SSRP: Peale House

[nicole black]

On a secluded street in Cardiff sits a beautiful home overlooking a hill and the main thoroughfare of the city itself.

The house is strange. Not in it's manner for the halls are welcoming, sunlit and currently full of unpacked boxes and the vines that curl and unfurl over the face of the home are beautiful, well kept and inspire a sense of whimsy and eternal summer. The strangeness of the house is uncaused by the new residents (though perhaps the beauty of Abin-Sur's wife and three daughters could be considered unnatural) no. The root of the abnormal atmosphere was in the way the vine covered home seemed to repel the common man, in fact, many people seemed quite certain the house did not exist and by extension the existence of the Peale's themselves.
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Of course, these people could not have been more wrong. The Peale House and it's enchanting inhabitants were as real as you or me.

Abin-Sur Peale - nicole black
Ashika Peale - nicole black
Jagan Ravi Peale - Wood's Little Flower
Tejashree Oni Peale - Awarlesta Black
Nirvani Nymphadora Peale - nicole black

[Awarlesta Black]

The 15 year-old middle sister of the Peale daughters stepped in first. Teddy set her duffle bag on the floor of the foyer with a thunk, a small cloud of dust billowing from under the blow. She looked around the vast and empty area, taking close detail of the spiderwebs forming on the staircase and the vines creeping in though the cracks of the wood.


"I don't like it."

[nicole black]

Healer Ashika Peale was a true beauty. Elegant even in her simple white t-shirt and jeans, Ashika was the epitome of poise and good reason. It was, after all, these two traits which had gotten her through extensive healer training, childbirth and bigotry and they would serve her again (she had assured herself) during this time of ill-fitting crisis.

Ashika stepped into their new home just after Tejashree. She had the slightest frown on her clear features, but it had nothing to do with her daughter's words. "I know it isn't exactly... what we're accustomed to, but with time we'll call it home." Ashika said, her dark voice echoing in the empty halls of the house. The Mother of three was unsure if she was trying to convince Teddy or herself.

Abin-Sur, dusting off his bejeweled hands entered in with much more enthusiasm than his daughter and wife. He smiles at them both before stepping into place beside Tejashree and wrapping an arm around her lithe shoulders.

"What's not to like? The dust? That's easy enough." He squeezed her shoulder, trying to provide some sort of warmth or affection. He knew, of course that the move would be hard for his girls but what could he do? There was little chance in New Delhi of redemption...

No, this had been the best choice. The only choice as far as he was concerned. They would make this work, he would get together the money and sooner or later things would all fall together.

[Awarlesta Black]

Teddy felt her eyes well up when her mother looked for reason. "I don't want to call it home. I want to go back home." She uttered rudely. Teddy knelt down to pick out a rubber ball from her bag and tossed it into the empty house. She felt her Jack Terrier, Raja, burst from between her legs after the red ball.

Her jaw clenched at the feeling of her father's hand around her shoulder. She shrugged him off. After all, it was his idea to come here. No one begged to come here. No one wanted to come here.

Teddy ran up the stairs. "Raja! Come, boy!" She called to the small dog, who was returning sneezing with a very dusty red ball.

[nicole black]

The words stung. No. It had not been his children nor his wife's decision to come to England, but he had hoped the girls would take to it better...

Abin-Sur cringed, slipping his cast away hand into the pocket of his dark wash jeans. He was... something at a loss. He was the fun parent, the 'cool dad' and completely unused to his daughters giving him the cold shoulder. "Teddy!" He called out, watching with slumped shoulders as the teen girl and her faithful dog ran off.

Ashika and Abin-Sur shared a look. "I've really made a mess of everything, haven't I?" He quietly asked as Ashika took his hand and raised it to her lips.

"Yes." She paused, kissing his knuckles. Her dark eyes briefly traveled up the length of the staircase. "Go order us something to eat, I'm going to start unpacking our room."

They shared another look. the silence hanging between them like the calm before a storm. Abin-sur's whole body seemed to sigh with him. "I'll get the dining room ready..... " he said, rubbing his face. There was a pamphlet somewhere for a fish shop not far down the way, perhaps he would even drive down. The air would be good for him.




Nirvani as quiet as always had been completely unnoticed by her parents through their teté-a-teté and unnoticed still as they parted ways.

