Chapter 20: Miss Carmen Knows
The Dream House
Book One
Chapter 20: Miss Carmen Knows
Nobody spoke for a while.
The wind continued moving through the weeds surrounding the abandoned property, creating a strange whispering sound as it passed through the tall grass.
For some reason, the place didn't feel empty anymore.
Not after meeting Miss Carmen.
Not after seeing the way Sinnad looked at the building.
Not after hearing that somebody had once proposed here.
The mystery was becoming less mysterious.
And somehow...
That made it even more unsettling.
I stood with my hands inside my pockets staring at the faded symbol above the entrance.
The paint was chipped.
The wood was rotting.
The vines had claimed most of the walls.
Yet somehow the symbol remained.
Like it refused to disappear.
Like it was waiting.
"You're staring again."
I turned.
Selena.
Of course.
"I wasn't staring."
"You were absolutely staring."
I rolled my eyes.
Luna smiled.
"I think she likes the building."
"I think you're both annoying."
That made Luna laugh.
Even Miss Carmen smiled.
For a brief moment everything felt normal.
Then Miss Carmen looked at Sinnad.
And the smile disappeared.
Not completely.
Just enough.
The way sunlight disappears behind a cloud.
"You look just like your father."
The words landed heavily.
Nobody moved.
Nobody interrupted.
For the first time since meeting him, Sinnad looked uncomfortable.
Actually uncomfortable.
Not mysterious.
Not calm.
Not unreadable.
Human.
Very human.
Miss Carmen continued.
"Same eyes."
A pause.
"Same stubbornness."
Another pause.
"Same heart."
This time Sinnad looked away.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Because the man who never seemed bothered by anything suddenly looked like he wanted to leave.
And that told me more than any answer ever could.
"What was he like?" Luna asked softly.
Miss Carmen smiled.
The genuine kind.
The kind people wear when remembering someone they loved.
"He cared too much."
Nobody laughed.
Nobody even smiled.
Because the way she said it...
We knew it wasn't a joke.
"I've never met someone who carried so many people on his shoulders."
Her eyes drifted toward the building.
"He wanted to save everybody."
I immediately glanced toward Sinnad.
Apparently so did Selena.
Apparently so did Luna.
Because all three of us looked at him at exactly the same time.
And suddenly everything started making sense.
The teenagers at the barbershop.
The elderly clients.
The conversations.
The way people trusted him.
The way he listened.
The way he noticed things.
Maybe...
Just maybe...
He wasn't becoming his father.
Maybe he'd already become him.
Miss Carmen pointed toward the entrance of the old building.
"You see those doors?"
We nodded.
"Your father painted them."
Sinnad smiled.
A real smile.
Small.
Brief.
But real.
And for some reason...
That tiny smile affected me more than it should have.
Maybe because I'd never seen one before.
Maybe because it made him look younger.
Or maybe because for one second the mystery disappeared and I saw the boy Miss Carmen remembered.
I quickly looked away.
For absolutely no reason.
None whatsoever.
"You're blushing."
I nearly jumped.
Luna.
The traitor.
I immediately turned toward her.
"I am not."
"You are."
"I am not."
Selena folded her arms.
"You are."
Great.
Wonderful.
Fantastic.
Now there were two of them.
Miss Carmen laughed.
The old woman actually laughed.
A full laugh.
The kind that forces people around you to smile.
Even Sinnad smiled.
And for one brief moment...
The abandoned building didn't feel haunted.
It felt alive.
Like it was remembering something.
Then Miss Carmen became serious again.
Very serious.
Her eyes returned to the symbol above the entrance.
And suddenly the atmosphere shifted.
Again.
"What happened here?" Selena asked quietly.
This time nobody laughed.
Miss Carmen looked toward the building.
Then toward Sinnad.
Then toward us.
The answer clearly hurt.
That much was obvious.
When she finally spoke, her voice barely rose above a whisper.
"People stopped listening."
Silence.
The wind moved through the weeds again.
Somewhere in the distance a bird cried out.
Nobody said a word.
"Listening to who?" Luna asked.
Miss Carmen looked at the sky.
Then back at the building.
Then finally at us.
And the answer she gave would stay with me long after that day ended.
"They stopped listening to each other."
Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
Because somehow...
We all knew she wasn't only talking about the building.
She was talking about families.
Friendships.
Communities.
Relationships.
Maybe even us.
And standing there in front of that abandoned place, I couldn't shake the feeling that the mystery wasn't about discovering what happened.
The mystery was discovering whether it could happen again.
And for the first time...
I wasn't sure I wanted the answer.