“It’s just the one thing,” Christopher said as he still sounded rather dejected. “Maybe that was just Face’s way of saying goodbye. We can’t just… stop time and stay out here forever. We have a life to get back to—a house that needs taken care of. I have to get our life back on track.”
“What if it’s a sign that there is something else, something more to come?” Alena pleaded. Of course she wanted to return to the house, to her friend Alice—however, she had a taste of something magical and she needed more. She felt almost as though their roles had changed.
“You know,” Christopher said as he finally conceded. “I’ll leave it up to you. You tell me when you are ready.”
“Thank you so much dad,” Alena squealed as she wrapped her arms around her father. “I know something is going to happen—I can feel it.”
“I just hope you aren’t disappointed.”
“Even if nothing does,” Alena said as she walked into the other room. “I’ll just be happy that we didn’t leave and miss anything.”
“Fair enough…”
“Could we go back there tonight?” Alena asked as she fingered the fabric collar and silver bell against her wrist. She allowed a single chime to ring out as she flicked the bell.
“With the storm, I think it would be much safer if we waited until tomorrow,” her father replied as he continued to sit upon the table and looked out into the night. Another flash of lightening followed a low growl of thunder filled the air.
As the night got later, her father headed off to bed. Alena continued to sit on the couch in silence; however, her mind was racing with a million thoughts. She hoped, wished, that she would find something out at the old cave tomorrow. That excitement filled her mind—the idea that she might be able to experience time with her mother once more and the notion that Face was not really, truly, gone.
“Don’t stay up too late Allie,” her father said as he patted her on the head. “We’ll make way for the cave tomorrow morning, just as long as this rain lets up.”
“I won’t,” Allie said as she got up and turned off the television. “I’ll head up now.”
“Goodnight,” Christopher said as he headed towards Bones’s old room.
“Goodnight, dad,” Alena whispered as she made her way up the creaky old staircase. This house still gave Alena an odd feeling. However, it also gave her one of hope. She could put up with the old musty smells and dim lighting, the lack of real food, and eerie atmosphere if it meant that she had a chance to feel whole again.
Alena opened up the door to the bedroom and peered inside in the darkness. She attempted to allow her eyes to adjust so that she would not need to turn the overhead light on to find her way to the bed. From the dim light of the hall, Alena eventually made out the details and used her hands to guide her into the room. Her foot came into contact with her nightgown and she kicked it up into the air and caught it with a single hand. She placed the nightgown on the bed and undressed in the darkness. She pulled the nightgown over her and crawled into bed, covering herself up with the sheet.
‘James used to sleep here,’ Alena reflected as she stared up to the blackened ceiling. It was here, in this room, that James fell in love with a ghost. In a way she envied the boy that was merely four years older than she—for he never had to grow up. Alena did not want to grow up. After watching her father go through so much, living a life away from the person he loved because he had to make money, and never really being able to be there when he wanted to be—she did not want this kind of future for herself. She knew well enough that she could not stop time and the great cost at which James became like a ‘ghost.’ She also knew that she was all that her father had left. Still, she did feel as though, if given the choice, she would choose a young immortality—a life without death or worry. A life forever with the ones you love, although she was already missing her mother—and far too young to really have a boyfriend. She wondered if she could make the same kind of decision at fifteen. She wondered if she possessed the same kind of courage to make a similar sacrifice and dedication.
Alena was near sleep, her eyes growing heavy, when she felt something brush against her feet through the thin sheet. She instantly recoiled as her heart nearly jumped from her chest. She fumbled in the darkness, falling to the floor and ran towards the light. She flipped the switch, her eyes darting back and forth in the dim light in an attempt to find the source. The room was empty; but, surely she did feel something—it was not a dream.
Alena began to walk towards her bed as the bell on her wrist began to chime in rapid succession.
“Face…?” Alena whispered as she searched the room. For a moment she caught a glimpse of a dark cat-like form slip out of the door. “Is that you?”
She rushed down the hallway. At the stairs, she saw the form once more. It was definitely a cat, but it appeared bluish in color and almost translucent and glowing with a strange faint light. The cat disappeared beyond the door as Alena gave chase.
Alena flipped the light switch on in the living room. The cat’s face turned to her—it was a featureless creature that seemed to swirl of smoke. It let out a meow as it clawed at the basement door.
Alena cautiously approached the cat. She reached down and attempted to pet the animal—it felt warm to the touch, yet strange, like trying to place your hand against a constantly moving and changing surface. “Face… it’s you isn’t it?”
The cat meowed in reply as the bell on her wrist chimed a few times more in rapid succession. Face then turned his attention to the door and pawed at the old wooden surface.
“You want to go downstairs?”
Another chime from the bell on her wrist rang out. Alena nodded as she opened up the door and turned on the light to the basement. The strange blue, smoky, form of Face bounded down the staircase with Alena keeping pace. The cat paused in front of the large cracked wall. It then turned to Alena and let out a short series of mews as it began to walk towards the surface. In a puff of smoke, the animal disappeared as it came into contact with the wall.
