Post by summershowcase on Jul 7, 2011 20:31:49 GMT
Summer. It’s a time for fun. Kids playing, adults relaxing; it’s a blast for all ages. The heat making sweat trickle down the skin of those brave enough to endure it. It comes only once every year, and along with it draws a most interesting aspect--for Natalia Frankfort, that was: its secrets.
“Welcome to the neighborhood, Natalia!” the welcoming party said in unison. Natalia had just moved into her new home here in the town of Pleasantview, and the time of the move was great. Pleasantview was known for having great weather throughout the summer season, not too humid and always sunny. Her last home had been located in the bone-dry and hot town of Desertland. Since her new job wasn’t scheduled to start until the fall, she was ready to kick back and enjoy the summer.
She was surprised by the welcoming party; back in Desertland, the people kept to themselves. The first person she met was Dina Caliente, who gave her the rundown of the neighborhood: “Next door to me is Don Lothario. Don’t think about talking to him; he’s mine. Across the street are the Goths and their rich, old father: Mortimer--he’s insane. Then there are also the Dreamers, the Pleasants, and the Brokes. All of whom I could care less for.”
Dina came off a little snobbish to Natalia, but Natalia was sure that they could be good friends. She looked out over the wonderful neighborhood. Green trees, beautiful flowers, and the light cobalt-blue sky. She had never seen a town this small, yet this picturesque and homely.
As she scoped out the surrounding area, she noticed a stunning home with a moving van in the driveway. “Who lives there? Are they new too?” she asked.
“Those are the Secrets. Their name fits their actions. They have that place rented and only come to Pleasantview during the summer. However, they never come out of their home. I’ve tried ringing the doorbell a couple of times to let them know who the boss in this neighborhood is, but no one ever answers. They aren’t rich though, so why should I care for them?” she laughed airily.
Natalia found the Secrets very suspicious, but she put the thought to the back of her mind for now. “They are probably just shy,” she thought to herself. She went out to her balcony, plopped herself down on her lawn chair, and bathed in the warm summer sun.
“Hello, Natalia! I brought Nina along, hope you don’t mind,” Dina said cheerily to Natalia as she and her twin sister arrived at the local coffee shop. For the second straight day in a row, the sun was shining brightly. Not a cloud in sight. Natalia noted that the sun was even more dazzling in Pleasantview, than it had ever been back in Desertland. It was only eighty degrees; how could the sun be so bright? Nina, Dina, and Natalia took seats around a nearby table, ready to gossip and chitchat.
“Do you like it here in Pleasantview so far?” Nina asked, always interested in others’ thoughts. She was a very curious woman, but rather shy and insecure when compared to her sister. Both of them had doll-like complexions.
“Well, it’s much better than Desertland, that’s for sure,” Natalia said with a laugh. They sat in reticence for a couple of moments, enjoying their frappuccinos. Natalia was the first to speak up again, breaking the silence. “Is the sun always this bright?”
“Well, yes. Of course it is,” Dina answered.
“Doesn’t it get cloudy, though? Doesn’t it rain?” Natalia felt stupid for asking a question with such an obvious answer--or so she thought.
“Not during the summer, silly; only during the spring, fall, and winter.”
Natalia found this peculiar as even in Desertland they got at least two rainfalls per summer. “Don’t you find that a bit strange?” she asked.
“Not at all,” Dina replied, almost sarcastically. She found the question bizarre--wasn’t it normal to have sunny days every day during summer?
“Well, okay, just forget it.” Natalia didn’t want to seem abnormal to her new friends, so she dropped the subject.
Natalia woke up from a good night’s sleep and looked out the window. “Another beautiful, sunny day in Pleasantview,” she muttered to herself. She hastily moved down the stairs and turned on the news in hopes of catching the seven-day forecast.
“Happy Monday everyone,” the weatherman announced. “If you take a look behind me, you will see that this week will be the same as usual: eighty degrees and sunny with a zero percent chance of rain all week.”
It was stranger that Natalia had originally thought! Not only was there never any rain or clouds, but the temperature was always the same too. She had to go share this with Dina down at the salon.
Natalia entered Dina’s salon--a beautiful place to work, its beige walls and light settings making it hard for anyone to feel stressed--and observed Dina working with one of her customers: “I was all ‘uh-huh,’ and she was all ‘nu-uh,’ and from there it just turned ugly…” Natalia overheard the conversation between Dina and the customer.
“Natalia!” she exclaimed suddenly, catching sight of her new friend. “What a surprise to see you down here at my salon. You want your hair trimmed?”
“No thank you. I just came down here to talk with you about the weather.”
“I know. Isn’t it beautiful?”
