38. The Twins’ Houses

“Ask for the Earl of Pearl or the blue fairy Ludovica!” 

Mr. Binky’s voice trailed off in the distance when we followed his instructions and wished to get to the quarry.

                      

We took a step forward and saw we were indeed at what looked like a granite stone quarry. A man with a pearl shining on his forehead smiled at us. The pearl dropped to the ground, which was rich with others. A drop of sweat formed on his brow and turned into a new pearl. 

“I’m Earl,” he said. “If you’re here to claim homes, you’d better speak to the fortunetelling architect. She’s in the office.” 

He pointed at a shed behind him.

“Is it ten o’clock already? I was expecting you.”

                 

Ludovica was indeed a blue fairy. Her skin was acquamarine blue and her wings were made of  coloured shells instead of feathers. The gown she wore was richly embroidered with shells too, and pebbles, and sea glass and stones of many colours. Sitting at her desk, she signalled for us to approach her.

“Whenever I hear that a fariy child is going to be born, I draw out my little sack of cowry shells and cast them to see what the new fairy will be like.”

She pointed at a blue velvet bag bound with red ribbons on a desk crowded with blueprints and drawings and plans for construction. On another table there were four models of houses designed by the fairy and built by Earl. Ludovica walked up to this table and laid a hand on one of the models.  

    

“You’re the children of Death’s Illustrious Coachman, aren’t you? Well, we´ll start with the twins’s houses, as these girls are older. The blonde girl. Fiona, is it? Well, for you we built a pink granite stone house,” as Ludovica spoke, she pointed at the model.

“It has French windows with glass tinted a very pale shade of rose. It also has a large rose window over the front door, which is framed in rosewood. You have a huge living room, an even larger dining room and six very spacious bedrooms. The master bedroom has a dressing room with a dozen closets with roses carved and painted on their doors. The baths are of pink marble and red coral. All have heart-shaped tubs. The kitchen is full of cupboards to keep spice jars and cookie cutters, baking pans and fancy molds for  cakes and gelatine.The garden has a turquoise swimming pool, also hear-shaped and full of rose water. Rosetrees and rose bushes flourish everywhere about, with blossoms of every size and colour. The barn has ten little sheep, all with pink wool as fluffy as cotton candy, but not sticky at all,” she picked up one of the model sheep to show it to us.

“Don’t anyone try to eat them,” she glanced menacingly at Alpin, who had tried to take the sheep from her hand. “And of your two ponies, one is a stawberry blonde and the other a platinum blonde. Now everybody look to the north,” she said, depositing the model on the ground, “and wish to be at number 1701 Rosy Glow Avenue.”     

And we stood before the very house the  architect fairy had described.

“Did we get it right?” Ludovica wanted to know. “Is this your dream house?”

At first, all Fiona could do was gasp. But she finally managed to blurt out, “I can’t believe it! All this is mine?”

“To have and to hold. Only the kitchen comes furnished because we want you to enjoy decorating the house yourself.”

After a quick tour of the house and garden, it was Branna’s turn.  

“No, me next!” protested Alpin.

“You sit pretty, sweetie pie,” the fairy frowned at Alpin but spoke sweetly. “First born first. We’re visitng number 1701 of Milky Way Road. It’s right round the corner of Fiona’s place.”

And so it was. While we strolled through the house, Ludovica described its special features.

“Branna, like so many mathematicians, you are also interested in astronomy. So we have built you a house shaped like a twelve pointed star with a glass roof. This way you can live and sleep under the stars and know it. A folding spiral staircase unfolds to take both you and a topless tower beyond the roof to the open air whenever you like. We have installed a professional telescope in the tower so you can observe the stars even more closely.Your garden is full of many kinds of white flowers and of pools and ponds shaped like the different phases of the moon and in them you can see it reflected. Your sheep all are Irish, white with black faces. The ponies are winged and both have stars on their brows.The house is right next to your sister’s, but a nebulosae will surround it whenever you need to be alone.”