C6 Dark Globes

So many questions. There were so many unanswered questions always replaying on my mind and it was driving me near crazy that I couldn't even figure a single one out.

Everywhere was silent as always except for the constant tapping of Cole's fingers on the wheel and the curious glances he kept sending my way. But he didn't utter a word; his eyes were fixed on the road although subtly glancing my way now and then. On some days, we nattered to the castle and on the other days when neither of us was in the mood to talk, mere greetings were the maximum words exchanged. This had become our normal routine on the days I worked.

Rubbing my sweaty hands on my trousers, I stared ahead through the windscreen into the busy road as our car slowly came to a stop. The cars before us were also unmoving and I lost track of the minutes or hours our car had stood stationary there. The incessant loud and angry blaring of horns prompt me to roll down my window and slid my head out. I craned my neck to have a peep at the cause of the traffic.

Great, just great

A driver thought it wise to reverse a trailer on a one-way road. Even a person with little or no knowledge of driving would see it was wrong to reverse a tortoise car on a one-way road not to mention a trailer. It was a wonder how such drivers were issued a driver's licence.

Wearing my seatbelt again, I rested my head on the headrest and closed my eyes. Slowly, my mind drifted back to Madam Rose, the castle, Cole, Bernard and Brainard. Although Cole and Bernard seemed to have nothing up their sleeves, I couldn't say the same for Madam Rose and Brainard.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

I didn't say a word. I was racking my brain so hard to figure things out; in particular, what Dave seemed to have against Madam Rose and her family. Even though he stopped saying anything about the issue, a look of disapproval was still always on his face on the rare occasions he witnessed me leaving for work.

There might be some sense in the nonsense Dave had spewed after all and I also couldn't help but agree that the whole situation was a little questionable. For days now, Madam Rose and the castle had been on my mind. Her instructions were her last spoken words to me. I tried calling her for days just to ask some questions about the castle but couldn't get through; my calls always went to voicemail. Days later, she sent an email instructing me to only contact her through emails and nothing else. The questions I wanted to ask her were long disappeared.

My suspicions grew every day, with every passing minute spent in and out of the castle; the uneasiness included. I could be in danger and therefore should quit working there or I could just ignore all the eerie feelings and concentrate on my job and salary. And I chose the latter. That didn't in no way stop the weird feelings and suspicions but no matter how hard I tried to deduct something out, I was always left blank. No theories, no findings, nothing.

I thought carrying out investigations and capturing the criminal was just as simple as I had watched in films but I had never been more wrong. It was always easier strategising in the head than actually putting them into action. Weeks had passed and I still couldn't get a simple fact about Madam Rose and the creepy castle. However, I did conclude that the castle was haunted. Not that I had had an encounter with any ghosts but maybe they were just taking their lovely time having fun with me.

"Have you begun planning for our wedding?" His voice brought me out of my reverie. I glanced at him confused at first. "I know you're eager to get together with me but don't you think it's a little bit too early to begin planning?" He finished not tearing his gaze away from the road. His registered smile on his lips.

Then it dawned on me; he was taunting me and I knew it. "And have I informed you that I want a small wedding? I wouldn't want the whole world to know of our matrimonial union". A menacing look was all he got from me and that was all it took to shut his trap. He was barely at fault though. It should have been my lovely neighbour — Mrs Shina at the receiving end of my fury.

It was going to be the perfect sunny afternoon. The usual busy city noise was undoubtedly heard, the breeze was blowing softly and I was my usual naughty self until she decided to grace me with her presence the moment the BMW appeared in front of my flat. Not surprising, she had been seeing Cole pick me up and drop me off almost every day and she all but thought my faithful chauffeur was my fiance so she came to render her congratulations to us when he came to pick me up. She thereafter, went into the pre-wedding frantic mode, planning my never existing wedding whilst I, on the other hand, who was the supposed bride to be just watched her performance calmly and with absolute disinterest. Poor Mr Shina had to come to drag her away. Knowing the chatterbox Mrs Shina loved me enough to plan my wedding was a pleasant discovery. Being her usual self, she would probably be waiting for me at my doorstep when I get home because well, Owanbes have always been her speciality and she would be delighted to plan mine. She had always lived up to her reputation and had never been the one to disappoint.

