Alabaster Living: Chapter One

A young man rode down into a Southern California valley. Just up ahead, there was a man lying in the sun, unconscious. Stopping by the him and getting off his horse, examinations were made. Finding a broken arm and several cuts and bruises, he gently picked him up and placed him onto the horse, trying his best not to upset the broken arm. Riding back to the house, he brought him inside.

It was a mission style home, very wide, with a red tile roof. It sat at the top of a hill, with a covered porch in the front and back as wide as the house. Down below were the avocado and lemon orchards, the breeze flowing through the leaves on the trees. Across from the house stood a barn and corral, where several other horses grazed. He left his horse tied to the post in front.

Inside the house, it was cool, and he placed cold cloths on the injured man’s head. There was nothing to identify him, his pockets were empty, the only extra possession was a leather watch on his pale wrist. It was a mystery as to how he had gotten in the valley without any signs of animals or vehicles and he obviously didn’t spend much time outside. Carefully, he took the man’s clothes off in place of some clean ones. Binding his arm, he finally finished and left him lying in a clean bed.

Walking across from the bedroom wing of the house, he entered a large great room, which was the main portion of the house. Exiting the hallway, he turned to the left and closed the front door. The front of the house faced north/east and beside the door was a cozy living room with couches and easy chairs. It sat closer to the northern side of the house, with large windows lining the walls. The living room continued on into a small nook that was the library. There were two rocking recliner chairs facing ten bookcases, lining the walls. With a soft green carpet beneath. It was a small library, only ten feet by ten feet, but a favorite place for the master of the house

At the back of the house, facing south/west, was a music room, doubling as a public parlor. It was closer to the bedrooms. The back of the house was also lined with windows, and finally a double glass sliding door. In front of the sliding door, sat the dining room with a long wooden table perpendicular to the doors. He picked up a glass off the table that he had left earlier and took it into the kitchen.

The counter extended in a “U” shape, a portion running parallel to the table, and had four wide stools alongside it. He set the glass down in the sink and glanced out the window to the valley behind the house. He went to the fridge, it was Thursday and on this day of the week, he allowed himself a Dr. Pepper. Pulling out a cold can, he walked over to the stools by the counter and sat down.

He was tired as he had been working on repairing a fence all day and felt like sitting for awhile. Soon, he stood up and walked over to the sink to wash his hands again. He checked on his guest who was still asleep. Leaving him there, he went outside, leading his horse to the barn. The horse was sweaty and needed to be wiped down. Soon that was taken care of, and the beast was released into the corral with the others. Hay was set out and all was set in order for the evening. He went back inside and cleaned himself up before going out to stir-fry some vegetables.

He sat at the counter and ate his dinner, there was no noise from the bedroom. He checked in on the sleeping man and replaced the cool cloth. There was not a doctor around, but he had some medical training from his war years that he hoped would suffice. He would know more in the morning.

Exhausted, he finally got ready for bed and soon fell fast asleep.

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