“Jordy told me so much about you,” Esmee tried to open another conversation. “It almost felt like I know you … even though you never said much to me,” she said sweetly while playing with her hair. “But you’re an observer, I can tell … you watch people and figure them out, right?” Adrian shied away from answering. “What do you observe about me?” she asked.
Adrian let out a subtle laugh, “I don’t observe people … that sounds inappropriate,” he lied awkwardly.
Esmee gasped, “That hurts my feelings … you don’t think I’m worth observing? After all these times we’ve been friends?!” she always had her way making Adrian blush. “Well … fine … whatever it is you observe about me, I hope it’s a good thing, because I observe good things about you too, Adrian Addams … don’t you wanna know what I think about you?” she took Adrian’s hand, it was sweating. She smiled, Adrian didn’t answer, he looked her in the eyes, for the first time … they locked eyes.
“The sun is setting … I think we should go,” Adrian didn’t want the conversation to go any further, he looked away and signaled the waitress for the bill.
Esmee grabbed his arm as they walked out of the shop, just before they mounted the bike, she kissed his cheek. “Thank you, I had a lovely time,” it was a gesture that he didn’t expect. He nodded and kept silent all the way to The Dungeon while Esmee wrapped her arms around him a little tighter than before.
When they arrived at The Dungeon, Friday was at the bottom of the stairs. Esmee greeted her briefly then went straight inside. “I thought you’d never come back?!” Friday was being dramatic. “You wouldn’t believe what we found at the asylum!! We have to go see Maduma tonight! You’re still up for that aren’t you?”
“Of course,” he said. She was talking so fast, he didn’t catch half the things she was telling him. But it seemed there was something very important in regards to the twins that were housed in the asylum.
She showed him the journals and pictures, and all the bits and pieces they brought back from the asylum. She spent two whole days connecting all the clues she found and studied, she came to a conclusion that “The Island exists!” Despite the fact, Dr. Feelgood specifically mentioned in one of his entries that he didn’t believe so. Adrian didn’t know how to respond to that. “We’re going to find some answers tonight! I’m sure of it!”
*****
They arrived at the area just after sundown. The scenes of what happened two days prior started to come back to them. They gazed at the asylum from a distance and walked along the boulevard to where The Madhouse was supposed to be. The air was breezy and blowing in silence. The only people they saw were their own reflections from the glass windows of the closed shops. There were lights at the end of the road, it came from an old fashion tavern bar called The Madhouse. The bell on the door clang when they opened it. A mist of smoke clouded the place, the smell of tobacco blended with the scent of damped wood and carpet. They spotted a few people in different corners of the tavern and they were now all looking at them
“What can we do you for?” said the big man with a plaid shirt and a bristle. A lit cigarette was hanging from one corner of his lips, his thick black beard almost hid his mouth.
“We’re looking for Maduma,” said Friday. The man took his cigarette with his fingers and blew out a cloud of smoke.
“And who might you be?” he asked.
Friday was hesitant to answer. “We were told to find her here today,” Adrian replied.
The man looked at another guy who was at the bar, they smiled at each other. Adrian looked around at the place, the walls were covered with posters and pictures all the way from the 1920s. Some pictures of the owners and his family looked a lot like the big guy who was talking, clearly, he was in charge of the place.
“An old lady around the corner told us to come here,” Friday added.
Adrian noticed that the other guests who were sitting on the tables weren’t ordering anything, they were just sitting in front of an empty table.
“She’s upstairs,” the big man said, pointed to the stairs to the left with his eyes. “If you can find her,” he continued.
“Thanks,” said Adrian and made slow steps towards the stairs. The stairs were old and creaking with each step they took. More pictures displayed on the wall along the stairs. Black and white pictures of people posing in front of the tavern, some were inside because they recognized the interior that looked exactly the same.
