Juniper House

MIDNIGHT.

“Wake Up, Isaac,” I whispered, crouched over the figure who lay crumpled in the room. His hands were reaching for the door, his face wrung dry and his eyes having emptied themselves of tears.

It was not the first time I had seen poor Isaac like this. 

I have seen him like this for years.

“Wake Up, Isaac,” I repeated, my hoarse voice slightly more bearable in a hushed tone. He kissed the floor, refusing to look up. Eventually, his head rose to face me.

“What… I- What happened?” His eyes were on me, but his hands were at his chest, trying to feel the heart that had, a few minutes before, been flung away like a hunk of meat.

“Yes, Your Heart. It was… Too Far Gone. 

But Don’t You Worry. I Have… A New One, In Its Place, Pristine In Its State and Beastly In Its Resilience. 

Pure, Showered In Good Health and Free Of The Shards O’ Glass that Marred The Old One.”

“Where…” He took in a few slow, laboured breaths. ”Where…did you get it from?”

I smiled, in spite of the fact that he would cower in fear at how my face would contort. I smiled. “Myself, Of Course.”

He placed his hands around his legs, his face hiding under the shelter of his body. “You aren’t truly a monster, are you?”

“I’m Afraid I Am.”

“Why?” 

A simple question.

A simple answer. 

“Because They Call Me So. They Wrote The Dictionary, The People Outside. We Are Merely Meant To Follow It. If They Christen Me A Monster, Then It Must Be True.” 

With that, I lay a clenched fist in front of him. Long, unkempt fingernails and contorted fingers converged at a muddy, filthy palm. And at the centre of it all, was a key.

“This… Is All That Is Left Of Your Guests Here.

Of Course, There Is Also The Blood.”

---Juniper House---

The shrill bell hanging off the grandfather clock struck.

07:00 A.M.

The sound woke Isaac up, eyes bursting open before retreating under the light of the window outside.

He rolled away from the sun. His eyelids slowly blinked a couple of times, before peeling away to reveal sleepy, dull blue irises slowly dilating and contracting. His feet and hands moved in tune, pulling his body off the small, crumpled-up bed and settling into a pair of loose slippers.

Isaac looked at the clock once. Then sighed, and stretched his arms as he stood to his feet. He had his work cut out for him today.

He was receiving guests, after all.

He walked up to his bedroom door and swung it open to a silent hallway. He was happy he remembered to open the door before trying to walk out. He’d walked into the closed door quite a few times before, usually as a result of his mind still running through limbo to reach wakefulness.

He walked down the short flight of stairs and past the trapdoor, pausing to stamp on the door once, hard and deftly to ensure that it was closed. Assured of its safety, he walked up to the bathroom, turned on the light and splashed himself with water.

Refreshed, he rid his mouth of that dirty, almost bloody taste in his mouth with toothpaste and a brush. He must have forgotten to brush before sleeping last night, once again.

For the next hour or so, he was engrossed in tidying up the entire house. He took a moment outside, staring out at the rising sun with hand over heart, before turning to the task at hand, working inwards from the porch.

By the time he was done, the mop bucket was filled with filthy water, the house was glistening like gold, and the shrill bell hanging off the grandfather clock struck:

08:00 P.M.

The shrill bell hanging off the grandfather clock struck. The sound woke Isaac up. He sunk into the cool, supple grass under him, the cold wind swaying above and around, and the warmth of another person beside him. The glow of the lantern hanging off the tree showered the two of them as they lay in the grass, and it felt right. 

He slowly stretched an arm, reaching for something. He didn't find it, but then, he didn't need to. Her hand found his first. It held his palm between her fingers, gently squeezing and caressing before interlinking her hands with his.

Isaac’s eyes closed for a brief moment. His body felt weightless for a second that spread out to encompass eternity. Her hand was his anchor to reality, yet it made him want to reach further into this void, steal a piece of the moon, perhaps a star and lay it down in front of the person beside him. 

She, in turn, pulled him closer towards her. She held him under the crook of her arm, and places her lips briefly on his forehead.

