01/31/2022
Band of Innocence-Greed
1st Chapter. Enjoy.
The Band Of Innocence
Greed
(noun: intense and selfish desire for something, esp. wealth, power, or food)
Prequel: Elizebeth
“I’m not sure how long this storm has lasted but it seems like it’s gone on forever. In all the years I have been here, I’ve never felt such a weight on my structure with all this frozen water, or, or snow. Yes snow, that’s what you people call it. It’s amazing how if you listen, you can learn so much. Keeping your creaks to yourself and watching and listening, have made me what I am today. A very educated house.
I always loved the snow, drifting down from above. White and light. Light and white, is what I would sing. I loved the way it would lie on my rafters, like a weighted blanket. On these cold, snowy days I would usually see the small, human folks, out playing in this white wonderland, but the last few days it seems everyone is staying inside their warm houses, including my people. To me, this storm is different. This is a mean storm. The drifts are so high that they have reached the bottom half of my front door. And the wind. I’ve never felt such a wind before. No matter how much I try ,the wind still seeps through the sills of my windows. But it seems like none of my people mind. They just put on another layer of clothing and sit by one of my fireplaces.
Oh my, I didn’t even say hello. How rude of me. I’m Elizebeth. I’m not sure you remember me from the last book. I’m the big Georgian, colonial house on Chester Street. Chester Street is a lovely tree lined street here in what some of you call, Chicago. I have lived here for about 35 families, or in human terms, about 150 years. We houses don’t count years, we count the people who have lived inside us. You know, the souls that move in and out. The comers and goers. Or goers and comers. All these people have helped repair us. Have helped us grow. Some nice, some not so nice, but all with stories to tell. And as a house, do I have some stories.
These last people who have come to reside inside me are the people I was built for. I know, I know, you must think I’m daft. I’ve been here so long and it seems so odd that after all this time I have found why I was built. But it’s true, I was waiting for them. I think my creators built me all those families ago for this one particular family, The Lesos.
They are such a lovely family, mostly because of my night star, Emily. Emily is the smallest of the humans that have moved into me. A human child that glows like the sun. Such a child I have never seen. Most people don’t know that a house is more than a wood or brick structure. We are actually very thoughtful and very shy. All my friends on Chester street are quiet and reserved. They never speak, well creak, is what you would hear, but I am not like them. I have realized I’m a house with a purpose. I like to say I’m the purposeful house.
When I was built I was a home to my creators but over the years, after they were gone, I was just a house to most until the Lesos moved into to me. That’s when I became a home. A real home.
It’s been a year since the Lesos settled in. When they first walked in I said hello in my creaky fashion, as I have done for all the years prior. Emily was the first person to answer me. She actually reminded me what my name was because for so many years I had no on to talk to, I had actually forgotten who I was. Oh, that day still warms my attic. I was actually shaken by her response. I’d come to find out that both Emily and her Aunt Lily both spoke house. Do you know how relieved I was to finally have someone who understood me? Someone to talk to? I was exuberant. I felt like a new house. The worst thing in life is to have a voice that no one hears. Sometimes it’s not the the quiet voice that gets ignored, but lots of people ignore any voice no matter how loud that voice gets. They choose to not open their ears or hearts. Yes, you can listen with your heart.
Oh, and I must say that even after being around 35 families I’m still learning. Always learning. The people who’ve come to stay inside me have taught me such interesting things. The other houses on my street have grown silent after years of being ignored. It’s a shame because a house can be so warm and vocal if only people listen. Everyone needs attention and sometimes as we all get older we need more of that attention.
I’ve had people living in me that tried to actually silence me. They would try to nail down my floorboards to stop me from talking but they could never shut me up. My creaks and groans went ignored for years until the Lesos.
We houses are also a very jealous bunch and when the Lesos moved in I knew all the other house thought it wouldn’t last. You see we houses aren’t particularly fond of the comers and goers or goers and comers. You know exactly who I’m talking about. The ones who are here for just a bit and then they move on. I’ve never really bonded with any of them except for the creators. The ones who built me. They were special too but that is another story and if I ever write a book, like the one you’re reading, I will include the story of my birth right from the beginning.
Emily’s aunt, Lily, is a constant visitor and seems to spend more time with Emily than her parents do. Now don’t get me wrong, her parents are wonderful, caring people but they have things that take them away from me. I’ve heard her father talk about a thing called a job. I guess that’s where he goes and what he does. Sometimes he does slam my front door a little too hard but other than that he has a good soul. I can feel that.
As a house, I listen. Always listen. We houses have such great stories because of all the listening we do. We learn so much from the people who live inside us. I must admit that for a long time I did stop paying attention. It was because of all those, yes, you guessed it, comers and goers. They would spend some time, cause some damage or fix me up, and then leave. Never once would they speak to me. No hello and no goodbye. I would turn around and there would be a new family inside me.
This family, I must say, the Lesos, are different. As soon as that child, Emily, was placed on my foyer floor, my whole being came alive. And again I have to say, it’s so good to be able to talk to someone. The worst thing you can do is to ignore someone. Ignore their needs and wants. Everyone needs to know that they are being heard and yes, even a house wants some attention and love.
Now I converse all the time. Now I’m finally being heard. Hahah, a house conversing with people. So odd and unbelievable, yet so comforting. For years I would creak and groan only to be ignored but not by these people. When I was built, my creators spoke to me and I thought that all people spoke house. I was sadly mistaken. For years after they left I felt silenced until the Lesos walked in. I’m so happy they came to stay. My rebirth.
My, look at how the time flies by. I’m so sorry. I prattle on sometimes. It’s so hard sometimes to stop talking once I start. I’ve had no one to talk to for years. Oh, and houses sometimes repeat themselves. Hahah. Actually we repeat ourselves all the time. Get used to it if you ever have a conversations with one. I do feel bad for the other houses. Some of them are still waiting for someone to listen.
Remember that we houses do talk and we talk about you, but you never seem to acknowledge us.
We sit and watch and creak our concerns and observations but you, as humans, ignore us. You go about your daily business so involved in your lives that you don’t see or hear all the wonders around you.
With all the beauty you tend to keep your focus on these little screens that seem to hold your life. You don’t look at the big picture of life, only the little picture in your hand. Oh, I know I’m starting to sound like an old fart, but I guess that’s what I am.
I keep straying from the story. So let me get focused before, Robert, the author, stops me. He wants to tell you a story about greed. Oh, and I have seen greed up close. I think it’s a human sickness. Wanting more and more, at the expense of others. It’s a darkness I have personally known. The only thing that can combat that darkness, is light. So, as I said, let’s get on with the story and I will keep my creaks to myself. Well, I’ll try. Hahahah.”