Natalia sighed shortly in contempt. She wondered how Dina could be so naïve. “Yes, the weather is a wonderful eighty degrees--just like it was yesterday and just like it will be for the next seven days. You don’t find it strange how the temperature never changes?”
“It’s always eighty degrees in the summer…”
Natalia went to the only man she thought would be smart enough to explain to her the bizarre weather. She went to talk to the rich man down the street, Mortimer. He was an old, crazy man who’d made his fortune as a mad scientist. He wore a red-velvet sports jacket with a yellow undershirt and black bowtie. Along with it, he wore jeans and a pair of brown shoes. It was a fashion crime, yet it made people look to him with respect.
“I’m Natalia,” she said to him as he led her inside of his home, “and I just moved in across the street. I have some questions for you about the weather.”
“What about it?” Mortimer asked.
“Well, have you ever noticed that there are never any clouds in the sky and that it is always eighty degrees?”
“Why, yes I have,” the old man confirmed, scratching his mustache.
“Well, why is it like that?”
“I’ve tried investigating it before, spent many years trying to figure it out--but to no avail. Eventually I just accepted it as a blessing and lived with it.”
Natalia was shocked to learn that someone else had similar concerns about the weather as she did. “But you can’t just let this go! We have to investigate. Will you help me?”
There was a long pause as Mortimer thought the question over. He realized that he didn’t have to much longer to live, and he wanted to spend his remaining days with his family. After contemplating for what felt like an hour to Natalia, he made his decision. “Sometimes there are things in this world that are better meant to be left unknown.”
Natalia left Mortimer’s house discouraged and defeated. She wouldn’t be able to figure this out by herself. On her drive home, she passed by the Secrets’ house. The blinds were shut and the lights were off. They sure made it seem as though no one was home. Natalia had the sudden urge to ring the doorbell and try to talk to them.
Putting urge into action, she cautiously walked up to the house, taking it one step at a time. When she finally reached the door, she froze, stiff as a block of wood. Something drew her to the home, as though she was supposed to be there.
She slowly moved a single finger toward the doorbell, watching it as it involuntarily met with the smooth edge of the contraption.
Ding-dong!
The bell rang in her ear, sounding like fingernails on a chalkboard. She nervously looked around the surrounding area, all the while hearing the ringing that echoed in her ears over and over again. She looked up at the window on the second floor and, for a split second, her eyes met with those of an old, bearded man. He disappeared behind the curtain as fast as he had appeared.
Frustration rose in Natalia as she realized the home was inhabited and that they were just ignoring her. She banged on the door vigorously. “I know you are in there; I saw you in the window! Open the door!” she shouted, in hopes that they would obey her demands. She continued this for a while, until her knuckles and throat became sore. Eventually, she became too tired and yielded her attack on the door. She decided to return home, get a good night’s sleep, and think everything through.
“Is she gone?” Sibyl asked as Clime looked out the window, inspecting the outdoors.
“Yes, she just hopped in her car and sped off,” Clime replied.
“Oh my, that was too close.” Sibyl was relieved as she plopped down into her leather chair, bringing her forehead to her palm. “You have to be more careful when you are checking to see who is at the front door! Why aren’t we allowed to show ourselves in public again?”
“You know why! We’ll get caught if we do such a thing,” Clime answered in a clipped tone.
“And what’s so bad about that? Why do we even do it?”
“You remember what the man said: he’d pay us millions if we kept it a secret.”
“Well, I don’t know about you, but I would like to enjoy my summers--especially in a town this beautiful. Are we really doing the right thing? What if that man has evil plans, and we are just helping him?”
“Nonsense! Look, just don’t worry about it. This is the last year of the contract! Soon we will have our riches!”
“Hey girl! Why did you run out of the salon yesterday? I would’ve loved it if you had stayed,” Dina said as she met with Natalia at the clothing boutique.
“Oh, I was just flustered about the weather,” Natalia replied, following the blonde inside of the store.
“Why? It’s so beautiful! How does this one look?” Dina held a skimpy shimmering blue cocktail dress up to her slim figure.
Natalia analyzed the outfit without much care. She didn’t know why she was so upset about the weather being great; she just didn’t feel comfortable with it. “It looks dashing,” she replied without much enthusiasm.
“I don’t know. It seems like something a poor person would wear,” Dina concluded, while Natalia fought back the urge to tell Dina that she wasn’t exactly rich herself.
She shook her head, dismissing the thought. “So I went up to the Secrets’ house last night…”
“You did what?” Dina interrupted.
“Yeah, and when I rang the doorbell, I looked up and saw a man in the window. Do you know who that is?”
“No one knows who that is; very few people get to see any of the Secrets. I only see them when they move in and out of the house at the very beginning and end of summer.”
