章節 170: 3
I thought that there'd be some awkwardness left after yesterday's heart-to-heart, but apparently that didn't seem to be the case. Sadie was as willing to forgive and forget as I was—thank God—something she demonstrated by waking me up in an… interesting way— and that was putting it mildly.
"Wakey, wakey, mister." she whispered, tickling the tip of my nose with something that felt oddly feathery. And though I was already awake, I kept my eyes closed in the faint hope that my silence would make her leave.
I was wrong.
"You do realise I know you're awake, right?" she snorted.
It seemed that the jig was up. I sat up and rubbed my face. "Even if I wasn't, there are several ways to wake someone up, and a feather duster is not one of them." I grumbled as I left my bed.
She seemed to take offence to that, tickling the back of my neck with the feathered stick. "It woke you up, though, so I think it counts as a success." she teased.
I sighed and started to make my bed whilst Sadie stood at the door, humming a cheerful tune.
I turned back to her, curious. "What's got you so happy this morning?" I asked the cheerful woman.
"Oh, nothing." she denied with a small smile.
I narrowed my eyes in suspicion. She was never this happy usually, so something was definitely up. She met my stare and decided that there was something undeniably fascinating about the wardrobe.
But if she didn't want to tell, I guess I'd find out on my own.
Once I'd finished making my bed, she uttered a sentence that set off pretty much all of my alarm bells.
"Wash up quickly, Cyrus." she said, walking through the door. "There's a plate of scrambled eggs and toast on the table for you— and it's growing colder by the minute."
I stared at her retreating figure with a healthy amount of suspicion before calling out. "...Why are you being so nice to me? Usually, you'd be asleep right now. Something is up, I can smell it."
She didn't reply, simply waving the feather duster over her head as she wandered off.
I sighed and massaged my temples. All this suspicion was starting to get to me. Maybe, just maybe, she was being kind for kindness' sake.
I was allowed to wish, right?
There's nothing wrong with wishing— even if it would fall flat in the end, as it usually did with siblings. Our love was of a different kind. Sadie, to me, was both my mother and sister, usually more sisterly in her demeanour, but there were times where life forced her to step up. And that was something I'd be eternally grateful for, I thought as I dried my face with my towel.
To be completely truthful, I looked myself in the mirror before setting off. One must appreciate that which they were blessed with after all.
My eyes were a warm brown, partly hidden beneath raven-coloured hair that fell in loose curls— it seemed I'd need to get a haircut soon, if only for convenience sake. Similar to my sister, my skin was of a tawny colour, perhaps a tad darker than hers, but you wouldn't notice unless you were staring intently at the both of us.
With my bout of narcissism coming to an end, I gave the bathroom a once-over, making sure all the faucets were tightly closed before leaving.
One-hundred and one scenarios raced through my mind on my way to the kitchen, but by the time I'd arrived, I was no closer to figuring out Sadie's angle than I was earlier.
True to her word, Sadie had placed a plate of piping hot eggs accompanied by two slices of nicely toasted bread. Not too much, nor too little; just how I liked it. There was even a sprinkling of black pepper on the eggs, the taste of which momentarily sent me into another plane of existence.
Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and my heavenly meal was no exception to this.
For me, it was in the form of Sadie, who'd stepped into the kitchen looking dressed for war and then some. She wore an apron and was equipped with rubber gloves. Her curly black hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and her brown eyes were as tough as flint. She held her trusty feather duster over her shoulder as if it were a rifle.
"Attention Soldier!" she yelled, marching from the door and to the sink before returning.
"What's the getup for?" I asked through a mouthful of eggs.
"Swallow your food first, Cyrus." she admonished, breaking character for a moment. She then cleared her throat noisily and continued. "You, Cyrus Azar, have been conscripted into my Cleaning Corps effective immediately!"
I swallowed and raised an eyebrow. "Right… And?"
She visibly deflated, her head hung low. "Why'd you have to go and spoil my fun?" she pouted. "You were supposed to play along and say "But what if I don't want to be conscripted, Sadie!"
"Yeah, I'm not doing that." I rolled my eyes.
"Why not?!"
"Because it's fun to derail your plans." I deadpanned and returned to wolfing down my meal.
Sadie, on the other hand, awkwardly stood around the kitchen for a bit before deciding to sit down and do nothing but stare at me.
At first, I tried to ignore it, but her eyes seemed to glimmer with an eagerness that began to unsettle me.
"Any reason why I'm so interesting today?" I asked her.
"Because you, my friend, are going to be my most prized soldier." she replied airily.
"Well I'm honoured." I snorted, and bowed my head.
