“This place gives me the creeps,” I said, standing outside what I assumed was a haunted house. I shivered.
The three of us were shoulder to shoulder, with me in the middle.
“How can you say that?” Topher replied. “Isn’t it the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen?”
I looked at him. His blue eyes were filled with wonder and awe. Are we seeing the same thing?
The gray house was old and weathered. It loomed above us, stretching up toward the darkening sky. The face of the house was covered with dark windows in a variety of shapes. There was an archway above the wide, wooden porch. Even though it had a quaint miniature roof above, the entrance to the house still seemed evil—like a hungry mouth, ready to swallow us alive.
I glanced up to the rounded tower shooting up from the roof. I wondered if some poor girl was being held hostage up there, praying for us to storm the house and rescue her.
“I agree with the whole beauty is in the eye of the beholder thing, but this place looks haunted,” I told them. “It’s straight out of a horror film—like a serial killer lives here.”
“It’s a historical landmark. It’s Victorian,” he explained. “They call it a Queen Anne.”
I folded my arms across my chest. “I call it an eyesore,” I replied.
I stared at the house again. Decay had set in long ago and the place looked on the verge of collapse. The landscape was dead, adding to the macabre ambience. It was obvious the place had been abandoned years ago.
“You have to remember,” Tasha said to Topher, “Destiny hasn’t been inside yet. This is her first time here.”
“Oh yeah,” Topher said. “I forgot.”
“What do you mean?” I asked her.
“Wonderland’s not the same for you yet,” she said. “To the outsider’s eye, this place looks…a certain way.”
“Yeah,” I said. “It looks like it should be condemned.”
“But to us,” she said, “it looks like the most beautiful place we’ve ever seen.”
I gave her a look of disbelief. I may have even rolled my eyes. “What are you talking about?” I asked. “Are you hearing what you’re saying to me? Because it doesn’t make any sense.”
“I know how it sounds,” Tasha agreed. “But it’s true, Destiny.”
It’d been a long day, a long two weeks. All I wanted to do was slip into a hot bath, crawl into my new bed, and bring my first day in Avalon Cove to a finish. Agitation slipped into my voice. My words were coated with my growing frustration. “What you’re telling me isn’t possible,” I said.
“Yes, it is,” Topher said, “because we believe.”
“Believe whatever you want. I don’t get it,” I answered.
“You will,” Tasha assured me.
I turned my back to the house and faced the quiet street. The air felt suspended, motionless, like we were trapped inside a photograph.
Like we were the only people alive.
“The first time we came here, we saw it the same way you do,” Topher said. “It probably looks old and scary.”
“Um…because it is.”
He smiled at me and said, “But once you go inside—”
Tasha jumped in. “Once you cross over the threshold—”
“Nothing will be the same for you again,” he said. “I promise you, Destiny. You won’t regret it.”
“Whatever you two smoked or inhaled…I don’t want any. Okay?”
“You think we’re crazy?” Tasha asked with a grin.
“No, I think you’re high. Or someone has brainwashed the two of you,” I said. “I’m not interested in joining some crazy cult, so I think I should go now. I’m outta here.”
Tasha’s words touched the back of my neck. “He wants to meet you,” she said.
“Who does?” I asked with an irritated shrug.
“Dominic,” she continued. “Adrianna told us so. He’s inside.”
“He’s been waiting for you,” Topher added. “We all have.”
I spun back around and faced them. Enough was enough. Clearly, it was Pick on the New Girl Day and I was in no mood to be anyone’s punch line. “Listen, don’t take this the wrong way because you both seem like cool people, but if you think I’m going inside, you’re both out of your minds. I’m sorry you brought me all this way. I’m tired and I’m worn out. I’m hungry and I need sleep. Now, either take me home or point me in the right direction,” I said. “It’s getting dark and I want to go home now.” They both stared at me blankly.
“We’ll take you home, Destiny,” Tasha said. “But will you go inside with us first?”
