goodbye and left. So much for my backup plan of begging him to take me with them. My grandaunt sniffed and replied to my “Hello Granny" with a “You may either call me Hortense or Grandaunt. Not by the vulgar language the youth use these days”
My fears weren’t unfounded. I soon found my time being compartmentalized and my freedom being considerably reduced. I wasn’t allowed to go anywhere unless I was in the company of the ‘Grandaunt’ or her timid servant “Bonnie”. Grandaunt had warned me against entering a room on the first floor. Having grown up as an only child, I was used to being left to my own devices, letting my imagination take wings. It wasn’t surprising that I would make up many stories about what was behind that door and pretend to explore it.
One day, my curiosity overcame me and I decided to find out what secrets my grandaunt had to hide. When both Grandaunt and Bonnie were in the garden, I crept upstairs and opened the door. Unfortunately, the many stories of the proverbial curious cat never taught me anything. I was soon to pay for my mistake.
The sight that greeted me took my breath away. Rows and rows of books filled the giant room with high-vaulted ceilings. There were numerous leather-bound tomes and manuscripts so ancient that they would crumble to dust if someone touched them. But that wasn’t what caught my eye.
There seemed to be a human-sized object at the end of the cavernous library. When I reached there, I saw a cage with thick bars, in the dim light. Suddenly, a pair of red reptilian eyes were gazing back at me. I stumbled and screamed, “Help me! ”. Fear clouded my mind and my heart was beating very fast. My Grandaunt, who had appeared out of nowhere, lifted me up and dragged me towards the staircase.
Dimly, I registered her nudging me as I fell. All I could remember was seeing her malicious gaze before the darkness.
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