The ringing of the phone alarmed me at first, breaking me out of my daydream. A towel was tossed over my soaking wet hair and then I sprinted out of the bathroom to find my phone. It was perched over the left side of the couch closest to the door, flashing a bright white light to the darker part of my living room.

“Hello?” My towel was nearly slipping off the side of my head, so I threw it over the back of my shoulder to catch the water that was steadily dripping downwards.

“Sela,” a distinctive Polish accent rang through the speakers. “Hello?”

“Oh, Daphne!” I cried out with pure joy. “It is so good to hear from you again. How are you?”

“Oh,” was murmured faintly, a sound that I barely detected through the speakers. “I’ve been better. I am home now. I haven’t spent much time here, and it feels strange without my husband.”

“Is he any better?”

“Getting there.”

I brushed back a printed orange and red pillow before I took a seat at the edge of my couch. It was late Thursday evening, and I was nearly ready for bed. “Daphne? Are you ready to go back to work on Monday?”

“As long as I work a short morning shift at Woven’s, then I should be fine.” She cleared her throat a little. “I’d give you my afternoon shifts, but I know your time is occupied already.”

“Yes, my schedule is full.”

“I will have to contact one of my other employees then,” she surmised in a tired voice. “But, how are you doing at Woven’s?”

“Oh, I am fine,” I lied, while squinting my eyes funnily. I tried to push back the awkward drive to the bus terminal that I had to endure this afternoon from my mind. “Well, you see…”

“Is he giving you any trouble?” my manager asked with worry. “Sela?”

“No, not really.” I pulled up the towel to cover my damp hair more, for I was currently experiencing a chill. “I didn’t take your advice. I spoke to him…” My gaze lowered to my lap with a feeling of remorse. “And he spoke to me.”

“Oh, there is nothing wrong with that!” Daphne yelled over the phone. “I’ve spoken to him often. He is a charming young man.”

“Yes, he is very polite.” My legs stretched themselves out upon the couch, since I wanted to get into a more comfortable position.

“Very charming!” my employer continued. “I don’t often work on private property, but Mr. Woven was quite desperate to procure a gardener. You mustn’t say anything, my dear, but he could not hire anyone in the town.” Her laughter rang through the speakers, increasing in time. “Town gossip,” she quipped. “But, Sela, you must not listen to them.”

“Town gossip?”

“Oh, nothing,” she said in a way to drop the conversation entirely.

“Daphne? Why did you want me to stay away from him?”

“Because he is a troubled man, Sela. You have a good heart. Incredibly sweet. A nature like yours against his…”

“Yes?”

“Sela,” she spoke in a tone of voice that was full of concern. “You would only get hurt trying to help him.”

“Help him?” I piped up, after I leaned forward with interest.

“Mr. Woven is a man that is best left alone,” she warned. “It would be in your best interest to stick to your job and-”

“-what if I don’t want to?” I interjected. “What if I want to help him?”

“You don’t understand, my dear,” the old lady chided. “You simply do not understand.”

I let out a low sigh, and then fell upon the pillow at the end of my couch dramatically.

“Mr. Woven,” Daphne began. “Has gone through horrors you could hardly imagine. He is still a victim to it! You would do right to stick to your work and let that be the end of it.”

“But I can’t,” I stammered out with an awful spread of heat across the sides of my cheeks from embarrassment. “I’ve spent so much time with him already.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“He helps me in the garden,” I informed her. “We have coffee together in the morning, and then we share lunch. He even drives me to the bus terminal after work, and one time he drove me all the way home. He enjoys my company, and…” I licked my bottom lip quickly. “I enjoy his as well.”

“The only time I go into the house is to use his washroom,” Daphne commented in a low tenor. “I would be flattered if he brought out a glass of water to me. Do you mean to tell me-?”

“-yes!” I interrupted her. “I have spent most of my time there with him.”

“Then he likes you,” she pointed out. “Mr. Woven takes a romantic interest in you. He hardly spent more than five minutes of his time around me. That man often spends his mornings in his art studio, focusing on his paintings.”

