The evening sky was blotted out by dark clouds, nothing unusual, as the Colorado skies were meant to be that way, especially with winter reeling in. Castle Pines was no exception. Any day now, snow would start to fall as the temperature continued to plummet. The local farmers studied the sky carefully, trying to judge when they should bring their livestock in, worrying about how much feed was going to cost them for the winter. The snow would convert the area into a winter wonderland with beautiful scenery: tall snow-covered pines and fields covered with new-fallen snow. It would be picture perfect. The snow blankets would glisten over the rolling landscape, giving the place a quiet, peaceful feel. The locals mentioned the winter here to be bleak, but that wouldn’t bother Alice; her life in itself was miserable.
The rain started to fall softly, steadily. “I wish each drop was a moment of my past,” she whispered, stopping and reaching out her cupped palm to catch a few of them. Her expression was that of someone who was left with nothing. She felt like she was ‘Alice in Wonderland’.
Alice knew nothing about the land, she corrected, but at least she knew about herself.
The eerie feeling that someone was watching crept over her; the hairs on the back of her neck bristled. She turned towards the newspaper man, who still paid no heed. In one quick scan, Alice caught the onlookers. On the furthest side of the park, near the smaller iron gate, Mr. and Mrs. Paul sat staring at her. This wasn’t the first time they had done so. They sensed that Alice was alone after months of observation, and that might have appealed to them.
Mr. Paul, a retired accountant, who was clearly over seventy years of age, warmed himself with a puffy jacket that made him look twice his actual size. A colorful shawl with shapes on it was draped around his neck. Mrs. Diane Paul, his wife of three months however, was fifty-nine, according to what Alice had heard. With her twinkling eyes and faint wrinkles, she looked younger than her age. It seemed to Alice that just a week ago, Mrs. Paul had appeared even younger. The winter must have taken its toll on her. She wore a short sleeved sweater over a jacket and different gloves on each hand. The couple huddled under an umbrella and watched Alice as if she starred in a telecast of a sad old movie.
The pity stares again, Alice thought and started walking.
Why can’t they be happy that they have each other? With their looks still scorching her back, Alice nearly slipped while trying to walk faster. She tossed her long brown ponytail back in an effort to appear oblivious to the near fall. But it was only another few steps before her leg rammed into a bench. Her knee took full impact of what felt like a blow from a hammer. A great show for grandpa and grandma−for free! What could be better than to watch a girl howling and jumping on one leg? All of a sudden, she could make out the sound of heavy boots approaching her. But Alice had had enough of what was happening. Ignoring the pain, she ran towards the gate, the path wet with a blend of rain and her tears.
Once outside, Alice began to think of why, out of all her memories, this song had come to mind. What was the connection? Meanwhile, her legs were taking her somewhere, like a prescheduled program that she didn’t have to monitor. Alice realized her location when her fingers began to ache. Her finger snapping habit always started when thoughts circled her mind, and Alice could register slight pain−especially in her right thumb−these days whenever she did it.
Alice stretched her hand and looked around. The gloom of the onset of winter was contrasted by the colorful winter outfits disappearing as people hurried away. Alice breathed into her palms and rubbed them hard to warm up. She had almost reached the sign and taking shelter was of no use; she was wet anyway.
The sign, with words etched on wood, stood behind a field and beside a church. She often saw children playing baseball, soccer or racing in the field. Now it was abandoned. After all, rain and cold made a bad combination for outdoor games.
The sign read-
Things that happen are for a reason.
Things that do not are for a reason too.
Early last month, Alice had come across this sign when she had chosen a random path during her walk. The words on that sign had brought her an inner calm from the first time she saw them; from then on, she made it a point to visit the sign daily. Today was the 51st day, and she repeated it as always:
Things that happen are for a reason.
Things that do not are for a reason too.
Things that happened to me are for a reason.
Things that did not happen to me are for a reason too.
Today she could only stare at it, unable to accept it as easily as she did all those other days.
There is a reason, she soothed herself. A reason for being alone, a reason to have forgotten everything, a reason to have lost my identity. Without warning, she snapped, unable to take it any longer. She was at the edge of her patience; it gave way instantly.
“Damn it!” Alice shouted as she kicked the sign and tried to pull it out of the ground. “I believed you, you liar. The things that happened to me are for an unreasonable reason. You get it? Unreasonable reason, you piece of wood, you stupid one legged piece of shit.” The sign wasn’t as firm in the ground as she had expected and it wasn’t long before she slammed it to the ground. Alice jumped on it, shouting and swearing for the first time in public. Her voice trailed off when she realized she was not alone.
A priest from the church was standing behind her, looking on silently. She stepped off the sign and let it go but not before delivering it a final kick. The sound was loud and though the wood did not show any signs of damage except for shoe prints, Alice’s knuckles had begun to throb. She didn’t feel it, though; she was just too angry to feel anything. When Alice turned to face him, the rain stopped and a beam shone from a crack in the clouds as if it was some moment of spiritual enlightenment.
“Is something bothering you, my child?” he asked, taking slow and measured steps towards Alice.
