Chapter 50: Chapter 50
"The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances. If there is any reaction, both are transformed."
-Carl Jung-
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"I have been expecting you" Renee stood before Clara who had just arrived in front of her mansion with a bright smile plastered on her face. That day she was seen wearing a soft white gown with a large bow on the back of her waist, even when she was inside the house, Renee always ensured that she was well dressed. Clara certainly could learn a thing or two from her. It was only a few hours earlier that Renee had called Clara to invite her to her place. Since it was weekend, none of them had any other plans and she thought it would be nice to have a company beside her brother.
Clara seemed like a contrast to her, she was wearing a deep green sleeveless dress with a round beige sun hat. It was a rather sunny day, so she was also wearing a large shade. Once she saw Renee, she removed her glasses to reveal the glint in her eyes. Renee pulled her into a warm hug before grabbing her hand to bring her inside the house. Within minutes Renee was already telling her about the things they would be doing in the house that day.
She seemed unusually excited that day. As they walked toward the stairs, Renee had asked her about her week, if something exciting had happened, truth to be told, there was nothing particularly memorable that week, but she did tell her about her new work, Renee listened intently as Clara told her everything about it. Without her realizing it, Clara was the one who did all the talking as they arrived on the second floor.
"Ah, I'm sorry, I spoke too much" she apologized.
"No it's fine. I like listening to you. Anyway, we have arrived" they stopped in front of a room with a wooden door, Renee looked exceptionally delighted as she held the door knob while facing her.
"There is a part of the house that I haven't shown you, It just got cleaned yesterday" She clapped her hand and bit her lips in excitement, with a loud ta-da sound she pulled the door, revealing a large section of a library which reminded her of the one they had in museums. It was about the size of a small gallery room in Louvre with two floors. Mind you, by small, it can fit the size of a wealthy man's living room.
"I heard you like reading books, Raphael must have had quite a collection in his house, but I'm sure this will impress you" What Clara saw was probably one of the grandest library she had ever seen. It had a spiral stair in the middle and a lounge seat surrounding it. On the corner of the room was a Medieval soldier statue and there was a medium sized horse statue on the very end middle of the room.
The library was arranged beautifully with each shelves containing books of the same category. Unlike public libraries, the books were not arranged by their first letter, but by their sizes and genres. Some were even displayed by color pattern.
The second floor was a bit more modern, it displayed a collection of some vintage books eighteenth and nineteenth century. It was most likely left by the previous owners, after all who would be able to carry such a huge collection when moving? Some of them were covered in special sealing to prevent any damage from their old age. On the same floor there was a small section with a modern computer there.
"I like the computer more than the one we have in the other rooms, it's always quiet and peaceful here, it really clears the head."
"No one uses the room except for me and my brother. The staff cleans the place once a month cause it does get tiring cleaning up this entire thing, not like dust gather around this place, as you can see, there are no windows here." She guided her throughout the place. As they walked around Clara realized the place was much bigger than what it was seen at the first sight. There were some sections hidden beneath the other sections. It reminded her of a Vatican inspired library.
"It took me years to figure this room out. You can easily get lost in here. It does get creepy at night because of the whole atmosphere but since we renovated the place we added several more ceiling lights, and it is not as scary as it used to be anymore." She chuckled as she remembered her first time being in the room. It was far worse than it was at the moment. Back then she swore she could feel ghostly presence within it. Of course, she did not want to scare her guest with ghostly stories so she left it at that.
Clara ran her fingers along the books and it felt oddly satisfying. The unique scent of books was one of her favorite scent in the world. There was just something about being surrounded by books that calmed her down, it brought her back to her childhood when her father used to bring her to the bookstore once a week. Since they lived in the countryside area and the city was not as developed back then, they could not go out that frequently.
"I should visit you more often, If you don't mind." She remarked. Of course, Renee did not mind at all, it was the opposite, she encouraged her to do so. They were, after all, close friends.
"I would be happy if you do that. I mean I only live in this place with my brother, who, you already know about his condition and the maids, whom I can't share many things with. Having a friend over sounds good to me."
After touring the place for one hour straight they rested on the lounge on the ground floor of the library. The beige seating with golden lining matched the room perfectly. The wooden vintage long coffee table was put i the middle and there were some flower arrangements in the middle. It made the room looked more alive. She had picked up a book title which interested her. It was a classic vintage book made in the late nineteenth century. It was definitely a great period for writers which had birthed to many amazing timeless classic literary.
They had a small talk about life and caught up on recent events. Clara had told Renee everything that happened lately. She had found it fairly easy to talk to Renee. The woman was attentive and made a great listener, she has no judgement on her face, her manner was as calm as a lake, she was enthusiastic and calm at the same time. During the short period of time of knowing her she had talked to her like a younger sister would to her older. Well, perhaps because Renee was indeed older than her, she felt secure in her presence.
