Dorothy stepped into the room in the orange light of dusk.
The two-story building has a red roof and white paint, and half of the spiral staircase is outside the building. The stairs covered with green vines above the head are still dry on rainy nights, but it is inevitable that someone will walk on them with wet footsteps. Maybe it was a long time ago, maybe it was just the pattern of the wood... Dorothy stared at the dull footprints on the shiny wooden steps. If it was really a footprint, its owner was probably a noble man or a young lady from a wealthy family. Even the soles are printed with blooming jasmine.
Only by the small villa in Winniworth, Dorothy could see the kind of fragrant flowers. She remembered the light reflected from the glass on the petals, and the roaring fireplace behind the vase. She stood in the cold winter wind, her hands and feet numb from the cold. Every time the annoying short-billed crows flew overhead, the sound of these birds flapping their wings awakened her and awakened her inner desire. Dorothy had never wanted so much to change places with the bouquet of conservatory flowers.
I was born in the Year of the Burning Shadow, but I am not the daughter of a lord. She thought of seeing the count's carriage from across the river bank, with the people cheering loudly and the musicians playing in unison. Her brother ran to the high wall to look around and almost fell down and broke his head. The fireworks followed the wheel and were spread all the way to the most gorgeous villa in the town.
The princess is surrounded by knights, and she enjoys the loyalty of others with peace of mind. There would be no future mate among these people, Dorothy thought. Do they know that the Highness they are guarding will become the wife of some prince and noble, applying ointment to their wounds at night?
At her feet was now her mother's room, but she rarely went there. Damon didn't know that the candlelight at night would stay on until early morning, but in the original stone house, Dorothy could hear the wailing coming from behind the bricks as long as she put her ear to the wall. Father Upton has a bad temper, but B'Elanna is slow to react and deserves a beating.
The difference between a woman and a bitch is whether she is loyal to a man, and the difference between me and "Berti's Norn" is whether I have a father in a high position. Dorothy knew that Duke Yotsuba was equivalent to the Queen of the South, but Tracy Wiggins' husband came from the Lancaster family, and she was also someone's wife.
Wife, this is a sweet word, but it is full of heavy burden. Dorothy closed the door and pushed open the window. She knew that Upton wanted to marry her to a painter and let Damon inherit his craft. But when her father was drunk, he also said that she could choose her own new family and future. Except being a nun.
Dorothy put one foot on the window sill and jumped out of the window.
The evening breeze of summer night blows in my face, and there are a few fireflies in the flower beds. She stood on the iron cover of a water tank, with her back against the crumbling white brick wall. There is a tall apple tree in the brand new backyard, and on a branch near the window hangs a fruit that was not discovered during the day. She reached up and took it off, nibbling it clean.
On the way, a pigeon flew over, but she waved it away. The bird cooed and turned around, crossing the chimney and the green leaf-covered tiles, and landed on the weather vane of a house with a blue and gray roof. A worker was repairing an attic window. He turned around, threw down his hat, and gave her an exaggerated wave.
The big surprise hit her. Dorothy threw the core and it fell into the street. The window repairman is called Bridger, and he is her close friend. Maybe more than just friends. Bridge worked at Whinney Watts, and she thought it would be next week before he returned to Bonfire. The young man unlocked the padlock on his body, stretched out his right hand and waved it up and down. So Dorothy climbed downstairs along the branches of the apple tree and ducked into a large bush.
Her cheek bumped into a pink rose and she was startled. A sharp whistle came from the dark blades of grass, and she struggled to push aside the bushes in the direction of the sound. The thorns were still soft, and summer insects were whispering under her feet. Soon, Dorothy found a secret meadow.
There is also a hug full of paint smell.
"I didn't see you during the day," Bridge said. His home is closer and he can run faster than Dorothy.
"I was in the market during the day," answered Dorothy. She thought of Upton's rant in the morning, and suddenly felt a little glad that he didn't promise her. "All day long."
"If I had known, I would have gone to the market too." Bridge said regretfully. "Suzanne asked me to repair the windows or buy salad dressing, but I have been doing it until now."
"need any help?"
"Of course not, I decided to buy a new glass window. Moreover, the wooden frame is a bit old, so it must be completely dismantled. How many years has this house not been renovated?"
"Is it uncomfortable to live in? It's leaking? It's too hot?"
"That's not true," Bridge said. "It's your house, Dorothy. I heard that Upton had just built the attic in the evening, and the next morning the whole house was renovated. How is your new attic? ?”
"No worse than now."
"Can you climb out of the window?"
"Is that why you came here to tell me this?"
Bridge immediately denied it. "Of course not, dear, I was just thinking about our new future home."