He turned and smiled at Kaia, who was already smiling beside him.

A scream echoed through the house and pierced through the bliss.

The two jumped to their feet and ran through the porch, feet naked and cold. The lantern swung violently in the wind. Isaac clenched the door knob and swung it open.

Ed was the first soul the two saw inside.

He looked as confused as they did.

They could hear harsh pants and pained screams across the living room, in the bathroom. They dashed towards the scream, calling for Neel.

There was a fresh trail of blood leading to the bathroom door, with a wet crimson handprint laid upon the doorknob. As soon as they reached the room, Neel’s voice stopped the trio in their tracks.

“DON’T! Don’t come here. And DON’T STEP ANYWHERE NEAR THE TRAPDOOR!”

The three of them looked down. Smack-dab between the living room and the bathroom, was the trapdoor. Isaac knew about it, sure - it was his house, after all.

And yet, he had never opened the trapdoor, had never stepped into the room that the door guarded, all this time.

It was a small square in the ground, locked shut. Not from the outside, mind. The door was perfectly square without a lock or a hinge; a slab made of ceramic tiles that neatly fit into the floor except for the tiny gaps along the edges that indicated that there was more to it than what one could see at first glance. But it never opened.

Ed paced impatiently around the room. Kaia kept staring at the trapdoor, while Isaac continued to ask Neel what happened or if he needed anything, when the door to the bathroom opened with Neel stepping out.

He was drenched in blood and breathing heavily. He had been seemingly cut open from the neck, a wound which he was nursing with a towel now soaked with red.

Isaac rushed to help, but was pushed back by Neel.

“There’s something beyond that trapdoor!” exclaimed Neel, pointing towards the ominous lid in the floor.

“What happened?” Kaia asked.

Ed began, “I was with Neel for a while, exploring the place. I’m sorry, we were curious, and the two of you were outside. You know how it is. The clock strikes eight, and we ran through the gate. We wanted to just look around. So, halfway through the exploration, my throat felt dry, so we come down the stairs to the kitchen. By the time I had a glass of water in my hand and turned around, Neel was gone. I took a step ahead, just one step, and I heard him squeal for dear life. By the time I reached him, the bathroom door had slammed shut.”

“And so did the trapdoor, didn’t it? DIDN'T IT, ED!!!?” Neel asked, incensed.

“I’m not sure,” Ed admitted.

Isaac apologized for whatever had happened, in spite of the fact that he had no inkling of how, or even what had happened. “I’m very sorry. Please, sit here.” He brought the bleeding man to one of the couches of the living room, and requested all of them to remain there while he brought bandages and other medical supplies.

The moment he was out of sight, however, a grim discussion began to take place between the guests. Neel lost all semblance of courtesy. “There’s a monster in the house, I tell you! A vile, vicious monster! We need to get out of here, right now.”

“What we need to do,” said Ed, “is apologize to poor Isaac. It’s probably karma that is raining down upon you. I mean-“

“Karma? Why?” Kaia was puzzled. “What did Neel do?”

Ed just looked pointedly at him.

Neel began to fumble while trying to speak. “I- didn’t mean to… It was an accident, I swear!”

“What did you do, Neel?” Kaia asked, voice firm.

Someone else, something else answered for him. 

“He Vandalised The House. He Took What Does Not Belong To Him.” 

Perhaps as an exclamation point, the Grandfather clock struck again. 

09:00 A.M

The kitchen was prepped. The glasses and trays were all neatly laid out, ready to be filled with drinks and snacks, the lunch all set to be cooked. The windows were all wide open, the flowers outside were in full bloom, and the Juniper tree beside the home had borne berries that had made for excellent flavouring in the beverages. Everything that the house needed now, were the guests. And right as he thought so, a single doorbell rocked the house.

Before he could place a hand on the door handle, a terrible fear gripped Isaac instead. What if, he asked himself, what if he was making a mistake? 

Calling over people he barely knew to his home, his sanctuary. What if, what if they didn’t hold the best of intentions? He peered through the keyhole.