Alice’s eyes widened as he approached. “No,” she yelled, sounding more like a snarl. “Don’t…” she shouted as she jump-started running, resisting the urge to throw the sign right at him.
One of the few things her Mom had mentioned in the letter she had left for Alice was, ‘Stay away from the church; they have holy men with crosses saying they can help. They can only reassure you, but they cannot help. Keep God in your heart. Stay away from churches - every single one of them.’ She had also written to keep clear from any person dealing with paranormal activities. But she didn’t even know the reason for that. She didn’t know how many things had happened (or didn’t happen) for ‘unreasonable reasons’.
*****
As she passed by the park again, a certain button of her brain that had the song stored in it pressed. With the rain gone, she retrieved the receipts and sang it to herself in the same tune as it had come to her earlier, trying to get to the next line, but couldn’t remember any more of it. Not a single word.
“Alice,” a boy called her from across the street. “I need some help over here.”
Howard Hamilton. She had met him one month ago near the church. He was seven and had come to stay in town with his aunt for a while. "Mom had three babies at once,” he had told her when she inquired. “Can you believe it? I got two little sisters and a brother all in one day.” Alice always remembered that when she saw him. And it always made her smile despite how troubled she was.
“Alice!” he shouted again with cupped hands around his mouth. He continued shouting until she finally reached him.
“It took you long enough,” his blue eyes managed a stern look. “I brought this up to here but I can’t pull it further. I need to get it to the store.”
There were stuffed toys spread above a partially visible layer of candy boxes. Without a word of protest, she lifted the handle and headed back in the direction she had come from. It would surely be a longer walk home but clearly she had no other option. The rest of the way Howard talked about what was happening at school.
As usual, Alice took great in
terest in listening about school. That always caught her fascination, as though she had never been to one; but of course she had. How else would she know how to read and write? Her parents had certainly sent her to school; all kids are sent to school. She had been a kid like Howard once. She tried to imagine how she might have looked at seven years of age. Perhaps she had been a bubbly girl in a frock, with her hair down to the shoulders and below her fringe, a set of innocent yet happy eyes. She wasn’t very good at imagining faces, so she ended up picturing a cute girl’s face from a daycare advertising board ahead and dropped the thought.
When they reached the department store, Howard tugged her to come inside. She didn’t want to, but he wouldn’t take no for an answer.
“Hi,” Ron greeted Alice the moment she stepped in. Ron was Howard’s cousin, a couple of years older than her. This was their family store.
“Help me grab some stuff, Howie,” Alice pretended she didn’t hear him and walked towards the aisles. She never liked to come here; she had an alternative store to go to, although she passed this way more often. It was because of Ron−he would never back down from hitting on her and was really irritating. But now that she was here, it wouldn’t hurt to pick up some groceries. Ron was currently busy with the line of customers at the counter. Still, he would glance at her every few seconds; he hadn’t changed at all. He was behaving the same all right, but somehow, he looked different. She decided it was not her business to get to the bottom of it. She didn’t need anything more than some carrots and eggs. On the way to the counter, she added some apples to her basket. As usual, she didn’t try to linger around anything other than her ‘needs’ list.
“Alice got all she needs,” Howard proudly declared to Ron at the counter.
”Take your wagon around the back and stack those boxes,” Ron said, glaring at Howard.
The little red wagon trailed away, leaving Alice and Ron in silence. It was obvious that Ron would say something awkward to her after the only other customer there left empty handed.
He clicked away, entering the items on his machine. His face was composed; his lips pressed together, brows furrowed. He was acting like a serious stranger.
“$6.35” he said, looking up at her.
Alice pulled out the bills from her pocket and separated them from the receipts that held her song. She was always scared that some thief would snatch away her purse and decided her pockets were safer no matter how much (or how little) money she had. She counted and recounted. She was two dollars short. She should have counted the money ahead of time, then she wouldn’t be embarrassed in front of Ron.
When she looked up to face him, he seemed aware of Alice’s situation.
“It’s okay, you can pay me the rest later,” he stated.
“Tomorrow,” she assured him handing over what money she had.
“Or how ‘bout I ignore the rest if you have dinner with me tonight?”
“I have told you before. I have a boyfriend.”
He raked his fingers through his shoulder length hair and a black snake tattoo showed on his arm. She’d never seen it before. That was what was different. He was wearing a T-shirt instead of his usual full-sleeve formal attire; it suited him much better, she thought. Alice was about to compliment him, but Ron spoke a moment too soon. “I’ve never seen you with any guy, or anyone else for that matter.”
Alice was furious and it reflected on her face. Ron clearly implied that the boyfriend tag was a fake. It was perhaps a general thought that when a person is sick and lonely they may start imagining people. But she wasn’t crazy to imagine having a boyfriend. Although alone, she wasn’t ready to accept that sort of thinking from others.
“Okay,” he surrendered, partly worried of Alice’s anger. “Just once - for coffee. Please?”
“Once?” Alice asked.
“I won’t force you after that to spend any more time with me, again,” he promised.