“Just once,” Topher urged.
“We promise that nothing bad will happen to you,” she said. “You’ll be safe.”
“You’ll be happy you did, once you go through with it,” he added.
“Fine!” I said, exasperated. “I’ll do it. But both of you are coming inside with me.”
“Deal,” Tasha agreed. She stepped forward and pushed open the wrought-iron gate. It creaked like it hadn’t been touched in decades—maybe even a century.
As we started moving across the cracked cement walkway leading us to the house, Tasha and Topher each slipped an arm through mine. They were either offering me some comfort and encouragement, or ensuring I wouldn’t be able to escape. We moved in unison—a single unit, creeping closer to the nightmarish house.
We climbed the wooden front steps to the dilapidated porch. I feared the wood would split beneath our feet and the house would devour us whole. The shredded screen door was hanging from one hinge. I wondered if someone had broken it fleeing for their life. I could tell the wooden front door had once been beautiful, but now it was splintered and marred. To the left of the door was a faded ceramic placard with the word “Wonderland” hand-painted on it, in flowery and inviting script. The first “o” in the word was missing and had been replaced with a heart, scrawled in either red ink or lipstick. I stared at the word and heard myself say aloud, “This is Wonderland?”
“It is,” Topher said. His soft words tickled my ear. “You’ll see.”
Tasha reached out and pressed the tarnished brass doorbell. It gonged and chimed, deep and sad. “Are you ready?” she asked me.
I nodded. “I really don’t have a choice,” I said.
There was a clicking sound and the front door slowly opened. I had no idea who—or what—was on the other side. My heart beat quickened with anticipation. I licked my lips and swallowed the lump of fear in my throat.
“Here we go,” Tasha said. I could hear the smile in her voice.
We crossed the threshold, stepping into the house. We disappeared into a sea of pitch-black darkness.
I heard the door click closed behind us.
I held my hand up in front of my face. Nothing.
I knew I sounded scared. “I can’t see anything,” I said. My voice reverberated around us.
Are we in a tunnel? What’s happening to me?
“It takes a second,” Tasha assured me.
I reached for her hand and squeezed it.
“We’re making the transition,” Topher explained. “You might feel a little strange.”
Just as he said it, I felt a blast of warm air in my face. It smelled fragrant, like flowers. White carnations. I could taste them on my lips.
I closed my eyes. A rush of adrenaline surged through me. It was like neon stars were sparkling beneath my skin. I trembled from a particularly intense crest of euphoria. Even though I could feel solid ground beneath my feet, I had the sensation I was falling—or spinning. Maybe I was doing both.
Is the floor moving?
My emotions began intensifying. It was as if layers of joy were wrapping around my soul. It was a beautiful sensation. The sweetness made me think of walking outside our Chicago apartment on the first day of spring, when the snow had melted and the city was reemerging, having survived another winter. I could almost feel the warm sun on my skin. I inhaled deeply, intoxicated by the fresh blossoms that must be floating in the ink-black air around me.
The wave of happiness reminded me of being a child again and falling asleep in the backseat of my parents’ car. I could hear them whispering in the front, their words still full of love for one another. I knew once we got home and pulled into our driveway, my father would scoop me up in his arms and carry me upstairs to my bedroom.
Maybe it was Christmas Eve. In the morning, we would be together again. The three of us. Before my brother was born. Before the divorce. The sickness. The funeral.
The world seemed so simple then.
All of the sadness I felt for my mother’s death disappeared, washed away. I was now engulfed with an overwhelming sense that everything was going to be all right, that life was normal again.
I tightened my grip on Tasha’s hand, certain she would cry out in pain at any second.
Her voice cut through the dark. “We’re almost there,” she promised.
I heard music then. It was soft at first, like a faraway lullaby, and it grew closer. It was tiptoeing toward me from all directions. For a second, I felt like I’d crawled inside a music box. I was pirouetting in ballet slippers and a pink tutu in my mind, moving in circles with my mother’s grace.