The three faces looked distorted through the small, fish-eye window in the door. But there was something in them, something that attracted Isaac to them. He could feel, in that one moment, that they were sparkling, beautiful spirits. They could mean much more to him, so much more, if he just opened the door. If he just opened the door.

And so he did.

The guests entered, dressed comfortably yet sharp, each one carrying themselves in a different way.

Ed lived across the river to the north. He was soft spoken, yet confident in his every step. And if anything, he was always stuck with Neel. Perhaps opposites truly attracted each other, for if Ed was a calm lake, Neel behaved like the crushing rapids upriver. Shifty, outspoken for better or worse and frankly, a bit worrisome. But it was alright. Under the harsh exterior, there was a satisfied, humorous spirit that knew how important friendship was.

Kaia… Kaia was simply a heart-stopper. She had a way with her step, she had a way with her words. And she quickly established a rapport with Isaac. By the time the door was closed, and their feet rumbled across the floorboards, I knew Isaac was happy. And when they were enjoying the burning hot, yet refreshing tea, the time was:

10:00 P.M.

The door, the small, wooden door in the ground, was busted open. Isaac lay on the clearing underneath the trapdoor, bathed in what little light shone from above. His left hand was broken, his right foot lay bleeding. He could barely feel his face.

Ed had… Ed had beaten him black and blue. And for what? Isaac didn’t even know much about what lay beyond the trapdoor. He didn’t know who or what had attacked Neel. It was not his fault.

Heck, they'd been the ones to crawl into the trapdoor, going around pulling away at the tree roots. Isaac had seen the jewels they'd stolen from the old rooms, stashed away in their pockets. He hadn't said a word. But they weren't satisfied.

And yet, Neel lay near death and the creature had retreated deep into whatever cave the house was connected to. Kaia had left him there, alone, broken and bruised, to follow Ed further into the cave. He was too conflicted, and that felt terrifying. On one hand, he was their host. It was his duty to ensure that they never had any kind of sour experience in his care, and now all they had was bitterness. He should have kept this house, kept me, in check.

But on the other hand, why did Neel and Ed hurt him, knowing that he was innocent? Why did Kaia believe them? How long had he been lying here? He was losing consciousness, but tried to hold on. He needed to check on Neel, see how he was…..

11:00 A.M.

The introductory tea led into an introductory tour of the house, and the introductory tour led to an hour’s worth of exploration, on both sides. The guests were becoming intimate with the house – its four bedrooms, uncannily enough for each of them (including Isaac, of course); the balcony, whose curved railings sprawled outside the house; the tree outside, in whose shade lay a swinging chair shaped like a cocoon that swayed with the occasional breeze; the numerous albums lining the shelves whose grooves were laced with sweet melodies obscure symphonies to soulful anthems and everything and between.

It was as they were lost in exploring Isaac’s home, that Kaia said, “I think you have a beautiful heart.” The words spun from Kaia’s voice like the finest of silks.

It stopped Isaac in his tracks and his feet came to an abrupt halt over the trapdoor in the floor. “Thank you,” he finally said, blushing, “But I must ask – what made you say so? We haven’t even known each other for long.”

She replied, “Well, you invited us into your home. That’s a sign of trust few show today. I myself would think twice before doing so.”

And Neel agreed, “Yeah. Also, I admit, this is a beautiful house. It’s not a mansion, and yet it feels rich. The carefully planned out rooms, the vinyl records, the kitchen. It’s amazing you put this up on your own!”

“It feels,” Ed added, “Like a part of you, laid bare for us to see.”

“Exactly!” Kaia said. She motioned her hands around, pointing towards the spacious living room, the neat shelf of vinyl records in the corner, the framed photo of a sublime mountain drive on a nearby wall, the delicious food now vanished off of the fine china plates and the other paintings adorning the brilliant white walls interspersed with long, slithering strokes of slate grey and jet black. “So, if you have such a beautiful home, then your heart must be just as beautiful.” Her hand stopped at Isaac’s chest, a slight yet comfortable weight seemingly tugging at Isaac’s heart. I admit, she did not lie here. He does have a beautiful heart.