She chuckled, and stood up, bringing down both sides of the feather duster on my shoulders. "Then rise, Ser Azar, and take your rightful place beside me!"
I held her gaze for all of ten seconds before crumbling.
"Fine…" I muttered before playing along. "Come, Lady Sadie, for we must vanquish the demons that haunt the four cardinal points of every room: the cursed cobwebs and their arachnid mother!"
"Don't forget our most hated foe: diabolical dust and his ministers!"
"Indeed. The confines of our noble house will gleam before the end of this day! Purged of all filth!"
Unable to hold it in anymore, I began to laugh.
It sure was nice to have days where I could completely let everything go and be as childish as I wanted. One of the upsides of actually being a child, I supposed.
With my dishes washed, Sadie had raced off to bring me what she'd called "Your own battle armour", leaving me alone in the kitchen to twiddle my thumbs.
Though she returned soon enough, bringing with her a bundle of things. The first of which was my own apron, accompanied by a pair of rubber gloves. And perhaps the most notable thing of all, my own feather duster— equally as purple as hers.
"Arm yourself!" she stuck her weapon of choice in my face. "Today, we set out to destroy the foulest beasts known to man. It will be hard… Some of us will not make it back." she wiped what was supposed to be a tear from the corner of her eye. "But rest assured, we will be victorious! Now, with me men!"
She set off to our first destination, the living room, bringing with her several other cleaning products and tools that she had dubbed her "hidden arsenal."
And as much as I complained outwardly, I was having some fun— something I'd never say aloud.
OOOO
"Put some more back into it!" Sadie yelled down the hall.
I stopped mopping the floor and craned my neck to get a look at what she was doing, more bemused than angry. But she wasn't anywhere that I could see.
"How'd you know I'm not?" I shouted back.
There was a moment of silence before she replied. "... I just do!" sounding far less convincing.
I returned to mopping the floor with a half-hearted sigh and a shake of my head.
If there was one thing I learned over the course of these last few hours, it was how good menial work was for the mind. In between the verbal jousts between my sister and I, my mind was completely free to wander, giving me ample opportunity to consider my next steps in life.
Lord that sounded a lot better in my head.
Being thrown almost fifty years into the past was a shock, that was for sure, but what it also gave me was an opportunity— a fresh start so to speak. There were so many avenues to wealth I could consider. Buckling down and studying in full earnest was one of them, or at least, a more immediate option.
Anything more long term was about twenty years away. What was I to do until then? Sit there on my arse? Fat chance.
I'd pretty much been handed a silver platter and I'd be a thrice damned fool not to take it. Not only for my benefit, but for the sake of the sister who was willing to push herself to the brink of exhaustion and beyond for me as well as for the family I'd left behind.
I liked to think that somewhere, somehow, they'd be proud of me. But given the fact that my father's birth was ten years away—an even weirder thing to think about since he was born in 1981 and my mother a year later—I reckoned it was a moot point.
But it brought me some much needed peace of mind, so at the end of the day, did the specifics really matter?
Finishing up the last stretch of the floor, I placed the mop inside its bucket, making sure to wring it thoroughly before placing the shaft against the wall. Once I was sure it wouldn't topple over the minute I'd turn around, I backed away and admired my handiwork with a proud smile.
"Sadie!" I yelled, cupping a hand over the side of my mouth.
"Yeah?" I heard her call from somewhere down the house.
"I'm finished!"
"Everything?!"
"Yup!" I answered, grinning. "Anything else you need me to do?"
There was no reply, but I heard some kind of scuffle as Sadie cursed. Bemused, I began to walk down the hall until I almost ran into her, face first.
"Oi Cyrus!" she yelped, stumbling backwards. "Watch where you're going damnit!"
I frowned. "What am I supposed to do when I hear noises like that followed by you cursing?" I grumbled, glaring at her.
And I held it for a while before sighing, too tired to argue.
"So, anything you need me to do?" I repeated, wiping my hands on my apron.
The gloves had been discarded long ago. I realised that although they were stopping my hands from getting dirty, I was also losing some of the grip and dexterity I'd have otherwise. Besides, I could always wash my hands afterwards so they were of no real importance to me.
"Yeah." Sadie said, a light sheen of sweat on her forehead. She'd been hard at work, courtesy of being the taller one out of the two of us. It was her who had to stretch to clean the places that were too high for me to reach, much to my pleasure and her chagrin. "Can you clean the dishes in the sink and then leave some chicken to dethaw in a bowl?"
"Chicken, huh?" I mused, moving to stroke my chin before realising my hands were pretty filthy. "What're you thinking of making?"
