Chapter 23
Between the tall grass, I saw a round brown head flinch. It was definitely the shy boy I had seen on the first day.
“Gon! Do you remember me? It’s Alice, we had dinner together at Madam Adelaide’s house!”
But the boy didn’t stop. Instead, he hurried away through the grass like a deer startled by a gunshot.
Crunch, crunch, crunch…
‘Did I do something wrong?’
As I stepped into the grass to chase after him, all kinds of insects scurried away between the blades.
When a long green bug jumped onto my skirt, my mind went blank. When I quickly brushed it off and looked up, the boy had already vanished from sight.
“Ah…”
I took a step back. The mud clung to my shoes, making them heavy.
‘Is he shy? Well, I totally understand wanting to run away into the woods rather than talk to someone you don’t know.’
Since she couldn’t enter a house when its owner wasn’t present, Alice opened her map to decide on her next destination.
It was the next house.
‘Charlotte. That’s a girl’s name.’
The distance to Charlotte’s house was short.
However, even Alice, who knew little about botany, was captivated by the unfamiliar vegetation that caught her eye and slowed her steps.
‘Isn’t that bright pink flower a foreign plant?’
Nathan had grumbled about how he had trouble getting that flower for the dean’s wedding anniversary. Was it bougainvillea? He had complained that it was expensive because it was imported, yet here it swayed like a wildflower, which felt strange.
With more unknown plants following behind it, every step felt like walking deeper into a fairy tale set in a foreign land.
The house waiting for Alice was—
‘…Did I come to the wrong place?’
It was a half-collapsed wooden building.
The structure shaped like an “A,” with parts sticking out like abscesses, had a door that twisted open under the weight of the roof and spilled rotten firewood out. Perhaps it had been used as a storage shed during the refuge period?
Even as I doubted my eyes and looked at the map again, Cherry’s crookedly written names confirmed that this was indeed the place.
Taking a deep breath, Alice knocked on the wooden door. The damp wood produced sounds more like gloomy footsteps than a knock.
“Is anyone there?”
After a moment, there was rustling from beyond the door. Alice hurriedly introduced herself.
“I’m Alice, a doctor here to help Professor Nathan. I’m doing house calls!”
“……”
“Is this Miss Charlotte?”
“……Come in.”
A slow and gloomy voice replied.
“The door is open.”
“Oh… then excuse me.”
Alice cautiously pulled on what could hardly be called a doorknob but rather a rough wooden block with nails sticking out of it.
Creak, creak, creak… Underneath the flat sagging roof frame, the wood screamed as the door opened.
Under the morning sunlight piercing through the leaves, the entrance sparkled white like silver sand. But as Alice stepped inside, she belatedly realized what they really were—thick spider webs.
With every step she took forward, long strands of silvery thread stretched to their limits before breaking apart. Each time she hoped that what scattered beneath those webs would be dirt instead of something worse. Alice turned her gaze forward with effort.
“Hello…?”
“Hello.”
The woman spoke slowly but turned precisely towards where her guest stood.
“I’m Charlotte. Nice to meet you.”
She looked to be in her thirties with black hair that swayed like rich cilantro at her waist when she stood up straight; she seemed to bend sideways to avoid hitting her head on the ceiling as she greeted Alice with what might have been a smile.
Facing her 90-degree tilted black eyes made Alice try hard not to show surprise.
“Excuse me, were you resting, Miss Charlotte?”
“I’m always resting; my health isn’t good.”
“Please make yourself comfortable.”
“Well then, excuse me.”
In an instant, the woman stepped back and plopped down in a corner of the room where the wall leaned at an angle due to its collapse; an old pile of cushions seemed to be her resting place.
Finally in a normal position with her hair now back on her shoulders looking for Alice…
“Alice, is it?”
“Oh yes.”
Charlotte only turned to face Alice after hearing her voice.
This is…
“Miss Charlotte, do you have trouble seeing?”
“Yes, you guessed right.”
At first glance, Charlotte’s eyes seemed normal; her pupils were dilated enough that they covered her irises—a natural reaction in a dark house.
Charlotte smiled.
From this angle, she was quite beautiful.
“It’s okay; I’ve been this way for ten years; I’ve mostly relied on sound and movement.”
“Then do you have any other discomforts?”
“Well…”
“You mentioned earlier that your health isn’t good; how about I check you over generally?”
In this narrow, poorly ventilated dark house with crumbling walls above and piles of cushions below, Charlotte looked like seaweed trapped between slices of sandwich bread.
In this state, her joint health couldn’t possibly be good.