“Don’t leave,” Alena pleaded as she placed her hand upon the stop that Face disappeared into. “Please, Face…”
A loud rumble of thunder shook the basement and nearly knocked Alena off of her feet. As she attempted to steady herself with her hands against the cracked wall—the lights suddenly went out. Alena let out a quiet little shriek of terror as she found herself alone and in the pitch black darkness of the basement. This fear was quickly subdued as a faint glow appeared beneath her hands. The surface of the wall, once rough and cracked, smoothed out beneath her fingertips and turned to a cool glass. The light grew brighter as a window appeared in the space that Face disappeared.
“The window…” Alena said to herself as she stared in disbelief. As her eyes adjusted to the brightness that filled her view, she made out a small room that existed past the cold pane of glass beneath her palms. She peered in—it seemed normal enough, a white walled room with a simple bed and a dresser along the wall. Alena could make out a door at the far end of the room; she wondered what lay beyond it.
“I can’t believe it,” Alena said as her heart beat heavy in her chest as her breath was taken away in awe of the magic that she was privy to. Alena placed her hands upon to the bottom of the window pane and began to pull upwards. It took some effort, but with a loud crack the window was forced open. Frigid air poured out of the opening in a maelstrom of wind. It reminded Alena of sticking her head out of a moving car. The wind roared around her—she wondered why her father was not awake for this, especially with all this noise.
Alena turned from the window and thought about getting her father. She was about to get to her feet just as she caught a glimpse of Face in the room. He was headed towards the door. “Face…”
Without another thought, or hesitation, Alena climbed into the room. The window shut with a resounding thunderclap behind her. Alena panicked as everything turned to darkness, an endless nothing. She could feel herself falling.
She was beginning to worry that entering the window was not a good idea after all. Her father had not warned her about this—perhaps, something was wrong? The wind ripped all around her as she plunged into the abyss. Her mind raced with terrible thoughts. Just as the fear threatened to overtake her—a light finally emerged. The room slowly came into focus.
Alena looked back to the window, with great effort. Everything seemed to slow down, her movements were greatly reduced. It reminded her of nightmares she had where she was trying to run away from some unknown fear and could barely get any speed at all. It was hard to breathe here—there was a lot of pressure against her chest.
The window appeared shut. She would not be getting out that way. She could make out nothing but darkness beyond it. It was such a short drop she wondered why it felt like she fell for miles. A shrill and long drawn out meow turned Alena’s attention once more to the reason she had climbed in without caution. She maneuvered her body until she was facing the room head on once more. She headed for the old grey cat, each step feeling like a slow motion leap—just like that old astronaut footage she saw in class about the first steps on the moon. She came into contact with the Face as he rested upon the bed. He was back in his normal form once more. In slow motion she rubbed her hand against the cat which loving mashed his face against her hand. The moment filled her heart with joy, she was so happy to see her old friend once again—to touch him, and feel him against her hand one last time.
Alena attempted to speak, in garbled words she managed to say something to the extent of “I love you…face.” She watched as Face slowly got to his feet and disappeared into a puff of blue smoke. Alena felt sad once more, she looked around the room and saw him reappear upon the floor. He was pawing at something on the ground—it looked like some kind of old letter. Alena bounded towards the item, all the while attempting to gain her bearings in the strange gravity of the room, as she reached it, the cat disappeared once more.
“Face…?” Alena attempted to say as she looked around the room. It appeared as though she was alone once more. She reached down to the curious item, a labor that took a lot longer than it seemed as though it should take. As her fingers grasped around the item—everything suddenly turned to black.
A Window in the Earth Revisted:3
Christopher’s Awakening
Chapter 8: Alena’s Discovery
Memories are like silverwork buried beneath layers of rust. They never completely disappear; they are just waiting to be rediscovered again—to be given a chance to shine in their brilliance once more.
Christopher awoke to Alena bursting into her room. Her eyes were full of tears. She was talking a mile a minute and her breathing was heavy as though she had just run a marathon.
“Allie,” Christopher said as he took his daughter into his arms. “What happened?”
“The… window,” Alena managed as she attempted to catch her breath. “The window… it’s here, it is in the basement. Daddy… go… quickly!”
“It’s here?” Christopher said as he jumped to his feet. “…in the basement?”
Alena nodded as she reached out for her father’s hand.
Christopher took her hand and followed behind her as she ran like the wind. She threw upon the door and nearly caused them both to fall as they descended the stairs so swiftly. “The light…” Christopher protested—his mind was still half asleep and he did not completely know whether or not this was a dream. It seemed real enough, then again—so did his encounter with Kylie that morning.
“It appeared when the light went out,” Alena said as she led her father to the cracked wall.
“Of course,” Christopher said as he remembered back to the first time he saw the window. His heart was filled with hope. He would finally get his moment with Kylie. He would finally get a chance, in a way, to say goodbye.
