Audrey glanced out the window and witnessed the lights of Chicago disappearing into the distance as her plane rose rapidly into the night sky. She thought about her parting words to Kelvin and wondered if, far below, he was thinking about her. She smiled at her reflection in the window, because deep down she felt certain that he was.
Audrey’s mouth still buzzed from the kiss - her first - and the whole evening seemed like some surreal dream. There WAS an atmosphere of danger with Kelvin, and yet, she was attracted to it. She admitted that she knew next to nothing about him, but even that sense of mystery made him all the more compelling. Her experience with Kelvin was a dream that she couldn’t explain and, ultimately, didn’t want to. She watched the wispy clouds drifting past the glossy wings of the plane and marveled as she literally felt higher than them.
Still, she hadn’t expected to be going back to New York so soon, and the description that Charles used – “summoned” - caused Audrey’s anxiety to rise. Meetings with her parents had always been so few and far between that she’d assumed her move to Chicago would only make them more infrequent. Yet here she was, torn from a dream and summoned home, for some unknown reason.
What could they want?
The private jet’s droning engines offered no answer and instead caused Audrey’s eyelids to become heavy. She yawned and turned away from the window, glancing around the immaculately clean and otherwise empty cabin of the aircraft. From experience, Audrey knew that there were only four people aboard the plane - pilot, co-pilot, attendant, and herself - and though she desperately wanted to share the tale of her first date with someone, there really was no one for her to share it with.
There never had been.
Inside she was a tumultuous mix of exhilaration, nervous energy, loneliness, and longing. Her eyelids offered the only relief to her predicament, so she slowly closed them to escape into her dreams.
#
The skyscrapers loomed large against the blue and white background above them. As Audrey pressed her nose to the glass of the limousine window, her eyes scanned up to see the ascending peaks of the buildings, all different in texture and color, but all similar in their gravity-defying height. She giggled in her seat as the limo slowly pulled into the parking structure of one of the tallest buildings and left the daylight behind.
“Are we there?” she asked excitedly.
“Yes, child,” replied Sheila, her middle-aged housekeeper and personal attendant.
Audrey looked wildly around the parking garage as the limo pulled up alongside a set of stainless steel elevator doors. It stopped, and the young girl could barely contain her excitement at the thought of seeing her mom and dad.
“We’re here,” Sheila proclaimed as she opened the door and held it for the child. Audrey immediately bounded out of the car and headed for the elevator, inadvertently squashing an unfortunate cricket beneath her patent leather shoe. Sheila softly closed the door of the car and headed for the girl, but Audrey stopped.
“Wait! I wanna take my book!” she exclaimed as she turned and raced back to the limo. Sheila promptly reopened the door and the little girl scooped up her “portfolio” - a collection of loose papers with pictures she had drawn - from the back seat. The child clutched it tight and slipped out of the car again.
“Now, now - it is ‘I want to take my book’,” Sheila gently corrected the girl as they walked toward the elevator doors.
“I want to take my book,” repeated Audrey softly.
The doors opened and the two of them stepped inside the elevator.
“Audrey, do you remember the numbers we worked on?” Sheila asked, “I would like to see how high you can count as the elevator rises.”
“One, two, three, four...” Audrey began as the doors shut and the floor pressed up against her feet.
“No, no - en francais,” urged Sheila.
Audrey huffed and started over. “Un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq, six, sept, huit, neuf...”
The elevator doors opened up into the lobby, and the girl’s count finished up.
“...quatre-vingt-dix-huit, quatre-vingt-dix-neuf, CENT!”
Audrey bounded out of the elevator and into the enormous lobby, then suddenly skidded to a stop. Tall glistening black walls on three sides and gleaming white floor were impressive, but they didn’t draw her attention. Instead, her eyes widened at the sight of the shiny silver fountain centered on the lobby floor. It was a like a ball of spikes extending every which way, balancing precipitously upon a single spike embedded in large, clear crystal quartz. From the tips of each spike, a small stream of water sprayed a uniformly radial pattern that seemed to encase the entire structure in a sphere of cascading liquid.
“Wow!” exclaimed Audrey.
“It is very beautiful, is it not?”
“It’s so pretty,” gaped the awestruck child.
Sheila tapped Audrey on the shoulder and then directed her around the fountain to a large onyx desk. As Audrey passed the beautiful water display, she extended her small fingers and let them pass through one of the streams. The water seemed ice cold so she quickly withdrew her hand and followed Sheila to the desk.
