Rambling Writes - Chapter 2 - The vision

This place, it was.... I stopped my slow weaving among the curtains to search for the word. Light suffused the room, if that was what it was, but nowhere could I see a single lamp, a chandelier or even a flash light. It was ethereal. There was no other word for it. Filled with warmth, beautiful in its simplicity.  I didn't know how I came to be here and if I didn't know better I could almost have said it was heaven, but to say that would be to admit to things I was not sure I believed.

There was nothing to distinguish direction but I was pulled forward, like a compass to true north. It was impossible to resist. Step by step I pushed my way deeper into the gossamer maze.

A flash of movement drew my attention. Something seen and yet unseen, a hint of darkness in a world of light. My heart started to beat faster, not out of fear but anticipation. Where the flowing waves of curtains seemed gentle and soft before they were now clinging vines, impeding my progress to the treasure I knew lay just out of reach.

I struggled onward, desperation reaching a fever pitch inside me. I could barely see, my heart was ready to fly out of my chest and my breath came in short, shallow gasps. Panic rose within me and and I pushed forward I could feel tears of pain and frustration pricking my eyes, threatening to bring me to my knees.

Somehow the air moved and I stopped dead in my tracks. Where it had been calm and unmoving before, a gentle breeze now curled around me. With it came a scent so sweet that I knew it was what I sought.

Like the rich smell of a hot toddy on a winter’s night it warmed me to the core. My feet moved, without conscious thought, and I drifted forward, soothed by the heavenly aroma.

With a suddenness that was both shocking and exciting, the curtains in front of me parted. There, a picture of perfection, lay my treasure.

Her cocco skin was a rich contrast to the cream around her and she glowed with a beauty so bright it almost hurt to look at her. I stopped, unable to move, stunned by her beauty. A small smile played across her perfect lips and my pulse began to quicken at the sight of them.

I opened my mouth, unsure of what to say but unable to bear not speaking to her. My mouth was dry, as if all the moisture had been pulled into my sweating palms. I swallowed, trying to force words from my frozen lips but before I could utter a syllable she moved, mesmerizing me.

Her hand drifted slowly up from her side, a single finger extended. With a sly smile she pressed the finger to her perfect lips and winked. I nodded, dumbstruck. I doubted I could have spoken at that moment anyway.

Her smile broadened and she extended her hand, fingers crooking.

As if there was an invisible string connecting me to that finger I was reeled in, ever closer. My hand raised of its own accord, yearning to touch the velvety softness of her skin. Fingers tingling in anticipation I closed the last few steps to her side….

~~~~~~~

The dream shattered into a million pieces and with it so did my heart. I lay, unable to move, staring at the ceiling. One word floated to my lips and escaped them with a breath of longing.

“Molly.”

There was no doubt in my mind that the goddess in my dream was Molasses Macchiato. Thoughts of her perfect face brought memories of a less happy nature to mind. Namely, one Mayor Spoom.

What was his interest in her? Unlike my own I didn't think he was drawn to her sweet beauty. There was something...vindictive in him when he spoke of her. I shuddered thinking of the gleam in his eyes when he asked me to investigate her.

"Wake up sleepy head!"

Rose's insistent pounding on my door broke my reverie. Whatever Mayor Spoom was up to would have to wait, because Rose would not.

"What?" I grumbled, trying to sound like I had just woken.

That was enough of an excuse for Rose to come bursting through the door. "Time for your celebratory breakfast! Up and at 'em. We have to get moving if we want a good table."

I groaned. Her constant energy was sometimes annoying. This was one of those times. "We did a celebratory dinner and an actual celebration at the ceremony. How many more do we need?"

"Just enough for you to accept how wonderful you are."

I rolled my eyes at her. She smiled sweetly in return, too sweetly. A suspicion began to form in my mind.

"What are we doing for this breakfast anyway?" I asked.

"Nothing big," she said.

Her tone was a little too casual and the way she avoided meeting my eye clinched it. She was up to something. "Details, sister dear."

She batted her eyelids oh so innocently. "Really, it's nothing at all big. Just a family breakfast."

"Here at home?" I asked, still suspicious.

"Welllllllll," she looked away. "Now that you mention it I believe we have a table at the Buzz."

"No."

"But...."

"No." I put every ounce of firmness I could into the word.

"Fine," she said. "I'll book something else. But you're going to hear about it from Rowan. He has plans you know."

She flounced out of the room and I collapsed back into the bed, relieved. My heart was racing at even the mention of the Buzz. To go there, to see Molly....but no. I needed a little time to figure out what I was going to do about this Mayor Spoom investigation. 

I was tempted, more than tempted, to take it up. It was another excuse to spend hours looking at, and thinking about, Molly. Not that I needed any excuses with Rowan and Rose around. Berry save me from interfering siblings.

~~~~~~~

In the end we compromised. I agreed to go out to breakfast, Rose agreed that it did not have to the Buzz.

Family meals for my family are always a distracting affair, especially when in public. Grandpa's wavering between near crippling shyness and confident star, Rowan's running critiques on passerby, both complementary and scathing, and the ever present gossip that always surrounded us went we went out as a group. I flinched as, for the hundredth time, I caught Ice's name floating by.

"You really should let go of that grudge," Rowan said in my ear. He was smiling and gesturing with his glass to someone across the restaurant, but his tone was sad.

"I have reasons to hold on to it."

Sadness flashed behind his eyes. I caught on a glimpse of it before he hid it behind his customary mask of cheerfulness. “I know you think you do, just….don’t forget there is more to life than pain.”

I looked away. It was all well and good for him to say that. He never had to deal with the things I did.

“Hey…” he said, trying to get my attention. “You don’t have to stay in the house you know. I get you want to be here because of Grandpa but there are other places in town….”

I stood abruptly, drawing the attention of the entire table. “Gotta run. Library is closing soon.” I left, to the sound of much grumbling from Rose, and walked as quickly as I could from the cafe without actually breaking in to a run.

I did want to do a bit of research, that much was true, but I didn't need to do it in the library. It was a good excuse though. More to the point I knew if either of my siblings caught me looking up information on Molly I would never hear the end of it. 

So the library it was. I needed information. My brain had not stopped running over and over the conversation with Mayor Spoom since I woke up. 

What was this interest in Molly? I was itching to find out. Partly, and it was hard to admit this even to myself, it was because I was desperate to find out anything I could about that Cocobean Goddess. But it was more than that. It was a mystery. An unsolved puzzle. And that was something I could not live with. I would get to the bottom of this if it killed me.

A odd sensation crept over me at that thought. It wouldn’t…. would it?