The Pursuit of Happiness

They say that when you feel peace within your heart and soul, you will feel at home no matter where you go. But did I feel peace looking at this place I would now call my home, my own real home? The three-story house was certainly beautiful and held an appealing vintage charm with it's creamy paneling, white wooden shutters and grey shingled roof, but could this be the place where I would find what I was looking for and thus find peace?

The front of the house offered a large space for everything my twenty-five year young heart ever wanted – I could imagine myself reading a book, slumbering in a white swing chair, listening to the warm July’s rain pouring down on the roof and on to the lush green grass. I could almost smell the mixture of it all. And what kind of flowers would I grow now that I have so much space? When I was younger I imagined so many beautifully vibrant colors surrounding my home – all the whites and reds, and greens and purples, and yellows – there are just too many to choose from. And some of them would fit just perfectly in front of the beautiful, white wooden porch. The thought of calling something so significant mine appealed to me so much that I couldn’t deny myself a small smile – for the first time in a long while, I felt a glimpse of happiness blooming in my heart.

“Ahh, you must be the new neighbour,” an elderly voice brought me back to reality. I turned around and was met with a lovely, petite frame – she was a woman in her respectable years, seventy or maybe even more and yet her face held a young vibe, burning passion for life and above all – joy. Her hair was done neatly in large waves that came down just below her ears, hugging her face in almost loving way, making her pearl earrings shine brightly in the sunset and contrast beautifully with the creamy color of her hair. Bright blue eyes shone brightly with mischief and her plump lips, covered in red lipstick, were set into welcoming smile.

“Yes ma’am,” I said as politely as I could.

“Oh, how wonderful! When I heard that Olivia was selling her house, I was shocked! I have never heard of her talking about it before, no matter how much I despised that old witch, I never thought I would see the day she would leave,” she shrugged, taking my hand in hers. “But she made the right choice - the house was simply too big for her, so I heard she moved to Kentucky to live with her great-grandchildren – oh her lovely children! I would love to live and see the day when my great-grandchildren would come into this world, but no, their music always comes first. Such a shame!” She talked with so many emotions, looking at me with those beautiful, blue eyes and I felt captivated – she was such a charismatic small woman.

“Mother, stop bothering the girl,” a threatening voice came from a distance. I looked over and spotted a woman who was approaching us fast. From the first glimpse, I realized that she was just as stunning as her mother.

“Oh don't be silly, Constance, I’m just getting to know the new neighbour. Isn't she lovely? And such beautiful hair,” she reached for my brown locks that hung just above my waist and twirled them in her long manicured fingers.

I was a bit taken aback – she was a stranger that I met mere minutes ago and here she was, showing so many emotions and invading my personal space.

“Yes, beautiful indeed,” she said to herself and let go of my lock. “Come Constance, meet her!” She called to her daughter who was already standing beside us with an apologetical smile on her face.

Constance was a bit taller than me. Her long, straight, sand-colored hair fell neatly down her shoulders framing her face beautiful, regal face. But what stood out the most were the same beautiful, bright blue eyes that her mother had. She was dressed in a pair of black trousers and a creamy knitted jumper while her mother had a beautiful peachy-colored dress with a coat covering her frame, which suited her nicely.

“I hope my mother hasn't bothered you too much. She can be a little bit overwhelming sometimes,” she said placing arms on her mother’s shoulders.

“No, not at all – she’s quite the opposite.” I smiled. “I haven’t met such a friendly person in quite a while.”

“I told you,” the elder smirked at her daughter who chuckled in return. “Oh, where are my manners! My name is Ruby, but you can call me grandma’ and this is my daughter Constance,” she introduced.

“A pleasure to meet you,” I said and smiled politely at the both women.

“Oh dear, the pleasure is certainly ours. And you have such a lovely accent, where are you from if you don’t mind me asking?” Ruby took my hand in hers once again.

“Northern Europe,” I tucked a long curly lock behind my ear, trying to be polite and not freak out in front of my new neighbours. I always felt uneasy talking about the place where I come from and where I used to live – it held too many painful memories.

“Oh, but your features are slightly different from a typical northern woman’s. And you hair color is darken than most of them too. I will tell you this story – I once had a friend and her name was N – ”

“Mother, leave the poor child alone! Come, let’s go, it’s time for dinner.” Constance interrupted, effectively silencing her mother.

“Oh, is it dinner time already?” Ruby exclaimed, jumping slightly on her toes.

“Yes mother, now let’s go, give the girl some room to breathe, we will meet her tomorrow,” Constance took her mother’s arm and tried to lead her towards their house.

“Well,” she looked at her daughter and then back at me, pushing me down to her level with her iron grip on my upper arm and placing a big, red kiss on my cheek. “It was such a pleasure to meet you, dear. By the way, I believe I did not quite catch your name,” she laughed excitedly.

“Helena,” I smiled.

“Helena, what a lovely name, it suits you very well!”

“Mother!”

