Elias entered the Upton’s'' Castle through the front door unbidden and unnoticed.

The castle was void, not a soul in sight. So, I made myself at home; after all, I had time to kill. “Oops, did I just say that?” So, I sought out the family room as instructed and sat in an actual vibrating recliner for the first time. “Wow!” But I didn’t know how to turn it on.  An hour passed, then two… Finally, I heard someone tapping digits,1955, at the front door code box. All four people pushed their way inside, humped in a huddle, as the massive gate creaked, closing behind them. I heard the bolt latch... the Upton family was home. The father, Giles, and wife, Jess, along with two young children, a son, Pat, and a little sister, Jen, and an older man who was not mentioned on my invoice. A fat tear welled up in my eye upon seeing them together and happy. Occasionally, mind you, I totally despise this job; luckily, I have a short memory span. It appeared they had been to a fair of sorts. A cloud of good humor encircled them as they sported the typical wares that make one joyful. Candy apples, stuffed critters, and the smell… that typical fair scent is very telling. I sensed everyone was wiped out as they trotted upstairs to their bedrooms… I followed a few steps behind. The first thing that I noticed on the second-floor landing was a large, Hu munggo Christmas tree; I''d say it scored at least twelve feet tall: next day’s newspaper confirmed that I was correct. Now, I’m not an expert on yuletide trees, but I can tell that when a fir tree has set without water for nearly two months… It’s going to be a potential fire hazard. I figured right then and there that I was staring face-to-face at the devil, and I could have sworn that for a moment, two of the lower limbs curled upwards, forming a mischievous smirk on that evil tree. I kneeled in front, not in reverence, no! But to peer through the dried, needless branches toward the back wall, to wit, I noticed an extension cord, which appeared frayed with a bare wire close to the plug. By now, the family was snug in their beds. So, I returned downstairs to wait in my vibrating chair… all I could do was wait. That, my friend, is what you call high stress.