Kiss of A Titan

The two kids later realized that they had been scared for no reason when they saw me rummaging through Tom's clothes in the luggage for his blanket which I found easily this time around. As soon as I was done taking it out of his bag, I kept everything else back in their places intact as it was before and went to meet them both. They, especially Tom, peered at me in bewilderment and were too amazed to utter any word from their mouth when they saw me opening the door for them to exit out of the room.

"Aunt's waiting for us. Let's go downstairs now", I ordered with all smiles written on my face as I stood outside the room. They willingly obeyed and came outside with Nora holding my blanket. Using my instinct, I led us downstairs without any more taunting distractions coming from either one of the two.

We found aunt already lighting the candles which completely transformed the appearance of the once cold dark and dusty compartment to a luster bright room which glistened remarkably.

She had placed the candles at different strategic point, three almost covered by the curtains at the two windows facing the front yard in the living room, three on the table and three on the drawer near the wall where the television was supposed to be but she had each of the beautifully covered by a deep broader transparent bowl which acted like a lampshade and aided in diffusing the flaming light from the candle to every corners of the living room in a way that the entire compartment was graced with the magnificent light but it was still paler when we arrive since it has fallen far too short for the whole parlor to be illuminated by the candles.

Which explained why we met aunt, preparing another group of candles for the chandelier dangling down from the ceiling above her head and it was to be the final set up for lighting the whole living room where we were meant to pass the night instead of the dark rooms upstairs.

Each one of us was awed by the resplendent beauty of the living room and I was surprised to see Tom who had discredited the house earlier this afternoon was now gazing spellbound at the brightness we found ourselves in after descending from the dark shadows that took its stead in the rooms above us. Apart from the light the lamp made out of three burning candle wax emitted in the cubicle, it brought us warmth as well and I felt refreshed as soon as we stepped into the room while aunt was still lighting the candles with each of the match sticks from the matchbox she had with her.

"Mom, we are back", Nora was the first to say something after we were all struck dumb by the new appearance of our temporary sleeping place. Aunt abandoned what she was doing and got up from the couch "Thank goodness, you guys came back safely. Rosalie, any mishaps?" she asked looking at me and I stared transfixed at her before looking at Tom who almost looked guilty staring back at me.

"Um...Nope, there were none. The kids behaved this time around", "Good to know. Alright, get your things arranged because we'll be spending the night here", "So, how do we do this then?" I asked, unsure of what to do with the blanket I held.

"First, we'll have to make more room for all of us to sleep. Did you get mine as well?", "I'm so sorry, It kinda skip my mind", "No problem. Now help me push the table that way", Aunt ordered and I joined her in shifting the table to the far end of the room. We were careful enough not to let the candles fall and there was enough space for all four of us to arrange our blanket on the ground for a sleepover. Tom and Nora quickly put themselves up to the task of getting their things arranged but there was something wrong when she placed hers on the ground beside her older brother.

"This isn't mine", "Who owns it then?" Tom replied in his defense when she was trying to annoy him.

"I have no idea", "It belongs to me", I said from afar as my aunt and I came towards them.

"Here take this, that's yours. Nora", I tossed her blanket over to her but she couldn't catch it. Instead, it fell on her body and shrouded her completely in a way that we all thought that she was a ghost. We all started laughing when she tried wriggling out of the large cloth, especially Tom who used this as an opportunity to ridicule his little sister as a means to pay back for what she did to him earlier. Even the aunt chuckled when she saw her daughter fighting hard to get the cloth out of her face.

"Get it off me! Mom, I need your help to get this thing off my face!", She let out an agonizing scream from within the cloth which reduced the sound of her voice to a barest minimum but nonetheless, we still heard her voice behind the cloth and started laughing at her.

"Tom, help her out", Tom obeyed and assisted Nora to get the colossal cloth from her entire body. Then she hit Tom by the hand and dashed angrily towards me only to meet aunt gesturing to turn back.

"Sorry for that Nora. I didn't mean to do that", "Apology not accepted!" she barked angrily in annoyance and joined Tom to arrange their blanket on the floor which was now getting warmer. I wanted to go talk to her but aunt tapped me on the shoulder even before I could take a step towards her.

"Don't bother too much about it. She'll forgive you. For now, let them be and let's go get supper ready", Aunt said and I followed her to the kitchen.

How they left the blanket and warmed themselves on the sofa, we couldn't phantom but we took a brief moment to stare at the two kids, not too concerned that we will be having a whole lot of hectic preparations as soon as the sun rises tomorrow.

"I'll turn in first", "Right behind you", she retorted and followed me to the living room where we took some time to carry the kids from the sofa and then to help tuck the children into the blanket which swallowed their little bodies entirely. After that we went to bed but I couldn't sleep well because of what aunt had told me. She didn't know I was devastated and unhappy with her decision even though it was for my own good due to the fact that I hated myself for putting everyone in such a difficult predicament of which aunt would run at a huge financial loss repairing some damaged house to shelter us with no electricity and more discomfort.

