Shadows Of Guta (Excerpt 59) Followed
“I really have enjoyed your company.” Stephen says to Zsofia. “And I would like to get to know you too,” he says as he looks at the young man. “Tamas,” says Stephen, “my name is Stephen. It is nice to meet you.”
“Ste… Ste…phen,” replies Tamas with a stutter. He smiles and claps his hands.
“Very good,” states Zsofia with a grin, she then kisses Tamas on the cheek. He laughs and looks down as he wipes it away with his hand and this makes all three of them giggle a bit.
“You should be at home with grandfather.” Zsofia says in a firm but very loving manner, as she looks her brother in the eyes.
“I was going to ask if he came with you.” Stephen states with a bit of concern.
“He must have followed me, which means grandfather is probably looking for him.” Zsofia smiles at Tamas. “And if he finds us here we are going to be in big trouble.”
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Shadows Of Guta (Excerpt 58) Tamas
Stephen is completely annoyed that these two strangers are here on his property, freely coming and going as if they own the place. Now he just wants them to leave so he does not have to be bothered or distracted any longer.
“This is my brother, Tamas.” Zsofia says softly.
“Zsofia,” says the young man, he follows with a smile.
“He would never hurt you, he was just curious.” Says Zsofia as she looks Stephen in the eyes, she is very serious, calm, and protective of her brother and wants to make sure this is known. “I saw him heading your way, and immediately left the suspension walkway to intervene. He was just saying hello, I am sorry for bothering you.” Zsofia wipes the young man’s hair back from his forehead and starts to turn him toward the entry hall door.
“No, wait.” Stephen says quickly now embarrassed by his reaction.
To his own surprise, he does not want them to rush away, especially not like this. Yes, he would prefer to roam this house alone, or so he thinks. However, Zsofia’s energy made the discovery of this conservatory a bit more exciting than it may have been alone. In fact, he knows it did. Zsofia and Tamas are standing, holding hands, waiting for Stephen to speak.
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Shadows Of Guta (Excerpt 57) Don’t Hurt Him
Peeking in and around the foliage Stephen realizes everything looks healthy, not crushed or bent or injured in any way. Just as he turns to go back in the direction he came, he bumps directly into a man with light brown hair. Shocked he puts his hands up ready to throw a punch when Zsofia runs at him pushing the young man back.
“What’s going on?” Stephen questions now angry and confused.
“No, don’t hurt him!” Zsofia says firmly to Stephen.
In one fluid motion, she puts her arms around the brown-haired man pulling him back a few more steps. The young man makes a high-pitched sound in protest but does exactly as she directs.
“I wasn’t going to hurt him, I was just defending myself.” Stephen says as he puts his arms down.
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Shadows Of Guta (Excerpt 56) Did She Fall
Stephen looks in the direction of Zsofia’s voice and she waves at him happily. He likes her energy and cheerfulness. It makes him laugh inside, but his personality does not show much emotion, and this time is no different. He waves back but as an acknowledgment only, he does not smile or respond verbally, and now worries that she may take his solemn demeanor the wrong way. He looks back at the moving water and decides to wave at her again, making sure he smiles this time. However, as he looks up, she is once again missing.
“If I didn’t know better I would think she is a ghost.” Stephen mumbles to himself. “For that matter, do I know better?” He questions, now wondering if she is a figment of his imagination.
The walkway is void of her, so are the many spiral staircases that connect to the suspended walkways. He looks around at the other sections but she simply is not there. How safe are those old metal connections to the stairs and walkways? Did she fall? He wonders as he rushes over to stand beneath where she was.
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Shadows Of Guta (Excerpt 55) Beauty Herein
Not once did Stephen imagine the house extended back very far let alone enough to encase an entire self-sustaining garden for all seasons. The windows of the manor look as if they are peering in on the beauty herein. He is at a loss for words and now he realizes Zsofia is nowhere in sight.
“Zsofia?” Stephen says as he looks up ahead for her but she does not reply and he does not see her anywhere.
As he continues to move forward through the lush plantings, the sound of the running water becomes more intense. The closer he gets to the huge rock wall he notices that the stones of the manor are attached to it with mortar. Water is seeping out of the top while a small waterfall in the middle of the stone is the source of the loudest sound. It splashes down into a deep well of water and ripples are constant against the rocks and vegetation that surround the reservoir.
