The Thirteenth Daughter

Chapter 3- The Haven

I felt confident about things after the car ride to the house that Eshe called the Haven. I was a little apprehensive after I saw her holding the sign with my name on it. She seemed to glow with such positivity that eventually my nerves calmed down. Even now it still practically radiated out from her. Is this what people mean when they say they can feel the vibes coming out from other people? Her positive presence made the new surroundings more comforting for which I was extremely grateful. I couldn’t fully shake feeling a little off. It was as if I was experiencing Déjà vu. It was weird. I couldn’t explain it. I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly while Eshe opened the stained-glass door. As soon as it opened it was like all hell had broken loose and I couldn’t keep my eyes from bulging out my face.

A massive grey owl was rapidly flying towards us, a woman was chasing after the bird, and things were being knocked over. The girl was yelling something, but I was too shocked to comprehend what was going on. Eshe seemed to understand whatever it was the girl had said though because she quickly closed the door but not before the owl flew out. Next thing I knew there was a loud thump and when I looked down there was a massive black cat. It had crashed into the door and was now shaking itself. The thing looked up at us and then hissed before darting off. Eshe hadn’t said anything about pets, and I had never thought to ask either. Animals didn’t bother me, but it was going to take some time getting used to.

“I’m dead! She’s going to kill me now. Did you have to open the door just now Eshe? You didn’t hear all the ruckus?” the girl was holding her hair back in frustration. She had an accent for sure, but I could still understand what she was saying now that things had calmed down.

“Don’t worry Lan. Dorian will be back. He always comes back. What happened? We were preoccupied and didn’t hear anything from the other side of the door.” Eshe answered

“Gale asked me to clean Dorian’s cage while she is out and Hijiri’s scabby little kit must have slipped by when I went in. He lunged for it the moment I opened the cage.”

“Just open Gale’s window tonight. He’ll come back through it. She usually lets him out that way to hunt.”

“Who’s she?”

“Oh right, Celeste this is Lachlan. Lachlan this is Celeste.”

Lachlan’s face lit up after she gave me a once over. It made me a little self-conscious, but otherwise I was unharmed by her gaze. The girl was wearing a strapless top with pin stripe shorts. Her outfit showed off lotus tattoos on each of her shoulders. More aquatic tattoos decorated her legs and big Blue eyes were evenly set in a pleasantly oval face framed with straight, dark auburn hair. She wasn’t tall, but she was taller than I. Her figure was very curvy, and lean

“Take a photo why don’t you? It’ll last longer.” She laughed. I didn’t realize that I had been staring so hard. I felt the heat rising to my face.

“Oh, don’t go picking at her with your weird sense of humor just yet. She’s only just arrived, Lan. Let her get settled in first at least.”

“You’re right, don’t mind me.”

“No, it’s fine.” I replied.

“I thought you had an interview today, Lan.” Eshe suddenly cornered Lachlan.

“I do, but not until tonight though. I’ll get to do a trial run, but I was just tyin’ up some loose ends before I head out.”

“Glad to hear it.”

“So Celeste, are you gifted?” Lachlan spontaneously asked me to try and change the subject. I was put off by the question because she could have meant different things by it, but before I could answer Eshe stepped in.

“There will be plenty of time for that later. Right now, I am sure Celeste would like to see her room, and maybe start to unpack a little. You and I should probably find Hijiri’s cat and get all these feathers up. It looks like Dorian is molting.”

“Right…I’ll start looking now.”

With that Lachlan turned on her heel and headed deeper into the house while muttering to herself about evil felines and mangy birds. It was comical in a way, but I didn’t really feel like I was the one experiencing it. I decided the best action would be to smile, because that is what one usually did when they found something funny. Eshe shared in my supposed amusement and gave me a genuinely bright smile. As I looked around for the first time, I could see that there were indeed feathers strewn about the place, and even with the entry way out of sorts it had welcoming charm.

“Follow me then, I’ll take you to where you will be staying.” Eshe said breaking the brief silence.