The woman seated behind the desk had jet-black hair pulled back into a tight bun, wide-set brown eyes, and a smile that seemed unnaturally white. When the two of them stopped in front of the desk, the woman directed her gleaming smile at Audrey, who winced and stepped into Sheila’s side, holding her portfolio even tighter. The woman dropped her smile, looked up at Sheila, then looked over to one of the gleaming black walls. Sheila nodded without a word, took Audrey by the hand, and walked the girl up to the featureless wall on their right. As their footsteps echoed over the sound of the drizzling fountain behind them, Audrey looked over her shoulder and saw the woman quietly leave her desk, heading for the opposite wall.
“Now,” the odd woman said.
The woman pressed her hand to the wall, and Audrey turned back to Sheila, who was doing the same. After a moment, there was a hiss, and the entire twenty-foot wall began to slowly rise. As it rose, Audrey saw that the floor beyond the wall was mirrored stainless steel, and it stretched across an expansive room with a single desk in front of a curved, wall-length tinted window. Beyond the tinted window was the New York skyline that she had seen when riding in the limo, only now she was looking down at the peaks of the impressive buildings.
Sheila guided the child to a small, polished stone bench in front of the desk. Audrey sat down on the cold stone and her attendant knelt in front of her.
“Wait here,” the woman said with an air of seriousness in her tone.
Audrey nodded along with Sheila, who rose and left the room. As her attendant crossed the threshold, the black wall lowered slowly from the ceiling. It reached the floor with an ominous hiss that sent shivers down the child’s spine. The tint of the wall-length window seemed to increase, and the room became quite dim. Looking around the cavernous space, Audrey felt a growing mixture of anxiety and impatience.
This is their work? she thought as her eyes drifted around the room, seeking anything that seemed remotely comforting. Seeing nothing of interest, she seemed puzzled.
What do they do here?
She began tapping her new shoes - Sheila’s gift to Audrey for her first trip to her parent’s ‘important workplace’ - against the spotless floor, and the seconds seemed like an eternity.
Wait? That’s all I ever do!
She missed her parents terribly, but she knew they were very busy people, even if she couldn’t figure out what they did. Their office offered no clues, and that was disappointing. Audrey expected that their work was so important, so fabulous, that they weren’t ever able to come home and see her. But she hadn’t expected this.
“Hello?” she said softly in the empty room, and, suddenly, a reply came from one corner of the room behind her.
“Hello, child,” soothed her mother’s voice.
“MOMMY!”
Audrey spun on the stool and searched for the sound. Out of the corner’s shadow, a tall woman in a simple silver robe and bare feet walked softly toward her. Audrey leapt from the bench and ran to her mother, spilling her portfolio on the floor in the process. She collided with her mother and wrapped her arms around the woman’s waist.
“It is a pleasure to see you again, Audrey,” said her mother, gently stroking the girl’s head.
“I missed you, mommy!” exclaimed Audrey, hugging the woman tighter.
“I missed you as well,” said a man’s voice from the other corner of the room. Audrey’s eyes widened and she looked to the sound of his voice. Her father, Elian, stepped out of the shadow and stopped to look at her. Audrey looked at her father, a tall man with shoulder-length dark blond hair mottled with a few flecks of grey. He was dressed in a form-fitting business suit, but he was also barefoot. His deep blue eyes peered at the girl, and his lips formed a thin smile.
Audrey returned the smile and wanted to run to him, but she didn’t want to release her mother in the process. Thinking quickly, she reached for the woman’s hand and looked up. Her mother’s platinum blonde hair fell in front of her beautiful face and her smile warmed Audrey, but her golden brown eyes looked down with a hint of sadness.
“C’mon!” she urged as she pulled on her mother’s hand to go to Elian. However, the woman stood firm, despite Audrey’s increasing tugging.
“Trixcia,” spoke Elian smoothly. “Release her.”
Audrey looked back at her mother, whose eyes were upon Elian, her smile gone. Audrey tugged at her mother’s unmoving hand, and Trixcia, at the girl’s insistence, began a laboriously slow pace toward Elian. Soon, she was in reach of her father, who extended his hand out to her. Audrey took it, and for a moment they were a family again.
For a moment.
Elian looked down at his hand and pulled it from hers, then retracted his strong, slender arm back to his face. He examined his fingertips in disgust and a look of confused scorn spread on his countenance. He rapidly brushed his hand against his impeccable suit.
“It’s wet!” he exclaimed as his brow furrowed at Audrey.
“What do you mean?” inquired Trixcia.
“Her hand is wet!” he barked, and his voice rang through the empty room.
Confused, Audrey looked to Trixcia, whose own gaze was steeled at Elian. Not wanting to disappoint, she tried to change the subject.
“I ... I brought you my pictures,” she offered, pointing to the scattered papers on the floor. Elian ignored her and marched up to the desk. He pressed a single button upon it.
“Retrieve the child,” he commanded. “Now!”
Audrey’s eyes began to well up. “No!” she cried. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry, Daddy!”