“Couldn’t you just stay here forever?” Zsofia yells from atop the high metal walkway that runs the distance of the east end.
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Shadows Of Guta (Excerpt 54) Courtyard
“Isn’t it fantastic?” Zsofia says as a question but as a statement as well. She walks several feet ahead of Stephen who is trying to keep up yet view all the details in front of him. It is hard to believe that the weather outside is so cold when this interior confined place looks as if spring has arrived. The soil is rich and smells earthy and fresh and Stephen takes in a deep breath.
Bright sunlight shines down in one section but shadows cover the eastern end. When Stephen looks up through the glass ceiling to find a reason for the shade, he realizes this is actually a courtyard. The walls of the mansion tower over the garden on all sides and he is shocked at the enormity of it all. Not only are trees growing inside this contained garden but two are growing outside between a tall wall of glass and a small courtyard of sorts at the southeast side of the manor.
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Shadows Of Guta (Excerpt 53) Rock Walls
Splashing and gurgling sounds of the various waterways of the conservatory echo off the massive rock walls of the manor. It is a tranquil and inviting space, with little streams flowing off separately, and then reuniting into a center pond. From here, they flow into a single small river that drains to a dark crevice with an iron grate over it to collect debris. The water disappears here as if it drops into a subterranean river below.
Never has Stephen seen such a collection of plants and walkways under glass other than at botanical gardens and museums. Metal staircases spiral up four stories to suspended walkways for viewing the garden from above, and to access the trees for trimming purposes. Little doors allow entry to the levels from the various floors of the house as well.
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Shadows Of Guta (Excerpt 52) She Teases
Once again, Stephen is impressed with the crafty work of the builder and designer of this home. Ornate scrollwork and carved wood displays beautifully in terrific detail on the trim and in the furniture and oddities like the glass room above. Stopping a few feet behind Zsofia, he waits as she pushes one of the panel doors slightly allowing a crack of light to seep in.
“Are you ready?” she teases and hopes he will be as enthused as she is.
Stephen nods yes and Zsofia pushes the doors apart exposing a magnificent garden of flowering shrubs, plants, and trees trimmed to fit their contained glass environment. A large rock wall at the far end has water cascading down filling a deep reservoir full of crystal-clear cool water. From this pool, several small brooks flow in different directions throughout the entire garden, which feed the plants the moisture they need to thrive.
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Shadows Of Guta (Excerpt 51) Straight Ahead
From the center of the entry hall, Zsofia walks towards the back of the hall away from the front doors and through the entrance directly under the staircase landing. Continuing to move forward, she heads toward two wooden doors, much like the ones to the left and right in the entry hall. A long thin and dark corridor extends out of sight on either side as a narrow set of steps spiral up to a long glass room that is nestled between the ceiling and the bottom of the second floor hall.
“What is this?” He questions as he stops to look up at this odd tunnel of glass.
“My grandfather told me that since the hallway has no windows, the glass room above allows natural light to enter the living and dining rooms on the other side.” She smiles. “It is architecture ahead of its time and I confess I have been up there as well, but only to clean the windows. I doubt it was ever used as living space.” She wiggles her finger for him to follow as she directs him straight ahead.
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Shadows Of Guta (Excerpt 50) I’ll Show You
The expression on Zsofia’s face reminds Stephen of a child during the holiday season anticipating which gift to open first. She is smiling wide yet in a shy manner, which he finds endearing. Now that he is closer and can see her features clearly, she appears to be of his same age, or very close to it. The thick braid that she pinned up on her head has come loose and little sprigs of blonde hair are sticking out here and there. Then he realizes she is looking at him in an odd way.
“What?” he questions in a paranoid almost rude manner.
“You didn’t answer.” She grins.
“Well you didn’t let me, you just kept talking.” Stephen says with a laugh.
“I did, didn’t I?” She laughs as well.
“No, the answer is no.” Replies Stephen in a dry tone as he answers her question about seeing the conservatory. Zsofia smiles again as she tosses the dusting cloth on a small table.
“Come on, I’ll show you.” She grins as she steps to the center of the entry hall.