“Tomorrow. When I am on the way back from my walk, I’ll stop by here.”
He smirked in triumph, “Here you go, and take this umbrella in case it rains again.”
“I don’t need it,” she retorted.
“Well it doesn’t have to be for you. It’s uh… it’s for the groceries.”
Yeah, right. Liar, Alice thought, feigning a smile as she took it from him. “Bye Howie,” she hooted towards the back of the store.
“See ya around,” came the reply in an instant.
*****
It wasn’t long before she entered her neighborhood. Her quick strides led her home in almost half the time it usually took to walk this far. It was a real frustrating day and nothing was better than to get home.
All the houses facing the street were neatly aligned with the each other. The colors complemented each other with different shades of brown. Alice walked and walked, but none of them was where she lived. As cruel as it seemed, she was left out even in this aspect. After passing exactly sixteen, she turned to take the path to the right.
“Hey Alice.” An all-too-familiar voice made her frustration worse. Alice turned to see her neighbor, Anna Rolek. Anna ran from her doorstep to just outside her gate and stopped a few feet short of Alice to catch her breath. This went on for about a minute.
She just ran for about fifteen feet, Alice rolled her eyes.
Anna then lifted her left hand and kept it on the mailbox. Alice’s gaze caught a glittery object on her wrist; a watch, a very expensive-looking one.
“It’s my boyfriend’s birthday,” Anna declared after taking a final long breath.
Who cares, Alice thought as she took another look at the watch. She most probably wanted to show it off in front of her. Who cares, Alice concluded her thoughts.
Of all the houses around, Anna’s was the nearest one to Alice’s. She was the one in the area who spoke to Alice the most, even though Alice did not like her very much and rather preferred the 'not-so-nosy' younger sister, Bell. But it couldn't be denied that Anna was truly beautiful: her lips were perfect, and her eyes had the sensational blue-grey color that Alice adored the most. Her oval face was perfect, as was her clear skin. Despite her average height, she would make an attractive model. There was no need for a special runway for this damsel-she could showcase herself just about anywhere. She was in a black parka that outlined her slim, fit body, still pretending that she needed the support of the mailbox to be able to stand.
“I was wondering if you have a bar of dark chocolate. I’ve baked a cake,” she continued. “I have to make icing and lots of other things and my car isn’t…”
“No, I don’t.” Alice snapped.
By Anna’s expression it was clear that she was not the least bit affected by Alice’s response. She pushed a lock of blonde hair behind her ear with her left hand. The white dial shone with a crystal outline. The hands pointing to 4 and 12 seemed crystal too. “I should dash to the store then, bye.”
Without another word, she ran past Alice. The store was a five minute bolt from there and Alice could only imagine her reaching the store. It would take several minutes before Anna was going to be able to speak. If so, it would not have made a difference even if she had walked.
Totally exhausted now, Alice stood at the mouth of the dark narrow road which was a diversion from the main street. A number of closely knit pine trees grew on either side and they silently welcomed her as always. With a sigh, Alice started down the well-known road that would lead her home, the road that led only to one isolated home.
CHAPTER 2
The road stretched for about a hundred and twenty feet, then curved and went on for a few more feet before meeting the tiled driveway. The quite sizeable property held a house with a garage. Swings occupied a spot in the corner and a white fence marked the horseshoe shaped boundary. The whole scenario was reminiscent of a Norman Rockwell painting.
Beyond the fence began the boundary of the research area, The Grelt Nature Conservation Research Area (GNCRA). It had recently been shut down, allegedly due to i
llegal practices. The boundary ran from the start of the narrow road on either side of the house and continued for many yards beyond the house. Years ago, the neighboring land had been purchased for construction purposes, but the owner of this plot stood her ground to keep the property.
The house and garage stood apart from each other. The four-car garage seemed to take pride by being clearly noticeable beside the house though it was rendered useless. Alice would sometimes open it−though she had no car−just to look at the red Vespa it housed. A means of transport that would have helped her make her way around town easier. She had found the key on the seat which had initials ‘R.W’ on it. As good as it appeared to be, the Vespa would not budge. Alice hesitated to get it fixed, as it did not belong to her, but wished it would start someday. The riding lawnmower that had appeared to be in bad condition at first−unlike the Vespa−functioned perfectly, at least well enough to help Alice work on the grass around the house.
To the right of the garage stood the house. The front, like most of the homes there, had an inverted-V sloping roof. A light-brown colored door and window frames of the same color stood against the off-white walls. What gave a strange feeling was the tall cylindrical tower−the color of bricks−attached to it. Alice had first called it a turret, but Anna was quick to correct her that it was a tower because it did not vertically project out of the house, rather it started from the ground. Tiny rectangular windows ran up its side with a big one at the top. Standing on her toes, Alice could take a peek into one of these windows. The sight of a dark dusty stairwell reflected a bad past.
A tall tree that stood in front of the house- a great drawback, for it blotted out most of the light entering the house on one side. At least that was the only tree that grew within the fence, or else Alice would have to burn electricity through the day too and shell out extra bucks on the light bill.
The Grasp of Nighttide Page 2