pt 38~ Secret Hallway and a Cauldron!

Allen and Celeste carried her new things upstairs. Bed made and groceries put away, they checked the time and realized it was already 4:30pm! How could the day have slipped away so fast??!

"Allen, I'd really like to put in an hour on Arnold's website before we do anything else. Do you mind?", Celeste asked.

"Sounds good! I've got a project I can work on while you do that. Then let's get supper and organize our plans.", Allen replied. As he stood gazing into her eyes he saw more deeply how vulnerable she really was and the impulse to protect her was almost overwhelming! Little comments and gestures were such huge insights into the broken bonds that had created huge obstacles in her life. He pulled her close and stroked her hair then let her go.

Wandering around her new apartment Celeste noticed a door she hadn't spotted before. It was narrow and wedged into a corner so that it was literally squeezed between a built-in bookcase and the corner of the wall in the hall outside her bedroom. "Wow! More storage space. Bet this is a mini linen closet like Grandma had. Delight covered her face as she pulled the door open. Much to Celeste's surprise the door led to a narrow hallway. Allen pulled a small flashlight from his pocket and they stepped gingerly into the narrow hallway. The walls were stone, cool and mossy with a smell of damp endless years closed off.
As they slowly progressed down the hall they came to a tiny window. It was a tiny diamond-shaped bit of sunlight smaller than Celeste's fist. As she drew closer she began to feel for a doorknob or catch somewhere around the window but there was none. Allen began to slowly look over the wall around the window thanking God he always kept a flashlight in his pocket. Near the baseboard Allen spotted a small button and pushed it with the toe of his sneaker. A narrow door opened to a small balcony. The sort of balcony that is maybe more of a decorative item as it was only about two (2) feet deep. It had an ornate wrought iron railing with small gargoyles on the posts. And, in the corner, oddly enough, sat abat, newt and cauldron! At first these appeared to be long lost halloween decorations but, on further inspection, Allen noted they were indeed real, but very very old. What had this building housed long ago??!
"We'll get a file going for background info in this building. We need to do indepth research.", Allen said."Let's get back inside before someone spots us!", and they headed back into the damp and dark of the cold stone hall, Allen snapping a couple quick pics of the balcony set up before securing the door.