Cole, however, who was also a victim like me watched the whole scene with an unwavering amusement which successfully irked me to no end.

The rest of the ride was filled with a comfortable silence. Cole seemed to have snapped out of his silly mood and into deep thoughts. He had been a tad distracted lately; always doing things absentmindedly or spacing out. I had endeavoured on many occasions to get him to open up to me but he always dismissed the matter with a careless word or two. His brows furrowed further and he mumbled some incoherent words and I could greatly ascertain that he was bothered with whatever was on his mind but there was only much I could do at that point as I was still occupied with my ludicrous investigation methods. Not as much as a word was needed to be exchanged between the two of us for the rest of the drive as we both appeared to have some lingering yet disturbing thoughts on our minds.

"Ah. Good day to you Brainard," I smiled at the stoic statue standing by the metal bars. "You look mouth-watering as always". A quirk at the corner of his mouth was the reward I got for complimenting him and it was worth more than a sack full of pounds. I grinned; my cheeks almost aching from being overstretched. I was almost sure he was not human but rather, carved out of stone. Bernard was the human version of him; my first meeting with him proved it. But the response I got that morning rendered my theory partially useless.

Still grinning, I turned around and trudged towards the huge building and slowly opened the doors of the castle as if it belonged to me.

Well, it might as well belongs to me. I've only been the human inside minus the ghosts.

Once I was in the parlour, I dropped my bag on one of the leather couches. Narrowing my eyes, I glanced around and noticed the castle was in its usual shape - eerie, clean and silent. The eerie and silent ambience fastly became something I was getting used to. I swiped my index finger across the arm of the couch and gently rubbed my thumb against it before bringing the digits closer to my face to inspect them. Not a speck of dust was found.

"Yep. Clean again". I did the same to the centre table, kitchen counter and island and other objects I could lay my fingers on. I slowly turned in a circle, eyes scanning the whole place again.

"All clean".

Thank you ghost cleaners

I always had nothing to clean in the castle. It was always as if a cleaning spree took place the previous days. And the room I found unlocked on my first day was locked on my second day.

Strange right?

I never had any reason to use any of the cleaning products and tools Brainard showed me on my first day either. The products were always lessening and the tools were always cleaned even though I had never made any use of them. It was just a castle full of mysteries which I had planned to solve come what may.

Sighing in satisfaction, I headed straight to the fridge and opened it rather roughly. The fridge was unwontedly stuffed with different kinds of mouth-watering delicacies. It was strange. Really strange. The fridge had always been empty since I started working there and it was only normal for me to be curious about the new yet quite shocking change. Was Gabby boy finally returning home or was there a party I know not of? And who made all these foods? Surely, it was not Brainard. Was it the ghost chefs? Was there going to be a ghost party at midnight? Was one of the ghosts getting married? Was one turning a kiloyear old? Or maybe it was a wedding anniversary? Or were they finally celebrating the opening of having fun with me? Many ridiculous questions ran through my mind as I took my wonderful time deciding what to eat.

At last, I went for chicken pepper soup and a bottle of chilled coke. What if the food contained some ingredients and seasonings not healthy for a human? Would I die? But I loved food too much not to take the risk and the food looked tantalising so well, it was going to be worth it.

I was bored. I had eaten the not-so-healthy food and minutes already passed but I was still breathing which meant only one thing — foods prepared by ghost chefs were harmless to us humans. I took a peaceful nap for about an hour and watched a two-hour film on Gabby boy's TV but I still had an hour to go. I thought of what to do with the remaining time but didn't find anything worth doing. I blankly stared at the ceiling for a few moments and something small and round like a little globe that was glued to the wall caught my attention. Another one was at the corner of the parlour; not just one more but three more at the corners of the parlour. I surveyed the whole area and found a single one in the dining room and two more in the kitchen. Were they just normal light globes or something else?

