Toward the Museum

And it was not yet fully dark when they all arrived in front of the farmhouse. Kathy, Izzy, Max, and Smith were all gazing in wonder at the farmhouse, which looked like a character from an ancient story in the night’s darkness. It seemed as if stories were scattered within it—many stories, the stories of those who lived and those who had lived their lives. In short, there were stories everywhere.

Max mischievously asked, "By the way, Grandpa, why do you keep such a beautiful farmhouse hidden away?" Grandpa smiled and replied, "So that it doesn’t attract the evil eye, my son. Besides, I really love this house." Izzy looked at the house carefully and quietly asked, "Are there really no ghosts living here?" Everyone smiled. Grandpa said, "Oh dear, I used to say that just to scare Lisa and Jack when they insisted on coming here and wouldn’t listen to me, so I told them that ghosts lived here."

Everyone smiled. Grandpa said, "Oh dear, I used to say that just to scare Lisa and Jack when they insisted on coming here and wouldn’t listen to me, so I told them that ghosts lived here."

"That's true," Jack said, "I really like this house." Smith looked closely at the farmhouse. It was a farmhouse nestled in the mountains, surrounded by trees. Ancient trees tell thousands of stories. The trees hold many stories, many secrets, but they keep all those secrets close to their hearts, never revealing them to anyone. Max felt that his heart was like a tree, hiding many secrets. Sometimes he felt that his life itself was a secret, a secret he was not even aware of.

Kathy took a deep breath, "I really like this place." Saying this, she entered the house. Grandpa had opened the door of the farmhouse. The ancient black door looked very beautiful, but at the same time, it was a bit scary, perhaps because no one had lived there for quite some time. Houses are inhabited by people; if people leave, they become mere structures, a desolate, deserted corner, and that’s where ghosts come to reside.

"By the way, Lisa, I wonder..." Max said while moving the luggage from the car into the room, "why did you leave such a beautiful place for this rather dull one?" "I certainly went to study," Lisa replied immediately, causing everyone to laugh. "No, what I mean is..." Max quickly added, "how could anyone leave such a beautiful place?"

"Only those can leave who have very big dreams," Grandpa said seriously, "and it was his father's wish that his children study at the big universities in the city, earn great degrees, and become successful people." "Oh, I see!" Izzy said. Smith stood completely silent among them.

Everything felt very mysterious to him. He wondered why this beautiful castle-like farmhouse was calling to him. More surprisingly, he felt that this farmhouse was not unfamiliar to him.

He was familiar with every corner of it, as if he had spent centuries there. He knew which room would come at the end of which corridor and which room was connected to which. He was also amazed that many incomplete stories were yet to be completed.

~~~~~

Everyone cleared the drawing room for dinner and laid a cloth on the large table to set the food. They all sat down quietly and began to eat.

"I think..." Max said while eating, "we should extend our tour for a few more days. I mean, we should stay here for a whole week."

Kathy placed her glass on the table, "And I wish I could stay here for my whole life. Everything here is so beautiful, especially Grandpa, Jack, and Lisa, and their love. We have been longing for love all our lives. We have never seen love; you know, Grandpa..." she said, her eyes moist. "Max and I have been together since childhood, since we were so small that we couldn't even recognize each other. We've been together since then."

Smith, Izzy, and Max were all eating with their heads down. There was a sorrowful sadness on everyone's faces. They all knew how painful this topic was for Izzy and Max.

Grandpa smiled, "So your friendship has grown very deep."

"Very much," Max replied, "back when we were in an orphanage and didn’t know who we were, we have been each other's support since then. We grew up in that orphanage; we always stayed there. We have never seen the love of parents, only scolding and hatred."

A sadness spread over the atmosphere. It seemed as if the walls of the entire farmhouse were sorrowful upon hearing this tale.

"Max wasn't like this before," Kathy said, looking at him affectionately. "He used to be very serious, very quiet. The people at the orphanage wouldn’t even address him. He had so much anger, but then he changed."

"Pain, loneliness, and the absence of love change a person in two ways," Smith said, lost in thought. "Either it softens them, like a gentle stream, or it turns them into a stone in that stream, hitting against every moment." But Max changed in a positive way.

"Max hasn’t changed," Grandpa interrupted Smith. "Gregson, he hasn’t changed. He has just changed the clothes of his pain and sadness. He laughs every moment so that no one knows how sad he is."

"That's not true," Max averted his gaze. "I’m happy; I’ve come to terms with everything."

"I think everyone should focus on the food," Lisa said, trying to change the subject. "By the way, Grandpa, are we going to fish in the lake here?"

Lisa mischievously looked at Jack. Jack shot her a glare, "Lisa, be quiet!" Grandpa smiled, "Oh, what a story you reminded us of, Lisa! Wow!" Then turning to everyone, he said, "There’s a lake nearby, although it’s quite deep, and people go fishing there."

"Once upon a time..." Grandpa said, looking at Jack playfully, "when Jack was very little, he dreamed that there was a mermaid in this lake waiting for him to rescue her from some sea monster." Everyone burst into laughter.

"What happened next?" Izzy asked, trying to stifle her laughter. "What happened next? The last time we came here was when Grandpa never let us come back." "Hahaha!" everyone laughed.

"Then what happened was that I quietly jumped into the lake one morning. Thankfully, Grandpa saw me jumping; otherwise, I wouldn’t have found the mermaid, but I did lose my breath."

Laughter echoed all around. An old farmhouse had awakened after years, along with the spirits hidden within it.