"I want a fireplace, and jasmine flowers by the window." She longed for it. "Two candlesticks inlaid with silver are placed on an oak table covered with a red and white checkered doily. There are easy chairs on each side. We can lean on each other at night. Sitting on a chair and drinking wine, there is a warm flame in front of my toes." I have two silver candlesticks, which are the dowry prepared by B'Elanna for me.
"It's nice," Bridge said.
"You haven't proposed to me yet, Bridge."
"Will Upton agree?"
"Maybe he will if you go in this dress," Dorothy giggled. "Say you're a painter from Whinney Watts and he'll be happy to accept you."
"It's a pity that I'm a grocer," Bridge pretended to regret. "Painting roofs is just a side job."
Dorothy took his arm and sat down on the lawn. "I don't care what you do, as long as it's a serious business, there's no difference between a businessman and a worker." When they lay down, Bridge put his head on her chest. The girl flinched and wrapped her arms around his neck. There was an emotion beating in her chest, and she was sure Bridge could hear it.
"Will you marry me?"
"I will love you well."
"I will marry you. I swear to Gaia," Dorothy said. "I'll do anything to convince Upton."
In the greenery, her lover held the girl's cheek and sighed in a touching tone: "Your eyes." He made their eyes meet. "Your eyes are in the sky, and I can see it every night - the brightest star. Baby, tell me, what star is that?"
"Venus."
He kissed her eyelids gently. "Now I get a star."
"The morning star is still hanging in the sky." Dorothy laughed and hid. I have known Bridge for half a month, at the market in Wynneworth. The market in the city was much more spectacular than in Bonfire Town. Dorothy met Bridge on the street. He recognized her immediately as the daughter of a carpenter in Bonfire Town, a girl from his hometown. From then on, they often met here for trysts and soon became as close as lovers. But she sensed that tonight was different.
Bells rang in my ears. Her shoulders were shaking, either from fear or excitement. "It's very late."
"Yeah, there's no one on the streets," Bridge said. "There's only people on the river. Maybe they're people, who cares?"
"My brother hasn't come home yet." She tried her best to calm down her excitement by thinking of something unrelated.
"He was taken by the fairies on the water." It was of no use. Bridge's palm pulled her consciousness. Not only did Dorothy's shoulders tremble, but her whole body trembled, as if what was flowing in her veins was not blood, but electricity.
"Will he be in danger?" she asked confused.
"Maybe." The man touched her gently, "Are you going to find him?"
"I have to go find him."
"You can't go. You are also in danger, and it is much more dangerous than that kid."
For women, there is no more dangerous trap in the world than love. Dorothy forgot her wish to become a nun, and nuns were not allowed to marry. I'd rather run headlong into a paint-smelling trap. She had forgotten all about the dowry and the future. She knew that she would never be able to wear a square hat and enter Gaia's monastery in this life. Even if she did, she would only be a light believer. She lost her chance to serve Gaia forever.
But instead, I would live in a house with a fireplace and jasmine flowers. Dorothy has no doubt that she will have such a future. She is not dedicating herself to someone for wealth, she will use her own hands to achieve it. Bridge is not from a wealthy family. This is my god, she thought, and tonight is such a sweet pilgrimage.
Whinneys is a big city, but Bonfire is different. She felt her fantasy begin to race along an unprecedented path under the night. Whinworth is big, cold, and close to the Four-Leaf Forest, far inferior to Bonfire Town in the Evergreen Vein. They can have their own shop in the town and drink unsold wine in front of the campfire. There are plenty of grapes here.
…
"Tomorrow night, wait for me outside the door of 'Bad Brinze'." Bridge said, "I will explain to Susanna why we must stay in Bonfire Town for three days."
Before Dorothy could speak, a carriage suddenly passed by on the street not far away. Her hair stood on end and she hid in Bridge's arms. Through the thick broad leaves of the bushes, Dorothy recognized that it was the carriage that had passed over the bridge during the day and was surrounded by the crowd. She realized that the Countess, who was born the same year as herself, was sitting in the carriage.
The aristocratic lady has a yard of cornflowers, but no one loves her. While I was enjoying the sweet hug, she could only leave hastily in front of me in a carriage, far away.
"What's the matter with you, Dorothy?" the man asked.
"My earrings are missing," she lied.
Bridge didn't feel it was a pity, "It's just an iron ring. I have better-looking ones in my goods. You can get as many as you want."
Now, I have everything. "Let's go, see you tomorrow night." She straightened up slowly.
The magic projection implements the fireplace and the glass, but they are no longer needed. The climate of the flaming moon is mild, and Bridge is everything to her. She didn't know how long such a day would last, but she knew that her sweet dreams would eventually wake up.
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