There was almost no sound in the room except for the heartbeat of the one lying upon her chest. Mallory stroke her hair gently before placing a kiss upon her cheek. Gently and steadily she eased her daughter from off her chest and placed her upon the bed as she got up. A hand instinctively reached out towards her as she couldn't help but to place another kiss on the little girl's cheek.

Her back ached from being in one place. She lightly stretched as she regarded the room. One window and the colour scheme wasn't the best. It had been a rush job that Domenic's aunt Kim had no interest in finishing. She said it was her recreation room, but Mallory thought otherwise. Half of the room was painted blue and the other half remained grey with hints and pieces of what the room used to be. Kiss the Kitty sign still hanged on a part of the wall with some high heels. Alice asked about it before, Mallory was happy that she wasn't old enough to understand. She had even come across a few whips and chains.

Her eyes fell upon the computer Andrew had lent her. Should she try to see if she could get a job again today? The thought felt more discouraging than motivating.

Mallory placed her hand on her head as she regarded her child.She was running out of stories to read to her; she gazed at the many books that lay on the table in the room. The girl's appetite to learn was incredible for her age.

Mallory scanned her bag that she had brought with her three years ago to see if she had missed anything of note worth. The bills, they seemed to follow her. She sighed as she dug deeper into the assortment of items in the bag. They were many old books of hers about English, French, Mathematics, Physics, and Biology as she was getting to the bottom she was starting to give up hope.

It was then at this moment she pulled out a book that she had never seen before. It was old and faded; it seemed like it had survived far too many years. Dust was engraved upon it, yet the words on the book were still easy to make out.

The title of the book was 'The Castle in the Sky.'

She opened to find words that looked like old English. She translated it in her mind as she read the first passage.

For as long as Humanity existed, so too was the Castle in the sky.

Waiting and watching, changing and turning,

In its wake, the sun does not lurk,

Behind its walls, the eyes cannot see.

In its shadow, darkness follows,

Its hall are littered with courtiers, long forgotten,

Both new and old,

On a throne one sits, who sees themselves wronged,

Playing with fate,

Throwing away piety to challenge god,

Destined,

To rinse and repeat, again and again.

She shuddered for a moment. It almost felt like someone had whispered the words in her head. She closed it quickly. The voice seemed to stop. It was all in her mind, I am not going crazy. Damn old book, but where did it come from. Was this Domenic book that she mistakenly took up? She wondered, but before she could ponder it any longer.

A knock came on the door.

Who could that be as she looked at the time? It was 12:00 p.m. Her great aunt Kim wouldn't have knocked on the door, and she hardly had any visitors.

She placed the book beside Alice, got up, left the room, and closed in the door. Alice was a light sleeper and her voice would easily wake her up. She passed through the living room and made her way to the door. Taking in the surroundings in her mind. She hoped it was not her already, she hadn't started on cleaning the house as yet since school was out for the week.

Her hand reached out to the door and paused for a moment before opening it. Light entered the house, and a surprised look dawned upon her face.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Am I not to stop by?"

"No, Andrew, I didn't mean it like that, I know that you are working at this time."

"Here I brought groceries for you and Alice, I know that Kim isn't the best, but I hope that knowing it's her great niece her behaviour would change. Still, no luck finding work?

Mallory took them in her hand as she rested them close by the door. She counted the bags, one, two, three, four. Protruding through, some were toys for Alice, one Mallory remembered in particular when she was her age.

"I am so sorry Andrew, I really feel like such a burden to you both over the years."

"No, it's fine, I fully understand, it is not like you're the only person who has been struggling."

"Do you want to come in for a while? I haven't started cleaning yet."

"No, it's fine, thanks for the offer, I have to get back to work. Have you heard from Domenic at all?"

"No, I haven't heard from him. I don't expect him to look for me."

"Despite everything and how he can bottle up stuff inside. You should at least tell him, though, that he has a child. I know that at least that one thing would mean a lot to him." He looked at my hands. "Besides, I see him all on TV now. It would better for the child and yourself to live there."

"I still don't understand from what you told me, why he would believe that you and I would have cheated. I know I wasn't upfront with him about the things you did for us, but I know he was never the kind of person that accepted help from anyone, even those he considered close to him."

"I don't know either. The last time I saw him like I said, he was with Shalanda but I don't know why the two of them would be together and it didn't go well. We had arguments before as kids, but this is something entirely different. Knowing him, I don't think we would ever be friends again, but I still don't know what made him jump to such a conclusion."

"Don't worry about it. I will think about what you said. Thank you again. Alice most definitely be happy about it."

"No problem, take care of yourself Mallory, I will come back when I have time again."

"Yes, goodbye."

She watched him walk off for a while before closing the door, looking at the bags and sighing. She took them and placed them into their smaller fridge.

Now then, as she turned her eyes on to the room, it's time to work.

***

Unknown to Mallory the strange book had called out to her child. It spoke to her like that of an old friend. It begged to that urge of hers to know more to want more. She opened it and read the lines as her mother cleaned the house. The book whispered to the girl, words of things to come, and her part to play.

"Who are you?" Alice asked.

"Enêpsigos and soon, very soon," it said the voice resounded across the room as her eyes looked around the room in fascination. "You will meet your father, don't be afraid for I shall help you and he will need your help."

"Who is my father?"

"Domenic Foster," it said before, it slammed shut.