The House

5. WHITE The sound of a bath

The sound of a tub being drawn is familiar, and it calls to you right now. You open the white door and go in.

You would have assumed you’d never see anything as ornate as the grand hall again in your life, but no, it is even more elaborate in here. Every surface is covered in white marble and what isn’t marble is gold, and you get the feeling that the gold is real. The room is dominated by a tub that looks like a giant’s teacup, and steam is rising from the surface. You wonder who began to draw it and where they went, but they’re not here right now, there’s nowhere for them to hide.

You walk past a low table with carved feet, piled high with white towels to the tub’s side. There is another table closer yet, set with bath salts of different colors in marble bowls beside bathing implements, sponges, soaps, and wash cloths. You take a handful of the purple salts and throw it into the tub and the scent of lavender wafts up. Without thinking about how crazy this could be, you shrug out of your top and b*a and pull off your skirt and underwear toss them to the side and sink in. The only thing you’re wearing is the bracelet with the key and you feel it thunk against the bottom of the tub.

The water is just the right temperature, hot enough to penetrate your muscles and warm your bones, and the scent is divine. You let out a sigh as the water envelopes you completely up to your neck, then you hold your breath and dip in, until all of you is covered. You stay under, thinking that even if you just stay in here for the whole night, your time will have been well spent.

When you resurface you realize you’re not alone. There’s a woman as light-skinned as the statues outside, with short tousled orange-red hair, wearing only a bathrobe.

“Who’re you?” you ask. You don’t feel n***d, even though you are, you feel majestic as though this were really your own tub.

“I’m here to help you bathe, if you’d like.”

To send her away, touch here.

To invite her in, touch here.