The frustration in my heart was clear and I didn't know when I began sobbing quietly in my sleep before drifting off to sleep forgetting that the candles were still shining in the cubicle.

Aunt was the first to have woken up from sleep some hours before dawn while the rest of us woke up late to find out that she had already cooked bacons with the fresh vegetables that were among the food items she bought yesterday for all of us and we wearily got up to find her at the kitchen.

I soon realized that she was the one that must have blown off the candles during the night after failing to keep to my promise the other night when I saw the melted wax of the candles almost burned out which emitted some scent of smoke from the places where aunt kept them the previous night.

Breakfast was kind of quick for all of us especially aunt who had to make quick preparations before she drove to town to carry out the necessary calls based on what we both discussed and she left early after bathing the kids with the water that was left in the two gallons of which including myself had to use to wash off for the first day we had to spend in the new house at a completely different environment where we all felt isolated from the neighbors living within the area and apart from the dustman and the tennis player we saw the other day, we haven't met anyone nor have we had the spare time to get acquainted with those living in the house at the other side of the main road that led out of the street facing at our front yard directly facing the front porch.

She took the empty gallons when she left with the purpose of refilling them for the evenings since not even the tap Nora and Tom found at the right corner of the house close to the garden grounds which they found to be very bushy with all the grass covering all the beautifully fixed walkway at the back yard.

To me alone, aunt specifically left instructions to see that the dustman does his job accurately and to assisted him if he needed help when he comes back for his second day of work though I and the kids as well already knows that he will be spending a couple of weeks with us and he won't stop not until he has finished cleaning the entire house except for the garden which was excluded from his line of work that was confined to only the interior part of the house.

She also told me to give him food if he was hungry for some of the delicious bacons all three of us munched with delight before drinking the last water we had to refreshed our thirst and to convince him to eat even though he were to decline or refuse our hospitality which was the best I and the children could do for him since he was going to wipe every dust in the rooms and the bathroom for us.

As for the dirty pieces of furniture in the attic, she instructed me to assist him if he was deciding to clean that section of the house and I was to tell him that it was optional and that he could decide to do it at his discretion whenever he was ready to do the job despite knowing that it would cost her much if he actually demanded for more payment as a result of the huge heap of dust that filled the entire attic, not to mention a lot old cartons and furniture compressed together in that compartment which had made the work more tedious for everyone else particularly the dustman himself who wouldn't be too pleased to shoulder the burden alone for a cheap price of his labors.

We never knew the door had a doorbell from the outside and it was only after the dustman arrived in the same outfit he wore when he first came and he brought all his tools with him, that we knew the doorbell works when he himself somehow figured out where the switch was and rang it for us to identify that there was someone at the doorstep.

Before he had arrived, I and the children were playing a board game at the living room which Nora took with her when coming to Houston till our game was shortly interrupted by the buzzing sound of the doorbell when the long anticipated man arrived at our porch at about eight pm, two hours after sunrise in the early morning.

Thankfully, we had all changed into our usual clothes for the day though not fashionably styled like rich kids in a slum but we were fairly clean and neat enough to look presentable to outside. Nora had put on her favorite skirt and short pink blouse while Tom had his short changed into a yellow and black striped T-shirt with a blue trouser quite similar to the blue jeans I wore from my waistline down to my legs with a black dress.

I had left the strands of my wavy black hair exposed and to fall loosely upon my nape and shoulders without having to cover them like I did the other day which enhanced the attractiveness of my body stature. Tom quickly opened the door for all three of us to see the dustman at our doorstep already kitted up for duty this morning.

The last instruction my aunt gave to me before she left was to tell the dustman to start with the kitchen and then the staircase before climbing stairs and I wasn't sure how to relay the information to the man whom I believed already had something in mind for having to come way earlier than the expected time.

"Hey, pal. How are you doing, huh?

"I'm good, Mister", Tom replied with glee as he welcomed the visitor. Nora stood beside him looking shyly at the old dustman.

"Hi there, little pretty lady", He said looking squarely at Nora who shifted from his gaze and hid herself behind Tom. "Shy, huh?"

He gave Nora a queer look.

"Hey, Mister, please come inside and let's get started with the work at hand", "Don't be in a rush, dear. I'm in no hurry to get the work done. It won't be out of place to get to know the family I'm working for, right lady?", He said grinning at

me.

"I suppose....", "Okay, I'll take that as a yes. I'll make the introduction brief for work to kick-start quickly", "Fine, have it your way but make it short", "I'm Matt and I want to know who you are, young man?" he inquired looking straight at Tom. "I'm Tom Thomason", Tom replied sharply with boldness of an equivalent courage with that of his father. Nora didn't speak her name and the dustman got all weird peering at Nora with clinging eyes.

"Her name's Nora", I said in her stead and got my hands akimbo.