“They are wonderful paintings,” I breathed out quickly.

“You’ve seen them?” Daphne questioned me with a painful sound to her voice. “I wish I had.”

“You’ve never seen them?”

“I told you already, I hardly took a step into his household. Everything I could ever need is outside in that shed or somewhere in the garden. If I wanted lunch, I would drive down to the village at the bottom of the hill after work. There is a nice bakery there with sandwiches that are to die for. You should try it sometime. Oh, look! I am blabbing again.” Her soft laughter echoed on her end of the phone line. “Whatever you do, Sela, do not mention you work at the Woven’s residency. The locals will tell you such frightful tales! They will say the place is cursed and all that. Mr. Woven will not like you to hear such things.”

“Cursed?”

“Never mind that!” Daphne scolded me. “You go to work tomorrow, and perform your duties. I will be back first thing Monday morning, and there will be nothing for your pretty little head to worry about.”

“Okay,” I submitted in almost a hush.

“It will break Mr. Woven’s heart, I daresay. To see you off again.” The old woman paused, as her reflection upon the matter deepened severely. “But it is for the best.”

“Will he be alright?”

“Hmmmm.”

“If I leave him?”

“If?” Daphne echoed. “What do you mean by that, child?”

“Only that…” I looked to the right, taking note of the television screen that was off and vaguely remembered Teddy’s words. “He wants to spend more time with me.”

“Oh?”

“Outside of work.”

“I fail to understand.”

“He wants to show me the coastal line outside of his house. He suggested it this afternoon, but I think after what happened… after I upset him.”

“Sela, it would be wise to stay away from him.”

“He is quite harmless,” I said as a way of an excuse. “He has been nothing but kind to me.”

“He is harmless. But…” I leaned the phone closer to my ear, eager to learn more of her thoughts. “There is a blackness to that house. A blackness to him too.” She paused, clearly in pain for having to reveal the truth to me. “One more day. I pray to God that it rains, so you won’t have to endure it. Stay away from that man, Sela.” She paused for one more time, to add emphasis to her next words: “Stay away.”

Teddy stood at the bottom of the hill with a long, black umbrella in hand. A few droplets of rain crashed down upon the hilly land, but not enough to make me feel agitated. The bus pulled up right beside Teddy’s dark figure, and the usual bus driver that normally took me to work simply tilted his hat in respect to the gentleman waiting outside for me. The driver did not exhibit the same fears as the one yesterday, so perhaps it was only a bad incursion. I offered a small goodbye to the bus operator, pleased that he opened the doors wide enough for me to step outside and join Teddy’s side. I could feel the heated stare of this dark cloaked figure as I walked past the front of the bus, although Teddy remained motionless as I steadily approached him.

He was draped in all black for the morning, with a smoky grey flat cap covering his head. He removed it once I stood in front of him, and angled the umbrella in a certain way to block out the rain for me.

“What are you doing here?” His eyebrows shot up with surprise. “Is anything the matter?”

“I came here to apologize.”

“Yes, but you came out of your house,” I professed. “You didn’t have to come all the way down the hill to tell me that.”

“I was rude yesterday,” Teddy apologized. “And cold towards you.” His hat was placed back upon his head. “It is perfectly natural to be a little curious, and besides, you didn’t see anything too damaging.” He stepped a little closer, allowing the umbrella to cover us both from the light dripping of rain. “I overreacted,” he confessed. “I’m naturally a private man, and things only became worse when the town began to gossip about me. But you are different, Sela. You don’t listen to that.”

“No, I know nothing,” I conceded.

A twinge of a smile spread across his face, though it was small and fragile-like. “You’re like a breath of fresh air,” he hushed under his breath. An arm was presented upwards, a subtle offer for me to slip my arm over his own. “I think it’s time for something hot to drink. The rain will let up soon enough, and then you can return to work.”

His mood had suddenly lifted, there was even a lightness to his rich chocolate brown eyes. He escorted me away from the side of the road, bent upon taking the smoothest route possible that would lead him back home. The umbrella was shared between us, allowing him to be as close beside me as possible. We walked in companionable silence up the hill, where only the faint lapses of the calming sea could be vaguely heard under the light showering of rain.

