The first thing that hit him when he crossed the threshold was the smell. Some subtle perfume hung pleasantly in the air. Some sort of herb, Arne thought, but couldn’t place it. The white robed people chatting and laughing happily and the sound of a fountain from somewhere beyond the atrium mingled into a pleasant music. Welcoming, even.
He took a few steps into the open atrium and looked around for Dia and Toog, not seeing either of them.
A young woman in a white robe and with blond hair flowing around her pretty face and down her back approached him with a sweet smile. “Welcome to the Family,” she beamed.
“…Thank you.” He smiled at her.
She giggled. “May I guess that you are new?”
“I don’t know if I am yet. I have heard about the Family, but I’m not completely sure I belong here.”
“Of course you belong! …If you consent, of course,” she smiled. “Consent is very important.” She took his arm and led him into the atrium where he could see the corridor leading into the rest of the building. A large low-edged fountain stood there, like a sentinel before the entrance to the house’s interior. A tall, conical spiral-shape cut in polished marble curled upwards like a curving beanstalk from the centre of the fountain and the song of the splish-splash of water came from here.
The water reached to about a little over knee height on the people standing in the fountain. Naked. And laughing. And splashing water at each other. Some were seated on the edge. Naked. And laughing. And splashing water at each other.
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Not necessarily happy admitting that Toog was potentially right regarding the sex cult, Arne stared at all the naked flesh of all shapes, hues and levels of firmness, until his companion giggled again at his side. “You don’t have to go through the Fountain. It is entirely up to you because consent is very important! But I promise you, joy and wellbeing await you on the other side,” she said, smiling brightly and taking his hand.
At the thought of how Dia’s facial tic would have looked if someone greeted her the same way, he gave a laugh which made it easier to smile at his new companion. “Joy and wellbeing?” he asked.
“Yes. And togetherness and acceptance. Everyone is welcome, and we don’t judge each other. We share and care,” she gave him the brightest smile he had seen in a very long while, and he almost missed being smiled at by an undead predator with serrated teeth.
“What happens if I do go through the Fountain? Can I leave again? What will it cost me?”
She laughed, as if he had said something truly hilarious. “Of course you can leave afterwards, silly. The fountain is there to wash away your everyday cares, so you can be happy and relaxed and enjoy life. But knowing you are loved means you will return to your everyday life with joy and energy. That’s all,” she beamed. “And it costs nothing. All that is required of you is that you don’t judge your fellow Family members and share your joy with them. Do you dare give yourself that gift?”
“Alright, you are very convincing,” Arne said, thoroughly alarmed that it was free. Nothing was free. Not even the services rendered to the undead. She had specified not getting killed as the wages they would receive. But Arne kept the smile and reminded himself that if Dia and Toog had gone through this, so could he.
“Wonderful,” his lovely young companion beamed. “Let me guide you through the fountain, then.”