What Happened to Anna?

by Jennifer Robins

  Andrea stayed in the living room alone, trying to consider what he might be feeling. For a moment she thought maybe it would be best to move out, but it was only a brief thought. She was determined to stay, no matter what John said. It wasn’t going to be easy, but she would find a way to convince him. She knew how to manipulate him, or so she thought.

  She found John asleep when she entered the bedroom. Exhausted herself, she undressed and put on a short summer nightgown. She lay down in bed and was soon fast asleep.

  Almost immediately, she began to dream. Dancing again. The scene was clear this time — a grand ballroom, like something out of the nineteenth century. A small group of musicians played a waltz. She wore a beautiful full gown, candy-apple red with white embroidered lace around the neck and sleeve cuffs. Her hair was piled up high on her head, small curls hanging lazily by her ears. Pearl earrings dangled amongst them, and a matching strand of pearls hung around her neck. She felt light on her feet, like a fairy tale dream with her as the princess.

  The music went on as she whirled around the floor with her tall, handsome partner. What a great looking man, with his dark wavy hair and piercing emerald eyes. He wore a black suit and a white ruffled shirt buttoned high to his neck. Something sparkled on her hand as it rested on his shoulder. The ring — the one she had seen in the vision, the one in the painting. In the dream, it didn’t have an effect on her emotions. She just continued to dance.

  Then, like magic, everything changed. She found herself in her living room, standing with his arms around her. The furniture, carpet, drapes, and even the wallpaper were Victorian style, just like the hallway had transformed in her vision. A candle burned brightly on the table next to the sofa, and a fire danced in the fireplace. So elegant and so romantic.

  She stood close to him, staring into his eyes as she admired the gentle look on his face. Tingles ran down her spine as he slipped his arms around her waist. He drew her body up tightly against his. Her heartbeat quickened as he lowered his head. His lips met hers, and she closed her eyes.

  He began kissing her neck and her ears. Passion rose inside of her. It didn’t last, though, because the sudden rush of passion frightened her. She began to pull away from him. He resisted her effort by holding her tightly while ravishing her with kisses. This only made her more frightened and determined to get away from him.

  He spoke softly to her. “Andrea, stay with me. I love you.” His voice was tender and low. Underlying his words was a familiar sound — she could hear someone crying in the distance. He started to speak louder in an obvious attempt to drown it out.

  All of a sudden, a loud ringing noise sounded. She bolted up in bed, trembling all over, and realized that she had been dreaming. The morning alarm had gone off.

  Chapter Eleven

  With a big yawn, John stretched his arms above his head as he sat up in bed. He felt refreshed for the first time in days. He got out of the bed and went to the closet. Andrea turned over and lay there, thinking of the wonderful dream she’d had that night. It made her feel good. After a short time, she went downstairs to make breakfast. She walked around the kitchen, light on her feet, almost dancing.

  As she stood at the sink filling the coffee pot with water, she heard John yelling from upstairs. “Andrea, come up here right away.” Then he yelled even louder. “Andrea, hurry!” The sound of his voice alarmed her.

  Without hesitation, she ran up the stairs and into the bedroom. She looked around the room but didn’t see him. “Where are you?” she shouted.

  “In here, in the bathroom. Hurry.”

  Andrea pushed the bathroom door open. John stood in front of the sink, face pale, eyes wide open, staring at something on the shelf above the toilet. He looked frightened. His hand shook as he held it up and pointed. “Look!”

  Andrea couldn’t believe her eyes. “Oh, no! How could this be?”

  The photograph stared back at her, all intact as if nothing had ever happened to it. She grabbed it off of the shelf and turned it over in her hand, inspecting it thoroughly. It was perfect. Not repaired, but in its original state, just like the day she’d found it.

  John took it from her. “Let me see that thing,” he grumbled. “This is not happening.” With an astonished look on his face, he handed it back to her. “This is pretty freaky, Andrea. You saw me tear it up. Don’t tell me we dreamed it. I tore that picture into pieces.”

  She didn’t know what to say. She was just as surprised as he. Quietly, she walked out of the bathroom with the photograph in her hand. In the bedroom, she went to the closet, bent down and put it in the wooden box on the floor. John stood behind her, watching. Still shaken, he just stuttered, and then asked, “What are you doing?”

  She stood straight and faced him. “I’m putting the photograph back in the box where it belongs. I hope now you’ll leave it alone.”

  “Hey, I never touched that thing before last night! If you think I’m the one who has been moving it around all the time, well, think again.”

  “I’m not accusing you of anything, John. I’m just making a point. Don’t you see? Anna doesn’t want that photograph destroyed.” She sat in the chair by the window. “These freaky things, as you put it, are going to continue unless we do something. I wish you would realize that and try to go along with my thinking.”

  “What are we supposed to do, Andrea? Will we let a ghost rule our lives? Afraid to do something she might not like? I still don’t like the idea of a ghost. I can’t say that I truly believe there are such things.”

