The floor plan is typical, an updated kitchen with wooden countertops and open shelving lined with stacks of white dishes. The kitchen spills into a living room where cozy-looking couches surround a fireplace. Next is the entryway, with a painted staircase, then a reading room with a desk, a large plush chair. The more I look at it, the more I realize it’s the careful details that make this house—every single item looks like it was carefully selected. Thickly woven rugs, inviting-looking pillows, clusters of candles, and hanging plant baskets with heart-shaped leaves trailing to the floor. It’s magical, relaxing, and minimal in a way that feels intentional, like someone has created a blank canvas for you to make your mark on.

It reminds me of a house my mom and I stayed in for a few months one fall. It belonged to a friend of hers, and while she and her friends partied, I spent most of my time wandering through the house pretending to be a pirate searching for gold. People always thought it was awful that she did drugs in front of me, but honestly it was better when she did it where I could see. That way I knew where she was and what was going on.

“The antiques really make the place, don’t they?,” Simon finally says, his voice hushed. “Look at that. I’ll bet it was once on the front of a ship.”

He points to a weathered statue of a woman nearly as tall as I am standing in the corner of the library, and I walk over to take a look. The woman is arched forward slightly, her paint worn down by years, eyes blank, and I realize she had likely started out on the front of a ship. “A figurehead?” I say, the word coming to me.

Simon nods. “Must have belonged to the spice merchant.” He points to the stairs. “Want to check out the upper floors? I need to take a look at the furnace.”

Almost automatically, my feet carry me toward the gleaming wooden staircase. Upstairs are two bedrooms and a bathroom, and then another staircase leading to another floor of bedrooms. Each bedroom has been carefully furnished and decorated, with plump pillows and woven rugs. The final room on the top floor has a short, slanted roof that I have to duck to enter, but as soon as I step in, I freeze, because… Have I been here before?

I mean, that’s impossible. But have I?