Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 85569 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 428(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85569 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 428(@200wpm)___ 342(@250wpm)___ 285(@300wpm)
She looked disappointed. “No?”
“Sorry.”
The evening sun was slanting onto the house and it looked absolutely stunning. I was too stressed and anxious the previous times I had come and had not realized how lovely it was around here.
“Is that it? Is that our new home?” Anya asked enthusiastically, hanging her head out of the window.
“That’s it. Do you like it?”
“Yeah, I like it. It looks like one of the houses in my Fairytales For Princesses book.”
I stopped the car in front of the house and got out. We stood side by side looking around. It was greenery as far as the eye could see. We had no neighbors within viewing distance and that was exactly how I wanted it. My daughter put her little hands in mine as we stood before the two-story house. I turned to meet her gaze.
"Do you think you can be happy here, Anya?"
It took her a while to make up her mind. "I don’t know yet," she said truthfully. "Does it have good WIFI?"
I laughed. "You bet. Brand new fiber optic internet."
“Then we’re cooking,” she said with a big grin.
She went exploring while I checked out if the expensive high-tech safety measures and alarm system, I’d purchased to be built during the extensive renovation worked the way they were supposed to.
"The house is Gucci, Dad." The use of that slang word told me Anya had genuinely given her seal of approval.
“Have you chosen your room?” I asked innocently.
“Yeah, the one next to the big bedroom,” she said with immense satisfaction. “The one with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs painted on the walls.”
“That is an excellent choice. I’m glad you like it. Did you know if you sit on the bed you’ll be able to see the big ancient oak tree on the field yonder,” I said, relieved now that I knew she liked the house. I had entertained niggling worries that she would hate her new accommodation. After all it was a total change of everything she had ever known or been used to. But she showed genuine enthusiasm about her new living conditions.
“Thank you, Daddy," she squeezed my hand.
I knew then she was scared but trying to be brave. Clearly, the suddenness of the move had scared her, but she was such a considerate soul that she was trying to hide it.
I got on my haunches and embraced her. “I'm sorry I uprooted you from everything you know and brought you here where you know no one and everything is so unfamiliar to you."
She shook her head. “Don’t be sorry, Daddy. It’s going to be okay.”
Her sweet innocent warmth made my chest feel like it would burst with love. “How about I show you our super-secret room?”
“We have a super-secret room?” she gasped, her eyes widening.
I nodded. “We sure do. Let's go.”
I took her down to the basement through the invisible door hidden within wall panels, down a small, narrow corridor where the lights automatically came on, until we came to a thick blast-proof steel door.
She stopped and slapped her cheeks with amazement. “Oh wow! It really is a secret room!”
I had asked for steps to be built under the identification device so it was at the perfect height for her, so as soon as she stood before it, it lit up.
“I'm going to register your face,” I told her. A blue light started scanning across her face.
“Now this is what we call the panic room,” I explained.
She turned to me with a frown. “The panic room?”
“Whenever you feel panicked, maybe when I'm not around or you can't reach me, or you feel like someone might be trying to intrude into the house for any reason, no matter how small, you run down here. Don't grab anything because that will waste your time. You stand in front of the camera exactly here. It will recognize your face and open the door for you.”
I activated it and immediately the door slid open with remarkable speed.
She looked around at what was technically a cube-like studio apartment. It was quite claustrophobic, but she seemed to find it thrilling. “Daddy, this is a great place for vibing,” she gushed.
“I'm glad you like it, but there are some things I have to tell you, so come sit with me?” I pulled out the table and the two benches from the wall.
“Whoa,” she cried impressed.
“There’s a bed you can pull out over there too, but you have to remember that I didn’t put any of this in place to be exciting or fun. This room is designed to save our lives. You know, we’re in the middle of nowhere now. We have a few neighbors, but we don't completely trust them yet. There might be bears or cruel people around, so I want you to always know that if you run in here you'll be safe. Nothing can get through to this room. The walls are reinforced steel and about ten feet thick. So nobody can get in here if you don’t want them to. Do you understand me?”