“Has anyone thought to call the cops on them?” Natalia asked.
“For what reason? They haven’t done anything wrong that I know of.”
“Well, you don’t find it a little bit suspicious that they hide in their house? They could be doing something against the law!”
“Even if they are, it isn’t harming me, so it’s none of my business.”
“Well, someone should investigate,” Natalia declared.
“Why do you feel as if you have to know everything?” Dina said angrily.
“Because Dina, it’s not right; it’s not normal. Don’t you see?”
“Okay, well, you have fun with all of that. I am going to enjoy my summer,” Dina said as Natalia stormed out of the boutique. She frantically found her car out front and drove home quickly, ready to figure the secret of the Secrets out once and for all.
Once home, she called the police, requesting that at least two cops meet her out in front of the Secrets’ house. The police, of course, refused to do anything unless she could supply them with sufficient evidence to prove that the Secrets were in fact doing illegal things. But she had no evidence to give, and so the police ignored her request. She was at a loss of what to do once again. She had no help from anyone and felt very alone.
She decided to go back to Mortimer. She wanted to know if he knew anything about the Secrets. She wasn’t expecting much though; Dina had said that no one knew anything about them. However, Mortimer was old, and the man in the window was old--there had to be a connection. At least, that was her logic. She entered The Manor for the second time and sat down in Mortimer’s comforting living room. It was very warm, and everything was either dark brown wood or a deep shade of red. The only thing that stuck out was the green stripes on the wall, and even those were rich in color.
“You’ve returned; how is the investigation going?” Mortimer chuckled.
“Not so well, Mortimer. I need more information from you.”
“Well, then go for it. Ask me anything.”
“Do you know anything about the Secrets?”
Mortimer squirmed in his chair, suddenly uncomfortable.
“Is everything okay?”
“Yes, everything is fine,” he lied. “What about them?”
“Do you know who they are? What their names are?”
Mortimer choked on his answer as the words made their way up his throat. “Clime and Sibyl.”
“So there are two of them? Do you know anything else?”
“No. Now please leave,” he said harshly.
“Are you sure you are okay?”
“Leave!” Mortimer roared. Natalia instinctively ran out of the house as fast as she could, the old man’s voice trailing behind her, “I advise you to stay away from that house! Stay away!”
“I just got a call from him,” Clime announced to Sibyl. “The lady is on to us.”
“See, I told you this would happen eventually,” Sibyl proclaimed. “I told you that someone would come along and ruin everything. Let’s just drop the whole thing; we don’t even know why he wants this to be done. The man is insane!”
“Don’t worry about it; soon we will have our riches.”
As soon as she made sure Mortimer wasn’t following her, Natalia stopped running, took a deep breath, and continued onward to Dina and Nina’s home. She ran up to the door and started pounding her fist against the wood.
Nina answered the door looking alarmed. “What is the matter? Did you just get chased by a coyote or something?”
“Where is Dina?”
“She’s at the salon. Here. Why don’t you come in and tell me what’s bothering you?”
Natalia took a seat at the table in the kitchen while Nina poured them some tea. It certainly wasn’t the prettiest of homes. Everything in the kitchen was either bright yellow or a rosy red. It didn’t mix very well.
Nina sat down and gave her a glare, signaling for Natalia to begin her story. Natalia told Nina every last detail--from the man in the window to Mortimer’s outburst.
“That old man is crazy!” Nina exclaimed after Natalia had finished. “I know Dina won’t help you with this; she has too much pride for that. So I will.”
“You’ll help me?” Natalia was still flabbergasted that Nina had even believed her, let alone that she was volunteering to help.
“Why, yes! It could make a good story to tell.”
“Thank you so very much, Nina! What are we going to do?”
“Don’t worry, I have a plan…”
“Mr. and Mrs. Secret, please come out with your hands up! This is the police,” Nina shouted at the Secret house, wearing her old police officer uniform; she had been a traffic cop for a very brief period of time.
“See! What did I tell you? I knew this would happen,” Sibyl said to her husband as they stood inside of the house.
“Oh, you just think that you know everything!” Clime rebutted. “Let’s just pretend we aren’t home, and they will go away--”
“If you don’t open the door in the next minute, I will be forced to break it down.”
“…or not,” Clime said anxiously.
“Well, we can’t just stand in here, Clime.”
“I realize that. Here. I will go surrender while you sneak out the back. Tell the old man what has happened.”
Sibyl looked around nervously; she didn’t like this plan at all. “Be careful,” she said, and then she left.
Clime slowly crept out of his home with his hands up. “What’s the problem officer?”
“We have reason to believe that you have been conducting a series of suspicious activities.”
“You have no proof!”
