TM Response #406 - Fall
The leaves under Aelita's feet made a crunching sound that was almost satisfying as she walked through the woods outside of campus. The solitude of her walk was also satisfying ; as much as she cared for her friends, for Jeremie, sometimes it was nice to get away. Enjoying the colors of the fall, the oranges, reds and yellows of the leaves, by her lonesome was one of the few pleasures she had remaining from her old life.
Eventually, almost predictably, Aelita found herself on the path that led to Hermitage House. Her old home. She hadn't been back there in several months, not since she and her friends had collected everything of hers and her father's that Aelita wanted to keep and destroyed everything that needed to be destroyed, including the entrance to the secret tunnel that led to the factory and her father's laboratory.
Soon enough Aelita came upon the old place, but it didn't look as it had the last time she'd been there. Since her last visit the bank had taken possession of the house, once Franz Hopper's death was confirmed and legitimized. Because of the house's run-down state workers had been busy fixing it up, making sure it was suitable before being put back on the market. Now it looked closer to the way Aelita remembered it. There was a fresh coat of paint on the outside. The fence had been cleaned of rust, the vines pulled away and the house's nameplate on the fence painted and polished. The plants in the front yard had been pruned. Aelita was sure similar improvements were going on inside the house as well.
It was bittersweet, knowing that someday in the near future the Hermitage would be home to someone else. Aelita had never mentioned it to the others but she'd often dreamed, or at least fantasized, about moving back into the house as an adult, either as a single woman or with Jeremie. It would be where she would raise her family, as her father had raised her.
Guess it wasn't meant to be, she thought to herself.
Aelita allowed herself one last, lingering gaze on the Hermitage before turning around and heading back the way she came.
Eventually, almost predictably, Aelita found herself on the path that led to Hermitage House. Her old home. She hadn't been back there in several months, not since she and her friends had collected everything of hers and her father's that Aelita wanted to keep and destroyed everything that needed to be destroyed, including the entrance to the secret tunnel that led to the factory and her father's laboratory.
Soon enough Aelita came upon the old place, but it didn't look as it had the last time she'd been there. Since her last visit the bank had taken possession of the house, once Franz Hopper's death was confirmed and legitimized. Because of the house's run-down state workers had been busy fixing it up, making sure it was suitable before being put back on the market. Now it looked closer to the way Aelita remembered it. There was a fresh coat of paint on the outside. The fence had been cleaned of rust, the vines pulled away and the house's nameplate on the fence painted and polished. The plants in the front yard had been pruned. Aelita was sure similar improvements were going on inside the house as well.
It was bittersweet, knowing that someday in the near future the Hermitage would be home to someone else. Aelita had never mentioned it to the others but she'd often dreamed, or at least fantasized, about moving back into the house as an adult, either as a single woman or with Jeremie. It would be where she would raise her family, as her father had raised her.
Guess it wasn't meant to be, she thought to herself.
Aelita allowed herself one last, lingering gaze on the Hermitage before turning around and heading back the way she came.