Fantasy The New Home

[GodlyDnD]

Rodney arrived at the home now passed on to him, right from attending where the will was read. He carried paperwork from that and the key. It was slightly strange to him, coming here now not to see his uncle, as he always did since growing up, but to now occupy this large house as his home, and never seeing his uncle again. But this would be better for him, rather than staying in the small apartment with its problems he had become accustomed to.

Even as he opened up, Rodney had flashbacks to the reading of his uncle's will. His cousins were there, who expressed their bitterness at the little left to them. But why should they expect more? They did not ever involve themselves with this uncle. Only Rodney did, and showed interest in what his uncle talked about, and showed him. There were interesting books among those things, and some interesting artwork. There had not really been a week since he was really young that he did not go and spend time with his uncle in this house.

Nothing was unusual as he entered it, other than the emptiness without his uncle there. He remembered instructions he had been given, still. He was to go to the uncle's bedroom, and open the second drawer in the dresser near the bed there. He went and did so.

Within the drawer was hardly anything but an envelope, and it was addressed to him, Rodney. He opened the sealed letter and read.

"Rodney, when you read this I have passed on then. I have this home and things in it I really cannot let pass on to anyone else, some of it no one else should see, and some of it you must be careful with. Don't bother looking into the material I left marked, "Dangerous". Just keep such that I left you away from any others. I hope you will find one you trust as much as I came to trust you, you will have a need to do so. You can manage this home, I know you can.
Your uncle, Barnabel."

 

[Caroline1539]

The key, when passed on to Rodney, felt warm in his hand. Almost as if the man who had handed it to him had held it for a very long time before he had given it over- but that couldn't be right, because the key was handed over to him in an air conditioned building, with the grace and formality passing over an ownership was befitted. Perhaps he didn't notice, when handling the key in his grief and numbness, and yet the key still remained warm, even as he put it in his pocket, even as he handled it in the cooler autumn air, even as he paid it no mind.

The home as he opened it up and stepped inside, seemed cold, empty- without life inside of it. Without the person Rodney was expecting, it seemed a different place. No longer a home to someone he cherished, no longer the residence of a beloved family member- now it was his. All his. Big, and cold, and empty- the sunlight streaming through the windows in the lighter areas seemed to be harsh and distant. Most places were dim, however- the sunlight shut out to keep it away from precious paintings, waiting to be restored with a coat that would protect them from the sun's touch, never to be taken on.

Unless, perhaps Rodney took an interest in them. But he was a rather practical man- and perhaps he didn't feel so much ownership for those paintings, now. None of this felt real.

Least of all the last words that his uncle had left him- he left him with materials marked Dangerous? Really? How on the nose- and yet...what could he have possibly wanted to keep out of Rodney's hands, that wasn't fit to be burned, or buried, or thrown away? What was so unusual, so deadly, that he needed to entrust it to him, to keep it away from everyone else?

He would have to find the materials marked Dangerous in the first place, to know what sort of thing he was supposed to keep away from, anyways.

Resolving that in his mind, Rodney gathered his wits, placed his uncle's letter down, and went towards the gallery room. Perhaps he kept the materials marked Dangerous with his painting supplies, Rodney thought. After all, the most dangerous thing I've ever seen him handle was paint thinner- I can't imagine anything else he might have need to keep locked away.

 

[GodlyDnD]

Without waiting further, Rodney went on to the small space where the painting supplies were kept. There he looked carefully around. Nothing there he could find that was marked dangerous. Then something was marked dangerous somewhere else, and it was not anything belonging with painting supplies. What could it be? All that Rodney knew his uncle cared for, besides the time with him, were his books and his paintings, those he collected, and all that he had painted himself.

As he wondered, he walked out from that space. He looked around at the paintings shown in the gallery. Why was he still looking here? There were spectacular paintings there, and some were surreal. But if something was marked dangerous, it wasn't anything here.