The haunting piano vibrated inside me, stirring a bitter sweetness. The music calmed and exhilarated me at the same time. I felt invincible and nostalgic. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to dance or cry.
I recognized the music at once. My mother used to dance to it in our living room. With my eyes shut tight, I could see the moment, only the colors were more vibrant. The textures of the memory begged to be touched: her soft rose-colored skirt, her smooth hands, the shiny wooden floors. I was much younger. It was before my mother had opened the dance studio on Belmont Avenue. It was before the cancer.
It was Beethoven.
The music made me smile. I allowed myself to linger in the memory, reaching out for my mother’s hand, wanting to touch her, to feel my fingertips against her palm. I knew she wasn’t there, but the moment felt so real.
She pulled away from me and continued to dance. I watched her feet, gliding across the floor of our living room. We were in the house on Armitage Avenue. My father hadn’t lost his job yet. My mother still had light in her eyes.
A stranger’s voice entered the memory, my thoughts. It came to me from the center of the darkness.
“Do you recognize the music?” a woman asked me, her voice soft and warm. It was inviting. I felt safe and secure. The gentleness in her tone made me feel loved. There was something very familiar about her voice, but I couldn’t place it.
“Yes,” I answered. “I do.”
The woman and I spoke in unison, saying Moonlight Sonata at the same time.
My muscles had relaxed. Any tension I’d been carrying in my body was gone. I felt light-headed, but not dizzy.
“You may open your eyes now, Destiny,” she said.
I blinked and stared in awe.
Where am I?
I was standing in the foyer of a beautiful home, surrounded by an array of expensive-looking antiques. In front of me was a wooden staircase leading up to a second floor. My eyes focused in on the banister. It looked hand carved, with giant stars and loopy swirls etched into it.
I looked from one side to the other. No sign of Tasha or Topher. Just pools of golden sunlight pouring in from every window, washing the shiny wooden floors in a bath of pure, warm rays.
I turned around in a slow circle, trying to take it all in: a sparkling chandelier above me; vases of beautiful flowers sitting on every flat surface; gorgeous cherry and mahogany furniture and plush wingback chairs; stunning paintings in gilt frames hanging from the walls; a grandfather clock chiming behind me; a grand piano in the far corner of the front room, begging to be played.
It was picture perfect, inviting and comfortable. Already, I never wanted to leave.
Had I somehow stepped back into time? It certainly seemed that way. From where I stood by the staircase, surrounded by open doorways on every side, I had a strong sense of the past. Had I somehow tripped back into a yesteryear? Was that even possible?
I heard a scratching sound repeating over and over. Something was stuck and needed my help. The music was being played on an old phonograph, situated on a wooden stand not far from the grandfather clock next to me in the foyer. I reached down, lifted the heavy brass arm, and moved the needle away from the spinning vinyl. I tried to turn the machine off, but there was no button or plug.
How does this thing work?
“You have to wind it up to make it play,” the woman’s voice said.
I looked up and saw her standing about twenty feet away from me, in the doorway of a room walled with books. My breath stopped. She looked like an angel, dressed in a loose-fitting tunic made of white material that sparkled lightly when she moved. Her hair was platinum and pulled up off her neck. Large curls hung around her face. Just as I’d thought, she was much older than me. I couldn’t be certain of her age.
“You look like a goddess,” I heard myself say.
She smiled at me and laughed a little. “You’re a sweet girl,” she said, “but I’m no goddess.”
“You’re not?” I said, hoping my shaky smile didn’t reveal how nervous I felt. Her presence was powerful and commanding, yet not intimidating. I had the impression I was talking to someone very important. “Are you sure?”
“I’m Adrianna,” she said. “Adrianna Marveaux.” She reached out a hand in my direction. “Welcome to Wonderland.”
