The Encounter
as soon as I could.
— Don't worry— she replied—. It doesn't matter.
— We still have quite a way before we reach Estella— the driver continued—. Let's see if we can get there quick, it's almost midnight.
Luna just nodded her head while she looked out the window. The man understood that she didn't want to talk and put the radio on as he sped through the city. As the buildings flashed past before her eyes she felt the same doubts over and over again. She felt insecure, lost, scared... And also angry. It wasn't fair how her aunt was treating her, making her believe that she had been looking forward to her visit and then behaving as she was.
The taxi left the city behind and began to travel down a road surrounded by low mountains and deep dark forests. Luna tried to forget her bad mood by focusing on the landscape but, despite there being a beautiful full moon shining in the sky, its light and that of the streetlights lining the road were not enough for her to see anything at all. Plus, her excitement with regards to the trip and getting to see that new land had completely disappeared. The road appeared to be surrounded by threatening shadows, with the cars headlights seeming to intrude into the depths of the forest, letting her see fleeting hidden figures... She closed her eyes for a moment, hoping to open them again to find that everything had been all a strange dream. She would have liked to have woken up in the tranquility of her bedroom in Madrid, instead of heading to an unknown place where a woman, who now seemed distant and threatening, was waiting for her.
They approached a group of low hills and, as they passed through them, bright lights of a small city appeared out of nowhere. Luna leaned forward to speak to the driver:
— What city is that?— she asked him, pointing.
— That's Estella, we're nearly there now— he answered, trying to raise his voice over the volume of the music.
— It seemed like it wasn't there a second ago— Luna said, feeling puzzled.
— Yeah, it's as the saying goes...— the taxi driver turned around to smile at her as he spoke—. “Estella cannot be seen, until the hills you pass between”. Your aunt lives on the outskirts, we will be there in five minutes.
Luna sat back in her seat, contemplating the place where she was going to spend the next three months. The city was calm, almost dormant. Despite there being tall buildings, like in every city, the facades of old houses could be seen on every corner, the golden light of streetlights reflected in the water of an old fountain, a small bridge of white stone shining in the background... It was so different from Madrid, so quiet and timeless...
The driver left the city behind them and, a few minutes later, crossed a small bridge. The road became dark once more. All that could be seen were the dark and elongated contours of the pine trees surrounding them and, in the distance, the silhouette of a building in ruins, probably an old church. When they passed this, the driver turned into a narrow path. Holding on to the passenger seat to avoid being rattled about, Luna leaned towards the driver:
— Is there still far to go?
— No, we're almost there— he replied, shaking his head—. Your aunt lives just a bit further up, just past the Park of the Restless Souls.
— And what's that?— she asked.
— It's a type of outdoor exhibition. With giant sculptures of skeletons and skulls— he explained—. You should go to visit it, but during the daytime.
Luna sat back in her seat again, asking if the man was trying to pull her leg and really hoping that was the case. What kind of people lived in that village? She couldn't imagine a worse place to live, surrounded by that gloomy forest and with a skull exhibition right next to them.
A bit further on, Luna spotted a wide open high wrought-iron gate. The taxi drove through it, entering a gravel road surrounded by high trees. A house was visible at the end of the road. There were no streetlights along the road, so she could not make at many details, just the silhouette of the house outlined against a vast forest. The house seemed too tall for its width, giving it an odd look of a fairy tale tower. There appeared to be a lot of windows, like eyes looking out into the darkness, but no light could be seen in any of them.
The taxi pulled to a stop and the driver got out and took the luggage from the trunk, placing it on the entrance stairs. Luna climbed out of the car slowly, taking a look around her, while she asked herself why her aunt hadn't come to welcome her upon hearing the car pull up.
— Well, if you don't need anything else, I'll be on my way— the driver said to her.
—Don't you have to wait for my aunt to come out?— she asked him, not really wanting to be left alone.
— No, she paid me upfront for this job. But it does seem strange that she hasn't come out to welcome you— the man picked the suitcases back up and took them up to the front door.
Luna followed him, standing next to him to see what he would do next. The man raised the wrought iron knocker in the middle of the door and knocked a few times. The noise sounded deafening in the silence of the forest, scaring a flock of birds that emerged from the nearby trees. The door opened when he knocked. The driver, followed by Luna, walked into the house. An empty hall stretched out in front of them, where they could see a staircase that led to the upper floors of the house. Two doors loomed at the end of the entrance hall and they could see a weak light coming from the bottom of one of the doors.
— Emma? — the taxi driver called out. He didn't get a reply, only the echo's that could be heard in the old house—. Well, it looks like she's not here. She must have had gone to work.
— Work? At this time of night?— Luna asked.
— Yeah, maybe someone fell ill and she had to do a home visit.
— I didn't know my aunt was a doctor— Luna confessed. Seeing the drivers puzzled face, she explained—. It's the first time that I have come to visit her. I haven't seen her for years.
— Well, she's not exactly a doctor, but she will explain all of that to you. She most probably won't be long so, if you don't mind, it's time that I get going unless I want my wife to make me sleep on the street tonight. You'll be ok, right?
Luna nodded despite the fact that she really did not like the idea of being left alone in that strange and dark house. Thankfully, the driver seemed to read her mind as he looked for a light switch to turn on the lights. The soft light from the lamp making the shadows disappear from the corners, helping her to feel a little bit calmer.
The man left the house and got back into the car. Luna followed him to say goodbye and she stood still by the car window. The driver rode down the window and handed her a business card.
— Here, here's my phone number, in case you need me to take you anywhere— he said while he looked at her with a worried expression on his face, as if he felt pity at leaving her there.
The car drove away and Luna remained still in the driveway, holding onto the card as if it were a lifeline. The man put his hand out of the window before the car crossed the iron gate and waved a goodbye. Luna didn't answer. She remained still asking herself if she should pick up her phone and call him immediately to come and take her away from that place.
When the noise of the engine disappeared, the environment became even more overwhelming. She couldn't hear any cars, or voices of nearby people, nor the muffled sounds of televisions. Those were the noises in her city, the noises to which she had become accustomed to since she was a child, but that seemed to have been banished from that place in the middle of a forest where the only thing that could be heard was the whistle of the wind through the trees, the clattering of branches...
She went back inside the house and opened her backpack to get her mobile. She would feel better if she had it with her and, if everything kept feeling so odd, she would call the taxi driver, who couldn't be that far away and she would ask him to come back and pick her up. When she looked at the phone's screen, she felt her entire world crash down to her feet. She couldn't not have any signal, it was impossible. Right then she understood why sh
e had never been able to call her aunt on the phone. There was no phone signal in such an inhospitable place and it was also very likely that the phone line didn't reach the house.
She pulled the door ajar again, shutting out the darkness and silence of the forest. She decided to leave her suitcases where they were and slowly walked towards the room where the soft light was coming from. It appeared to be a small living room which was also empty. On the far wall, a fireplace softly lit up the room, revealing bookshelves full of books, two outdated and overstuffed chairs and a small table and chair in a corner. She felt along the wall until she found the light switch and walked towards the table. Somebody had left dinner there for one: salad, milk, a plate of biscuits... And on the corner of the table she found a letter folded in two. She picked it up, hoping to find some kind of explanation of what was happening. Small and spiky handwriting, which she recognized from the birthday cards which her aunt usually sent her, filled the paper:
I am so sorry not having been there to welcome you, Luna. I didn't realize that I was busy tonight until you had already left Madrid. I have left you something for dinner, I hope you like it.
Your bedroom is on the first floor, the second door to the left. You don't have to wait up for me. Tomorrow I will show you around the house and compensate you for