Oh well, this castle can't get any weirder

There was nothing to occupy my time with and felt I was going to collapse from boredom. I stared lazily at my phone for a moment until finally, I got the perfect thing to do. I strode out of the castle towards the gate with my bag in my hands and a devious smile plastered on my face. I spotted my victim at his usual station — arms folded across his chest, legs apart and a look that could make a thousand soldiers pee on themselves etched on his face.

"Brainard!" He ignored me and focused on the object that seemed to have been far more important than my short self and had caught his attention—the forest trees.

"Hey! I'm down here". He looked down and regarded me with a look that made a fly worth more than my whole existence.

"Now that I have your undivided attention, there's something important I would like to discuss with you".

No response

I'll take that as permission to speak

"Are you aware of the fact that this castle is haunted?" Brainard gave me a look that made it clear that what I had just uttered made no sense whatsoever which made me question my sanity. But I was sure of what I was saying or at least I thought I was.

"I have always suspected there was paranormal stuff going on in the castle because you know, it's always sparkling and I never had a thing to do". His poker face stared back at me. I shrugged and continued with my rant.

"So I concluded that this castle is haunted and I'm sure you would agree with me. And did you know the ghosts can cook? I just finished a bowl of chicken pepper soup and it was heavenly". Brainard looked at me like I had not uttered a single sensible word. Why couldn't he just try to engage in the conversation?

"And I just discovered some magical globes stuck in the ceiling of the parlour, dining room and kitchen. Isn't that just great?" I sighed in awe

Brainard looked at me for a while before lastly deciding I had made enough fool of myself. "Those little globes, I presume, are cameras and they are everywhere on this property".

Wait......

Hold on a second........

What?!

My mouth hung open. "You mean cameras? Real cameras?! Like the ones I see in films?!" He gave me his famous belittling look.

"I believe that was my exact word".

I had done some disgusting things and I was being watched all along? What kind of a creep would sit behind cameras and watch a lady sleep and drool and even fart? I was even being watched the day I did my crazy dance with lots of twerking?!

What is wrong with these people?!

I craned my neck to see the exact type of globes glued to the walls of the fence. "Do you perhaps know who sits behind the cameras? You know the person who operates them?"

"I believe they are controlled by a certain agency in the heart of the city".

"What agency?"

He glanced down at me, probably contemplating whether to throw me over the gate or into the forest. Neither sounded comforting. "It is your closing time miss. You might as well want to start heading home"

Sheeesh, what a polite way to say 'fuck off'

I checked my watch and saw it was 6 pm on dot.

"Enjoy the rest of your evening. And this conversation isn't over yet". I got out and went straight to the car parked just before the gate.

~~~

Cole parked the car and I slowly got out. I was tired even though I didn't do anything except eat, take a nap and watched a film. Oh, I also had a wonderful talk with Brainard who only managed to confuse me more. Everything I did today was energy draining most especially the talk with Brainard. Did the ghosts know about the cameras? or maybe there were no ghosts at all?

A figure stood in my verandah, hunched over the small barricades. I immediately recognised who it was and slowly approached the unwanted visitor, trying my hardest to be nice.

"Mrs Shina. How delightful to see you. To what do I owe this pleasure?".

The happy glint in her eyes could light a thousand fireworks.

"He even came with you. How wonderful!" She held my hand and pulled me to the door.

"I have important matters that must be discussed with the two of you immediately. Quick, open the door".

I did as I was told

I entered with Mrs Shina and Cole following behind. Mrs Shina hastily sat down and began speaking the moment I took a seat. "Concerning the wedding, I have the best....."

"What gave you the impression that we were getting married?" I interrupted and before she could say any more words, I stood up and headed to my room leaving Cole to handle her since he enjoyed her company in the morning. Before I could make it out of the parlour, I caught sight of Dave and Esther entering and upon seeing our guests, they exchanged a confused look before sending it my way. Ah, they missed her wonderful performance in the afternoon.

They're going to wish they were around to witness it when I fill them in later on.

I shrugged and continued to my room. I had better things to worry about. Another discovery was made today and it was not a pleasant one. I sighed. I had successfully embarrassed myself before whoever was behind the cameras.

I just hope it's not Gabby boy