Welcome to this new story. Before starting I would like to thank Wolfspryte for the lot ‘The Tumbledowns’. It was exactly what I needed for this story. Of course I would like to express my gratitude as well to all the creators of the CC that is used in the story and a special thanks to Fredbrenny for helping me with the language. Big hug to you, Fred.

*****

Now come along with John and Melissa Newman who are moving to another state. Both are rather nervous. It’s not the same starting from scratch again at forty years old. Not the same as when they had been just in their twenties

The man started the motor of his car. He wanted to get away quickly; away from the past horror. He looked at the woman, his wife, sitting next to him and noticed that she was even more nervous and desperate than he was. She couldn’t keep hands and feet quiet. Both didn’t want to look back to the remaining of the house they were leaving behind.
He tried to pull himself together and said: “Honey, please stop thinking this nightmare over and over, there’s nothing we can do about it anymore. I’m sorry…. I know that I’m to blame and it’s true…, if I had taken insurance on the house then at least we would have had some money to start over again.”

The woman thought back a moment. They had worked hard to pay the mortgage and they could presume that their house was one of the fanciest houses in their neighborhood.

She thought about the quiet moments they lived there, and lately they had been surrounded by luxury.

Every moment of the day had been scheduled. John had his job in management and she had the house and garden to attend.

On Fridays they always dined in a nice restaurant; sometimes inside and at other times outside on the terrace, but always the same restaurant. Yesterday they had been there without suspecting what they would find when they got home.

In her mind she saw their lovely house again being consumed by the fire and how it took a long time before it fell apart. When the fire fighters arrived… there was nothing they could do anymore.

They sat there on the rubble, trying to assume their destiny. It had been heartbreaking to see her husband, who always used to be so strong, crying.

She said: “We are both to blame. I guess I always tried too hard for the equality between men and women. I have a mind of my own and I thought as well that it would be a good idea to postpone the insurance issue until we would have more money. We postponed it until we completely forgotten about it. We didn’t even think about getting ourselves a smoke alarm!” She remembered the desperation both had felt when they became aware of the range of the past event and the impact it would have on their future. They both sat there in silence for some time.
Until the woman asked: – “John, are you sure you know where you’re going?”

– “I think so Mel. I’ve never been there but I very well remember that my parents inherited that lot after my great-grandmother’s death. It was theirs but they never went there to see it. And since they’re not here anymore, I inherited the house from them. I never thought I would be interested in that house but I’m afraid that it is all we’ve got now.”
Melissa sighed: – “Well… if we don’t like it we could always go back…!”
– “Back to where? To our house that has been destroyed by the fire? No, my dear, we are in this and we better get used to the idea.” John continued driving fast.

– “Damn!” he suddenly had to brake to avoid a cat that ran across the street.
– “John!” Melissa shouted “It’s a cat…, a black cat!”
– “Will you please stop being superstitious? Besides that…, it was a grey cat!”
Melissa put her hands over her face and tried to hide her distress.

In order not to hear her sobbing, John switched the radio on. The transmission wasn’t very clear. He was about to switch it off again when it got in tune. They had arrived to another State because a voice on the radio said: ‘ …And now we continue with Golden Oldies…; here on Radio Hidden Springs where we have World’s best climate; although folks, Fats Domino found his thrill on Blueberry Hill….
– “Honey, we are almost there; I suppose that we will arrive at our new home in less than an hour. Listening to the music relaxed them a bit. Melissa even managed to doze away. She woke up because she missed the familiar sound and feeling of the car in motion.

– “This is the address honey. Here lies our future.” It was a very small house; nothing compared to the one they had before. They got out of the car and felt relieved that they could stretch their legs. They had been driving for hours and especially John was stiff. They didn’t notice that they were being observed.

Cold lifeless eyes watched how that car stopped…, how two people got out of it and how they took some suitcases and boxes out and headed towards the house. The cold eyes now shone with malignity! Now there would be two more people available…, the fun could start!

The house desperately needed some paint. The garden was a terrible mess. Melissa had always loved to work in the garden, but seeing the weeds that had even overgrown a bench, she sighed.

Her husband looked at her if though he wanted to make excuses for the house. “Mel, this house has not been taken care of in at least twenty years. So it’s quite normal that we have to change a few things.”

John put the suitcases down, rescued the key from his pocket and opened the door for his wife who immediately went inside while he picked up the suitcases again.

Then he heard her shout, and he ran through the open door.

To be continued…