They reached the old cracked wall. Alena put her hands over Christopher’s as she attempted to place them in the spot the window appeared.
“I left the door open,” Alena said, frustrated, as she let out a sigh and ran up basement stairs.
With a resounding snap she kicked the door shut squelching out the last bit of light that existed in the basement.
“Be careful on the stairs,” Christopher said as attempted to make out her form in the darkness—it was so completely black that he could not do so. “Follow my voice,”
“I’m here,” Alena said as she placed her hand on her father’s shoulder. “It should appear any moment now.”
“You were there?” Christopher asked in amazement as he reached out and ran his hand against the wall only feeling the cracked cold surface beneath his hands.
“I was,” Alena began as she sat down beside her father and placed her arms around him, “I followed face down here—he appeared in my room. I came down and he went right into the wall and then the lights went out and the window appeared right here in the wall.”
“That’s amazing Allie,” Christopher said as he waited. He could feel his hopes growing dim as each moment passed.
“I was in this room, everything was crazy,” Alena continued, still full of the excitement of her experience. “I got to pet Face, and then I came into contact with this letter and I was suddenly back at home with mom—I spent a whole day with her. Then when I went to sleep I felt like something just yanked me out of the bed. I was flying—I flew so high that I saw the earth like in those movies about space. It was amazing.”
“I’m so happy for you Allie,” Christopher said as he swallowed hard. He was genuinely happy for her. At least she got to see her mother one last time. Would he not be afforded the same luxury? Alena was so wrapped up in her own memory that she did not realize that too much time had passed. Nothing was going to happen, not for him.
“Dad…”
“…Yeah?” Christopher said as he pulled his daughter even closer to him. He could feel tears streaming down his cheeks.
“Why isn’t it here?” Alena asked.
“Maybe it… only happens once a night,” Christopher said as he attempted to keep a cheerful tone to his voice. He did not want Alena to know how distraught and depressed he felt that the window was not going to appear for him.
“I’m sorry,” Alena said as she backed off as though she had done something terribly wrong. “I should have come and got you first—I am so sorry dad.”
“No,” Christopher said as he wiped away the tears from his eyes with the edge of his nightshirt. “I’m glad you experienced it. That’s all that matters.”
“Tomorrow night!” Alena exclaimed, “I’m sure that it’ll be back tomorrow. I know it. I found an item—that means that you’re next right?”
For a moment Christopher’s heart grew light once more. That was how it worked in the old days. Perhaps, she was right. She had to be right. When he was younger they never went in more than once on the same day—perhaps there were rules to the window. “Of course,”
“Let’s go back upstairs,” Alena said as she tugged on her father’s hand. “I’ll show you what I found. It must be important.”
“I can’t wait to see it,” Christopher said as he removed his free hand from the wall and allowed his daughter to lead him up darkness. His eyes adjusted to the yellowish glow of the living room light as they emerged from the basement.
Alena led Christopher to the couch. She produced the letter that she had folded up in a pocket upon the chest of her nightgown and handed it to her father.
“What do we have here?” Christopher spoke as he puzzled over the old yellow tinted envelope. He gently unfolded it revealing his name written in ink across the folded seal. “It’s for me…”
“It must mean you’re next,” Alena exciting said as she beat the palms of her fists lightly against the old couch cushion. “I knew it.”
“Perhaps it does,” Christopher said as he smiled. He carefully tore open the seal revealing a folded piece of paper that looked like it had been aged for a long time—its edges were missing, and ther
e appeared to be some kind of discoloration. Christopher unfolded the letter and held it up to the light so he could read the handwriting.
Dear Christopher,
It has been a long time and I am eternally sorry that I have never gotten in contact with you. I know that you have lost Kylie. I know what you must be thinking right now and I know why you have returned. Things here have changed. This is not the same Pine Hollow that we grew up in. I am truly sorry but, there is no way that I can see you. I wish more than anything that I could visit with you once more, or give you that memory that you feel that you need so badly. However, seeing you would require a sacrifice that both you and I know is too great—your death. We have suffered hard times as well. I do not believe that there is any place on this earth that is immune to some amount of grief. Ultimately, time has left this place a shell of what it used to be, the magic that allowed us to cross over is all but gone now. I granted some of the last of it to your daughter, she is so much like Kylie, I am grateful for the brief chance that I got to know her. All I can do now is to offer you my sincerest apologies, brother. I miss you more than anything and have always looked in on you. There are always windows, even if they are not magical ones. I urge you to move on with your life. I ask of you to live, for me, and for your daughter. I can offer you one final memory with Kylie; however, it would require the sacrifice of a friend. If you cannot live without this memory, then remain until tomorrow night and you will have it. Otherwise, please, Christopher, leave this place and stop looking. Be happy with what you have. Be happy with the love that you had. Most importantly, continue. I will always love you.
Sincerely,
James Janes
Christopher wordlessly folded up the letter and placed it back into the envelope. He coughed as he attempted to fight back tears once more.
Window in the Earth Trilogy Page 54