Alice opened her medical bag to show its contents but before she could even see inside it, Charlotte shook her head.
“Don’t come closer.”
“I understand.”
The bag immediately closed again. Charlotte tilted her head in curiosity.
“You listen well?”
“I’ve learned exactly what happens when you don’t listen to residents.”
“Oh dear… Madam Adelaide must have scolded you for something; she’s somewhat scary.”
“Have you been scolded by her too?”
“I almost broke rules once; I went for an evening walk and bumped into Fiore—bang!”
Her arms moved as if reenacting an accident; they were thin like insect legs. If she collided with Fiore in such a body, several bones would surely break easily.
‘…Wait.’
“Is that rule about ‘don’t block someone’s path if they’re moving straight ahead unless you’re as sturdy as a tree trunk’ about Fiore?”
“Probably.”
Charlotte spat out in irritation.
“The ones who can roam freely should behave themselves; even though he’s also one of us residents he gets protection from rules.”
“Oh dear! It seems you’ve been hurt badly.”
“I don’t know; I hardly go out for walks anymore.”
Not turning on lights at night is about Cherry; not blocking paths is about Fiore.
In Alice’s mind, the pieces of the puzzle started to connect.
Feeling a bit more at ease, Alice lightly asked Charlotte,
“Are there any rules related to you, Miss Charlotte?”
“I don’t have any,” Charlotte asserted.
“As long as you follow basic manners, we’ll be safe with each other.”
With the word “each other,” Alice tried her best to make no sound as she surveyed Charlotte and her surroundings.
The narrow space was oddly crumpled, resembling a beast’s camouflage due to the unevenly collapsed ceiling. Spiders danced everywhere…
Beneath the piles of dirt and white spider webs, she saw it.
At first, she thought it was an abandoned slipper. But upon closer inspection, the flat and crumbling object was clearly a dried-up rat carcass.
The inappropriate realization quickly expanded throughout the entire house.
There was a rat tail hanging there. Was that a rabbit skull over there?
And what was that hairless flesh down below…?
“Doctor.”
Charlotte smiled, drool stretching from her lips.
“Are you looking at something?”
“Uh? Oh, no.”
“You were quiet.”
Alice shook her head and then belatedly said “no.” Damn, her neck felt stiff.
“If you don’t need an examination, I’ll take my leave.”
“Yes. Even though I’m weak, I’m healthy.”
Charlotte stood up as well, tilting her neck again to avoid hitting the ceiling. Alice tried hard not to seem rude while quickly reaching for the doorknob.
No, she tried to grab it.
There was no doorknob on the inside of the door.
“Uh…?”
“If you just push it, it will open.”
Charlotte approached silently from behind and reached out to push the door.
The ragged wooden door creaked as it opened. Seeing Charlotte’s trembling thin wrist made Alice push the door with her body. The smell of rotting wood hit her hard, but this wasn’t the time to care about that.
Only after applying considerable force did the door finally open. As soon as it did, it tilted, indicating that the walls were leaning inward. Alice burst out of the house like a mouse afraid of being trapped in a snare.
She awkwardly smiled as if to express that she hadn’t fled because she felt uncomfortable in that house. The thought that Charlotte didn’t rely on sight came to her mind a moment later.
Standing at the door, Charlotte’s pupils contracted in the autumn sunlight.
“Where are you going next?”
“At first, I stopped by Gon’s house, but no one was there. I think I’ll try to find a house where someone is home.”
“Gon is very timid.”
“Then is there another resident I could visit for an examination?”
“How about asking Madam Adelaide? I don’t have any friends.”
In front of this honest confession, Alice thought about saying playfully, “Then I’ll be your friend!” But all she could naturally say was an honest reply.
“I… me too.”
“You came into town last week, right? Isn’t that loud, stomping man your friend?”
“He’s more of a colleague. Have you met Mr. Arno?”
“He wandered around the village. He came by my house too, circled around a few times, and then spat, thinking it was just a shed. How rude.”
“Oh my! I’ll warn him; I’m sorry.”
“That’s why he can’t be your friend. He’s not someone you’re responsible for.”
“……”
“Take care.”
Charlotte waved both hands gently and stepped back into her house. She quickly disappeared into the darkness as the door slammed shut with gravity’s force.
The crumpled shed regained its peace. The twisted branches were all blocked by darkness and spider webs.
Even though Alice knew Charlotte wouldn’t be able to “see” her from the walls, she still couldn’t shake the feeling of being watched. She slowly backed away, unable to take her eyes off the shed.