A steady downpour of water droplets fell from a steel-grey sky; it pelted against the window where Teddy silently stood. His back was to me; a large white mug clutched firmly in his hand as he watched the sudden change of the temperamental weather. I was seated in my normal chair, stroking the small cat that was lost in slumber upon my lap. The faint ticking of the clock could be heard down the hallway, and the rushing wind that inevitably came from the sea.

Teddy was lost in his own thoughts, deep and dark enough for him to wear a brooding expression. I contemplated the warning of my employer, Daphne, and the words she gave me over my phone. Something inside of me wanted to dismiss it, to tear down every wall that silently stood in between us. Luna was placed upon the kitchen table and I found my feet naturally gravitating towards this sober looking man. My hand perched itself upon his left shoulder, turning him around so that I could have a better look at him. “What is troubling you?” I gently whispered. His face softened before me, but it still revealed a haunting look in the darkest regions of his eyes.

“Thoughts,” he offered out. “Memories.”

My hand was lowered, which made his demeanour change suddenly. He looked down at the hand that once touched him, and I could see in his eyes that he wished it would return to his shoulder.

“You worry for me,” he ventured. “You should worry.” He took a small step backwards, and then turned himself away from me. “I am not my normal self today, Sela. I think it’s best to return to your normal duties.”

“It is raining,” I reminded him, which made him look to the left to see the rain soaking the long glass window. “You were fine only a moment ago.”

“I must get out of this house,” he said with gritted teeth, before he darted his head to the open doorway that would lead to the hall. “Do you mind the rain, Sela?”

“You want to go out in it?”

“I thought a walk would do me well.”

I looked to the window as well with a feeling of uneasiness. “We could catch a chill,” I reminded him. “There must be something else you could do.”

“I will go to my room,” he declared, and then immediately left the kitchen. To my surprise he did not go up the staircase, but turned right to head down the long hallway. I followed after him, too curious for my own good. Teddy entered the art room and purposefully left the door wide open for me to follow him. “You are welcome to come inside,” he said over his shoulder, once he heard a creak of the floorboard over the threshold of the open doorway. “I have nothing to hide. Not anymore, at least.” He pointed behind him, directing his fingers towards a small wooden stool. “Have a seat.”

“Teddy, won’t you tell me what is wrong?”

He never answered me, but I could see the slight trembling of his hands as he walked around the room. There was something wrong, almost too overbearing for him. He used his shaky fingers to brush back his hair, revealing his entire face and the long frown that he could not hold back any longer. “It’s unbearably hot in here,” he complained, and moved swiftly to the window to force it open. The cold rain pattering against the stony grey wall was loud, you could hear the echo of the wailing wind as it battered against the wall with forcefulness. I expected it to rain a little bit this morning, but I was never prepared for this type of stormy weather.

The gust of wind blew fiercely into the room, scattering some papers that were laid upon his desk. Teddy frantically tried to pick up some papers, and motioned his hands for me to stay away when I tried to assist him. I blatantly ignored him, and picked up some sheets of papers that were closest to me. There were some sketches of the house, and self-portraits of him in different rooms. I peered at one in particular; an illustration of him in this very room. There was a haughty expression about him, a defiant glimmer in his eyes, but the thing that troubled me the most was the deliberate grey shading positioned next to him as he sat beside the drawing table. It was indistinguishable, the shading, but there was something about it that still disturbed me.

“I do self-portraits,” he declared in a booming voice. “Either that or I draw poor Luna.”

“I thought you don’t do portraits.”

“So did I,” he darkly chuckled. “But… it clears my mind.” He retrieved the small piece of paper from my hand, and protectively placed it against his chest. “I don’t do it for money though.”

“You could,” I suggested. “You captured the likeness quite well.”