“Alright, alright … It was nice to meet you Helena! Have a lovely evening and I will see you tomorrow. Oh, and if you need anything, don’t be a stranger, come and knock right at the door and I will be there to help with whatever it is that you need!”

“I sure will, Ruby,” I said.

“Grandma’,”

“Grandma’,” I laughed and Ruby smirked.

Constance looked at me. “It was a pleasure to meet you and welcome,” she smiled leading her mother away, hugging her slightly and listening to Ruby’s excited chat.

I let out a breath I did not know I was holding and processed what has just happened.

Ruby was like a lightning on a sunny day, she amazed me with her energy and openness. It was such a wonderful change from what I was used to see. I smiled contently as I heard Ruby’s voice fade into the evening. I gazed upon the sky, seeing as it has already darkened – the sunset was breathtaking and it flamed all over the horizon in beautiful fiery shades, promising a starry night to come. The birds flew above the trees, appearing almost black now and I could feel signs of upcoming summer in the air around me. May was a beautiful month. Maybe this really will be the right place for me.

I gazed at the house in which Ruby and Constance disappeared and smiled again. They were like a breath of fresh air that I did not know I needed and maybe, just maybe I made the right decision to come to the States – Culver City was the best decision I have made in a while if not ever.

I turned around and was met with now a murky-looking house and at that moment I made a mental note to buy some lanterns and porch lights in the morning – light held a sense of security in itself, not that I was afraid of the dark, I just wanted to make this place feel like home.

I reached for the keys in my jean’s pocket as I stood before my front double door. The smell of old paint embraced me but somehow I couldn’t make myself to dislike it, quite the opposite – I liked it. I opened the door and stepped into the darkness reaching for the light switch immediately. The hallway lit up with light and I had to hold my breath at the sight before me. There were different types of people – the ones who must hear to perceive the world around them, the ones who must smell in order to make their own assumption about the world they live in, and there are the ones who, just like me, perceive the world with sight, therefore my love for colors was justified – It was my way of functioning.

I definitely saw a potential – the walls were bare, a pale peachy color which I didn’t quite enjoy and I decided that it was the second thing I needed to take care of. Some of the furniture was left behind by their respectful owner, but even more of them were gone. Before I moved in I did hear from my advisor that this house belonged to an elder lady, but it never changed my opinion about it. Since the first day I saw the house, I just knew that I had to have it and here I was.

The kitchen that was positioned at the far end of the house, just after the living room, was huge and embraced by the dark due to many wide windows which had no curtains – the nighttime was seeping in. The space and the interior caught my attention immediately – beautiful stone countertops with white wooden french-like body, a large stove at the center of the kitchen and even larger refrigerator at the wall. The kitchen was to die for, the whole interior screamed of France and I felt myself becoming happier – cooking was my passion and I quickly decided that this room was my favorite.

I switched the light off and headed back into the living room. Thank you, I smiled as I mentally thanked Olivia wherever she was, thank you for letting me have all this. I opened my eyes and felt anxious, but most of all curious – the first floor was absolutely amazing and so much more than what I was expecting and I wondered what second and third had in store for me.

Later on I learned that there were three rooms on the second floor. Two of them were unoccupied and the third one was a bathroom. The floor was covered with black stone marble and so were the walls, only the ceiling was covered in white that added a perfect contrast to the whole room. There was a huge, white bathtub in the middle of the room with a view to the backyard and from what I could tell – a balcony. There was also a shower stall at the far end of the room, a toilet and a sink with a huge mirror on the wall.

I came to the sink with unconscious need to wash my hands and glanced up at my reflection. I saw a pair of greenish-golden eyes staring back with curiosity and traces of caution, dark brown locks hugging the square shaped face and small but plump lips covered in peachy lipstick. I saw tiredness written all over my face and something else – the fear of the unknown. I looked down at the running water and realized that my mind was blank of thoughts, there were just emotions running through my tired body. I was terrified, worried and a little bit excited happy at some point, but emotions come and go and nothing that comes and goes was me. So who was I? I looked up.

I was a twenty five year old woman, standing in a humongous dark house in a foreign country with no one I knew and no real destination to go to. My bank account was secured and I had enough money to last a lifetime – my parents took care of that when they passed and I also knew that I was a social person and could easily fit in, and a new country was not an obstacle. I snorted at that thought – correction, I used to be a social person.

Turning off the running water, I decided to call it a night and meet the room on the third floor I would call my safe haven. It was a large room, no doubt the largest one in the house, occupying the entire attic with two huge windows at each side showing the view of the backyard and the front street. It was also a room where some of the furniture remained untouched, and I was amazed by their beauty – a dark wooden king size bed was placed at the far end of the room surrounded by matching end tables and an antique recliner at the end of it. There was also a writing desk placed before the window and an arch to its right, which separated small space from the whole room that I saw myself transforming into a walk-in closet.

I dragged my tired body over the old wooden floor and fell down on the bed not bothering to take my clothes off. Bed was too heavenly – I closed my eyes and was instantly met by oblivion.

A brand new day was approaching and I had a life to start living.