The house was big, dusty and reminded the seven-year-old of those abandoned homes in her deddy'a photography book. She decided quickly that she liked it, especially the floorboards which creaked when you stepped on just the right spot. Smiling to herself, Nirvani jumped from floorboard to floorboard until the foyer was full of creaks and cracks made from dainty shoes.

Ashika heard nothing, she was playing music in her room. A soft concerto that drifted out into the rest of the main floor and oddly enough, went rather well with the squeak and creak symphony Nirvani was conducting. That is, until she grew bored. Her sisters were nowhere in sight, but that was alright, she'd find them easily enough. With her red velveteen rabbit wrapped gently in her little brown arms Nirvani made her way up the stairs and through the very quiet, sunlit second floor corridor. There was a carpet here along the walk, which sadly meant no creaking, hopefully her parents would get rid of that.

She came to a door and knocked. Was Teddy in there? Was Jay? We're both of them?

[Awarlesta Black]

The door creaked open just enough for Raja to nudge it open with his nose to greet Nirvani. Teddy sat at a small nook by the window with her headphones on. She was gazing out the window, looking at the forest going on for miles on with no break. The view now replaced the skyscrapers she grew up looking up at.

A faint disco beat leaked from out of the headphones, but Teddy could still hear her thoughts. They were rerooted here with no explanation. Her friends back home were left as confused as she was. What if nobody wanted to be her friend here? Did she want friends?

[Wood'sLittleFlower]

Jagan Ravi Peale stood up slowly, brushing the dirt from her knees so it wouldn't catch on to her skirt. The air that hung around the house made her nose wrinkle, it's lack of more pleasant smells would soon be remedied if she had anything to say about it. But for now, she at least had her soil tested and her garden space decided, and now all she could do was wait until the boxes were unpacked so her saplings could be rehoused.

As she walked back to the entrance, her fingers danced along the walls of the house, little leaves and vines tangling around her fingertips as she went. They searched for the building material underneath the plants, but she was greeted by soft petals every time her fingers tried to push further past them. In time, she gave up and her arms crossed in front of her, half in disappointment with the walls of the house, half in disappointment with the dusty greeting she received as her eyes met the inside of the house through one of the lower windows.

Her hair was pushed over one shoulder as her eyes greeted the doorway, a heavy breath escaped her lips while her feet carried her inside. Displeased as ever, an audible huff echoed through the empty house as she began to climb the stairs.

"Teddy? Nirvani?"

[nicole black]

Nirvani slipped into the room by the crack of the door, her dark eyes falling instantly on her didi's curled up form. Quietly, the seven-year-old walked over with her velveteen rabbit trailing along the floor by her side. The world was hushed, soft and warm, illuminated by the light encompassing Tejashree.

the room was nice, bigger than any she'd had before, but the empty walls seemed sad, almost lonely. Nirvani set down her rabbit in the windowsill by Didi, arranging him carefully so his soft red back would lean against the wall and his bunny feet would just dangle over the edge. She checked once, and then twice to make sure the rabbit was secure before turning her curious, innocent eyes back to Teddy. She tugged gently on her shirt and waited, patiently, for the older girl to notice her.

[Awarlesta Black]

She looked down to see the who the culprit was tugging at her shirt. Most of the time it was Nirvani, but occasionally, back at home, it would be the ghost child that lived in our house. How she'll miss that rascal.

Teddy gently tugged on Nirvani's hair and stood up, looking around at the empty room. "It needs color, baby." She moved a box with her foot in front of them and searched through it. She could hear her sister calling their names from downstairs. "We're up here!"

After digging through some journals and old textbooks, Teds emerged with a painting set. "Lets get to it."

[nicole black]

Vani blinked, large brown eyes eating up the blank walls of her sister's room. It was too white and she scrunched her nose before turning back to Teddy Oni and offering her the velvet rabbit, only for Teddy to turn away to dig into a box

Wasn't it obvious? the room should be the same color. Red was a great color, much better than this white.

What didn't Teddy Oni get?

the seven-year-old beamed brightly at the paints,but didn't let go of her rabbit to grab them (even if that was what she wanted to do) she held the rabbit up again, flopping his long ears.

this color, see?