The Girl from Yesterday Pt. 01

"Marriage?!" gasped Rebecca knowing that the older woman was teasing and enjoying her blushing embarrassment, "Hark at you with no ring on your finger. By the sounds of it you would have me wed with a brood running around my feet by the end of the day!" She shook her head and shuddered expansively, "As for the laying of his flesh upon mine. Heaven's no. The very idea withers the soul!"

Isobel waved the half-eaten apple between them as she tried to keep a straight face. "It was only a suggestion, petal," she smiled, "Since none of us have seen so much as hide nor hair of a suitor in your life. A Lady as pretty as you should have every Gentleman from far and wide knocking on your door at all hours of day or night. Gossip is rife amongst the ladies in the staff room don't you know."

"Is that so?" said Rebecca, "Then let those that are taking such a close interest in my affairs know that when said Gentleman comes into my life they shall be the first to know. But since no Gentleman so far exists or has interested me in the slightest their wait may be long and painful."

Considering her friend, Isobel reached into the basket and handed her an apple. "Sounds to me like you are waiting for the perfect man, my dear Rebecca."

Rebecca stared at her for a moment. "No, Isobel," she said firmly, "I'm not looking for the perfect man only the right one."

***

The man felt his dying wife put her warm hand to his right cheek as she whispered words of comfort and goodbye to him.

"Don't let this be the end for you, my love," she breathed softly as she felt his lips kiss the palm of her hand as she began to slip away, "I've had my time. You still have so much of yours to live. I know in my heart there will be someone else for you. Someone who will take away all the pain and sadness that you're feeling right now. I'm content. I've made my peace with everything. Know that I have cherished every single minute we were together and loved you more than words can say. You have to move on, Josh. Be ready when the time comes. You will know her when you find her..."

He looked up at his thirty-year-old wife lying there in the hospital bed as the final moments of her life slipped into a single tone that crushed the very breath in his chest as the woman he loved passed away.

"Martha."

***

"They say it is haunted."

Rebecca turned to her friend and made a face. "And who might they be?" she asked with a disbelieving laugh. Up the slope, on top of a small hill, was the silhouette of an old abandoned three story house built of brick and sandstone with a red tiled roof that marked the Northern most edge of St. Clement's ten-acre estate.

"Well," she exclaimed, as she reached into her bag, took out a wooden fan and began to waft her flushed face with it as they made their way around the boundary path, "Most everyone to be honest. Since the day I started here five years ago, the tale told of this place is always the same."

"How long has it been empty?" asked Rebecca as she took a sip of water from her small flask,"And who were the original owners come to that?" Ghost stories and tales of mystery always did tickle her fancy she mused as she looked up towards the top of the house to what she presumed was the attic with its angled four-paned window gleaming in the sun.

Reaching up to rearrange a clip in her thick brown hair, Isobel recalled what she knew about the history of the house. "From the telling," she said precisely, "Not much is known about the people who originally built the place and lived there. Gossip said they were a couple of some years who sometimes helped out with the caretaking of the school which had been built a number of years later. Then one day, to the surprise of those that knew of them, they simply packed up and disappeared. That was nigh on twenty-five years ago now and the house has remained vacant ever since," She bent forward and brushed down her long deep blue skirts that were flecked with dandelion seeds that fluttered endlessly on the breeze, "It is all very odd hence the story of spooks and ghouls."

Rebecca nodded. "Nothing like a mystery and the imagination to spin a story of the supernatural. A tale that gets taller with each whispered telling I think," She glanced mischievously at her companion, "Maybe we should take a look inside." she said brightly. Even though she had been employed for nearly six weeks now, this was the first time she had walked so far to the North and seen the empty house.

Isobel looked suitably alarmed and stepped back waving her closed fan at her friend who apparently had taken leave of her senses!

