Free Home Sweet Home by Adrian Sturgess

 
     
     
     
     
Home Sweet Home

A Short Story
by
Adrian Sturgess
     
     
     
    Copyright 2011 Adrian
Sturgess

Smashwords Edition
     
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    *****
     
    Though the sun’s golden
rays
were mellowed by the haze
of the dream mists,
that rose up from the edge
of the chasm of night.
     
    *****
     
     
     
    It was a
beautiful sunny day in early April and the Marigold family were on
their way to view the house that was for sale on the outskirts of
the small village where they had been renting a cottage for the
past two months. Mr Marigold’s employer was footing the bill for
the rented accommodation and there was pressure on the family to
quickly buy their own home.
    It was only a
short walk through the centre and out to the edge of the village
and under the vivid blue sky a row of terraced cottages that they
passed took on the vibrancy of a child’s painting in pink, yellow
and blue.
    They were all
in fine mood and their mood further
improved when they spotted the house. It was a good-sized,
detached, house with bay windows and a gabled front. Its fresh
white paintwork fairly gleamed and sparkled at them in the spring
sunshine.
    They walked up
the front path past wonderfully manicured borders and perfectly
clipped shrubs to the big white front door, which promptly opened
to reveal a middle-aged couple who beamed at them from the hallway.
“So you must be Mr and Mrs Marigold, come to look at the house,
well I’m Doreen Smith and this is my husband Jim and…. my oh my,
what wonderful children and how old are you and what are your
names?” She stooped down and flooded them with a radiant smile,
only to be rewarded with a slightly diffident shuffle of the feet.
Finally Jackie composed herself enough to respond. “I’m Jackie and
I’m 14 and this is my brother Ben, he’s 13.”
“Well, well what lovely names, now please do come in, no need to
take off shoes, it hasn’t rained for days has it?”
    The adults
exchanged pleasantries whilst the children just stood looking
around the hallway and across through the partially opened door
towards rooms at the back of the house.
“Well go ahead and take a good look about and Jim and I will be
sitting out in the garden, so take your time and we’ll talk again
in a little while.”
    The family
wandered approvingly around the house and Mrs Marigold immediately
fell in love with the kitchen, which looked out directly onto the
rear garden.
“Wow, look at this, we could have a dining table in here and just
look at that lovely view out onto the rear lawn.”
    Doreen and Jim
could be seen sitting side by side in deckchairs facing down the
garden and gesturing contentedly towards a group of sparrows that
flitted to and fro nearby.
    Mr Marigold
murmured his approval at the size of the kitchen but the kids
hardly heard him because they were already moving ahead excitedly
to discover what surprises the rest of the house had to offer. They
looked into the drawing room but found it a bit gloomy and not
terribly interesting, before moving on to the sitting room, which
was right at the front of the house and had a huge bay window and
long white curtains that draped down and caressed the polished oak
floor. Finally their parents caught up with them and ‘just adored’
the sitting room. As they turned to leave the room, the sun sunk
behind a cloud and the room lost its warmth and colour and suddenly
seemed so unappealing that Jackie had to suppress a shiver and
scurried as quickly as she could out into the hall. But the moment
quickly passed and the upstairs of the house was just perfect,
containing as it did 4 good-sized bedrooms, a study