The nightmare went on.

It started to rain. Slowly the ground became more and more muddy. My poor shoes wouldn‘t survive this. And it was windy. I wouldn’t survive it. Or my poor hair! My umbrella was deep inside one of my bags. A held on to my little skirt tightly with one hand, while I climbed out of the carriage. I didn’t want anyone to see my beautiful butt. Not even hidden under black leggings.  Not these people! Or their donkeys!

Alessia handed me my luggage. I had no clothes for a farm. My pants were all expensive, just like my shoes. I brought skirts, dresses and light shirts with me. Fine jewelry and all the things a beautiful boy like me needed. This wasn’t my world. This was a f*cking, stinky mud mountain!

„Are you Noeeeeel?“ A small girl ran out of one of the old houses. She smiled brightly with unperfect teeth. She looked slightly indien. „Are you the son of mom‘s friend?“  She was quite small and thin. She didn’t look like twelve. More like nine, maybe ten. She wore a funny pink unicorn dress and neon-green leggings. And yellow rubber boots.

„Yes…“, I muttered. „And you are?“ She was cute.

„That’s my daughter. Lali!“, Alessia said. „Lali? Do you want to show Noelle the small apartment? I have to feed the chicken… And the ducks… And cook dinner. And the donkeys need to get inside the stable. How far is your dad with the car?“ One of the donkeys made a horrible noise. Alessia petted him.

„The car?“ Lali grimaced. „Dad said I should stay away. He needs to concentrate and I’m too loud!“

„He did?“ Alessia laughed and looked at me. „Vinod, my husband, is an old grump. I leave you in Lali's care. See you later. At dinner!“

„Okay…“ I nodded and turned to the girl. „So? The apartment?“

„Come along!“  She took one of my bags and I followed her through the mud. Well… I tried. My poor shoes got stuck and I had to go barefoot. The girl giggled delighted.

Lali showed me the way to a small and very old little house, behind the main house. A red wooden house with a broken roof and way too many spiderwebs. „This is it. Your castle! We tried to get rid of the spiderwebs yesterday but the spiders clearly disagreed! I like your skirt! Mom says I can’t wear skirts like that.“

She had pretty black hair. It was very curly, just like her mother’s hair. The curls fell wild around her small face. She had some dirt on her nose and her knees. The bright fabric of her leggings made it even more visible. „Maybe these skirts are a bit too short for you.“ I agreed.

Lali sight. „A pity! When mom said, a boy is coming to live with us, I imagined someone like my cousin. But you‘re so pretty! You know?“

„Thanks?“

„Ok!“ She pointed at the door. „The door is as grumpy as my Dad. It gets stuck sometimes. And the window in the bedroom can’t be closed anymore. Dad will demolish this house soon. But until then, welcome home!“

„Sweet…“ I looked at that horror house… I spider looked at me. It seemed as if the little monster wanted to mock me. I pulled a face. Ew…

Lali shook her head. „No. It’s ugly. But it’s mostly warm and dry. Oh! And don’t mind the ghost!“

She opened the door and set the bag aside. „Come in.“

„Wait… GHOST!“ I hated ghost stories. „That is a joke, right?“

„No. Come in! It’s still raining!“ She pointed at my soaked clothes. I went inside, carefully looking around. Lali chuckled. „My uncle told me, that one of his relatives died here in the 1920th. He never left. Uncle Amadeo never got rid of the house, because of the ghost. But Dad says it is too broken to get renovated. He wants to build a small guest house. For people who wish to have a nice holiday on a farm. We never saw the ghost. Dad says Uncle Amadeo made this story up. To scare me and Phileas, when he was still a kid.“

„Oh…“ I didn’t see any signs of a real ghost. Not that I knew that much. Cold air, maybe? But I couldn’t find any signs of a ghost. A spooky story? Hopefully.

I followed her through the small rooms. It was very old but clean. And hot. Way too hot. Some wallpapers started to fall from the walls or turned yellow long ago. She showed me a small bedroom with a small window and a huge glass door that lead outside. Some books lay in front of it. On the windowsill. To keep the window closed. „Don’t try to close the window. It won’t. And never leave the door open when you‘re not around unless you want an alpaca inside. They sometimes escape from the stable. And if you see my It cousin? Run!“ She winked at me and sat down on the bed. „Why are you wearing a skirt?“

„Because I like it?“

„Ah. That’s nice.“
„Why do you want me to run?“ I set my bags, the two that I was carrying, on the ground and opened the glass door. It led to a small overgrown garden. The sight was beautiful.

„Phil is mean! He calls me a twerp!“ Lali snorted in annoyance. „I leave you alone for now, ok? I come and get you when dinner is ready! Make yourself at home! I show you the ducks and the chickens tomorrow. Oh! And my goose!“

And she left me in the haunted house. Before I started to unpack I looked at every corner. I looked in all closets and even under the small kitchen table. No ghost. Was it just a story? Really? Ghosts scared me. When I returned to the bedroom to unpack, someone stood in the garden and looked inside. Someone big and muscular. He had brown wavy hair and lightly tanned white skin. I blinked at him confused, until he noticed me.

His eyes were as dark brown as his hair. „Oh! Hey!“, he said. „Hello, Neighbor!“ He looked at my skirt and the high heels next to my two bags. „Naighbor with bad clothing choice! This is a farm!“

„Hi?“ I pulled slightly on my skirt. „Thanks for that sweet compliment.“ You ass!

„It wasn’t one.“ He grinned. „So? You‘re?... Ehm … Norman? That’s your name, right? My Mom wasn’t so sure….“

„WHAT?“ I shook my head. Norman? I knew a bad, bad dog with that name. „Definitely not! I have a nice name!“

„Oh… Sorry! I’m Phileas, or Phil.“

„Noelle“, I grunted. „Not Norman.“ … Norman … Like that cursed dog! He bit me once when I was ten and tried to pet him.

„Noelle? Like Christmas?“, he asked laughingly. „That name is way more pretty than Norman. I have to agree. Who doesn’t love Christmas! All the gifts!“

„No. Noelle like Noelle. I’m no Santa!“ I didn’t like him…

„Fine…“ Phil ruffled his hair. „Ok. I have some work to do. Do you have some suitable shoes?“ He grimaced at the sight of my high heels. „You won’t be able to walk in these here. If not, I suggest shopping! See you later.“

I didn’t like him at all!