"Good heavens, no!" she gasped, "Are you of sound mind and sense?!" the older woman gabbled as she grabbed Rebecca by her right elbow and directed her person back towards the school buildings, "My Mother always told me to be wary of fate and never fiddle with its temptations. Such things are best left alone and let time take care of the answers. Forfend, Rebecca, you do so have the reckless touch about you sometimes. Come, it is nearly the top of the hour and we need to get back to prepare for the afternoon lesson."

Rebecca let her friend lead her away down the path as she glanced back over her shoulder at the empty house. There was something about it that tweaked her curiosity. Something she couldn't quite put her finger on. She shook her head as their conversation turned to more mundane things but the seed had been planted in her mind and she knew she would return to this place one day soon.

***

Through his open fourth-floor apartment windows, Josh sat in his worn easy chair eating his pizza watching the only place he had ever known slowly turn from a golden hazy twilight to a neon-lit blackness as another day in his life passed.

Another day doing what he thought was right. Doing good for the sake of doing good. A noble pursuit to rid the streets of bad guys and gals. He stared at his reflection in the glass as he took another drink and glanced up at the photo of his wife that was on the cupboard next to him.

Time may heal but for him time got slower every day. The ache was as bad as it had been when it all began those years ago and it had never eased or even looked like easing any time soon. That overwhelming sense of loss was going to eat him alive and as each day passed it was only getting worse. He shut his eyes and whispered "Martha."

He was stuck in a rut. His life was on hold and it was only his job keeping him together. Something had to change. He needed something to happen. Something to drag him back into the land of the living before he died the slow death he knew was waiting for him.

***

The still air smelled of time.

Wisps of dust motes floated effortlessly on diffused sun beams that streamed through the dirt covered glass of the attic window at the far side of the room. Rebecca took a tentative step inside and stopped as she looked around with her gaze drawn to the white painted door to her right. The door that had never been opened so the story went as told by Isobel as they had made their way back to school.

"A door without a key in a wall that leads to nowhere," her friend had said in a hushed whisper as she continued to spin those tall tales about the house.

A house she now stood in at the end of the following school day.

Rebecca took another step forward and looked down at the worn carpet that covered most of the floor. Turning her head, she could see her footprints in the dust and grime behind her. It had been a long time since this place had seen a cloth or a broom as she crossed over to the small table that sat beneath the only window. It was then she noticed some words scratched on the surface and bent down to see what they were. Some of the letters were worn away by time but the words were still able to be read.

"The key to everything is to imagine what isn't as what is."

The school teacher frowned.

It was some sort of riddle. "Imagine what isn't as what is?" she whispered as she felt a shiver suddenly run up and down her spine. The sun had slipped behind a blanket of cloud changing the palette and mood of the room from a golden yellow to a pallid grey. It was as if she had stepped into another world as she felt her arms suddenly bristle with goosebumps. Something had happened. Somehow the very atmosphere around her had changed.

Rebecca slowly turned to face the door and gasped out loud at what she saw.

In the lock was a key.

***

The young woman stared at the key that hadn't been there a moment before.

"Don't be silly," she murmured to herself as she felt her heart pounding in her chest. Of course, it had been there. It was probably just the light. The room suddenly felt a lot smaller than it had been as if it was forcing her in a certain direction to a specific place.

She took a step forward. Then another until she stood before the door.

Reaching out, she hesitantly touched the key with her fingers and drew them quickly back. It felt real. Like a real key. Taking another deep breath, she reached forward again and began to turn the key clockwise in the rusted lock.

It resisted at first, but then it turned with a loud click that broke the silence surrounding her in the room. A full turn and the door was unlocked. Now all she had to do was open it. Open it and see where it leads to. Taking hold of the wooden doorknob, Rebecca slowly pushed the door inward with a loud creaking groan that shook free a cloud of long-laid dust to leave her standing there in the opening wide-eyed with nervous anticipation.

Well, sweet Isobel, if there were any spooks, ghouls or ghosts in this place this was surely the place where they would be hiding. Just waiting for someone to open the door and take a peek. But everything was dark, still and silent with only the light from the window behind her casting her silhouette on the floor in front of her.

