Two Drops Of Water. Nicola Rocca

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СКАЧАТЬ got back to her feet. Through the mist, she could just make out a shape moving close by. The triangle slipped out of her hands when she realised it was a person.

      "Car trouble, young lady?"

      It was an old woman whose cutting voice reminded Chantal of the witch who gives the poisoned apple to Snow White.

      She took a step back, startled. The woman must have been in her eighties. She had straggly white hair and a bony face, studying Chantal with a curious and unnerving pair of eyes. One of them had no pupil, leading Chantal to suppose it was made of glass, while the other was practically transparent.

      "Won't it start?" the old lady asked, pointing at the car.

      "Ye...yes" Chantal struggled to get her words out. She cleared her throat. "Yes, it's fine. There's nothing wrong with the car. I just ran over..."

      She paused and pointed at the bin bag.

      "...that thing. It gave me a fright, but it's fine now."

      "Ah, OK. In that case, I'll be on my way," the old woman replied.

      Chantal stayed motionless for a few seconds, wondering what the hell an old woman was doing out in the cold on a deserted road at this time of night. Was she the local nutter?

      "Excuse me?" Chantal called out.

      Enshrouded in mist, the figure of the old lady stopped and turned around,

      revealing her terrifying face once more.

      "Can I ask you something?"

      The old woman smiled thinly and inclined her head.

      "I'm looking for a bed and bre..." Chantal stopped herself, unsure whether the old woman would be familiar with the English term. "I don't suppose you know of a guesthouse in these parts? It must be around here somewhere, but my car's navigation system doesn't recog..."

      The old woman's smile vanished and her expression turned to one of sheer terror.

      "Do you know it?" Chantal asked, persisting in spite of the additional anxiety brought on by the woman's reaction.

      The old woman raised a bony arm and pointed to a dirt track Chantal hadn't noticed, before scuttling away down the road as fast as her age would allow.

      Still a little spooked by the encounter, Chantal got back in the car, reversed as far as the dirt track and turned onto it. Five hairpins and a seemingly endless straight climb later, she arrived at the top of a hill. The enormous valley to her right nestled into the dark night. It must be one hell of a view in the daytime, Chantal thought to herself. By night, however, it was most disconcerting. Were someone to attack her, no one would hear her scream.

      According to the sat nav, she was just 850 yards from her destination. She continued along the dirt track, which was now widening gradually. Her already scant visibility was impaired even more by the dust she disturbed as she drove along. She could just make out a light in the distance, however, and as she progressed another couple of hundred yards, the dark outline of an imposing building began to emerge. A yellow light shone through one of the windows.

      The ground crunched under the weight of her car as she drove on towards the house.

      Eventually, she feathered the brakes and the C2 squeaked to a halt in what seemed to be an unguarded parking lot. A crooked sign told her she had arrived at the TWIN OLIVE TREES B&B. She wondered if there really were twin olive trees hidden among all the other trees in this vast expanse of green. She looked up at the house again. Her first instinct was to turn around and head right back to where she'd come from. She didn't like this place one little bit; it gave her the creeps. It was a huge, bleak house out in the middle of nowhere. If something happened to her out here, she'd be dead before the ambulance could arrive.

      She felt sick at the thought of it. Chantal figured she was too tired to begin her return journey that night, but she'd head back to Gussago in the morning. Her hometown was nothing to write home about, but at least it didn't have B&Bs that put the fear of God into you.

      She closed her eyes and tried to calm down, raising both hands and drawing circles with her fingertips to massage her temples. It worked, her mind gradually emptied of each and every thought. Except one. She felt like she could sense...

      Her eyes bolted open just as the thought entered her head.

      ...someone.

      She screamed with such ferocity it burned the back of her throat. Her mouth remained locked open, now emitting nothing more than a frightened moan.

      The figure outside the car approached the door and opened it.

      Chantal threw herself across to the passenger seat and tried to open the other door. She was panic stricken, unable to think clearly.

      "It's alright," said a man's voice. "It's me, Alfredo."

      Relief flooded over Chantal, but she still didn't manage to speak. The man bent down and his curly-haired face appeared inside the passenger compartment.

      "You must be Chantal. Are you feeling alright?"

      Chantal realised she'd made an absolute twat of herself, and she just wanted the ground to open up. She took the hand extended to her, shifted back across to the driver's seat and clambered out of the car. She felt light-headed and, as she leant on Alfredo for support, she appreciated the white musk fragrance emanating from his skin.

      "I'm sorry," she stammered.

      "I gave you a fright," he replied, running his fingers through her hair. "It's me who should be apologising." He coughed and smiled. "I didn't think I was that ugly!" he said, attempting to lighten the mood.

      Chantal suddenly realised she was still in the man's arms.

      "You're not," she said, looking away and detaching herself from him.

      An awkward silence ensued,

      and Alfredo took it upon himself to break it.

      "You must be exhausted, Chantal. Perhaps you should get some sleep."

      She nodded.

      Alfredo helped her with her bags and they walked towards the entrance to the B&B. As they reached the enormous green door, Chantal's gaze was drawn to the sign.

      TWIN OLIVE TREES B&B

      She stared at the logo, with its two identical trees that seemed to merge into one.

      "Do you like it?"

      "Sorry?" she replied, distracted.

      "I asked whether you liked it," Alfredo said, nodding at the sign on the wall. "I drew it myself."

      Chantal thought of the memory the logo had provoked. She forced a smile to hide the sadness she was feeling inside.

      "Yes, it's lovely. You've got the talent to match your imagination."

      "Thanks." Alfredo gestured towards the door. "Please, go in. You'll freeze to death out here."

      She СКАЧАТЬ