“Watch your tone, Mr. Secret. I would like to investigate your home.”
Sibyl sprinted like lightning to The Manor. She ran up the stairs, through the front door, and into the living room where she found Mortimer.
“What are you doing out of the house?” Mortimer asked with great fear.
“The police…are outside…they got Clime,” she managed to spit out, gasping for breath.
Mortimer didn’t waste a moment; he stormed out of his house, his fear turning to anger.
As Sibyl stepped out of the front door of The Manor, the rush of the warm night air struck her and filled her senses. Her mind suddenly warped into a parallel universe. She had a vision: guns, rain, and money falling down all around her, images flashing before her eyes in a split second. She wasn’t sure what it all meant, but she knew one thing for sure--something bad was about to happen.
~~~
“Mr. Secret, if you don’t move out of the way and let me into your home, I will have to take you in to the station,” Nina demanded when Clime refused to budge.
“Stop right there, Nina!” Mortimer shouted as he showed up on the scene. “The man hasn’t done anything wrong. Let him go--there is nothing of your interest in there.”
“How do you know for sure?” Natalia butted in. “They never even come out of their home; they are hiding something in there, and I know it!”
“I tried to make this easy for you, Natalia; I told you to stay away from this house!”
Mortimer slowly put his hand into the interior pocket of his sports jacket and withdrew a gun. “Some things are just meant to be kept a secret.”
Bang!
The gunshot rang out into the night, disturbing everyone and everything in the neighborhood. A deadly silence fell; at that very moment, you could hear a pin drop from a mile away. The crickets paused in their song; the deer stopped in their tracks; and the trees halted their rustling as they watched the corpse drop to the ground with a thud.
Mortimer was dead. He was a bit slow in pulling the trigger, but Dina was very quick. She had returned home from the salon and saw the commotion as she was pulling into her driveway. She was about to head over to see what was going on when she had a sudden compulsion to grab her pistol first. When she came back out of her house, she witnessed Mortimer reaching into his jacket. As soon as she had seen him point the gun at Natalia, she cocked her own and shot.
After Dina had been mercilessly thanked by Natalia, Clime and Sibyl invited everyone to dinner so they could explain everything.
“When I was younger,” Clime began, “I was a meteorologist. I won multiple awards for best weatherman because none of my predictions were ever wrong.”
“How is that possible?” Nina asked.
“I’m glad you asked. My predictions were never wrong because Sibyl is a psychic.”
“You are?” Dina asked in astonishment.
“Yes, I am,” Sibyl replied. “I was able to see in my mind what the weather would be like; my visions were never wrong.
“One day, Clime and I received a large package from a mysterious man. In the package there was a satellite and a note. I think we still have the note.” Sibyl got up and started looking through drawers. “Found it!” she announced.
“‘Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Secret,” she read. “I have been watching you two very closely and have seen your passion for meteorology. This is a device that I built myself, and it is very powerful. With this you can control the weather of a small area. I’m giving it to you because I need your help. Please come to Pleasantview this summer, and I will pay you millions in return for your service.’ Signed, ‘Mortimer.’”
“When we came to Pleasantview,” Clime continued, “he told us that he wanted to experiment and monitor the effects of a never-changing climate on others. He made us sign a contract saying that we would come to town every summer for five years and conduct the experiment in secrecy. After that time, he would pay us millions. So we set the satellite to sunny and beautiful and leave it on all summer long.”
“Wait. So you mean to tell me that a satellite is the cause for this never-changing weather?” Natalia asked in disbelief.
“Do you want to see it?” Clime asked eagerly. Natalia, Dina, and Nina all followed him into his “secret room” where he had hidden the satellite.
Natalia looked at it in amazement. It had a strong metal base from which it stood. It was not as big as she had originally thought it to be. She estimated that the satellite disc itself was no bigger than a ceiling fan.
“There is a glass roof overhead so that the signals can pass through,” Clime explained. “Want to see how it works?”
Everyone silently nodded while staring at the device.
“Natalia, why don’t you go up to the control panel and press the button on the far left?”
She did as she was told and waited patiently for something to happen, still not believing Clime’s words. Within just seconds, rain started pouring down--the first time Pleasantview had seen rainfall during the summer in the past five years. Everyone was in awe and amazement at the spectacle. They were seeing fireworks. All of the residents of Pleasantview came out of their homes to watch as the rain poured down over the land.
“But I don’t understand--things like this just don’t exist in real life,” Natalia gasped, tears in her eyes. “You must tell me how this is possible!”
But Clime just smiled slyly. “That, my dear, is a Secret…”
Well, there it is!!!! All 60 pics and 3,868 words. Please let me know what you think about it, I worked so hard on it.
