The First Staircase He Took

Lei gets help finding his room...

The steps of the stair case u-turned with the wall, heading towards the second floor. It seemed more like a lobby. The two residents walked into a large, open space with more hard wood floors mostly covered by ornate and vintage rugs that went out of style at the turn of the 21st century. A right angled wooden desk with a computer, printer, and fax machine sat in the far left corner. Sitting at the desk holding a stack of papers and a filing crate was a woman who had long, brunette hair that fell into the chair she was sitting on. She looked at the pair for an instant and pulled a single sheet of paper from the pile. "I've been expecting you," she said with a stubby voice even though Lei and the satin dressed lady could not hear her. Her eyes scanned the the two individuals and judged the situation. Inaudible to almost everyone, she whispered a secret to herself.

"Who is that?" Young Revya pointed at the brunette haired lady wearing the gold lined glasses using his free hand. His first assumption was, "You guys have a secretary?" The secretary was out of place. Had not the tall woman with all spoken words unable to describe her beauty just said that Uncle Revya scared everyone into coming into his home? It seemed even stranger due to the fact that she was on the second floor and not the first. Lei's curiosity began charging through the gates. It didn't make any sense.

The vehemently attractive woman smiled. "She's not for strangers."

"I can hear you." The secretary rolled her eyes. "Hurry up and come 'ere." As the nephew and the seductress got closer near the desk, the brunette read over some of what was written on the clean white paper she was holding. "Let's see here. Lei Revya. Age twenty three. Born December twenty second, nineteen eighty-eight. Residential request filled out by mother. Signed by mother, spouse, and the tenant himself. Room two twenty three."

A secretary wouldn't blurt out of personal information. Would they? "Um..." Revya's head went down, not knowing what to say or do.

"Addy," The tall woman leaned on the desk with her arms supporting her body, "I saw Mister Hell-low go upstairs on my way to greet this handsome young boy. He didn't even say hello to me. He's more moody than usual. Did something happen?" She looked at Lei. "Did you say something that upset him?" Perhaps saying almost nothing is what offended the nephew's uncle.

"Stop calling Master Revya by that that ridiculous name." Addy's voice became zealous. "He owns this mansion and he lets you stay. For free. So I suggest you start respecting him like you should be before he leaves you out for the coyotes."

The tall and slender mannequin laughed at the joke. "Coyotes? Those Indians can't do anything. Whatever, Addy." The two woman stared at each other. Behind the glasses, Addy's blue eyes were irritated and did not budge. Her unhappy frown brimmed with anger. Fienne sighed, giving into the secretary. "Fine. I see that you want us to leave. Room two-two-three? Okay. I'll talk to you later, Addy."

The brunette sighed at the hopeless wreck of a person that was the satin-dressed woman. "They're not Indians. They're called Native Americans. Get with the times. And I don't want both of you to leave. I only want you to leave, Fienne," Addy turned away from Fienne and readjusted her glasses. "Before you go to your room Lei," she had a few last things to say. She looked at him with a stern face and a sharp and hostile tone. "I know you heard what I said earlier. Obviously, Master Revya isn't you so don't ever get confused." She turned her back against Not-Master Revya and grabbed a handful of papers from the large stack that sat on her desk. "Fienne will show you where your room is. Not like I can't see she's helping you, already." Lei let out a weak and nervous laugh as they left the secretary's desk while Addy zoned back into her work. She did not appear to be listening any more.

Lei and Fienne walked into the hallway at the upper right from where they went up the staircase to the second floor. "She's kind of mean," Lei whispered to his escort as they entered the hall way.

"I heard that," Lei heard from behind him.

"Her name is Adenine, but try saying that in a hurry and you'll spend too much time confused and less time doing what you were in a hurry for," Fienne giggled as she wrapped her free arm around his. "So we call her Addy. Or, at least I do. She's kind of like a secretary so stay on her good side, alright?"

They stopped right in front of Lei's new room. It wasn't that far from Adenine's desk; they were still within view of each other. The nephew twisted the knob of the redwood door and pushed, revealing a incredibly spacious room. There was no hardwood in sight; just pure carpet. Finally, there was a large sliding window that could be opened, leading to a small patio outside. The king's bed touched the room's left and was faced the center of the room with multiple night stands at each corner where the bed met the wall. A full sized, eight drawer cabinet and dresser stood by the walk-in closet that had more sliding doors. Fienne almost shoved young Revya away as she walked into the room first, her steps beings muffled by the ivory carpet. She faced him soon after examining the room from its center. "Aw, Tasha's so nice. She already has everything ready for your room."

Lei wanted to ask who Tasha was, but his room took him by surprise. "This room's pretty... modern, " said the nephew. "The mansion looks old, though." As in matter of fact, the room's theme did not match the rest of the mansion. At least what Lei has seen of the mansion, thus far.

"If we didn't refurbish, don't cha think that the place would be in shambles?" The luxurious lady softly placed Lei's suitcase on the ground with it's flat side on the carpet. "Here you go. I think I've hogged you long enough. You should introduce yourself and find a few more friends before dinner time. Otherwise no one will want to sit next to you." She made a devilish smile as she left Lei's room. "But if I'm the only friend you want, that's okay too."

