I stopped for a moment to admire the home and felt something brush against my leg. Looking down, I saw a plump marmalade cat, rubbing his face against my pant leg. What’s your name fella? At the sound of my voice he broke into a purr and rubbed his body against me. When he had said his hello he gracefully trotted up the walkway to the door. As though on cue, the heavy wooden doors opened; and Elizabeth, the old lady from the bookstore, walked outside. I smiled and waved at her as I made my way toward the house.
From behind me there was a snort. I turned to look and a horse stood not 20 feet from me. His nostrils twitched and he tossed his head. The heavy white mane hung down his neck and his forelock covered his eyes. He stood quiet still, with his ears pricked, and his eyes full of curiosity. He regarded me for a minute and then put his head down to graze. I watched for a moment as the horse grazed and he watched me out of the corner of my eye.
“Don’t mind him honey. He’s been around here forever and we let him have run of the place. Horses keep the dark spirits away you know.”
Not sure what to say I ignored the last comment. Surely she must be joking. When I smiled at her there was no laughter in her eyes. I felt a pang of fear in the pit of my stomach. She must have sensed that I was uneasy and she gave me a warm smile.
“Oh dear. Don’t mind me. I’m old and have heard toomany stories. Why don’t you come inside for tea? We rarely have visitors here and no children of our own”.
I regretted coming to visit for a moment but was too late to turn back now. The inside of the house was massive and the floors on the first level were done in old plank hardwood. They seemed to be hand hewn and had the look of aged oak. When we walked across the floor, it made eerie sounds, and I tried to tiptoe to keep the noise to a minimum. Across the floor was a grand staircase with lion heads sitting at the start of the stairs. This too was made of the same old oak wood and wound its way up to several floors. The house was much larger inside than it had looked when I first saw it from the driveway.
The furniture in the house was of heavy wood and placed tastefully around the large room. Toward the end of the room were French doors that opened into a sunny room with a fireplace against the far wall. Heavy fabric hung at the windows and sunlight streamed inside. The room was cozier than the larger room we had walked through and a fire burned in the fireplace. It never occurred to me that it was odd to have a fire in the summer. Despite the fire it was chilly in the house and the warmth was welcome.
I sat on a red velvet sofa that faced the fireplace and on either side were smaller sofas. In the corner were two wing back chairs with a table in the middle. There was a glass on the table and a large book lay open. A middle aged woman in a dark dress appeared. Her hair was piled on her head in a bun and she wore an apron. She held a tray with a teapot, cups and small cakes and assorted sweet breads piled on a plate.
She sat the tray down on a coffee table in front of the sofa where I was sitting and poured out 3 cups of tea. She offered me a cup in one hand and held the plate of treats in the other. I chose a frosted cake and wasted no time biting into it.
When we had finished our tea and pastries, Thomas, the husband of the lady, joined us. He had a shock of gray hair, bulbous nose and ruddy complexion. Kindness warmed his eyes and he had the most contagious laugh.
“I’m sorry to keep you waiting ladies. A man’s work is never done. Shall we have a look around then? There was a sense of foreboding in the old house as they showed me around. I scarcely heard what Thomas was saying about the place until we reached the library. It was a grand thing; with tall ladders that were mounted on wheels. They were used to retrieve books, from any of the giant bookshelves. Thomas was explaining the mechanics of the ladders while I looked around the room in awe. It was not just the size of the room that grabbed my attention but the apparent age of everything inside.
In the middle of the room was a large, round table. In the center of the table was an iron box. It was about 20 inches long by 8 inches wide. There were feet on the bottom of the box in the shape of lion heads. It was this box that Thomas was now picking up and bringing over to the sofa that Elizabeth and I were sitting upon.
He walked over and sat the box down on the sofa table and took a seat next to his wife. His ancient face was warm and his eyes twinkled as though he had some great secret to show me. The box was closed and it had a tiny lock on the front. Tom produced a key and turned it clockwise in the keyhole.
When he removed the key from the lock he opened the small latch holding it closed and slowly began to open the box. There was a soft light coming from the box and the wider it was opened the stronger the light became. Tom reached slowly into the box and produced a very old book. The leather was worn but the gold leaf around the outside of the cover and on the spine was in perfect condition. Light bounced off the gold leaf and seemed to radiate in the large library.
Thomas put the book down carefully in front of me. It was so beautiful that I was afraid to touch it for fear that I would somehow ruin it. Ever so slowly I reached out and traced the gold with my fingertips. The leaves were slightly raised and seemed warm to the touch. The gold shimmered with movement and gave the impression that the book was animated.
“Go ahead dear”. Said Elizabeth Thomas gave Elizabeth a stern look and shook his head no. He then took her hand in his own and squeezed it gently.
“You may open it Ivy”. Said Thomas My hands linger on the edge of the cover and I wonder what could be inside this old book. I frown in concentration and carefully open the gold leaf cover. I am unprepared for the glow that emerges from the pages and a jolt of electricity shoots through me.
I take a deep breath and close my eyes for a moment. When I attempt to open them it feels like they are sewn shut. My hands fly frantically to my face and I try to force the lids open.