  ****

  John went to the office that morning with a sense of defeat. He loved Andrea so much, and it hurt him to find himself at odds with her. Up until they’d moved to Partersville, they’d had only the rare, occasional argument. Now it was almost around the clock. He felt helpless about the situation and didn’t want to do anything that would make matters worse with her.

  Gale, his secretary, noticed how disturbed he acted. “What’s the matter?” she asked as she set a file on his desk in front of him.

  At first, he didn’t know what to say to her. He didn’t want to tell anyone what was going on in his household. He figured no one would believe it anyway. “It’s nothing. I haven’t been sleeping well lately, and I’m a bit tired.” He looked at Gale. “By the way, I have a friend who’s moving here, and I wondered if you knew of any apartments for rent?”

  “Yes, there’s a nice apartment complex on the south side of town. Check with the real estate company. They can give you more information. Do you want coffee? I just made some fresh.”

  John had enough caffeine for a while. “No, thank you. Just bring me the file on the Bolden Corporation.”

  She looked at him, surprised. “I already did. It’s right in front of you.” Then she laughed.

  On the desk sat a large manila folder with big bold letters across the front of it. Bolden Corporation. He stared down at it. “Thanks, Gale. I’ll have that coffee after all.”

  ****

  Andrea went about her daily housework routine with the radio turned up very loud. Soothing music filled the house. She hummed along as she tried to occupy her mind with something other than the dream she’d had during the night. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t drown out her thoughts of that sweet experience. Nothing had ever plagued her the way this did. She recalled the wonderful feeling she had while dancing in the tall man’s arms.

  She barely heard the phone ringing over the music. She headed to the kitchen to answer it. “Hello?”

  Emily Peters’ voice pierced the airwaves. “Hello, Mrs. Devon. I just called to see if you knew of Marie’s passing. I wasn’t sure if you’d heard the news about her, and I think you liked her.”

  A little surprised by her call, Andrea said, “Yes, Mrs. Peters, I know about Marie’s passing.” She danced her fingers across the table impatiently. “I didn’t have a chance to talk to her again, but I wish I had.”

  “That’s too bad. Her mother knew a lot about the Dicke
ns family. What is it that she did tell you? Anything interesting?”

  Andrea knew she was fishing, and she wasn’t going to give her an opportunity to ask more. “Just what I told you the last time you called, Mrs. Peters. Is there anything you can tell me about the Dickens family?”

  Mrs. Peters suddenly wanted to end the conversation. “Oh dear, I forgot all about an appointment I have with a friend. We’re going out to lunch, and I have to get ready. I have to go now. Goodbye.” She hung up before Andrea could say another word.

  What was Mrs. Peters up to? The woman was a busybody all right, but she also knew about the town’s history. She had to know more about the Dickens family than she was willing to tell. Why else would she call and ask about it so often?

  The day dragged on slowly. Andrea concentrated on ways to convince John to stay in the house and help her investigate the life of Anna Dickens. When she was not thinking of it, her mind drifted back to the dream.

  John called several times to see how she was. His last call came at five, just before he left the office. “Have you given any thought about moving? There are some nice apartments in town. It wouldn’t hurt to look, you know. How about it?”

  “Stop badgering me about moving. I’m not looking at any apartments either.” That ended the conversation.

  The grave had taken top billing in her mind. She could picture herself and John going to that old cemetery late at night, carrying flashlights, lanterns, shovels, and picks to dig and open Anna’s grave. It reminded her of the time they’d spent an entire Saturday at her parents’ house in Chicago, digging a small lily pond in the back yard. The grave would be more difficult, she knew that, but she believed they could do it if she could only convince him. That would be a real challenge, because it wasn’t easy to change John’s thinking once he made up his mind.

  At dinner, John started in again about moving away from the house. He went on about how nice it could be living in an apartment for a while until the house sold. “We can buy another house later. I think you’re kidding yourself when you think you can do something about what’s been going on around here. You’re headed down the wrong path.”

  Andrea saw an opportunity to try and convince him not only to stay in the house, but to help her with her quest. “Why should we move? I can’t see leaving this wonderful house before we even try to do something. It’s everything we’ve always wanted. You have the big yard, and I have my century-old house. I’m just as upset as you about what’s been happening, but I’m not ready to give up on all of the things we dreamed of, and I’m not ready to leave here too easily.”

  “Andrea, this is not a matter of getting rid of ants and mice. It’s beyond anything you or I have ever had to deal with.”

  “There’s so much I’d like to know about Anna. Most of all, if she’s really buried in that grave. If we knew that, it could change things a lot. If she isn’t buried there, then we could look for an answer to what happened to her. If she is buried there, then I would just want to know why her ghost is still in this house. Remember the pond we dug for my parents? Well, I know this might be a little harder, but…”

  “The lily pond was only two feet deep.”

  “Oh, it was more than two feet. It was at least three, or maybe four. And don’t forget how wide it was.”

  “A grave is much more, Andrea. They go down six feet deep. There is no comparison.”

  Over and over she confronted his objections and remarks with convincing arguments until he began to weaken. “All right, Andrea. If — and that’s a big if — we do something like that, how do you plan on doing it? And when?”