"That's a pretty name for a young good-looking lady like you", he said with all empathy. He was kind of a jester and it seemed to me he loved cracking jokes out of everything we told. He seemed friendlier with the children and I believe we would be hearing only his blabbing in the house from henceforth.

"My name is Rosalie, so can we proceed now?" I said politely.

"More like Roses, a flowery name. Alright, we can begin work", "Great. I was instructed to tell you to start with the kitchen. I'll lead you there", "Can we come along?", It was Nora who asked and it got us all surprised at her question. I looked at her and wanted to decline but the dustman seemed to have other intentions in mind.

"Just do what she says and let's go cleaning up some dust", "Yippee! Another adventure!" Tom suddenly yelled out in happiness and Nora seemed delighted as well. I wasn't amused at their gusto and excitement of having to move around the house. For them, it looked like an adventurous tour around the house, an avenue where they were ecstatic to find whatever they wanted to play with.

"Now let's go find the treasure chest!" Tom screamed in extreme excitement and bolted past me into the house, possibly heading to the kitchen before I could yell at him to stop shouting while Nora followed afterwards.

"Tom! Aunt said no running in the house!", I barked but it was far too late for him to listen to my orders since he had already gone inside by the time I realized that he was running again. The dustman was laughing with cheerfulness written boldly on his face but I wasn't in the mood for any jokes nor was I ready to take the housework lightly since I was the one aunt left in charge of looking over things while she was away in town getting the necessary things in place which would be needed for the repairs.

"Sorry about that, Mister. He sometimes acts immaturely", "No need to apologize, he's a kid alright and it would be no fun if we refrain them from playing", "Maybe", The dustman exhaled deeply even when the work was yet to begin and took a look around the environment. He seemed to enjoy the serenity of the forest trees in the air which seemed a lot familiar to him as though he knew the previous owners of this place.

"Mister, do you mind if I ask you a question?" I asked, interrupting his serene look around the area.

"Yes, dear, fire away", "I know this may sound crazy but do you have any idea who lived in this house before we came?", "Uh... Of course not", "You sure? It looked as if you know this area more than we do", "I guess you must be imagining things. I just love the sight of the vicinity that's all", "I...", I wanted to say something else but then, I heard a loud violent crash of something shattering into pieces followed by rapid clanging noises of other utensils falling on the ground inside the house. The attractive sound came from the kitchen and it got us curious as to what had caused the sound. Then it stopped after five seconds of disturbing the quietness in the vicinity.

"What the heck was that?", "I'm not sure but I'll be right back", I replied wanting to rush inside to check out what was source of the disturbance "No, let me come with you", he said and followed me inside where we found the two kids staring at each other in shock, completely horrified and appalled at some broken pieces of two brittle plates lying shattered on the ground amongst some metal cutleries we used the previous night which aunt washed at the dishwasher and arranged afterwards before leaving for town at the early hours of the morning.

"Tom! What have you done?!" I shrieked hot with anger as soon as they spotted us approaching from the sitting room. It took me by surprise when I and dustman saw the full extent of the damages the kids had accidentally done. "It wasn't me, Rosalie. She did it, not me", "Stop accusing her wrongly. This is a total mess", "It was an accident, I swear", Nora said in her defense but I wasn't ready to believe that she was the guilty one and not Tom.

"I don't care to know what happened but you two gotta have to clean this mess right now", I ordered as I knelt down to pick the broken pieces, each of which had scattered around on the floor. Tom bent down and joined me in picking them up while Nora stood in shock but soon joined afterwards in picking up the forks that were lying next to her feet. The dustman stood behind me watching what was going on whilst we took the broken pieces with our fingers "Please mister, lend me your broom for a minute", I requested stretching forth my hand to receive the object from the dustman. He kindly gave it to me without any objections.

"Thank you", I said in appreciation. Then I began sweeping the broken pieces to a corner. Luckily, the plate wasn't aunt's favorite and I was clearly relieved that she wouldn't get too mad about finding out that Nora accidentally broke the plate as well as the few bunches of cutleries that fell from where they were securely kept as a result of the accident.

"Be careful with those", I said to Tom who was recklessly picking up some of the broken pieces with his fingers and he carefully threw them on the corner amongst the rubbles of which I had swept with the broom.

"Now you two have to leave the kitchen and wait for me in the living room", "Yes, Rosalie", Nora replied dejected and embarrassed while Tom, who didn't say anything but flinched nervously, followed afterwards. My anger had cooled down as soon as they left us and all that's left was to make sure the dustman did his work since a lot of time had been wasted loitering around the house.

"Can I begin?"

It took the dustman about an hour to finish with the cleaning inside the kitchen and he was extremely careful enough not to dirty the areas where aunt kept the food for all of us to eat. Then he started with the floor of the living room and then up the staircase before going further to the right corridor where my room was whilst cleaning the paintings hung on the walls as well.