“Relax Ivy. You will be able to see in a moment. Let your mind go into the void.” Said Thomas
I concentrate on his voice. The soothing tone relaxes me and I began to let my wind go. The sensation of floating comes over me. It feels as though I am floating on a breeze and it occurs to me that I am no longer in my body. My eyes open easily and I find myself at a café. I am sitting next to some man and he is talking to me as though we are in the middle of a conversation. It’s apparent to me that I like this man and we know each other from somewhere.
Then I happen to glance inside the café and see Jen. She is standing at the cash register paying for a latte. I have to look twice to be sure it’s her face I’m seeing. She is not age 10 anymore but all grown up! My heart is racing and I am about to lose
consciousness. I take a sip on a glass of water at the table and the man next to me is oblivious that anything is wrong. I close my eyes and force myself to calm down.
I allow my mind to drift again and take me where it will. In my mind’s eye I see a door. I turn the handle and push the door open. I am walking up to the gate to Thomas and Elizabeth’s home. I slip in the gate as I did earlier and walk down the driveway. The driveway is short and behind a bunch of wild blackberry bushes and brush is their house. It is in a state of ruin and I am afraid to go any further. Something is not right about the place and I have the distinct feeling that I am in serious trouble. I see something in the top floor window and back slowly away.
I feel a choking surge of panic rising up in me. I want to turn around and run but I am too afraid. It’s like a nightmare that I can’t wake up from. I am compelled to walk toward the house. There is something that I must find there but I don’t know what it is. I walk up the short drive and then walk across what used to be the front lawn. Blackberry vines are ripping my pants as I walk but I pay no attention and keep going forward.
The front door is all but falling off the hinges and the paint is peeling away from the house. I open the door and wait a moment before going inside. I take a step inside and look around. There is a hole in the roof and I can see birds flying in the sky. Someone had attempted to put a piece of clear plastic ove
r the hole but only a small piece remained. The house is much smaller than the real one but I have no doubt it is the same place. The wood floors are rotten and the once grand staircase is intact but it appears to be rotting.
There is a knowing inside me that I must go upstairs. I slowly climb the steps and stop on each one to look behind me. When I reach the top I take a right toward the library. The hallway is narrow and I am hesitant to walk through it. I have a feeling that someone is in the house but have to find what I am here for before I can leave.
The door to the library is stuck. I push as hard as I can but it will not open. Time is of the essence and I must get in there. Fear is creeping into my mind and I think I hear someone downstairs. I listen carefully and there is no doubt that someone else is in the house. I push on the door harder but it holds fast. I can hear footsteps on the stairs and soon I will be face to face with whatever was down there. My frustration is building and I step back a couple feet and throw my body against the door.
It jerks open and I close it behind me and lock it for good measure. There is a ratty sofa against a far wall and I know my answer is connected with the sofa. There is someone on the outside pushing on the door trying to get inside. Cold sweat is rolling down my face and the back of my neck is damp.
There is no way out of this and I am going to die. I sit down and close my eyes so I don’t have to see what’s coming through the door. I push the sounds of the crashing door out of my mind and clear my mind. Then I hear someone call my name. The voice gets louder and I have the sensation of traveling through a tunnel.
“Ivy. Wake up Ivy’.
I open my eyes and tuck a few strands of hair behind my ear. I try to remember exactly what I had seen in the dream but the details are hazy. Thomas and Elizabeth are sitting in the same place as before. Their eyes grew wide and they looked at each other with a knowing smile.
“Tell me. Where did I go?” I said with a trembling voice. Thomas gave me a slow smile and his eyes looked deep inside mine. After a few moment he spoke. “I think that you went to the place known as the void. It’s in between our world and the next where the paranormal entities take on physical form”.
“Ok.” Was a ll I could manage to say after he said that. I wanted to be a polite guest but what they were saying made no earthlysense at all. Besides, I didn’t like what I saw in the void and didn’t want to find out what was about to crash through the door. It felt like I was at the breaking point as I sat on the ratty sofa waiting for something to rip me apart.
Thomas and Elizabeth went on excitedly about the paranormal and how some of us could go between states of being. I tried to concentrate on what they were saying but the information was just too much to absorb at this point in my life.
The trips to their house became a weekly routine. They gave me an old leather journal to take notes and made me promise to never show anyone. As weeks slipped into months my lessons took me to the other side. Thomas referred to my trips as traveling. Entering a swirling light surrounded by darkness that gave the impression of a tunnel. The tunnels gave way to doorways. Each doorway led the way to faraway places that I never knew existed. The broken moments of my real life forgotten in the new memories created on the other side.
There was an entire world just through the void. It was here that I found my real home. There were people there who cared about what happened to me and a life that I wanted to live. Each time I left the other side it felt as though I were traveling away from what I loved.
When summer ended my life here became mundane. Caught up in the repetition it seemed like an eternity between my travels. I trudged through each day hoping to be whisked away to that other place. I felt so restless and counted the hours until I could go to Thomas and Elizabeth’s house again. I would spend my class time looking out the window daydreaming about my other home.