Usually, one would see the stairs leading upward upon entering the home, but the stairs here were built going up from the center of the house. She led me up a flight of stairs to the second floor. It led to a wide hallway that stretched and divided the full length of the house. It ended in a set of French doors that opened to what appeared to be a balcony. Doors lined each side of the navy teal walls, a simple chandelier hung down the ceilings center above a round pedestal table with an oversized marble sphere, and a long running rug decorated the floor. There were six doors total. As I began to wonder which of the doors would belong to my room Eshe seemed to have read my mind in the same instant.

“The two middle doors to the left and the right are the bathrooms. The first room to the left closest to us is Gale’s room. The one across the way is Lachlan’s. The door farthest to the right is Hijiri’s room. We keep her room furthest away from Gale’s due to Hijiri having a cat and Gale having an owl. Your room is the far one on the left. There is an outdoor space on the balcony there. Its great during the fall. You can sit out on the patio furniture drinking coffee or cocoa while enjoying the view.”

The second floor had a simple elegance. Curiously there were themed paintings along the walls between each of the doors. One painting portrayed a woman with her hands stretched towards the sky and flames engulfing her. Dark the scene may have been, but the woman did not appear to be in agony. The second painting portrayed a woman in a Greek dress with her palm outstretched to a tree trunk and the other pressed to her heart. The artist had used many shades of greens and browns to create this ethereal image of nature. Another painting portrayed a girl dancing on what looked like a still body of water deep with in a dark forest. It reminded me a little bit of the swan princess fairytale. The last painting was of a woman on a highland cliff dressed in a gorgeously long red gown that appeared to be getting swept up in a storm of strong winds that blew at her back. Even her long silvery blonde hair was swept away in its turbulent breeze.

The artist beautifully expressed how the fabric and long locks floated and rippled through the air while the red dress and platinum strands made a stunning contrast making the scene behind it appear almost grey and dreary. Each painting were beautiful expressions of an element. Oddly enough they did not seem out of place in the hallway. Even the marble sphere at the center of the table accented everything perfectly and gave the space a sophisticated atmosphere. This place was different from the home I shared with my adoptive parents. This house appeared lived in, while the house I shared with my two mothers was almost sterile. I always thought it looked that way because my parents were tidy people, but this home was also neat. It was as if the house was embracing all who lived inside. Perhaps that was the real reason the girls here nicknamed the house ‘The Haven’. It certainly felt like one to me too.

We crossed over to open the door to the room that would be my new living space. It was spacious, bare, and filled with all the boxes of my things. My bed frame leaned against a wall in pieces blocking a door. Two windows, one at each end of the longest wall opposite the door, let in the warm rays of the sun. It bathed the whole room in a golden glow. I was going to have to buy a rug for the floor since everywhere I had looked so far there was nothing but hardwood flooring. Hardwood floors just seemed to absorb all the cold during the winters here in Massachusetts. I was not partial to having frozen feet first thing in the mornings. Thankfully on the wall opposite to the one my bedframe leaned against was a small fireplace that didn’t seem to be in disrepair. This room would do me perfectly.

“Am I able to use the fireplace?” I asked.

“Yes of course. There is one in each room. They are all gas lit so there isn’t a need for firewood. You can let me know when you are ready to use it and I can show you how to turn it to lite. The door here closest to us is a shallow closet with shelves and there is another on the opposite side behind that stack of boxes where you cand hang garments. You’ll share the middle bath with Gale. She travels for work sometimes so hasn’t done much with the space in there so if you want to decorate in there, I’m sure she won’t mind. So, what do you think?”

“It’s perfect.” I smiled.

“I’m so glad to hear it. I won’t take up much more of your time then. I’m sure you’ll want to get to unpacking right away. Feel free to look around. We usually eat together if our schedule allows it. We each take turns to cook. Tonight, is Hijiri’s turn, so I’m pretty sure we will be having Thai take out. I hope you don’t mind?”

“No, I don’t mind at all. Do all the girls know that I’m here?”

“Yes. We have a message board we keep in the kitchen for planning and chores. Once you get settled in, we can show you the rest of the house and get you worked into the routine so everything will run smooth like clockwork.”

“Where can I find you when I’m done?”

“Ah! Right. My room is on the first floor beside the library. When I’m not in my room I’m usually in the library. That’s located through that door on the left at the foot of the stairs. Just come find me if you need me then.”

“Thank you. I really appreciate it.”

“No problem!” Eshe said with that radiant smile of hers and with that she left me gracefully to ponder the rest of my new room.