"That," she said, giving me an infuriatingly smug smile. "Is for me to know, and for you to find out in…" she pretended to look at a watch she obviously wasn't wearing. "...a few hours, give or take." and took off back to whatever room she'd sprung up from.
"Well, you're awfully energetic for someone who was complaining about exhaustion not too long ago." I muttered as I walked back to the kitchen.
"What did you say?!" I heard her yell, her voice once again distant.
"Nothing, nothing." I returned, chuckling to myself.
OOOO
Water is the greatest gift that God had ever given us—barring life of course—and that was something I would stick by until my death. The wonders a nice shower could do to the human body never failed to surprise me.
Stepping out of the bathroom, my hair still damp, I wondered what we were going to do for the rest of the day; it was only four in the afternoon.
"I'm out of the shower." I said by way of greeting as I entered the kitchen.
Sadie looked up from her crossword in today's edition of the local newspaper and grunted.
"What's wrong?" I teased whilst squeezing the water out of my hair using the towel. "No words for me? Seems you're more tired than you said you were. What happened to "I could go for another five hours!" I chuckled.
"If you're feeling so smart," she jabbed me with her pencil once I sat down. "Why don't you go and serve us dinner."
"What?!" I turned to her, affronted. "You realise I cooked most of that, right?"
"Cooked?" she snorted. "You stirred the pot every so often. I'm the one who cooked that." she said, to which I couldn't exactly disagree.
Twenty-nine years total life experience when combining both this life and my last and I still couldn't cook anything more than spaghetti.
I had ample time to change that though.
I grumbled, but complied with her wishes regardless, walking towards the stove. If there was one word I could use to describe our household, fair would probably be the most accurate. Lifting the lid covering the pot, I was immediately hit by the pleasant aroma of its contents.
"This smells good." I muttered.
Sadie looked up from her paper and laughed. "Stop gawking and start serving."
"Yeah, yeah." I said, reaching to grab two plates from the drying rack.
We ate in silence for the most part, more preoccupied with devouring the food before us than making fun of each other.
After our late lunch—which might as well have been dinner—Sadie and I decided to watch some T.V, something we hadn't done in quite some time.
It was an odd experience since I came from the future. I was so used to high quality, full colour films and television shows that it took me some time to get used to it. That wasn't to say coloured television didn't exist, it was just that our T.V was still black and white on account of our income. Though coloured had been introduced a couple of years ago.
It didn't make much of a difference to me anyways, I was never one for television shows—even before I ended up in the seventies—and rarely went out to watch films.
But I decided to bring it up to my sister, if only because I was bored.
"Sadie?"
"Hn." she grunted, eyes fixed on the T.V.
I called out to her again, and she turned to me.
"What?"
"Are you thinking of getting a coloured T.V soon?"
Her face immediately grew uncomfortable. "Maybe." she said, her eyes shifty. "They're really expensive nowadays, but we'll see if the price changes in the next couple of years."
"I think they will." I supplied, feeling somewhat guilty at reminding of our poverty. "With most of the channels in the UK switching over to colour, I reckon they'll make them cheaper."
"I hope so." was all she said before turning back to the TV.
With not much else to do, I decided to watch it with her. It was some kind of American cowboy flick. Not that I knew which one. It was the type of film you watched but didn't think about much afterwards.
A little while later, our watching was interrupted by a knock at the door.
I threw her a curious glance. "Are you expecting anyone?"
"No, are you?" she asked me, equally confused.
I blinked and shook my head. "Not that I can think of, no."
We stared at the door before Sadie decided to open it, much to my dismay. I took off after her, telling her that we could always just ignore it, but one look at her face told me that she was out for blood.
"If you're here to invite us to join your chur—" she began, absolutely fuming, but her rebuttal came to an abrupt end by the time she'd opened the door.
"No," an amused voice said. "I unfortunately am not here to invite you to join my faith. I do, however, have a letter that Mr. Azar would find interesting, if nothing else."
Hearing the mention of my name, I looked at the letter the stranger held in their hand disbelievingly.
Surely it wasn't what I thought it was, right?
I screwed my eyes shut before opening them again and the envelope was still there… alongside the man who held it in his gloved hand.
At its centre was a crest that seemed to be some coat of arms. It was made up of a lion, a snake, an eagle, and a badger, surrounding a fancily drawn H.
"In fact, I think he'll find it quite… magical, if I do say so myself." he chuckled, moving to enter the house before stopping abruptly. "Oh, I'm overstepping, aren't I? My apologies. May I enter?"
Both Sadie and I were too stunned to reply, but it seemed that the man had come to a decision on his own.
A decision that I had a feeling I'd be grateful for, for the rest of my life.
每周推薦票狀態
-- 推薦票
榜單 
-- 推薦票