Aphrodite wakes part 1

For more than a century it had been asleep, hidden in a dusty, abandoned lab. The passing of time held no influence over its crystalline structure but without nourishment, it had grown dormant. A small ember of light appeared in the center of the object, pulsing slowly. Within a few minutes it had grown stronger and brighter until finally the sentience within awoke with a single thought “Avatar”.

David Gant checked his map one more time. When he marked the route to Sylvain Grove he knew they would come near Wilson Lake, but not at it. Wondering where he had taken a wrong turn he turned around and took a deep breath of the fresh morning air. So much better than the city he thought, this will be great for Tillie.

Mathilde, or Tillie, still sat in the car looking at the lake. She was a good looking girl and for 15 years old, physically very mature. Her mind however was not so lucky.
Tillie was born with a severe form of autism that bordered on the vegetative state.
When their parents died, David had taken her under his wing after seeing how she was treated in the mental hospital where she resided.

David had been the lucky one, at age 18 he had sold his first novel only to have it become a bestseller. His next two books made sure he never had to work again if he wanted too.
For his fourth book, he had decided to move out of the city to a place where he could relax and Tillie could enjoy the outdoors. That is, David pondered folding the map, if he could find Sylvain Grove.

Less than two hours later, they passed the town limits of Sylvain Groove. It was a small town in the middle of a great forested area. The main income was tourism, hikers and bikers mainly, but with good weather all year, all the residents were well to do.

David parked his car in front of the real estate office and hoped that the woman he spoke through on the phone was in. They were a day early and it wasn’t likely that she’d be there unless she had an appointment. Stepping out he looked around and felt a weight fall of his shoulders, this looked even better than he had hoped. This could work, he felt confident about it.
Looking back at his sister, he smiled and walked to the office.

The office window had a few pictures of real estate available in the area, all near to the town.
They all looked good and compared to the city prices David was used to, damn cheap too.
He was about to enter when a woman stepped out. She was just as surprised as David was.
The woman was the first to speak as David, while being a great writer, was a bit socially inept.
“Can I help you with something? The name is Maggie by the way, I run this office”
David stammered for a bit, taken aback by the presence of this woman.
“Hi, my name is David Gant, we spoke on the phone two weeks ago”
“Ah yes, Mr. Gant, you were looking for a large, secluded residence, right?”
“Yes, I am” David managed to get out. Being socially inept was hard enough for David, but this woman was gorgeous. Just not staring at her big breasts took an effort.

Maggie noticed that David was flustered and was flattered by the looks this young man was giving her. She knew she looked good for 45 but this was a handsome new man in town, she would enjoy teasing him, maybe even make a sale today.
“You are lucky then that I was in, I didn’t expect you till tomorrow”
“The trip took less time then I though, you wouldn’t happen to have time today would you?”
“Sure thing Mr. Gant, sure thing. You want to get settled first at an inn or hop in and start looking?”
“We will get settled later if you don’t mind”
“No problem on my end” Maggie replied and looked over at David’s car.
“You want to take my car or yours?” she asked.
They decided on Maggie’s car and David sat in the back with Tillie.

During the drive, Maggie made her sales pitch, praising the surrounding area, telling what great people lived in town. David told a bit about himself and his situation, explaining in greater detail what he wanted. Maggie showed him two houses, both very nice but not secluded enough. The third one was more like it. The Quentin property was a hill house, surrounded by trees. It was secluded enough so he asked for a look inside.

Maggie parked the car in front of the house. It looked a bit rundown, as if nobody had bothered to fix it for at least 10 years. The price was low, mainly because it needed a loving hand and a big wallet to get the house back in its former glory. The other reason was that according to local rumor, the former owner had gone mad there and killed himself. Leaving Tillie in the car, David and Maggie went inside to have a better look.

“There is no power hook up active at the moment so we will have to use flashlights” Maggie told David when they entered.