Le Desespoir: The Cursed Paradise

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"Whoa..."

The brothers couldn't help but whistle at the sight of the humongous house before them. Made purely of marble, the house stood six stories high from the ground. The color was originally white, but time had already etched its signature on it. Flower vines, probably ivy entwined themselves on the porch— some even crawled their way on the wall up to the roof.

Shrubs which were probably roses surrounded the mansion. Right in front of where they were standing were marble steps which lead to the gigantic brown front door made of heavy oak wood. Its equally huge brass knocker and knob were very visible.

Based on what the agent told them, the mansion was as big as the White House with its over one hundred rooms and thirty-something bathrooms. Theirs was built in the late 1700’s by a French noble who first owned the estate.

They were even told that the King of France had once stayed in this very house centuries ago.  Built on the highest part of the estate, the house in Le Désespoir was a sight to behold.

"No wonder people are scared of this place," Jerome commented as he turned to his brother who was still mesmerized by the house.

"Let's go in, shall we?"  he said to his brother who just shrugged and followed him as he went up the steps towards the intimidating door.

Taking out the keys from the pocket of his jacket, he quickly chose one and tried it. Amazingly, the door made an audible clicking sound indicating that he had chosen the right one.

Jerome and Austin felt a little nervous standing by the door. But their nervousness was mixed with excitement as they tried to guess what they would see behind it.

"I bet this house is so dirty inside," Jerome stated, and the thought of a huge and dirty mansion made them sigh. "It sucks since nobody would come here to clean."

"You're filthy rich so why not just import people from somewhere else to clean?" Austin suggested which made the older man smile.

"That's a good idea," he commented and Austin snorted as he shook his head.

"Nah, we'll clean an area all by ourselves," the younger brother said. "What are all those cleaning stuff we bought earlier for if we're not going to use them?"

"Fine," Jerome retorted, feeling so happy that Austin was becoming more and more talkative.

If his brother wanted them to clean by themselves, then so be it. It's not like they had anything else to do the whole three weeks of staying here, so they might as well do some cleaning.

"Here we go," he announced out loud and the both of them pushed the big door open.

The creaking sound of the huge door bounced off the walls. The brothers held their breaths as the interior of the house came into view. As anyone could expect in such a huge house, there were, not one, but two grand staircases inside, one on each side of the wall, while in the middle was the biggest marble fireplace they'd ever seen.

In front were three equally big couches; two sat facing each other while the other sat facing the hearth. The marble walls were covered with priceless pieces of art; the huge windows were covered with heavy red and gold velvet drapes which complimented the red carpet covering the marble floor.

"I think we've been duped," Austin commented as he looked around. "I think the people back at the office are probably laughing at us. I think by now they know we're already here."

Jerome puffed some air and shook his head.

"Yeah, they probably think it's so funny making us think about all that haunted crap," he agreed as he scrutinized the clean surroundings.

The brothers walked inside and looked around more, noting that everything was sparklingly clean. What was more? The interior of the house was warm— thanks to the gloriously blazing fire in the hearth.

"They probably had this cleaned on short notice, that's why they made us go to the office first to give the crew more time."

Austin nodded as he walked towards the inviting couches near the fireplace and Jerome followed him there after he opened the windows.

"God, I'm so tired with all that driving," the older one groaned, which made his sibling frown.

"I'm so sorry," Austin whispered.

Since he didn't know how to drive, he was not able to help his brother.

"It's okay." Jerome smiled at him. "I'll teach you how to drive one of these days," he offered, and for a second, there was a glimpse of happiness in his younger brother's eyes, but it quickly vanished as Austin turned his face away.

"You don't have to," he declined softly which made Jerome bow his head, feeling sad. It seemed like the wall his brother had built around him was back now that they'd settled inside.

But he decided not to push. After all, they still have three more weeks together. There would still be a lot of time to bond.

"Okay. But do let me know when you change your mind," Jerome said as he noticed a piece of paper near Austin’s foot. "What's that?"

"Huh?" Austin asked as he searched for what his brother was pointing at and picked it up.

It was a very old torn piece of paper— so old that it was yellowed and brittle. The handwriting on the paper was barely legible since some parts had already faded, but the first parts were still clear. It was written in French, so he handed it over to Jerome who was also curious about its contents.

"Hélas ! vers le passé tournant un œil d'envie.

Sans que rien ici-bas puisse m'en consoler,

Je regarde toujours ce moment de ma vie

Où je l'ai vue ouvrir ses ailes et s'envoler !"

Austin frowned as his brother finished reading the legible part.

"What's that?" he asked.

Jerome thought for a moment and then shrugged.

"Probably some kind of poetry," he answered, when, suddenly, a cold breeze came in from the open window, making the fire in the hearth dance.

A cold sensation caressed the brothers' backs and their bodies filled with gooseflesh as they heard the wind whisper something to them.

“Bienvenue à la maison…”

Startled, the brothers stared at each other.

"Did you hear that?" Jerome asked his younger sibling.

Austin swallowed hard before he nodded. His French might be poor but he had understood what he thought he clearly heard earlier.

Bienvenue à la maison… Welcome home…