I stepped toward her and accepted her hand in mine. Her skin felt like silk. She squeezed my palm and fingers, looked into my eyes, and said, “Destiny, I’ve waited for this moment for a very long time.”
For some reason, I started to blush. “Thank you, Mrs. Marveaux.”
She touched my cheek. I winced a little from the physical contact. “You may call me Adrianna.” Her voice was smooth and gentle. I wondered how many men had fallen in love with her just from the first word she spoke to them.
“All right,” I said with a slight nod. “It’s very nice to meet you, Adrianna. I’m Destiny Moore. From Chicago.”
She smiled and laughed again. It was a sweet sound, like yellow ribbons of happiness were streaming out of her mouth. “I know,” she said. “I know everything about you.”
“Have we met before?” I asked.
She was holding both of my hands. We stood face-to-face. I was slightly taller. “Almost,” she answered. “Once. But fate intervened.”
“Is that why I’m here now?” I asked. “To meet you?”
She shrugged a little. “Among other reasons.”
“Then can you tell me where I am exactly?”
There were a few tiny lines around her green eyes. They were the only indication of her age. She wore a lot of makeup—heavy blush, glittery eye shadow, fake eyelashes, and red lipstick. Yet she didn’t look cheap or cartoonish. She exuded sophistication and allure. I still felt like I knew her. She seemed so familiar. I wanted to ask if she’d been in a movie or maybe on TV.
“Don’t you know where you are?” she asked me.
I shook my head. “All Tasha and Topher would tell me is that they wanted me to see this place before I went home,” I said. “I mean, to where my two uncles live.”
“But you were really tired and worn out from your trip. You didn’t want to come,” she reminded me.
“Yes,” I agreed. “It’s true. I still don’t know where I am.”
“You know this is a place called Wonderland.”
“Um…yeah…I saw the sign out front.”
“And Tasha and Topher—they told you about this.”
“Yes, but what is it?” I lifted up on my toes to peer over her shoulder, into the room behind her. “Just a big, beautiful, old house?”
“That and so much more,” she said. “I own this place. I have for many years.”
“It’s very lovely.”
She put a hand on her hip and gave me a playful look. “I seem to recall you didn’t care much for the outside.”
I felt embarrassed. Had she heard the awful things I’d said about the house? “No offense,” I said, “but from the curb, this place looks spooky.”
“In due time, it will grow on you. It might seem different to you on your second visit.”
She stepped away from me. I could smell her intoxicating perfume floating behind her as she moved deeper into the high-ceilinged room. Immediately, I followed. I glanced up and felt a little dizzy, overwhelmed by the grandness of the library. I’d never seen so many books in one house.
Adrianna glided down into a chaise cushioned with deep red fabric. She reclined on her side like Cleopatra waiting for manservants to peel her some grapes.
“Will I be coming back here again?” I asked.
Adrianna motioned with a delicate wave for me to sit down across from her, on the opposite side of a beautiful knee-high mahogany coffee table. “That depends,” she said.
I sank into a gold velvet love seat. “On what?” I asked.
“On you,” she said.
This love seat is so comfortable, I want to curl up and go to sleep right now.
There was a sterling silver tea set sitting on the table between us. She leaned forward and lifted the teapot. She filled two cups. They were pale yellow porcelain with purple grapes and green leaves painted on the sides of them.
“Well, I like it here,” I said, “so far.”
“Destiny, the best is yet to come,” she assured me. “You haven’t met Dominic yet.”
“Who is he?”
“He’s everything you’ve ever imagined,” she explained. “I think he’s the one for you.”
“The one?” I repeated.
“Yes,” she said, “but I’ll let you decide for yourself.”
I gave her a look. “Tasha and Topher brought me here just to meet a guy?”
She shook her head. “No…he’s no ordinary man.”
She dropped two sugar cubes into each cup, added milk from a miniature silver pitcher, and stirred each in turn with a tiny silver spoon. She offered me a cup and saucer.
