Home is home, she thought, and then thought better of it. It was one of those random, soft thoughts that could go sideways if unwatched. Probably better not to, although it was true.
Vanessa wiped around the metal edges and legs of the frequently bleached yellow table, chipping away bits of dried-up unidentifiable foodstuffs. They always left a mess, broken shit and busted stuff and grime, a thin ventriloquist patina of it everywhere that seemed to speak for them when they'd gone, reaffirming their existence and filling the whole place with an odd scent of yellow curry, nutmeg and candle smoke right after the candle's been blown out. She wrenched her ancient sweatshirt over over her head, wincing as dislodged glasses dug sideways into the thick bridge of her assailed nose. They always left a mess.

The three guests only came to her house infrequently, seemingly at random; Vanessa could find no discernible pattern in the times of their arrival and departure, although she'd looked at bus timetables, plane schedules, lunar charts, the esoteric calendars of long-gone societies. She was contemplating turning to weirder sources, although she didn't know what. Didn't go in for that sort of thing.

There's the last stuff. I'm sorry it's taken me a couple days: pursued by bear/me, had to take evasive action.

Her older brother did, or had: but Aaron was off being a missionary in Thailand or somewhere along those lines. It confused her, cleaning, his willingness to be dragged along by his girlfriend when he didn't even believe in whatever religion he professed this week. He'd explained this the same day he asked her to house-sit: "I'm an atheist. I just think the idea of religion is so weird that I'm more than willing to go along with someone else's, just to see what's going to happen. I'm going to-" now that she thought about it, it wasn't Thailand. Somewhere less heard of. In any event, Aaron was in on religion for the ride.

She was just glad to have somewhere to live while she went to school, rent-free. She still paid utilities, but it was a small house; and she only ever really used three rooms, two of which had fireplaces, so heat wasn't generally an issue.

I have to start actually contemplating where this is going, so that's all tonight, but enjoy anyways!-K