The House of Refuge
Aelycia looks up at the sky. The stars reflect in her amber eyes, dancing like living sparks.
I do the same.
I could stay like this forever, suspended in this peaceful night…
until my stomach suddenly betrays my condition with an unmistakable sound.
Aelycia lets out a light laugh.
A genuine, amused laugh, without the slightest hint of mockery.
“Oh…”
“I think your body spoke before you did.”
She slips a hand into her bag, rummages for a moment, then gently shakes her head.
“I’m sorry, I don’t have anything on me.
I had just gone out for a short walk when I found you lying there…”
She thinks for a moment, then her reassuring smile returns.
“But I found a small refuge.
It’s not very far from here.”
She looks at me attentively, without pressure.
“Do you think you can walk?”
With her help, I slowly get to my feet, careful not to lose my balance. Her touch is steady, delicate. My body is still a little numb, but nothing feels broken. Just… rusty, like after a very long sleep.
“Perfect,” she says softly.
“Then… shall we go?”
We move through the countryside.
A well-worn path opens before me, familiar for reasons I can’t explain. The trees surrounding it are not threatening at all; their branches intertwine above our heads, forming a protective vault.
Starlight filters through the leaves, drawing shifting patterns on the ground. I feel as if I am walking through a dream.
Soon, a murmur rises.
A stream.
The water flows peacefully, and the reflections of the stars glide across its surface like a slow caress. I stop often, without even realizing it, captivated by the sight.
It is only countryside.
Nothing extraordinary, at first glance.
And yet…
Aelycia’s presence transforms everything.
Always close, never intrusive. Sometimes silent, sometimes humming a barely audible melody, she adjusts her pace to mine without a single reproach.
A few more paths, and the horizon opens. In the distance appear hills with surprisingly gentle shapes, almost too rounded. As if the land itself had been shaped with tenderness.
A glow suddenly appears between the trees.
Faint. Diffuse.
Starlight reflects off windows.
A house takes shape.
Silent.
Apparently uninhabited.
“We’ve arrived,” Aelycia announces with a smile.
“Come… don’t be afraid.
It’s much warmer than it looks from afar.”
She says this as if she has guessed my hesitation—and perhaps she has. She has that strange gift of reading micro-expressions, silences, unspoken thoughts.
As we draw closer, the house changes.
Its shapes are rounded, almost cute. It strangely resembles the hills we saw earlier. No light yet escapes from it, no sound.
Aelycia gently pushes the door.
It opens without a sound.
Like a letter slipping beneath a closed door.
And suddenly…
The room lights up.
Dozens of small, colorful lights turn on almost at once, spreading a soft, enveloping warmth. A living tableau of glowing colors, calming and alive.
Aelycia watches my expression with amusement.
“Quite a surprise, isn’t it?
I never get tired of it, even after several visits.”
She invites me in with a simple gesture.
“Make yourself comfortable.
This is a refuge house.
Open to all travelers.”
She shrugs lightly, almost casually.
“You can stay as long as you like.
It cleans itself, makes the bed, does the dishes…”
Then, with a playful smile:
“But not really the meals.
Unless you enjoy those little rolls that are always warm…”
She points to a table.
“The filling changes every day: fruit, grains, honey…”
A doubt crosses my mind.
Everything is too perfect.
Too beautiful.
Is it a dream?
A trap?
Something hidden beneath the surface?
Aelycia seems to sense my unease and laughs softly.
“I know what you’re thinking.”
She steps closer to the table.
“I’ve been here for almost three days.
And I haven’t seen anything vanish in exchange.”
She pauses, then adds:
“Well… except one thing.
A small note.”
She picks it up carefully and reads it aloud.
“‘Aelycia, did you bring back a lost soul? Welcome.’”
She looks up at me, still smiling.
“That’s all.”
A shiver runs down my spine.
Is this sorcery?
Or simply… something else, that I don’t yet know how to name?
The house remains silent.
The lights glow softly.
And for the first time, hunger mingles with a strange sense of safety.
As if, for this night at least,
I have found shelter.