“You think so?” He lowered the paper and held it in front of him. “I enjoy drawing people; capturing their expressions. I always thought that mine was rather depressing though.” He stepped away from me while still carrying the self-portrait. “Strangely enough, yours is quite different.” Teddy stopped in front of his pine desk and pulled open a different compartment than before. “I drew it yesterday evening.” A fine quality paper was lifted into the air, and then he slowly strode towards me. The paper was handed to me, and I could see an exact likeness of myself in the image. I was situated in the garden, surrounded by flowers that were in full bloom with the outline of a cloudy blue sky in the background. He had captured my likeness so well, it shocked me completely. Slowly I lowered the paper and darted my gaze upwards to see that he had been watching me. He took a small step forward, allowing the darkness in his eyes to increase dramatically. “What do you think?”

“It’s…” My voice fell so low that I could go no further.

“You don’t like it?”

“All of this from memory?” I inquired. He nodded his head slowly, though his expressions displayed his anxiety as though it was choking him to death. “How?”

“How?”

“It is like I was standing there in front of you,” I mused aloud. “It’s beautiful!” The paper was pressed upon my chest. “Could I keep it? I hope I don’t sound vain, Teddy, but I have never seen anything like it before.” My feet moved to the right, and ever so slowly I moved towards the open window. “It is like you captured my very existence,” I pondered quietly to myself. “In a single image.”

“I will go over it with black ink, and then frame it for you.”

I turned around sharply, and exclaimed: “You would do that?” He responded with a small nod of his head in affirmation. “You’ve done so much for me,” I exclaimed. “And I feel as though I have done nothing for you.”

His rosy pink lips puckered outwards, and soon enough his grey slippers elegantly stepped over the light almond coloured floor to get to me.

“Teddy.” He stopped his movements abruptly. “What could I do for you?”

“Let me see you tomorrow,” he urged. “I will pick you up.” He took another bold step forward to enclose the last of the space between us. “I want to show you the rest of my lands. You would like the shoreline, I think.” He took a long pause to let him interlace his fingers together and place it over the front of his lap. “That is all I ask from you.”

“Then yes, I’ll do it.”

His facial expressions was inscrutable, but I knew he was secretly happy to hear the news.

“Are you feeling better now?” I asked of him. Teddy nodded his head sternly, never letting his gaze waver away from mine. “I don’t like to see you that upset. I am glad you are feeling better. If you still want, we can take a walk outside.”

“In the rain?” he laughed in mirth.

“If it will clear your mind, I see no reason not to.”

“You care for me,” he voiced aloud with a half-startled expression. “Don’t you?”

“I’m your friend,” I cunningly reminded him in the hopes of avoiding his question.

“Yes, you are.”

The left side of my lip quirked upwards, and then I nervously avoided his gaze. To stare at him any longer would be at my peril. Teddy must have gotten the hint, for he stepped aside and returned to his normal stool where he would conduct his paintings. I watched him busy himself with his apron, securing it neatly before he set up his station. I wandered about the room, and made sure to open the door a crack in case Luna wanted to come inside.

Rain continued to fall down from the heavens, sending a light mist into the room with the familiar scent of rainfall that I loved so well. “Fill this with water,” Teddy requested, while holding up a large container just behind his back. “I need it.”

It was strange how easily I fell into his domestic surroundings, especially when I took the item from his hand and headed to the kitchen to fill it. When I looked over my shoulder, Teddy was already lifting up a nearly completed painting. His mind had turned over to his work; a good sign for his sanity at least.

Upon entering the kitchen I felt the temperature to be unreasonably cold, and a queer sort of feeling that I was suddenly being watched. The house was silent though, and there was nothing in my surroundings to cause any form of alarm. The tap was turned on and I slowly filled the container, while keeping an eye out for Luna. When I peered through the glass of the foggy window I thought I had caught sight of my own reflection, but the figure was larger than my own. I turned around instantly to find that nothing was there, and immediately shut off the tap. I held my breath with anticipation, and frantically looked around the room. There was a low whimpering sound, as if someone was in pain, forcing my head to turn to the left to observe the tightly sealed door with the heavy iron chain, wrapped around the doorknob and hooked around the corner of the wall, where a bronze hook jutted out of it. I wondered where that room led to, and if someone was down there. Should I be afraid of Teddy? Could there be someone down there like me? Some victim of his, or had my imagination gone too far? I turned on the tap once again, and forced my mind to a more positive sphere. I came to the logical conclusion that it was only my imagination, or the sound of the wind that made that sound that first alarmed me. Still, what sound in this house could create such a painful whimper, such a low moan of pain? I filled the water as high as I could and quickly scampered out the room.

