Joseph stared out intothe pine scrub forest surrounding Jacaranda Manor later that night as Carolina’s chilling words lingered in his memory. There was nothing sinister about the palmetto bushes and oaks and slash pines that surrounded the estate as far as he was concerned. The most dangerous thing he could imagine was possibly a pygmy rattler hidden beneath a bed of pine needles or a falling tree branch. But something in the woods had terrified Carolina to the point of fading away, which confused and concerned him all at once.
He didn’t see or hear Carolina the rest of that evening, or the next day, or even the following Monday as he and River prepared to go into town. In a way, he half expected to run into her around every corner, but his unusual housemate was keeping her promise to him. Still, Joseph found his thoughts trailing to the woman in the attic more often than he knew to be right. As River finished his oatmeal at the kitchen table, Joseph gave in to his curiosity about Carolina Braun.
The photo album that he had retrieved from the trunk in the attic had sat untouched on the kitchen counter ever since Carolina had given it to him. Though Joseph had poured over the architect's plans for Jacaranda Manor and had begun to research original materials and fixtures for the house, he had yet to really explore the photos of the Braun family. He looked over his shoulder, knowing fully that Carolina could be watching him at that moment. However, she had given him the photo album. Shewantedhim to look at it. He wasn’t doing anything wrong after all.
As Carolina had promised, along with the photos of the growing family, vacations and activities, were photos of the interior of the home. Mrs. Braun lounging on a chaise in the front sitting room. Mr. Braun seated at a desk in another room toward the back which must have been a study. All three Braun daughters standing on the staircase, each on their own level in descending stepping stone order with Carolina at the very bottom. With each year that passed, Carolina grew more and more lovely in her photos. A portrait entitled “Baby’s 21st” in Mrs. Braun’s romantic, sloping hand showed Carolina’s once long mane of dark hair freshly bobbed. Carolina at her easel. Carolina with a horse. Carolina.Carolina.
Joseph slammed the photo album closed. A light film of sweat had formed on his brow, despite the cool autumn breeze that blew through the kitchen window. His head felt light as he gazed out into his backyard where the Braun family used to take their tea and host parties, as he had seen in the album. It was going to be a huge responsibility to recreate what was in the book, and now he was going to be beholden not only to Rachel’s wishes, but to Carolina’s as well. Joseph didn’t know if he was up to the task.
With River’s breakfast finished and the black and white images of the Braun family and the way that Jacaranda Manor used to be fresh in his mind, the father and son duo set off toward downtown St. Augustine. Joseph took one last look up the stairs, half hoping and half expecting Carolina to be watching them from the second floor landing, but she was not there. She was keeping her promise, and so Joseph would keep his too.
Chapter Nine
Carolina watched fromthe third floor that morning as Joseph and River left for St. Augustine. A sensation that she hadn’t experienced in a very long time spread throughout her like a warm beam of light. Anticipation? Excitement? The idea that her work may finally see the light of day made her feel even more weightless than usual. Emboldened even. Carolina decided to go outside.
This has gone on long enough,she huffed, as she made her way down the stairs.I’ll not be intimidated in my own home. The orchards and the forest are mine as well. If I wish to leave Jacaranda Manor then I will!
Carolina passed silently through the front door and out into the warm autumn daylight. For the first time in nearly a century, she moved away from the front porch with her head held high, and down the gravel drive lined with jacaranda trees. It was positively beautiful outside, and despite the late season, blue jays were screeching, squirrels were chattering, and the wind rustled through the leaves. It was a perfect autumn day where nothing bad could happen. And then, she saw it.
The dark fog.
A heavy charcoal mist galloped toward her down the drive, like dark, hungry riders. Carolina didn’t know what the mist was made of, where it came from or where it led to. All she knew was that the very sight of it filled her with dread. She didn’t want to see what would happen if the mist enveloped her. If she breathed it in. Would she be lost forever in the black fog surrounding Jacaranda Manor, never to return home? Was it a cloud sent from some demon, meant to drag her to the underworld? Or was it merely a means to intimidate her and keep her prisoner in her own home? Carolina didn’t know. And despite her previously confident and determined attitude, with one look at the fog, she turned heel and raced back down the drive, up onto the porch and through the threshold. Carolina returned to her room, where she stayed hidden in the shadows in fear, shaking and silent for a long, long time.
***
“Carolina! Carolina!”
Bong, bong, bong.
Carolina raised her head and opened her eyes. Early morning rays of light streamed through the attic windows as particles of dust floated luxuriously through the air.
The chimes. River.
Carolina rose from her hiding place and exited the attic, eager to speak to the boy. Some time had passed since she had come face-to-face with the fog, that much she was certain of. However, the amount of time that had passed became apparent as she descended the stairs onto the first floor of the home.
As she entered the front sitting room, Carolina covered her mouth in astonished surprise. There, standing proudly at the fireplace mantle with a grin on his face was River, with Boomer wagging his tail and whining at his feet. Joseph was there as well, looking handsome in a pair of slacks and a sweater, his hair freshly trimmed. Seeing Joseph out of his usual paint and dust-splattered work clothes wasn’t the most surprising thing to Carolina however. What really had her impressed was the state of the sitting room.