My hands trembled slightly when I took the teacup from her. The delicate saucer rattled a little against the bottom of the cup. I glanced down. The liquid inside the cup sparkled like a dash of diamond dust had been added to it. “And this is no ordinary place, is it?” I asked.
“It never has been,” she said.
“It seems so big.”
“It is,” she said. “Five bedrooms in all.”
“Wow,” I said. “You must have a big family.”
She took a small sip of the glittery tea and said, “You can think of Wonderland as a boarding house of sorts.”
“Like a bed-and-breakfast inn?” I asked.
She tilted her head a little. “You could call it that,” she said with a slight shrug. “Guests come here from all over. They visit awhile. Then…they move on.”
“They come to Avalon Cove, just to stay here?” I asked.
“They each have a different reason for being here. For what brings them to me.”
“Do you have many guests now?” I asked.
“At the moment, just three,” she said. “Dominic arrived last month. He’s been very distraught. I know you’ll be good for him, for his heart. Juliet and Pablo have been here for at least two weeks. Since the day before Tasha and Topher discovered Wonderland.”
“Will they be staying much longer?”
“Very soon I will explain everything to you,” she said. “I promise.”
“Is that a polite way to tell me to mind my own business?”
“No. You’re quite curious. You always have been. I imagine that’s why you’re here.”
“My best friend back home—her name’s Samantha—she says I ask too many questions.”
“I think a person can never ask enough,” Adrianna said.
“That’s really nice of you to say. Still…I’m not really sure what I’m doing here.”
“You’re wondering if this is all real, aren’t you?”
“I feel like I’ve been hallucinating since I stepped off the plane a few hours ago. The Magic Mansion. The island. This place.”
“It can be a bit much,” she agreed. “Avalon Cove is very unique.”
“My mother grew up here,” I said.
“Yes, I know.”
“Did you know my mother?” I asked, somehow already knowing what her answer would be.
“Very well.”
“Did you know that she died? She had cancer.”
Adrianna lowered her eyes to her teacup. “Yes.”
“I miss her very much,” I said, filling up with sadness. “I don’t know what I’m going to do without her, to be honest with you.”
“Here,” she said, “you’ll find there’s no reason for sorrow.”
“That’s impossible,” I said.
“Is it?” she asked.
“Everyone gets sad at some point in their life,” I said. “It just happens.”
“I see,” she answered before taking another sip of tea.
I looked up to the ceiling then. I heard heavy footsteps. Someone was running across the floor above us. The chandelier vibrated.
“Where are my friends?” I asked.
“They’re out in the garden. Playing a very competitive game of croquet, I believe.”
“Then who’s upstairs?” I asked. “Your husband?”
“A new guest has arrived,” she said. “Directly above us is the arrival station.”
I stood up. “I need to go home soon.”
Adrianna placed her cup and saucer on the table and lowered her transparent shoes to the hardwood floor. “You’ll be there in a few minutes,” she assured me. “Just in time for meatloaf and game shows.”
My eyes moved to the open doorway of the room we were in. “Maybe I should tell Tasha and Topher that it’s time to go.”
I saw something was moving slowly across the floor from the corner of my eye. It was an overweight orange cat. It rubbed up against Adrianna and flicked its tail. “Don’t mind him,” she said. “He thinks he owns the place.”
He gazed up at me with his golden eyes. It looked like he was smiling. “He seems very sweet,” I said, temporarily forgetting about my desire to leave. “Did he just smile at me?”
“He does that sometimes. His name is Montgomery,” she said, “and he is sweet. In fact, I can safely say that he’s the nicest gentleman I’ve ever met. Other than my husband Alfred.”
“Can you explain something to me?”
“Destiny, I assume I’ll be explaining many things to you,” she said. She stood up.