Renee herself had shown Clara various things and had taught her knowledge she had attained, she was generous in sharing her life experience, Clara felt as if she was talking to someone she had known for a long period of time.
"Aren't we like sisters already?" Renee grabbed Clara's hand dearly. She could not help but smile. Clara felt the comfort of a sisterly friendship with Renee and they had not even known each other for that long. It was unbelievable. Before any of them realized it hours had passed by. Most of those were spent in the library. Clara had a need to head to the bathroom, since she had previously gone there before she could find her way on her own. The guest bathroom was located on the ground floor near the garden, after doing her business there, she planned on heading back straight to the library where Renee was, but then she heard some voices from the garden.
Curiosity got the best of her and she sneaked outside, hiding behind the gray stone walls and tilted her head slightly to take a peek, there she spotted a familiar reddish hair, it was Rainier. He was kneeling on the ground, and his attention was onto something.
Clara titled her head a bit further to see what he was looking at a cat. A fluffy cat. It has white and gray fur with some black spots around the head forming a V shape toward the nose. He was holding a can of sardines and opened it up for him. He accidentally injured himself when touching the sharp edge of the can, and blood started leaking out from the open skin. However he did not seem to mind this as he put the can down and the cat started eating, biting each pieces with his sharp but tiny teeth.
At that moment Clara saw something she thought she could never see, a smiling Rainier. The man was smiling care freely, showing his bright teeth and small dimples started forming on his cheek. Clara had to admit, he was looking sweet. She had no idea he had dimples before, he looked completely different from the man she thought he was the whole time.
Clara had forgotten that she was hiding and accidentally stepped on a broken stem, letting out a loud crack sound. Both the cat and Rainier turned their head on her, and she could not hide anymore. The smile quickly disappeared from Rainier's face and it was replaced by his usual grim. She stepped out and approached him, flashing an awkward smile but she ended up kneeling beside him. The cat was unbothered as it continued to eat once it realized she was not a threat. "He's cute, do you always feed him?"
"It's a she." Rainier replied lowly. It turned out the cat was a female. Clara had to swallow down her embarrassment. Rainier straight expression made Clara felt uneasy, but he did not react in an angry manner like he did the other time.
"Your hand is bleeding, let me treat it for you." she was about to touch his hand when he slapped her hand away. He was glaring at her this time, but somehow Clara was not as afraid as she was when she first saw him. Fortunately, she always had a band aid on her purse, she pulled out a sheet and opened it up for him.
"Give me your fingers." this time she had a more demanding tone which seemed to get inside him. Rainier had to think about it for a second, but slowly he brought his hand near Clara. Guess sometimes you had to be more assertive in order to get your order done.
Clara used an antiseptic wipe on the wound and then wrapped the ban aid around his fingers.
"There done." she stepped back with a huge smile on her face. Rainier had no idea what he should do, he murmured a small thanks and stared at her. Clara thought Rainier was not capable of being nice to others but it seemed she had misjudged him. Then she remembered that Renee was still waiting in the library. She quickly excused herself from Rainier's presence.
Rainier stood still. He looked at his fingers and touched the part with the band aid. The cat had rubbed itself against his leg and it brought him back to reality. Rainier picked the cat up and started at its greenish blue eyes.
"You can't go inside." he put the cat down and disappeared through the wall. What a strange guy. Clara had returned to the library and Renee was sitting there playing around with a piece of notebook, toying it around with her fingers and closed it when Clara stepped inside.
"I need to go back now, it's getting dark outside." Renee was a bit disappointed, but the smile did not fade from her face, she stood up and brought Clara outside. Clara thanked her for the amazing
"Before you leave, I have a present for you." She pulled something out from the pocket of her dress, it was a beautiful round crystal cosmetic jar with diamond embellishment on the very top. It radiated a luxury vibe all around. It felt like something that you could only get in niche houses.
"Is this for me?" Renee handed it over to her hand, Clara was a bit hesitant at first, but she convinced her that it was a gift for their friendship.
"It's a custom made beauty cream, you won't find anything like this anywhere else, made in small batches using the highest quality ingredients to improve and nourishes the skin, it's magic in a jar, a little goes a long way." she smiled as Clara put it inside her purse. Clara thanked her and had her ride arrive just on time. From inside the car, she could see Renee waving back at her.
It was only on the last minute did she realized, that Rainier had been watching everything from behind the wall, which was visible from her car seat. Clara felt a shudder. She had no idea why Rainier would act like that, he was definitely a peculiar man. She did not know if she should consider him a good or bad person. He had a gentle side to him, she could see that, but it was not enough to prove him to be a good person. She had decided she should be more careful the next time she met him.