Lei had to say something. She was being awfully nice and they had only just met in the last ten minutes or so. "Thanks for helping me. If I was left alone downstairs, I think I'd have been too scared to go anywhere. Much less find my room."

"I knew by just looking at you, You were so pale standing by the front door." Fienne answered as she waved farewell and went out of sight. "Bye now."

"Wait!" He had forgotten. He ran into the hallway, not wanting her to disappear. "Fienne, right?" She nodded. "Who is Tasha?"

The barefoot woman in the red dress looked at Lei with surprise. "Oh, you caught that? Tasha is Mister's Hell-low's slave."

---

Lei wished to ask more questions, but Fienne was still walking away when she told him about this person Tasha. Lei assumed that it had to be a girl. "A slave?" The black haired youth asked. "In what way?" The scarlet dressed maiden simply waved good-bye and went back down the stairs the two had previously walked up. Adenine? Not paying attention. That is what Lei wanted to think she was doing. He wasn't sure if she was watching even as she sorted through the stack of white sheets on her desk.

After returning to his new room, Revya got to work in putting of his clothes away. His earlier inspection of his luggage when in the limousine caused some of his clothes to wrinkle. He tried straightening them out, but could his efforts proved fruitless and instead moved on to organizing his belongings. The majority of his shirts-- the ones that were prone to wrinkling-- he placed in the sliding door closet. Whoever Tasha was prepared for his arrival very well. A stack of neatly arranged clothes hangers sat unfettered in the closet. Lei sighed as he looked at the dresser. He only brought one suitcase full of clothes; many of the drawers would stay empty. Were they expecting an entire wardrobe?

Next was the steel suitcase. The first thing Lei took out was a leaf framed photograph taken a year ago. He and his mother went camping in one of the expansive hemlock forests on the Washington coast. He remembered joking to his frizzle haired mother that he originally went on the trip to look for Bigfoot. Or the Yeti. Whichever came first. The nephew continued to stare at his mother in the photo as memories washed ashore from the back of his mind. She told him throughout his years of growing up very strange stories. There were so many tall tales that her son had forgotten many of them. He specifically remembered his mother telling him on his eighteenth birthday that there was no point in trying to distinguish between myth, legend, and superstition.

As far as the young Revya understood, it wasn't him that was special. It was the family he was born in that is incredibly special. Lei placed the photo on the bed's left nightstand. Thinking about his mother painfully reminded him of Uncle Revya. That man... There were two scenarios that Lei could take into account about his uncle. Either his uncle was truly the kind of person he says he is or his uncle is actually in fact protecting Lei from things not known to his nephew. The young man wanted to beg God that it was the latter.

There were more things to take out of the suitcase, but apparently Lei had run out of time. He had thought of taking a nap, then remembering that he already dozed off in the limousine. Was he missing his mother, already? The young man sighed, wondering if it was possible to adjust to living here. Fienne was a strange lady, enough. Up until now, Lei tried to not pay any mind to her... advances, but even though the tall woman explicitly told him that she was too old for him, she had come too close for comfort many times over. Perhaps it was just Adenine focusing on her job, but Lei's guts was telling him to always approach her cautiously. What other things did Adenine know about him that she might say in front of others? How many people live here?

The nephew thought again, awestruck by what he knew about the mansion so far. He had only seen the foyer of the first floor, the lobby of the second floor, and the hallway that leads to his room. The mansion towers four floors. There is also a courtyard judging from the patio in Lei's room. Thinking about whether or not there was a back lot and a basement only made his head hurt more at how difficult it was to fathom the size of his uncle's incredible estate.

Someone's voice frightened Lei. "Excuse me," they said as his body jumped and turned to the door. Young Revya had forgotten to close his door. The six-foot mannequin that accompanied him to his room had returned. She had changed her dress from the eloquent, satanic red to a more earthy, floral green brimmed with white. "Where have you been?" Fienne asked, then quietly laughed with her hand gently on her lips. "It's almost time for dinner. Aren't you hungry?"

What did she say? "Dinner?" The young man repeated with disbelief. "It can't be time to eat already, it's--" he looked to find a watch that didn't exist. Lei scratched his head, frustrated now remembering that he had mysteriously lost it in the limousine. He had to ask the question. "What time is it?"

"Look outside." Fienne pointed out the patio. The sun was half past setting.

"What?" Lei went up to window and shook his again in more disbelief. It was incomprehensible. "It has to have only been twenty minutes since I last saw you! It can't be dark out, already."

The green gowned women tilted her head and her face expressed worry. She looked around Lei's room and her eyes examined the emptied suitcases. It took her a few more seconds before saying, "Are you okay? Did you hit your head?"

"No, forget it." Although it could not be forgotten. He had to contemplate the situation. How did so little time pass and yet the day is already over? Or maybe Lei just hadn't realized how long he was reminiscing about his mother. He did not know. He couldn't tell. "Nevermind me. I'm ready. Let's go."