There was a doorway on the left, a sheer veil covered it. Something in her gut told her to go in there. There was a small living room with another doorway on the opposite side. A vintage fan on the ceiling whirled slowly, the whirring sound was the only thing they could hear. There was no one in the room.
“I heard you were looking for me?” a woman’s voice came from the other room and then a figure emerged. An exotic looking woman came out from the other room, she was wearing a long-sleeved blood-red gown, her long black hair rested on her shoulders. Her skin was darker, like the elderlies from the tribe, but she was much younger, maybe in her thirties. She walked elegantly, almost as if she was gliding her way around the room.
“You must be Maduma?” Friday guessed. She welcomed them to sit on the sofa in the small living room.
“What can I do for you?” she asked. Friday told her why they were there.
“The Island? You’re not the first one who’s come here to ask me this … many others had sought this island and I can only tell them what I know.” She caught Adrian’s attention by that statement.
“So it’s true then? There is an Island?” Friday was hopeful.
Maduma smiled, “None of them ever came back to tell me that it does,” just like that she blew out that tiny candle of hope from her eyes.
“How do you know about The Island, if you’ve never been there?” Adrian asked.
She paused before answering, “Not physically,” the room fell silent.
“You mean like the twins?” Friday was back in her eager self.
“You know a lot of things don’t you?” Maduma chuckled, she exhaled deeply. “What do you want to know about this Island?”
Friday was not sure about telling her intentions to Maduma, but then she was afraid if she wasn’t truthful she would never know the truth about The Island.
“I want to go there.”
“By going there, you mean to never return?”
Friday didn’t answer, she hadn’t thought about that part, she realized her plan was not as solid as she thought before. Adrian couldn’t answer that question for her, he was anticipating the answer as much as Maduma, he studied her, and then she looked at Maduma who was staring at him.
Maduma stood up and went over to a credenza by the wall, she took out a match and lit it up to burn some kind of herbs in small bowls. The room started to smell like sage. “There are gateways in this world that are ready to be opened. Only those with pure intentions are able to see these gates and ultimately step into them … it’s not possible for anyone to be able to see what they don’t believe … and it’s very rare for anyone to be able to see with a pure heart … even something that they truly desire,” Maduma was speaking in riddles and left her two guests wondering what she meant.
“Are you saying that there’s a mystique gateway to The Island?” Friday was puzzled.
“Fear is a gateway … love is a gateway … trust is a gateway … once you step into those gateways, you’ll find yourself on the other side … freedom …” she ranted again as she blew out the smoke of her sage and read them. Her expression changed, she looked more serious, “Grieve is also a gateway … unfortunately deaths must occur before you are ready for your journey.”
Adrian and Friday looked at each other, the word ‘deaths’ did not sound too appealing. “The journey into the woods will be hard but quick when the time is right … it’s all about the timing with everything … once you are ready, you will see the sign,” she continued.
“So The Island is through the woods?” Adrian asked.
“It’s in the map,” this startled them, they never mentioned the map to Maduma. “Everyone who comes here already has their maps, they just need a little convincing that those maps are reliable.” They were silent then Maduma laughed softly, “But you are not convinced?”
“When the heart is ready … the path will clear … I have told you what you needed to know,” Maduma put down the burning sage and ended her rants.
They felt it was time to leave, even though they were not sure whether they’d found what they were looking for. Friday stepped out of the room after she thanked Maduma, Adrian followed behind her.
Suddenly Maduma grabbed his hand with a clench, “There are things that cannot be explained in this world … the key is not only to believe … but also to know,” she pointed to his chest, “She’s counting on you … The Quiet One,” she added, then let him go. He left the room feeling more peculiar than when he entered. As they went down the stairs, the four people who were there were standing by the stairs watching them leave.
The door closed behind them with the ringing of the bell. They walked in silence with shivers down their spines. They couldn’t quite make out what just happened but they felt like it was significant. What they didn’t know was as the door closed, the lights were off, the door was locked and barred from the outside. The Madhouse had been closed for years after the separation.