It was early January, a little after New Years that I stepped into Castlemore Manor. The chilling wind had been blowing around, making me shiver down to my bone, and here I was, on some highland, miles away from my home.

Perhaps my idea of a refreshing break all by myself hadn't included freezing myself and my restless brain to death, and yet here I was, standing, with no way back.

The idea had been lingering in my mind since the past few months, but somehow I was never able to convince myself to take up the first step, until now, where it had become a bit of a necessity.

The reasons as to why it had been on my mind were pretty simple. One was my occupation, the stress and the fast life out where I lived. So it was pretty much of a deal already and I always kept to trailing it off for tomorrow, but New Years gave me the light I needed.

It was a pretty decent New Years, we were living the last few minutes of 1989 and all was merry. It couldn't have been any more perfect than it already was.

On second thoughts, the New Years is something I want to save for later. Hence, let's just skip it for now, and go back to the other reason.

Taking my occupation in to account, you can never be too sure of whether you are going to excel or not. Besides motivation is what we all keep seeking. It is one thing that keeps us going, exploring and excelling some more and working better and harder.

The Manor had been a recommendation by one of the closest friends of mine. From what I had heard, the place was an extremely beautiful one. Standing outside the doors, shivering, all I wanted was to get inside, and sit by the fireplace.

From what I had noticed so far, my temporary home for the next few weeks was huge. The path leading up to it was made up of beautiful imbricate designs. It was as if each stone and each piece of gravel was carved to perfection. The snow had been shoveled aside to pull up the stony, hard road.

It was pretty dark in the morning when I had arrived here. The lights outside the Manor had been lit up, casting shadows and making the snow glitter. Lamps bordered the whole length of the path, making the road visible.

Biding the noble cart-man a good day, along with the charge, I look one last shaky look at the Manor before pulling down the thick red rope which resulted in the loud gong going off.

The door was closed, but soon enough a lady in her forties opened the door to me, with a big smile plastered on her face. Despite the morning and the cold weather, she showed no hint of annoyance.

I stood there for a minute until she pulled the door open a bit more for me to getin and drag my luggage along with me.

"Welcome to Castlemore Manor" I heard her say in a sweet voice. Taking my luggage off my hand, she went away to place them by the side in a place which I am guessing was called the "Luggage Area". She slightly nodded towards the coat stands near the door, indicating for me to remove my cold and wet pullover and the coat.

The inside of the Manor had been light up and up close I could see the lady's once-black hair turning gray and the wrinkles on her face. I could see her beautiful brown eyes as she shut the door and then hurried off towards the table situated some distance from the door.

I had come up to the Manor with the hopes of a good time and possibly an inspiration. Little did I know that the Manor had its own ideas for me.