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Shadows Of Guta (Excerpt 49) Secret Garden
Stephen finds it hard to believe that if alone in this grand building, curiosity did not get the better of Zsofia forcing her to look around. After all, who would have known if she did, and could he blame her? This place is astounding and he himself feels this way after only seeing two rooms. Zsofia looks at him out of the corner of her eye and grins.
“I did go to one other area, I couldn’t help myself, I had to see the conservatory when it was full of sunlight.” She says as she looks up at the large exposed window then smiles. “Have you seen it yet?” she questions with excitement as she steps closer to where he is sitting. “At night, I used to sneak in when I was young, before your great-uncle let me work here, and I would play in that secret garden for hours. It’s amazing.”
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Shadows Of Guta (Excerpt 48) Tempted
“You don’t need to be nervous around me, I’m practically family.” Zsofia smiles as she leans the broom up against the wall. “My grandfather and your grandfather were best friends, they grew up together. I know as much about your family as I know about my own.” Again, she smiles and her calming nature relaxes him a bit. “No pressure, Stephen. I’m just here doing my work.”
“What exactly is that?” Stephen says as he starts down the staircase. “What are you doing here? I thought this place was locked up and no one ever entered it.”
“Yes, you are partly right.” She pulls the white cloth out of her pocket and starts dusting off a small table. “In my early teens I wanted to make some spending money and your great-uncle said he would pay me to do light dusting and cleaning here.” She shakes the cloth out. “He only let me work here, on the ground floor. I wasn’t allowed upstairs or down in the basement or in any other area.” She continues as she sets a small vase back on the table.
“So you never ventured into any other area of the house except these few rooms?” Stephen questions as he sits down on the fourth step from the bottom. “Seriously, you were never tempted?”
Shadows Of Guta (Excerpt 47) Awkward
Turning around, Stephen looks down Zsofia realizing she must feel the same as he does about viewing this remarkable piece of art. Her expression is of shock yet excitement, which matches his reaction exactly. Again, he tries to recall meeting her, was he rude back then? Did they talk or interact, or did she simply see him with his family? Her gaze stays on the glass and then moves to him, but she does not say a word. Tipping her head slightly she grins at him and then continues with her work.
“I’m really awkward in public, sorry.” He blurts out as he tries to make her feel more comfortable, but his attempt merely creates additional nervous energy for him. Discretely, he reaches for his bottle of pills, but Zsofia looks up which causes him to pull his hand away.
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Shadows Of Guta (Excerpt 46) Magnificent
“You don’t talk much, hum?” Zsofia quizzes as she stops sweeping to look at Stephen. She grins, “It is okay, I used to be just like you.” The swooshing of the broom starts up again.
“In what way?” Stephen asks as he begins to fold the tarp that was masking the beautiful window.
“Quiet!” she says loudly so he can hear over her sweeping and his tarp folding. This makes her laugh because of the noise level and the fact that she yelled quiet as if telling him to hush. Smiling, she stops sweeping and rests her arm on the broom. “I was very shy, used to hide behind my mother’s skirt all the time.” She grins.
Stephen continues to fold the dusty tarp without commenting on what Zsofia said and once finished, he sets the thick pile near the wall. He now looks up at the large round elaborate glass window and its many colorful pieces. It reminds him of artwork that should be in a church or gothic castle. It contains numerous pieces of glass, in multiple sizes, and in every color imaginable, connected with black metal weaving its way into a delicate design. In his mind, magnificent is the only way to describe it.
“Oh wow,” Zsofia says slowly as she looks up in awe at the exquisite sight.
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Shadows Of Guta (Excerpt 45) Puzzled
Zsofia looks around the entry hall and then up at Stephen who is clearly puzzled by her presence here. Silence falls upon the room as they look at each other for several seconds. He watches her as she walks from the door and steps under the landing where he stands. He moves closer to the railing and looks over but does not see her, yet he can hear her moving about. She emerges again this time with a broom in her hand and her hair pinned up on her head. She walks over to the doors that Stephen pushed open earlier and begins sweeping the floor.
“I met you once, when you were visiting your grandparents. Do you remember me?” she asks without looking up at him.
