EXCERPT FOUR: “Dragons in the Doorway”
by: T. Wallace-Pregent
On the day Misty Wells and her brother Shasta came to Draper House, the rain pelted the earth in protest and forks of lightning spread like vines over the sky. Shasta held his little sister’s hand tightly as their father and mother drove up to the high iron gate barring the way to his great-grandmother’s dilapidated old century-home, which was really only a little less than a mansion. They had never seen their grandmother’s mother before, but knew how the rest of the family viewed her – a crazed old woman with strange ideas and odd behaviors.
“Did you know she talks to plants?” Misty had told her brother in horror after they had found out that they would have to spend their summer, their whole summer at Draper House.
“That’s nothing,” said Shasta in a strained voice. “I remember Uncle Albert saying that she had once been caught dancing under the moon at midnight in her nightgown – fancy that! And when the neighbors asked her what she had been doing, she told them that she was calling for the wind to come.”
At this point, their mother had spoken sharply to both children, telling them that their grandmother was a sweet old lady, and that they were not to speak any ill of her. All the same, Shasta had felt sure that their mother did not look very pleased having to leave them at Draper House. In fact, he had overheard her saying as much to his Aunt Martha on the phone earlier that day:
“Martha, if only there was someone other than Gran to look after the children. You know how she is…She’s a dear old thing, but I’m afraid she’ll be filling their heads with those strange ideas of hers…”
That was the day that they had found out that Dad was taking Mom on his business trip to Hong Kong. He had promised her a vacation, but with his computer business now booming after months of stagnation, this was the best he could do. The only problem was, since this was primarily a business trip, the children would have to stay behind. Worst of all, they would have to stay with this great-grandmother they had never seen, who lived very far away from home.
That was only two weeks ago, and now they were here at Draper House, in a bone-chilling rainstorm, looking as though the world were about to end. Shasta glanced over at his sister, and saw a look of grim determination on her face. He was relieved. Being the eldest by four years, Shasta had always felt a need to protect his younger sister, who he felt was a little too sensitive and emotional about things. Shasta gave Misty’s hand an encouraging squeeze and she flashed him a grateful smile.
Their father had to jump out in the blinding rain to unfasten the gate. They could barely see his outline in the wall of water that was pouring down around him. Once safely back in the car, dripping with water, he drove the car up the narrow, twisted laneway that led to Draper House. A grim silence had fallen over all of them, and nobody felt like breaking it. They knew the moment of parting had come. Shasta felt a knot in his stomach tighten as their father opened their car door.