Wishing she had at least brought a lantern or candle, she stepped beyond the door frame and waited a moment before taking another step. And then another. She paused again to let her eyes adjust to the dark before continuing on. She had taken five paces when she noticed something was different. It felt like she was standing on some sort of black stone surface that was shining slightly from the light behind her and the very air she breathed had a sudden strange pungent aroma to it.

Another step and she realized she was in some sort of passageway with bare bricks either side of her. It was then she heard sounds in the distance. Strange sounds that were unlike anything she had ever heard before. What on earth was that? It was like a low buzzing hum mixed in with the odd hoot, honk, and grumbling rumble.

Unsure, she turned around to make sure the door was still there and open. But to her complete and utter astonishment, she watched as the door slowly closed with the key now inserted on the inside where it suddenly began to glow before it faded away and disappeared into thin air.

In a panic, Rebecca reached forward to where she thought the door had been and to her surprise both it and the key reappeared then disappeared again when she withdrew her hand. Despite her thudding heart, Rebecca smiled at the insanity of it all. Slowly, she turned back around and gasped at the column of bright lights flickering in the distance. She had no idea what they were but her natural curiosity would always get the better of her and she began to walk towards the changing colors.

As she made her way, she began to notice the things around her. A set of ladders to her right made of metal that was screwed to the wall and reached up high into the shadows above her. Then there were what looked like wooden boxes and metal containers piled against each other with litter and rubbish strewn everywhere.

Where was she?

That she was no longer in the house was obvious. The door was an opening to somewhere else. Somewhere completely different. For some strange reason, she didn't feel scared or afraid at all. Nervous, yes, but she felt no fear in herself or for her safety. She was approaching what appeared to be the entrance to a damp back alley and stopped suddenly as she saw shapes moving in those bright lights.

Shapes that looked like people. And some of those people were in strange looking boxes that moved this way and that growling like dogs as they did so. Glancing back over her shoulder, she felt a sudden surge of doubt come over her. She knew she should go back and return to the world that was her own but something stopped her. A feeling she couldn't put into words that made any sense. It was like a whisper that was telling her it was alright to stay at least for a while. Whatever lay ahead was a question she had to know the answer to and as she came closer to those bright lights and noise the world in front of her began to take vivid shape. She stopped in the shadows watching with her eyes wide with astonishment at what she saw.

This world towered above her with row upon row of lights disappearing far up into the darkness that caught her breath as she gasped with wonder. She was looking out at some sort of street which appeared to be lined with vibrant busy stores or shops that flickered and throbbed with multi-colored life. There was light and sound everywhere. Blue humming lights upon tall metal poles. Lights that lit up every window so that people could see the wares that were being sold. Lights that moved and rotated and shifted through different colors as they played a melodic tune. Lights that made up words that changed to become a sentence or slogan as strange music played in the background.

Rebecca looked up into the night sky and saw there were lights moving even up there. She had no doubt that once she had stepped through that door she had stepped into the future.

It was then she saw the commotion. Two figures running between those moving boxes with the second catching the first as they wrestled on the ground with hoots and honks filling the air. She froze and stood silently watching as her gaze was drawn to the man who stood triumphant over the other as the crowds stood watching.

What were they doing?

Suddenly the man raised his head and looked across to the alley where she was standing transfixed. Instinctively, she took a step further back into the shadows for she had the strangest feeling he was looking at her. She held her breath and stared back at him before he turned and walked away.

Rebecca let out a sigh of relief and gathered her wits for her heart was thudding loudly in her chest at the close call. She must be more careful lest events spiral out of her control and goodness only knows where such a calamity would lead her. Caution was the most important thing above all else and she knew she had to go back so that she could try and make some sort of sense of everything that had transpired.

Then she would come back.

As she made her way back down the alley from whence she came, there was only one thing on her mind.

Who was the man she had been staring at?

***

End of Part 1.

Continues in Part 2.