Chapter 4

The strangest thing about the unknown is that you always fear it almost as much as a known to you fear, if not more. Emma stepped in, expecting unexpected. But never in the whole world did she expect to appear in the broad daylight. The light was so strong she had to shield her eyes with a hand.

When she lowered her hand, she saw that she was standing in a room. After a second she realized that the room was really strange. It was something you can see on an old picture or in a museum.

After a few minutes Emma started noticing more and more details. The table looked like it was from the 20th of the last century. The carpet was covering the whole room and looked like an old picture had come to life. And the walls were painted in a light pink with a lot of pictures hanging. No wallpaper, no laptops. But there was a light bulb hanging from the ceiling.

Emma actually started feeling quite warm, so she took off her gloves and unbuttoned her coat.

She was about to go look around, when she heard nearing sounds of voices. Emma didn’t need to think what to do. She turned back to the door she just came through. But what Emma saw behind startled her. It was not a door but an old looking big wardrobe. She stared at it. But the voices were nearing inevitably and she had no other choice but to get in. Cliché? Yes. But one raised on Hollywood movies could and would not do differently.

As she closed a wardrobe door behind her, she left a little crack to see what’s going on in the room. Emma heard the door of the room open and in came two people: a man and a woman. Though when the woman turned to face the wardrobe Emma realized she was hardly older than herself.

“Well, I don’t know about you, Finn, but I am going to stay in my room for the rest of the day,” said the girl. She was definitely angry. Her face was red and in her voice Emma heard distressed notes. “He always acts like such butter upon bacon2”.

The man she called Finn answered in a calming tone: “But, Sandy, you cannot do that”.

“Oh, yes? Just wait and see,” said Sandy, sitting herself on the couch just opposite the wardrobe Emma was hiding in.

“Sweety, please. You know Ivey. He enjoys collie shangles3,” said Finn kneeling beside her. Emma was feeling a bit lost on that part of the conversation. What dialect was it even?

“Unfortunately, I do know him”.

“Well, then, come back and try not to listen to a word he says”.

“But it’s so hard, you know. He is so … loud,” said Sandy, making a face as though she was going to cry now.

“Please. I know you to be bricky1”.

They looked at each other for a second and then Sandy sighed and took Finn’s hand: “Oh, all right”.

He smiled and kissed her cheek. She waived him off: “Just give me a minute to change”.

“Told you are bricky1,” he said and went out of the room.

Sandy was left alone. She sat on the couch for a minute chuckling. Then got up, saying:

“Tell that to mum”.

And with those words went straight to the wardrobe. Straight to where Emma was. Cliché? Yes, it is.