  “Some night soon — the sooner the better. We already have everything we would need to do this… shovels, a pick, and lanterns. Remember those lanterns you bought for our camping trip two years ago? They’re in the shed. It won’t be that hard.”

  “What would we do if someone catches us? What would we tell them? That you were putting flowers on your dead ancestor’s grave in the middle of the night, and we just thought we would dig her up while we were there?“

  “John, you were out there. It’s deserted. Nothing is even close by. Who is going to be there in the middle of the night? It will be all right, I’m sure of that.”

  John shook his head. “Before I even consider such a bizarre undertaking, I want to go take another look at the cemetery. I also want to make sure there are no other buildings close by.”

  Andrea quickly stood up. “Let’s go back there right now, John. It’s still light out, we have a couple of hours before dark.”

  He gripped his chin while thinking. “This little trip does not mean I’m going to agree to anything else. Be sure you understand that, Andrea.”

  ****

  On the way out to the old cemetery, John mentioned the apartment complex again. Andrea turned her head away and gazed out of the window. It was hopeless, and he knew it. He would have to wait until she eventually realized it was the only way. He stopped talking about it and watched the road, looking for signs.

  He had no trouble finding the cemetery again. As soon as he saw the old rusted gate, he said, “We’ll go past it this time. I want to see what’s farther up from here.”

  For at least a mile there appeared to be nothing but empty fields and trees that went on as far as they could see. He turned around and headed back. The car came to rest just inside the iron gate, the same place as before. Andrea noted his sudden interest with surprise. He told her they would walk back all the way to the rear this time, so they could see what lay beyond the cemetery grounds.

  They trudged through the high growth of weeds and grass, stumbling over branches and hidden stones. Standing at the very last row of graves at the rear of the old cemetery, they looked out over the long stretch of open land. There were no buildings of any kind in sight.

  “A contractor will come along one of these days and develop all of this,” John said. “I’m surprised someone hasn’t already.”

  Andrea nodded. “I bet no one even drives down this road anymore. There’s nothing here. We could probably come in the daytime and dig. No one would ever know we were out here.“

  “Oooh no! I told you we would not dig up any grave, not in the daytime and not in the night either. In fact, this is the last time we come out here. I’ve been patient, Andrea, and I thought by coming here again you would see how wrong it would be.” He shook his head and started back to the car. She hurried to keep up with him.

  On the way home, John drove with an irritated look on his face. Andrea talked endlessly in an attempt to distract herself from the uncomfortable atmosphere. “This could be the very thing that will lead us to the answers. We have to find out if she’s buried in that grave. It would open the door for my investigation, and then I’m sure I could find a way to end our problem.”

  John worried about Andrea’s infatuation with this dead woman. “Are you saying that if she is buried there, you’ll give up on staying in the house?”

  The question posed a possible way for Andrea to get John to agree to do what she wanted. “Well…” She thought a minute, and then said, “I guess so.”

  He grinned. “You’ll give it all up and move if there’s a corpse occupying that grave? Is that what you’re saying?”

  She nodded while crossing her fingers behind her back.

  “All right then. What do you have in mind?”

  She’d already made a mental list of things they would need for this venture, and told him she surmised that it would take them about four or five hours to open the grave. She’d been doing a lot of thinking about it and had it all planned out. “We could go there at night, just to be sure no one will see us. We would be back home by early morning.”

  John couldn’t believe what he was hearing, but… “If this will bring you to your senses, then I’m willing to consider it.”

  “You act like you’re pretty sure Anna’s remains are in that grave,” Andrea said.

  “I guess you could say that.”


  Just as they were pulling into the driveway of the house, she started to say something when John interrupted her. “Wait, Andrea. Let’s talk inside.”

  She hurried into the house and headed straight for the kitchen. “I’ll get us something to drink,” she told him as she passed him by in the hallway. She had him convinced to listen, even though he didn’t like the idea, so now might be the time to lay it on him and get him to completely agree without any caveats. With that goal in mind, she moved to state her case.

  “I want to go tomorrow night,” she said as soon as he entered the kitchen. “The sooner, the better.” John gave her a short nod, but it wasn’t enough for her. “I want to hear you say it, John. Say we can go tomorrow night.”

  “Just let me make it clear, Andrea. We find the old bones or whatever remains are in that grave, you give up this nonsense about this house, and we move out. Agreed?”

  Although reluctant to make such an agreement, she told him she would. She felt relieved knowing that he’d agreed. She knew she’d put pressure on him, but she had to know for sure he was willing to do this on her terms. Though she feared he would change his mind, she became more motivated. “I want to go tomorrow night.”

  He gave her a short nod, but that wasn’t enough. “I want to hear you say it, John. Say we can go tomorrow night, so I can hear the words right from your mouth.”

  “All right… we’ll go tomorrow night. Now are you happy?”

  The night closed in on them. Andrea hurried up the stairs to the bedroom, excited for the next day. At last she would find out if Anna had been put to rest in that grave or not. She went to the closet, took the photograph out of the wooden box, and gazed at it. When John saw her holding the photograph, he shook his head, walked back out of the room, and went to the bathroom for a shower.