“Yes, you probably will,” I said. “If I start to annoy you, just let me know. I’m curious…right before the three of us walked into your house, the sun was setting outside. Sitting here, there’s so much sunlight around us. Like it’s the middle of the day.”
She smiled. “We prefer sunlight here at Wonderland,” she said. “Occasionally, the mood calls for a starry night. Speaking of which…I would like to give you an invitation.”
We moved toward to the doorway of the library. “An invitation?” I repeated.
“Yes,” she said. “For tomorrow evening. I’m assuming you’ll be free.”
“I don’t know. My uncles might—”
“You will be,” she said. “I’ve already made sure of it.”
“Then I’ll be here,” I said “What time?”
“No need to worry about time,” she said with a smile. “You’ll know exactly when to arrive, Destiny. You won’t be late.”
“Can you tell me what the occasion is?” I asked.
“I’m having a dinner party,” she said. “In your honor, of course.”
“For me?” I said. “But why?”
“Why not?” she asked. “You don’t think you deserve a dinner party?”
“I’ve never been to one before,” I explained.
“I know,” she said. “You’ll want a new dress to wear. I have it on good authority that Dominic’s favorite color is cobalt blue. It’s a strange shade, if you ask me. But…I guess I can see the appeal. It’s very bright. Very commanding. Most men like red. But not him. Dominic is very different.” She looked me in the eye. “There’s only one dress in Avalon Cove in that color in your size. Ask Clark to take you shopping tomorrow. He’ll know the place to go.”
We were back in the foyer, standing beneath the grand chandelier, at the bottom of the staircase.
“Can I ask you a question?” I asked.
She smiled at me again. “I was expecting you to,” she said. “Go on.”
“Why are you doing this? I mean, why are you being so nice to me?”
Her light green eyes sparkled as she looked up at me and said, “I’ve waited a very long time to meet you. Allow me to spoil you. You’re a remarkable young woman.”
“I am?”
She placed a fingertip against my lips to silence me. “Yes, you are,” she continued. “You have a beautiful soul and a big heart. You’ve loved a lot and never received enough in return. This is my moment to do something for you. To give you a chance at true love.”
I smiled at her. “I’d be happy with just a dinner party,” I said. “Really. I swear.”
“That’s what I admire about you the most,” she said. “You’ve always made do with whatever came your way. You’re not like most people, Destiny. You’re one of the few who can truly make the best out of any situation.”
“You’re wrong about one thing, though,” I said.
“I am?” she asked.
“You said I’ve never received a lot of love, but I have,” I explained.
She reached around me and placed a hand over the brass knob of the front door. “What do you mean?” she asked.
I heard them again: footsteps above us. I lifted my eyes to the ceiling, to the rattling crystal teardrops of the chandelier. I listened for a second to the pattern of the movement, the rhythm. I realized that whoever was upstairs wasn’t walking or running: they were dancing.
A door opened on the second floor. Bright light flooded the top of the staircase, illuminating the area with a stark white glow. Specks of silver glitter floated in the air. I saw a figure step into the beams.
“My mother…” I heard myself say. “She loved me more than anyone.”
I saw the jazz shoe on the top step, then another, and the pleated hemline of a rose-colored skirt. And I knew…
“It’s time for you to go now,” Adrianna said. She opened the front door. I felt her hand, firm on my lower back. She spun me away from the staircase to face the open doorway—a wall of darkness.
“Wait!” I begged.
“It’s too soon,” she insisted. “You have to meet Dominic first.”
“Is it her?” I demanded.
“Go now, Destiny!”
“Is it her?!”
In response, Adrianna shoved me into the pit of blackness. I heard the door slam shut behind me and the sound rumbled in my ears. Within seconds, the haunting opening chords of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata filled the vast space around me.
I concentrated on the melody in the music, knowing I was already moving fast.
I closed my eyes as I drifted further away from Wonderland, falling back to my new undiscovered life in Avalon Cove.
I was spiraling back to reality.