The swishing of the broom is slow and constant as Stephen’s mind starts racing. He tries to recall his visit here fifteen years prior and wonders if what she said is true. Unfortunately, he does not remember any introductions at the time, especially to kids his own age. Even more tragic is that after he watched his grandfather die in such a horrific way, many good memories in all aspects of his life escaped him.
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Shadows Of Guta (Excerpt 44) Zsofia
Startled at hearing a woman’s voice, Stephen freezes in place and looks down at the now brightly lit room and the woman who is standing at the closed door. She is thin, has long flaxen hair pulled to one side in a braid, is wearing a long pale blue sweater, and cream pants tucked into tall brown boots. In her left hand, she holds a white cloth and her demeanor is calm. She does not seem at all surprised that he is here.
“I asked if you are alright, you do speak English, correct?” she asks with a slight accent as she stuffs the white dusting cloth into the back pocket of her pants.
“Yes,” he replies as he taps his jacket near his medicine bottle and then nervously pulls his hand away.
“I am Zsofia; my American friends just call me Sophie.” She grins. “It’s all the same anyhow.”
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Shadows Of Guta (Excerpt 43) One More Time
“Well here we are.” He says to himself as he turns toward the large heavy tarp. It seems to be snug around the window frame but he hopes it will pull down without much effort. “Alright then, here we go.” He yanks down hard on the cloth but it does not budge.
Disappointed, he walks to the other side and looks up at where it connects to the wood trim and it appears to be falling away. With a hopeful heart he says, “One more time,” and tugs down and it begins to slip off the frame as if gently peeling paper off the wall.
Pieces of plaster fall away as the tarp folds over itself, practically covering Stephen up. Coughing and choking under the dusty mess, he flips the tarp off himself and steps toward the banister railing.
“Are you alright?” says the voice of a young woman.
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Shadows Of Guta (Excerpt 42) Begins To Grin
To his surprise, the room is not as messy or unkempt as expected. In fact is seems to have been dusted recently for there is very little work to do for it to be livable. Now very excited as to what he might find next he walks back out to the dark entry hall. Looking up at the landing that spans between the two staircases, he feels that if he pulls the tarp from the large window at the top of the stairs, this too may prove to be a showcase room as well.
The staircase curves as it hugs the wall and with each step he begins to grin for this is exactly how he believes he would have felt as a kid. If only his father were here to experience it with him, the entire moment would be much sweeter. When they visited years ago, he desperately wanted to go to the top of this very hill and wander the halls of the mansion but his father would not allow it. Now, here he is standing on the second floor landing looking down the hall at the dark and mysterious doors he thought he would never enter.
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Shadows Of Guta (Excerpt 41) Metal Spindles
Up near the top of the extremely high ceiling, extensive and heavy curtains cover four tall windows to the east. They are too high on the wall to see out of but he believes they would lighten the room if opened. Long thin metal spindles hang down from each panel and are low enough to touch. Thin lines of sunlight seem to be fighting to find their way into the room as light fills the tiny openings between the gaps in the cloth.
Stephen walks across the room and tugs at one of the spindles and in a very smooth and fluid manner, the panel pulls open. Intense sunlight floods the room showing off brilliant woodwork and carvings that scroll their way along the top of the walls and down around the marble fireplace on the west wall. On the ceiling are huge square panels etched with a design, which completes the grand feeling of the luxurious sitting room.
“Good god.” Stephen says to himself as he stands next to the wall of windows looking back at the room and its beauty. “I have never in my life seen anything like this.” His mouth hangs open as he looks around at the details, intricate designs and rich fabrics collected herein.
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Shadows Of Guta (Excerpt 40) Deep And Rich
On both the left and right sides of the room are large sliding double doors. They are pulled together tightly blocking off the areas behind them. Stephen walks over to the set on the right and presses his hands up against the dark wood. He expects them to be stuck or hard to maneuver but with ease, he pushes them apart and they slide into hidden slits in the wall offering a wide entryway to the room.
The swift movement produces a puff of dust that blows up at his face causing him to cough and step back. As the air clears, he finds himself looking at a picturesque tapestry hanging on the large wall. The colors are deep and rich in tone and they blend beautifully creating an artificial landscape full of trees water and flowers. The artwork is massive and must have taken several hands and a lot of time, possibly years to create.
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