“Back already?” Teddy questioned me, without ever looking back. “Excellent.”

“Do you need me to fill up anything else?”

“What? No! I only want you to go into the music room. Feel free to take up any book you’d like. Be a dear for me, and turn on the music. I concentrate better that way. If you could be quiet while I paint, I will make the most of this opportunity.”

“And what is that?”

“Oh, having you here in the room with me,” he said with all politeness. He waved his free hand over his shoulder, dismissing me with a simple gesture. I embarked on the errand to switch on the radio, hardly amused when classical music began to play. His bookshelf was full of non-fiction books, a sad fact that he did not enjoy stories as much as I did. I picked up a quaint travelling book about India, and then walked back into the art room where he quietly worked.

“Sela?” he voiced aloud. “I heard your footsteps. Where would you like to sit?” His paintbrush continued to dab on the canvas, focusing on a particular area of a tree in the corner of the painting. “You can bring the stool closer.”

He turned around finally, revealing a smile that took me by surprise.

“I promise you that I will work on your portrait. It feels quite awkward doing it next to you. Besides, I ought to finish this one. Feel free to look at my other work, though do take care. It is my living, you know.”

I laid the traveling book down on the stool and explored the length of his room. For someone that was normally organized, his workspace was in a state of disarray. I thought it was an acute reflection of his own mind, but I should not go so far as to judge him on the appearance of his studio alone.

Teddy’s eyes were bent upon the canvas, utterly fixated with his work. I felt free enough to look at his landscape paintings, noticing that he was very talented at his work. “Teddy? Who taught you how to draw?”

“No one taught me.”

“But did you study it in school?”

“My boarding school did not put much emphasis on the arts.”

“Boarding school?”

“Yes,” he drawled in a heartless way.

“Did you study it afterwards? Go to another school for it?”

“No, never.”

“So you were born with this gift.”

“I worked at it,” he remarked with his back to me. “It takes years of experience.”

I drew myself closer to him, until I was at his side. “I think it’s wonderful.” He tilted his head upwards and to the right to have a better look at me. “You can play the piano, draw, paint, and are so well educated.”

“I had a good mentor,” he quietly explained. “And a guardian that was bent upon bringing out the best of me. I was like a wounded bird when I was first brought to his doorstep. I daresay, I still am.” He lowered his paintbrush grievously. “But I have become all of this through sheer determination alone.”

“Determination is one thing,” I noted. “But I would say you are a genius.”

“Like Einstein?” he teased. “No, I am no genius. All of this has been incurred in most recent years, I can assure you.”

“And before that?”

His mouth turned crooked, bent downwards with disdain. “I’d rather not talk about it.” He averted his gaze from me. “I enjoy the way things are. The less you know about me, the easier it will be for us both.”

“You have so many secrets.”

“Some secrets are best to keep to one’s self.”

“Debatable,” I hushed from the corner of my mouth.

“Believe me, Sela. There are some things that you should keep close to your heart.” He raised up his right hand, letting his paintbrush stick upwards. “After all, things are better between us this way. You are not tainted! No, not like the others before you.”

“What others?”

“People,” he sneered. “How they look at me! And- and whisper things behind my back. They treat me as though I was Satan himself.”

“But you are not him,” I lightly teased to cheer up his mood.

“Not even close!” Teddy blurted out in anger. “Why should I suffer for the sins of others? I cannot change things! I cannot cut myself and let my blood pour out upon the floor just to appease them. I am not my…” He bit down on his tongue, and I could see the venomous flash of something akin to hatred pool over his blackened eyes. “Let’s change the topic,” he sharply stated. “I am done with this conversation.”

“Okay, Teddy.”

“Good,” he said with utter respite, and that was the end of it.