The House that Cassie Built

The words ramshackle and mansion didn’t usually go together but in this case both were true. It was an old Victorian which loomed over the sea and threatened each winter to fall into the bottomless chasm which lay at its feet. Salt-crusted bricks had faded to a rusted red and gables creaked in the wind threatening to decapitate gulls who came too close. When the wind blew waves lashed at the weary foundations eager to remove the eye-sore from its pristine shores. Cassie understood why the sea wanted retribution. She, like so many others, had ignored the cry of mother nature. Focusing only on her desires she had built this stain on the horizon.

Cassie’s knowledge of her sin is why she remained when so many urged her to leave. If the monster she built had to suffer the oceans rage, then the creator of the monster should suffer too. Young men had offered kindly to tear it down for her, but Cassie refused. The damage had already been done. The lavish lifestyle she had lived for years before she had become aware of her own heinous nature had marred the sea and sky. She would need lifetimes to rid the world of the plethora of pollution it endured just because she had needed, wanted, had to have, the new, the best, the latest. Cassie understood the dangers of staying. The sea was hungry and one day the mansion would be its meal. Cassie was not afraid. Cassie was ready for Gaia’s revenge.

Cassie and the dilapidated dame in which she dwelled understood each other. They were both past their prime but too stubborn to leave without a fight. Through the years it was as though she and the house had merged and become one. During each era of her life the house reflected her and she it. When the estate was first built Cassie threw balls and banquets, decorated the halls with the very best art from Paris and beyond and invited all the popular and beautiful to see how she was better than they could ever be. During these times the house shone as if it were boasting too. Then came the day she met him. The man who opened her eyes, but it was too late.

Ethan was like no-one Cassie had ever met nor likely to meet. He was certainly not the type she would usually invite to her parties. She of course allowed friends to bring friends but could not fathom anyone she knew entertaining a beatnik like him. He had hair the colour of a newborn fawn which hung in soft ringlets around his face. A face unshaven with deep set eyes which spoke of knowing things one his age should not. His face held warmth, but his voice held conviction when he challenged Cassie on the way she lived. She accused him of being a hypocrite as he was a guest at her party. He said he only came to convince the owner of the monstrosity he saw on his way to university everyday to relieve his misery and demolish it. Somewhere in between the bickering they fell in love. At this stage of her life the flowers in her garden appeared perpetually in bloom, birds sang at the windowsills and the walls exuded affection mirroring her feelings for Ethan.

Cassie knew she should have gone to live in Ethan’s world or at least tried but she could not let go of the empty, materialistic life she had built her identity around. Instead Ethan tried to live in hers. She saw it erode his soul day by day, but she could still not let go of her castle on the sand. Cassie did try to accommodate him. She wasn’t completely heartless. She sold off expensive items, only bought items marked sustainable or fair-trade and tried in her own way to live a simpler life. Ethan saw her efforts and put on a brave face. For the briefest moment she was content, and the once opulent Manor felt cosy and safe. A world changer, as Ethan had been since she’s met him, could only wear a mask for so long before cracks appeared. As Ethan cracked tiny fissures snaked through the walls as the saltwater slowly seeped in.

Ethan attempted to plaster the walls as he worked to glue their relationship back together. In the end he suggested the only idea he thought might save them. It broke them instead. When he told her he wanted a child she accused him of environmental sabotage. Put another child on an overpopulated planet.

“Where were his moral convictions now?” she had cruelly asked.

He told her he lost them long ago. On the day he fell in love with her. This tore at her heart but she refused to let him see it. The part of him she loved the most she had destroyed yet she could not stop. She cursed at him for letting her suffer without her beloved luxuries when he truly didn’t care about the issues he claimed to. Obviously, he did this to torment her. His eyes were brimming with tears. He did not yell and scream in the way she did.

Instead he said quietly, “You don’t want a baby not because you care about the environment but because it would destroy your figure.”

He turned, walked out and never came back. She didn’t stop him or deny what he said because every word was true. As he slammed the door the reapplied plaster fell as did Cassie’s heart.

First there was hatred, anger and bitterness. With the hatred the bricks crumbled, with the anger the waves tore gables from the roof and with the bitterness mould grew in secret places infecting the entire structure. Then depression set in as rot ate away at internal beams making the house unstable. Cassie became ill and as she deteriorated the house followed suit. Next came numbness and with it the house settled and maintained its dilapidated state for a few years without further deterioration. During this period of stasis Cassie sat for weeks and reviewed the events of her life. She didn’t need to ask how her life had come to this. The culprit was clear. She had destroyed everything around her. Her obsession with herself had caused the destruction of her relationship, had cost her friends and a child she was now too old to conceive. She pushed herself to dig deeper, to explore Ethan’s words and ideas. She discovered the truths in what he had said and through these truths came to realise she and her mansion in the sand damaged the earth in ways she could never have imagined. The house realised it too and began to give parts of itself to the sea in payment for the sins it had wrought.

Now Cassie sat on her porch in torrid storm hoping the earth would finally reap its reward. Cassie felt the manor shudder as waves pounded against the walls drenching her.

“Time to let go old girl.” She whispered as floorboards flew out of the door past her face.

Then the creators of the landscape she had brutally ignored turned up their wrath and she felt the house lurch

. “Come on” Cassie urged.

She was tired of the guilt. She stood up but the wind was too fierce, and she collapsed to the floor. The walls fell with her. Cassie felt herself being lifted as debris pelted her from every direction and she was catapulted viciously into the sea. As the water closed around her Cassie felt calm. It was over. Mother Nature had her restitution. The world could now be at ease.

Cassie felt herself being dragged from the ocean. When she opened her eyes she looked into a pair she loved. They were still deep set but now in a face creased with age.

“Ethan?”

He smiled and nodded.

“How? Why?” Cassie wondered.

“I know you Cassie. I know you would never leave the one thing you love. So, I had to come and save the only thing I’ve ever loved.” He explained as he wiped the water gently from her face.

“How can you love me? How can you ever forgive me?” Cassie felt the guilt return.

“Mother nature forgave you otherwise you would not have survived her storm. If she can be so magnanimous how could I not?”

He took her in his arms and kissed her. For once Cassie didn’t fight it. She couldn’t wait to see the sweet simple cottage they could build with their love.