A Walk on the Water

"Breakfast, Señorita!" Alannah stirred, wondering if she'd actually heard those words or if they were part of the wonderful but elusive dream she'd been having. All she could remember in this dream was that there were three men pining for her love. One such man was Nicolò, another was the elesuive Señor Beringer and then there was a mystery man. Just thinking about it made her head spin. Then she heard Maria throw open the curtains to allow in the light of day, a soft grey light that was soothing, comforting, that made no demands. With a thankful sigh, Alannah released the pillow she'd clutched to her chest for most of the night and sat up, looking vulnerable and dishevelled. "Maria! You shouldn't have gone to so much trouble over me!"

"And why not?" the maid demanded, severely. "Has no one ever made a fuss over you, I wonder? We all of us need to feel cared for now and then."

"Oh, they have, in another life." She said quietly to herself "Well I hope someone takes good care of you." Alannah said, stepping out of bed. It was after all time to get up and start the day. Alannah dressed much in the same manner she did the day before and made her way to the glass room. She took her place at the table and looked at the wondeful spread before her.

After taking a bite of her omlette, Alannah exclaimed "Maria, this is truly magnifique! Is this crab in the omelette? What sort of sauce is this? Is it hard to make?"

"Thank you" Maria said. "as for the question you asked earlier, we can discuss that later, now eat your breakfast and go out and explore the world."

So Alannah ate and then went out for her second day of adventure on the island. There was one structure that utterly fascinated Alannah that lay high on a hill above the Chateau - what appeared to be a genuine working windmill. It was her goal that day to go and visit it, the windmill appeared to be constructed of mortared stone and wood. The building looked to be very old and probably was. Certainly it was very old-fashioned, which in itself greatly intrigued her. Dressed now in a similar peasant dress to the one she'd worn the day before, she removed her sandals and opted to walk barefoot up the grassy slope. Oh if her Father could see her now, his face would turn beat red and he would blow a gasket. With that thought Alannah smiled, a kind of devious smile.

As she neared the structure with its slowly turning sails, she heard the sound of machinery from within. There seemed to be no one around, she walked around the massive structure, feeling the walls as she walked and was amazed at how truly magnificent the place really was. She went to a one of the doors at the front of the mill, noting just a metal bar keeping them closed she decided to lift bar that kept it closed. The giant door heaved open when she pulled hard on it, and she stepped inside. What she found in the darkness was that it was surprisingly cool inside the building, although made mostly of brick the façade kept the place free from moisture and heat. Once her eyes adjusted, she could make out some very crude machinery standing before her. To one side a giant belt moved, she followed it and found that it was attached to a vertical spindle. The movement of the works emanated a wet swishing sound. Intrigued she decided to investigate further and what she found was that the spindle was the uppermost part of a pumping mechanism that lay beneath the ground. She looked at the mechanism further and noticed that it was some sort of well, and she could see water churning in its depths. The water appeared to be flowing into a subterranean culvert, which led away from the mill. "How curious," she said. Katarina went back outside to follow the culvert. At the end of the culvert she spotted a small stone building, much like the brick and mortar walls of the mill itself. The building was directly into the hillside. Katarina was even more intrigued when she spotted this, so further down the hillside she went. When she was less than fifty feet away she noticed that the building actually appeared to be a small house, with one entrance. Curious thoug - this building has no windows. "What is it used for I wonder?" The door - a heavy looking iron-bound oak door has the same tree design that the Chateau had, and the door was slightly ajar. From within came the sound of a deep voice. Someone was singing, absently, a most sad song from what she could make of it. Just then, a middle-aged man with a very unruly grey moustache shaped much like a bicycle handle, came out of the building. He was wearing work clothes and a had a dishevelled appearance. He spotted Alannah, and smiled and waved her over.