The Vortex

Wilbur Door Opening but didn't see Lavinia anywhere.

Of course, he didn't care about that; Lavinia's absence saved him some trouble.

He led Nancy to the the Whateley family's living room, saying without any apology that the house was a bit messy.

He asked Nancy to sit on the worn-out sofa, saying he was going to prepare hot water.

"Of course—I don't mind," Nancy said, out of good manners. She only sat on half of the sofa, making no attempt to lean back, afraid of getting her clothes dirty.

Just this one sofa made Nancy regret coming here.

Wilbur went to the kitchen.

He accidentally knocked over an ornament on a long table in the distance, then casually righted it back up.

He casually wiped the beautiful object, which resembled a huge green gemstone. The oval stone, about the size of a human head, reflected a magnificent green light under the lamplight.

After a brief adjustment, the green light shone on Nancy and entered her eyes.

Even after Wilbur had gone into the kitchen, Nancy was still looking at the stone.

She marveled at the stone's beauty; its color resembled her own eyes.

Nancy wanted to get closer to examine the stone, knowing it was impolite, but her intense curiosity made it even harder to stay there.

The sound of the gas stove igniting came from the kitchen. Nancy hesitated for only a moment before standing up from the sofa and moving closer.

The stone was placed on a base of the same stone. It was egg-shaped, smooth, and dark gray in color, about the size of a human head. The green light reflected off a notch at the top of the stone.

Through this gap, you can see what's inside the stone.

To Nancy's surprise, it wasn't crystal clear like jade or glass, but rather a strange swirling pattern.

The vortex—it still seems to be spinning—

Nancy rubbed her eyes, somewhat unsure of what she had discovered.

She tried to lift the stone, but it was unnaturally light, and she doubted she could lift it with one hand.

She carried the stone to the nearest kerosene lamp, and although the light was still somewhat dim, it allowed Nancy to see more.

Her eyes drew closer and closer to the stone, and the vortex seemed more and more real.

Nancy quickly became certain that the vortex inside was indeed spinning. She didn't look away because she sensed there were other things inside that she couldn't see clearly.

The eyes moved closer.

finally----

Nancy saw nothing but that vortex.

The stone, illuminated by the kerosene lamp, gave Nancy a strange hallucination.

Nancy is falling.

It was an ocean, a true whirlpool. Nancy fell in, the powerful pull trapping Nancy inside. Nancy struggled desperately, but all her efforts were in vain. She opened her mouth to cry for help, but only hissing sounds came out.

When Nancy came to her senses, she saw that the stone had rolled to the ground, and she was staring blankly at the kerosene lamp.

The stone fell to the ground with a loud thud, for Wilbur had already come out of the kitchen.

"Hmm." Wilbur looked at Nancy and the stone at Nancy feet.

A cunning smile, as if his scheme had succeeded, flashed across his face for a fleeting moment, but unfortunately, Nancy was too absorbed in her hallucination to see it.

Nancy had forgotten what she had just experienced; it was like a dream, and all the memories faded away quickly after she woke up.

She regained her composure, but was somewhat flustered. After a few seconds, she remembered to pick up the stone and said apologetically to Wilbur, "I wanted to look at it—but I didn't hold it properly."

She carefully examined the stone in her hand and quickly discovered a faint crack that ran the length of the stone.

"It's cracked," Nancy said to Wilbur.

"I know," Wilbur replied.

"I can compensate you."

Nancy believed that the stone was still within the range of money she could pay for with her allowance.

But Wilbur shook his head. "You don't need to worry about it. It's nothing valuable. Sentinel Hill is the mountain I mentioned to you; there are plenty of them there. If you like, I can help you find some, or I can give you this one."

"No, I don't want it." Nancy immediately refused when Wilbur offered to give her the stone.

Wilbur shrugged, took the stone from Nancy, and put it back in its place.

He went back to the kitchen, and after a while, he came out with two cups of coffee in his hands, handing one to Nancy.

"Thank you," Nancy said.

"Have a few sips, it'll calm you down," Wilbur said.

"I'm very calm," Nancy said.

By Professor Armitage and Elizabeth's standards, she was indeed very calm now, speaking slowly and deliberately, her voice neither too loud nor too soft, unlike before when she was boisterous and lacked tact.

But Wilbur laughed, Nancy could tell it was mockery; she frowned in displeasure.

"Sorry—" Wilbur said with a laugh, "Have a couple of sips of coffee—you say you're calm—good heavens, that's not calmness, you're terrified, you're terrified, like a hen that's heard a gunshot!"

He continued, "Think back to how you gave me a ride when you were at Miskatonic University. You weren't like this then. You've been too nervous ever since you got to Dunwich!"

The hen that heard the gunshot----

Nancy took a sip of coffee, her face scrunching up at the awful taste, but the warm coffee did cheer her up.

She realized Wilbur was right, and after arriving in Dunwich —or more accurately, after getting Wilbur on the bus—she became overly nervous.

She made all the choices herself.

Nancy felt ashamed and indignant that her cowardice had been exposed.

In particular, Wilbur compared her to an old hen!

She took a few more sips of coffee, then slammed the cup down on the table to express her dissatisfaction.

Wilbur reached out to pat her, but she dodged away.

Wilbur didn't care; he took something out of his pocket and handed it to Nancy.

A rock only half the size of a palm.

Thinking of the huge rock she had just seen, Nancy hesitated and didn't reach for it.

"Still scared?" Wilbur asked. "You can drink a few more sips while the coffee is still hot."

How is that possible?

Nancy snatched the stone from Wilbur's hand.

It is a flat oval shape, somewhat like a pebble, but not as smooth, with a pattern engraved on one side, resembling an abstract key.

"What is this?" Nancy asked.

"As a thank you gift, I promised to show you something interesting."

"It's pretty." Nancy said uninterestedly. It was just a common craft item; she could buy a dozen for a dollar if she wanted.

But Wilbur shook his head.

He suddenly blew out the kerosene lamp on the side.

Nancy let out a short gasp.

In her hand, a white light was shimmering on the pattern on the stone—a real shimmer, flashing on and off irregularly, like lightning in the sky.