The isolation I felt at home made me withdraw from the people around me. One day, looking out the window, the teacher asked me a question. I was so focused on watching the clouds and trying to imagine what people were doing on the other side that I didn’t hear him. The next thing I knew there was a sharp pain in my arm and I became aware of Mr. Lyle glaring at me. He was gripping my arm so tight that it felt like it was breaking.
“Let go of me you creep”! I jerked my arm free of his grip and jumped to my feet. The class laughed and Mr . Lyle’s face grew scarlet. He led me away to the office and I sat there for some time while he spoke to the principle. When he was done he stormed past me without casting a glance at me. The secretary came out and told me to wait for my mother to pick me up. The hours dragged on and I sat there in silence. When the final bell rang I left the office and rode the bus home.
Unfortunately we live in a prejudiced world and a young girl from a poor family is nothing more than a problem. The solution to a problem like me is never an easy one. Removing a student without good cause proved impossible for the staff and the next best thing was to turn me over to the school counselor. Laura was a kind lady and tried to help me in her own way. When I talked about the voices and things that I had seen she told me to never talk about any of that again. She said that people would not understand and I would end up in trouble.
At first I tried to walk the fine line between the here and now and the other side. Miss Laura was my friend, and I wanted to make her happy, so I did as she said. My effort to appear normal went to the wayside one day when a girl confronted me in the hallway. She pushed me and I pushed her back. She fell to the floor and then started to cry. One of her friends went to find a teacher and I snuck down into the basement of the school to hide.
I found an old room with a low window that peeked just above ground level. Off to the side, is an old sofa from the teacher’s lounge that had been discarded before the remodel. I sit on the sofa and look up at the sky. I close my eyes and imagine I am at Thomas’s house and that I am going to travel. The corner of the wall began to glow and the shape of a door emerged. I could see the curves of the door and the doorknob and longed to go inside.
The lunch bell rings and I jumped up from the sofa to run for class. In the corner there is a glowing door with swirling light. It’s the same door that I had walked through many times at the house and it shines brightly as though beckoning me to go through it. At first I stand there unsure what I should do but then reach for the knob.
An uneasy flicker passes across my face and I clench my fists. It seems like a good idea to go over but somehow I know it is not the thing to do today. Being the strong willed girl that I have always been, I decide to go against my better judgment, and pull the door open. The swirling light seems to invite me inside and I step lightly into the tunnel. Once my foot is on solid ground, the door closes, and I am unable to go back.
Old trees spiral up into the gray sky and heavy moss hangs from their branches like shrouds. There were bogs of water scattered everywhere that emit the most horrid smell. It looks like everything is rotting from the inside out and all is dead.
There is a light mist above the water holes and as I walk along the path I make it a point not to look inside. I remembered Elizabeth saying to shake off any thoughts of evil or the things I am most afraid of will take physical form.
My mind is racing and I can’ t stop the fear from surfacing. I look carefully on the narrow path I am walking upon and carefully avoid looking anywhere else. Shivers run up and down my spine and it dawns on me why I was told never to travel alone. I have not learned to conceal my fear and my imagination is running away from me.
Looking around I try to determine which direction I should go. I need to get back to the school but I don’t know how to find a door outside. Several miles away there appears to be a town. I can just make out the shapes of buildings and a church tower rising above the skyline. I turn in that direction and carefully make my way between the pools of murky water. The mist that hovers above the pools are making it difficult to see where I am going and I have to look carefully to figure out where to step.
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I catch a glimpse of something in one of the pools and try and avert my eyes. I can’t stop myself from looking and then I see something. At first it looks like a fish swimming. I study it more carefully to be sure and noticethat it’s a long fish with a large head. The fish is swimming from the depths of the murky water and then rests just below the surface of the stinking water. I will myself to move but my legs betray me.
The creature below the water is not a fish at all but some type of snake. The body is long and looks like a snake but the head is similar to a human. It has scales all over it and the ears are set flat against the head. There is a diamond pattern on the skin and the eyes are a combination of both man and snake. Tiny pinpricks of fear race up the back of my neck.
My chest becomes tight and I struggled to control my breathing. The creature lifts its head and body about 3 feet out of the water. Massive coils float in the murky water and there is no guessing how large this thing is. I contemplate my safety but even if I were to run there is no place to go. The eyes of the creature are hypnotic and the forked tongue flickers. Its head and body sway from side to side as the eyes observed me.
Fear ripples through me as the emerald eyes sparkle in the reflection emitted by the water. I realize that I am in grave danger. What if I can’t find my way back to the school?
I wait for the inevitable to happen. The scent of the stinking water sickens me and I imagine what it would be like to die in the dark depths. I have always thought that drowning would be the worst way to end life. The feeling of suffocation as water filled my lungs would be terrifying. The watery view of the creature would be the last thing I would see as the coils wound around me and crushed my bones. More than dying I regretted that Iwouldn’t even make it to 13 years old. I would never say goodbye to my friends or be able to complete any goal. Funny, now that I am facing my mortality, goals somehow matter to me. I want to do something with my life. I want to do something that counts.
Underworld (Dark Passage) Page 10