Suddenly, Neel lit up and asked, “How did you even build this house?”

Laughing, Isaac admitted, “Well, I wouldn’t say I built the house. Not from scratch at least.”

“Oh, so, who did?” asked Kaia.

Isaac replied, “My grandmother owned this piece of land, eons ago. She had built herself this small shack of a house, with everything made of mud. Except, of course, the foundation. It was the only thing that was built with meticulous detail and absurd amounts of attention. My grandma would say that even if the crown of the house were to fly away in the storm, the foundation would never even get a scratch. In fact, that tree outside was borne from a seed laid upon the exact day the house began construction.”

The three guests were completely sucked into the tale, and Isaac did not wait for them to lose interest.

“A few days before she went on her “final voyage”, so to speak, she called me over here and handed me the keys. She said it was a parting gift, and requested for only one thing in return – that I rebuild this house as I saw fit, or rather, in my image. And, that’s what it is now. So, perhaps in a way, this house is a product of my entire lineage, as much as it is an expression of myself.”

The clock struck

NOON

. Isaac stood up, and requested the three to join him for lunch. The three of them laughed at his grand, yet humble etiquette.

Ed replied, “Don’t worry. We’re hungry already. You sure you have enough for now and dinner?”

“Yes.” Isaac winked. “I’ve cooked enough for-“

NOON, DUSK AND THE ENDLESS NIGHT.

The house began to rattle and shake, as Ed and Kaia returned, bathed in blood – blood that wasn’t theirs. They seemed lightly bruised; but otherwise fine. Neel was in need of some help. But he would recover soon.

Ed ran to Neel, pulled him up and carried him up without his shoulder. He looked back at Isaac for a moment, then walked away.

Kaia stood before him, a tear swelling in her eye. “I’m so sorry,” she said, as her hand stopped at the gaping hole where Isaac’s heart once was. “I- we- We did things we shouldn’t have done to this place. To you. I’m so sorry. I hope you can forgive us.”

Isaac did not know what was going on anymore. He had stopped to find any meaning in the information his eyes and ears passed on to his mind. All he could feel was the soft flow of liquid from above his head.

But then, from the corner, he saw it. He saw me. I walked, wounded, yet with my horrific head held high and my mangled arms pointing forward. Kaia trembled, and her breath stuttered the moment I entered her vision. I couldn’t truly blame her. She ran. But before she did, she squatted down, and did what I thought was impossible. She placed a key in Isaac’s palm, and a kiss upon his tattered lips.

The image of Kaia closing upon him was the last thing that Isaac saw.

He, of course, did not see the woman run away with bejewelled eyes and gilded hearts tucked away in her pockets, did not see Ed smiling as he walked away with his injured brother.

He did not even see me, the most hideous of creatures crouch before him, shedding velvet tears.

He did not see me change, my bald head grow a thick white mane of hair, and my deformed face quickly decrypt itself into a mirror image of his. He did not see the ground under my-- under our feet turn green. Green from the blood nourishing the soil. 

He did not see the greenery engulf us, as it reconstructed the house, making it more beautiful from the outside, the rooms much larger and extravagant, but also making the caves beneath deeper and much more treacherous. He did not see me truly reveal myself. He did not see me carry him up the trapdoor, up the stairs into the door.

Isaac could only feel. He could only feel his memory be taken away by his white-haired keeper, to keep him safe, but unfortunately, make me worse as a result. He could only feel my reassuring words telling him to sleep. 

He could only feel the blood across his body, across the walls of the house, scars of opening the door to strangers he could call more than just strangers. He could only feel the weight of the key clenched in his hand, the final piece of deception that would one day trap him in a dungeon of his own creation.

He could only feel the urge, to wake up at the next strike of the Grandfather clock, to repeat the cycle all over again. For that was the nature of Juniper House, where his life would be spent inviting strangers to destroy their home, only to suffer for it and be forced to rebuild, all over again, and again, until one day, the caves grow too deep, and the house collapses under its own weight. And I, his white haired-angel, finally weep-- weep for all Morning, weep for all Noon, and weep throughout the Endless Night.