I set down the one thing I had carried with me beside the doorway and rolled up my sleeves to get to work. The most important thing will be for me to get the furniture in place first. Especially if I wanted a place to sleep tonight. It felt like hours had gone by. When I stood up to stretch out my back a slender Asian girl was standing leaning in the doorway with her arms crossed. I practically jumped out of my skin. I hadn’t seen her standing there.

“Don’t worry. I haven’t been standing here long.” She snipped.

“Hi.” I replied.

“I’m only here because Eshe told me to tell you dinner was ready.” With that the strange girl turned on her heals and disappeared in a storm.

It would seem, not all the girls were happy to have a new roommate. I blinked away my bewilderment at the encounter and looked around. My clock said it was eight twenty-six p.m. The sun was already setting, and it was beginning to get dark out. I stopped what I was doing and decided to check in on the bathroom before heading downstairs. I brought the little bag of toiletries with me, so I guaranteed having something to wash my hands and face with. It was a decent size bath. Subway tiles, a cast iron tub, and a strange toilet. The tank sat high on the wall and had a chain hanging down from it. That was going to take some time getting used to.

I stared at my face for a moment before washing up. It was hard to recognize myself sometimes in the mirror. My features were obscured. I knew I had copper hair, green eyes, and pale skin but that was it. First, I washed my hands making sure to clean up under my nails. Then, I poured a dime size amount of face wash on my fingers and proceeded to scrub the sweat and dust from my face. I needed to get it together. Now was not the time to space out and have an episode. I closed my eyes and let the water droplets roll down my face for a moment. I came back to reality at the same time the terry cloth met my skin to dry my face.

I stashed my toiletries back in my room again then headed back down the stairs to try and find the others. When I got to the main floor Eshe was just coming out of the library.

“Perfect timing. Let me show you where the dining room is.” She said.

I followed her through a set of open pocket doors that led to what looked to be the living room. It opened to a formal dining room where takeout containers already lined the table. Eshe continued though from the dining room to the kitchen. The woman from earlier was there pouring a glass of wine at the counter. Eshe introduced us.

“This is Hijiri. Lachlan won’t be joining us tonight because of the interview but you both already know that.”

The girl, Hijiri, just sniffed her glass of wine. Seemingly ignoring what Eshe said. I decided to try to break the ice that was filling the room.

“Hi again, I’m Celeste.” I waved meekly. Eshe gave Hijiri a look I couldn’t read, and the room seemed to just get colder.

“I’m sorry. I’m not feeling too well. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Celeste.” Hijiri, replied. Eshe just sighed in response. Hijiri gave me a smile, but I could tell that it wasn’t heartfelt. It didn’t even reach her eyes. Lachlan had seemed ok with having me here, but this person didn’t look all that thrilled. Eshe seemed to be the only one who was truly welcoming to having me around.

“I’m so-…” I started to apologize, but then Hijiri cut me off.

“You know what I think I’m just going to go lie down. Sometimes the yoga lessons leave me with a headache. You two go ahead and eat without me.”

Eshe gave her a concerned look but didn’t stop her. “I’ll clean up when we’re done. Let me know if you need anything ok?”

Hijiri stopped inside the doorway to the dining room. She gave Eshe a grateful smile, “Thanks Eshe.”

She gave me a side glance and then left us to ourselves.

“I’m sorry Celeste.” Eshe said. “I had hoped your first day would be more welcoming. Its true though. Sometimes Hijiri will come home with migraines after her yoga classes. She teaches hot yoga at a local gym you see.”

“Its ok. I’m sure we will be able to get along better once we get used to each other being around.”

I said that, but I didn’t quite believe it. I could feel myself getting paranoid. What if Hijiri suspected that I wasn’t completely right in the head. After all I had no clue how long she really had stood inside my bedroom doorway. Could she have seen me unloading the many self-help books I was unpacking? Maybe I wasn’t as completely recovered from the small episode I was having in the bathroom as I had thought. Did she think I was weird? Eshe and I sat down at the table and portioned out some of the takeout onto some plates for us to eat. As she had predicted it was Thai cuisine. Eshe was doing her best to make me feel more comfortable, but I could already feel myself getting paranoid.