Who Are You?
1024 Words
After taking a bath, he took the keys of the van and went outside to get their supplies. He brought the small camping stove inside too and cooked in the study where he could see his brother.
It wasn't that he really believed that the house was haunted, but the lack of human presence in the monstrous estate really made him uncomfortable. Feeling a little bit hot from spending time in front of the stove, he walked towards the window to open it wide and he closed his eyes to welcome the cool breeze. The smell of the fresh grass entered his nostrils and he smiled.
It really wasn't so bad to stay here, he thought. In fact, if it was okay with his brother, he wouldn't mind living here with his mom. Compared to the noisy and busy streets of New York where he had lived all his life, he preferred the tranquil scenery of this place.
"Jehan…"
Austin froze as he heard the voice. His heart beat faster as he was instantly enveloped by a cold sensation.
"Jehan," he heard his voice again, this time much clearer as he felt ice on his cheek. An unexplainable fear filled his heart as he swallowed hard and slowly opened his eyes.
"Oh, God," he gasped in surprise as he saw the beautiful young woman in his dreams sitting by the window just in front of him.
"Oh God," he whispered over and over.
The girl was as pale as death, wearing nothing but a blanket soaked with blood which continued to drip on the carpeted floor. Her expression was that of happiness as she stared at Austin’s face which her cold hand was touching.
"Tu es revenu…" the girl told him as her eyes filled with tears. "Tu es vraiment revenu…" she whispered as she leaned over, rested her head against Austin’s chest for several seconds before fading away like a mist.
"Oh, God." Frightened, his heart racing, he stepped backwards and slipped, hitting his head at the foot of the chair, rendering him unconscious.
=================
"Hey," he heard Jerome say as he was gently shaken awake.
He opened his sleepy eyes and saw his brother smiling down at him.
"Hey sleepyhead," his brother said again as he pulled the covers from him.
"I didn't want to wake you up but it's already late. We still have a lot of things to do," he continued as he stood up and walked towards the table where the food was.
The room smelled like canned beans and Austin was confused.
"What's that?" he asked, indicating the food his brother was eating from a disposable plate.
"This? Pork and beans," Jerome answered and then ate a spoonful. "You go and wash up first before you eat. So sorry I woke up late too so I wasn't able to cook something," he heard his brother say and his confusion deepened, making Jerome feel uncertain.
"Ehrm, you don't eat pork and beans? If you don't want this then we can just get something else," his brother said as he moved to go out of the room but Austin stopped him.
"It's okay. I like it," he said as he bowed his head so his brother wouldn't see his face.
"If you say so," Jerome said hesitantly before he went back towards the table and resumed eating his breakfast.
Austin on the other hand was still confused. Why did his brother open a can of pork and beans when he'd cooked them breakfast earlier? Hadn't he woken up early so he could take the stove inside and cook them omelets?
Still frowning, he turned to the side of the room where he placed the portable stove and blinked several times when it wasn't there. He then turned towards the window so fast he heard his neck snap as he searched for the telltale sign of the girl he had seen sitting there— no blood, nothing. The windows weren't open either.
"Are you okay?" Jerome asked and Austin turned to him thoughtfully. "Wash up and then eat. We're going to check out more rooms today," the older man told him excitedly as the younger one noted that he was still in his sleeping bed, wearing the same shirt and pajamas he wore to sleep.
It was as if he really had just woken up from last night, and the things he thought he did really didn't happen.
"Right," Austin answered with a nervous laugh as he remembered the scare he had just moments before.
It was a dream, he thought happily as he shook his head. Still, he couldn't help but think about the young woman. Even in death, she had looked…beautiful.
What did she say to me earlier?
He tried hard to remember, and when he did, he turned to his brother.
"Uhm…" he started and Jerome inclined his head towards him and he was thankful.
Until now, he couldn't make himself call the other brother. He didn't have the confidence to call him by his name either. He hesitated for a while, but his curiosity was much stronger.
"Ehrm…what is the meaning of 'tu es revenu… tu es vraiment revenu'?" he asked his brother who seemed surprised with his unexpected question, but he answered him anyway.
"It means 'you came back, you really came back,'" Jerome told him as he searched his younger brother's face. But the younger boy didn't tell him anything else.
"Right, thanks," Austin nodded his head as he put his sleeping bag away and went towards the bath.
He washed his body as he recalled the rest of the dream. Truly, the last one had been scary. But then he remembered the beautiful sunrise and the person whom, in the dream, he had desired so much.
"Who the hell are you?" he asked the shower knob while in his mind's eye he saw the beautifully aroused face he had embraced.
He felt the stirrings of yearning in his loins and he bit his lip as he serviced himself, all the while thinking of one naked body lying beneath him in the field of green.
- Writer