“Elian, it-” she heard her mother urge.
“NOW, Trixcia,” commanded Elian as he looked up from the desk, his once deep blue eyes seeming a more sinister violet.
Audrey looked to her mother; Trixcia blinked, then lowered her head in submission. She shook her hand free from Audrey’s and turned to walk to the dark corner. Audrey looked at her mother as she strode away, head bowed, then back at Elian as he returned to his secluded corner, leaving Audrey alone in the center of the room, sobbing uncontrollably.
What did I do?!
The only reply was the hiss of the black wall as it slowly rose, exposing Sheila’s form. The attendant raced into the room, gripped Audrey by the hand, and began leading her from the office.
“No! NO!” she protested, stomping her feet through her flowing tears and trying to resist.
“WHAT DID I DO?!” she cried as Sheila led her directly to the open elevator. As the doors slid closed, Audrey’s confused, watery eyes focused on the spectacular fountain - a once-amazing symbol that she now resented forever.
#
The jolt of the plane touching down shook Audrey from her painful dream, and she looked at the window. Aside from some fading green runway lights, there was nothing but oppressive darkness. Shortly, the jet taxied to a stop and Audrey rose from her seat to the door, which opened out automatically before her. A set of stairs led down to a waiting white limousine below, so she composed herself and proceeded down to the car. Another driver, one whom she did not recognize, opened the door for her, and she slid into the back seat without a word as the door closed behind her.
As the car drove lazily up the lane from the private airstrip, Audrey’s eyes traced the outline of her home – a huge, unlit structure built into the side of a mountain in the Adirondacks. It dwarfed her own residence in Chicago, and the ominous sight of it in this dark, vast wilderness contrasted wildly with her recent adventures in the bright and bustling city.
The limousine passed through an entry in the immense walls around the compound and pulled up to the steps below the front doors. The unnamed driver opened the door for her, and Audrey steeled herself as she paced up the steps quickly, with the limo pulling away quietly behind her. As she approached the door, it opened with a slight hiss, and Audrey took a deep breath before pushing it open.
As the door swung wide into the glistening foyer, the memories began to flood back into her mind. She looked around the expansive room with the ultra-modern, spartan décor. Beyond the foyer, a double staircase extended down to her parent’s chambers. Audrey slipped off her shoes and immediately felt the sting of the cold marble floor. She curled her toes together and looked up at the copper stalactite-shaped chandelier, and her eyes fixed on the bulbous, dark dome behind it. It stood out against the copper ceiling in color and form, and Audrey didn’t remember it being there before she left.
A new camera? she wondered.
“Miss Ambrose?” said a woman’s familiar voice.
Audrey turned and saw her faithful attendant, Sheila, walking toward her from the hallway leading to the dining room and galley. Even though she’d only been away from her home for a short time, Sheila looked a little older to Audrey, her dark hair pulled back into a bun with a few streaks of grey breaking through. However, the woman’s smile was as warm as Audrey always remembered. Sheila’s outfit - a black smock with white stockings and no shoes - reminded Audrey of the times when they’d played together on this cold, harsh floor. Hanging from Sheila’s arm was an identical smock and stockings, and Audrey rolled her eyes, knowing that she would have to don the same to see her parents.
“Hello, Sheila, I’ve missed you. How have you been?”
“And I you, Miss Ambrose,” said the smiling woman with the serious eyes. “I have been busy... Your parents insist that I clean up this mess.”
Sheila motioned to the polished and dust-free floors, and Audrey smiled at the ridiculousness of her parent’s request. However, she knew from experience that her father was extremely fastidious, so such a request was commonplace in her home. At least Sheila was accustomed to the task after all of these years, so Audrey just shrugged and mouthed, ‘Sorry.’ Sheila’s eyes wrinkled and her smile widened, then she motioned toward the dining room, and Audrey dutifully followed.
“So, how is college?”
“Well, it is really not a challenge at all, though I expect it will become so,” Audrey explained as she walked with her attendant through the vast dining room and into a wide and dimly lit corridor that stretched on for some thirty yards. She examined the familiar, unchanged surroundings and wondered aloud.
“Sheila, do you know why I am here?”
“No,” replied the woman without looking at her. “Why?”
“Oh, nothing,” replied Audrey. “It’s just that I’ve only been gone about two weeks. Did something happen?”
“Nothing that I know of,” said Sheila as they stopped outside of a changing room. “They probably just miss you, dear.” Sheila pressed her hand to the wall and the door of the changing room slid open.
“Are you ready?” asked Sheila as she presented the garment to Audrey, who gently took the clothes from her attendant.
“Sure,” she replied, walking into the small, sterile room to change into the generic outfit, as the door closed behind her.