Volume 1

June 5th, 2016

I got on the road this morning around 8 o’clock. I had planned on leaving at 7. I realized, upon waking, how ambitious of a goal that had been. Not long after starting the trip, I noticed a slight incline on the road. Little did I know, it was just the beginning. The drive took a bit over 4 hours. The incline became progressively steeper the entire way. I got off of the interstate, and began to drive through thick forrest and fog. I looked down at my phone, which read “no service”, and that was it. For a moment I panicked. I had been relying on my phone for directions. I was afraid, in the absence of service, that the directions would stop. To make matters worse it had starting raining cats and dogs.

There I was. My tiny car, loaded so far down with books, clothes, water, and food that my bumper was scraping the ground. I was driving through a deluge in some god forsaken forest, and I had no clue where I was going. I remember thinking, “Good god… If I get lost out here they’ll never find me.” Luckily, my phone continued to point me in the right direction. I have no idea how that works, but I’m glad someone out there does.

For what seemed like hours, I careened through dense fog and rain on some of the steepest roads I’ve ever seen. Eventually, I found myself on a gravel path which seemed to go on forever. As my car bounced and jerked over every pebble and stone beneath me, I saw Azule in the distance.

It is a giant house, consisting mostly of windows. I pulled up, parked my car, and was met – almost immediately – by a very small older woman (who was wearing the funniest little yellow rain hat was missing a significant portion of her right arm). Through a thick French accent she introduced herself as Camille. I guess she is a groundskeeper or sorts? She welcomed me and began to show me around the house.

It’s an odd home. Three stories with a stained glass staircase that connects the top floor to the bottom. The top floor is mostly bedrooms. This is where I met the other current resident. She told me that her name was Jenna. She seems to be in her early 40’s, and has a very short haircut with a blue streak in the front. We spoke briefly. She was cordial and seemed nice enough (despite the fact that her appearance is that of someone I would see yelling at her kids at Walmart).

Camille took me to the ground floor then through a large open room that they call “the library”. There were chairs, plants, sculptures, and paintings. There were books shoved into every nook and cranny that books could be shoved into. Through the library we arrived at a door. Camille opened the door as I walked into a shell shaped room. The room, which was sparsely decorated, contained only a desk, a piano, and a twin sized bed. With that, the tour was complete. Camille said she would leave me to my work. I unpacked and started writing. After a few hours, I was hungry. I made soup then sat down to write this journal entry. I imagine that I will work a little more later. That is all for today. It is very quiet here. I am not sure what to think yet.