Ed’s attention went from his wife, who ascended to the second floor, to Lily. Her smile as she, too, watched his wife’s ascent, made him scratch his head in wonder. He could understand her being happy that Daisy loved the house, but her smile wasn’t that kind of smile. There was a type of malice there. He liked it.
“Why do I get the feeling you’re hiding something?” Ed asked Lily.
“You sound more intrigued about that than fearful,” replied Lily.
“Maybe because I am. So, what is really going on?”
“Oh, you’ll find out here in a few minutes.”
Ed gave her a thoughtful look. “Is it a trap of some kind?” asked Ed.
“You could say that. But it’s only for those greedy enough to fall for it.”
“What do you mean?”
“Let’s just say your wife will finally have a house she will never be rid of…..ever.”
Daisy stepped onto the landing. The red plush carpet cushioned her every step. She stopped and peered to the left then right then left again. All the doors remained shut in each direction. Then to her left a door popped open on the right side of the hall way, and a light streamed out from within. The beam appeared brighter than usual. Her curiosity up, she hurried to the open door and poked her head in.
The red carpet continued into the bedroom. The walls were a creamy pearly white and shined as such. She reached around with her hand and rubbed it along the wall. The smoothness of it told her it was indeed pearl. “Wow, walls of pearl.” Her attention drew to the left and around the rest of the room. As she did this, she stepped inside the room. It was then she noticed the intricate gold design within the pearl walls. She took two strides to get a closer look and ran her finger along the gold pattern. On the left end of the room sat a four poster bed. It’s frame also that of pearl and with the same golden design. “I love this house. I love this room. I want it. I have to have this.” She turned to run out of the room to go get her husband, but the door wasn’t where it had been before. It was next to the bed.
She must have been mistaken, so she ran out the door and into a hallway with blue plush carpet. There was no hall going left or right as before. Instead the hall way was in front of her. She ran down it toward the stairwell, but there was no stairwell. She turned back toward the room but found herself back in the room without having moved. “How?” She turned in circles but now there was no door in the room. Not even one for a closet. But, oh, how she loved the room. She needed find her husband though. But there was no door leading out of the bedroom.
She banged on the wall’s, “Ed! Ed! Can you hear me? Ed!? Help.”
Downstairs Lily chuckled as she listened to Daisy yell for help.
“Shouldn’t we go help her?” asked Ed intrigued with Lily and not moving a muscle to help his wife.
“You don’t sound very convincing, Ed,” said Lily. “As a matter of fact, I see a tiny smile on those lips of yours.”
“You don’t know the evil that woman up there has put me through, so yeah, I guess I’m just going through the motions of giving a damn about her. But, out of curiosity. What happened to her? Why is she needing help in the first place?”
“She entered the moving room. When a greedy, self-serving person enters the room, there is no way out. The room moves and continues to move. It will display a door on one side of the room making you think you found your way out, when in reality, it leads to somewhere else.” She paused for effect, then, “There is no way out.”
Ed smiled. “I see.”
“Do you want this house, Ed?”
“No, I don’t.”
“Then let’s go.”
Ed and Lily walked out the front door and down the steps. Lily remained standing in front of the house and watched as Ed walked to his car.
Ed opened his driver side door and glanced up in the direction of the house, as he got into his car. But the house was gone and so was Lily and any trace she had ever been there.
(The End)
WRITE TIME AND AGAIN 