by Neil Crenner
standing in the hallway.
"I am an early riser." Catherine smiled. They said goodnight.
Reason phoned Didier to share their dining experiences. Didier was tired and had worked very hard on some projects. They said goodnight. It was 8 p.m. Reason undressed and crawled into bed, he had brought a book of ghost stores by M.R. James, they were short stories that he could read just before retiring. He read several of them and then fell asleep.
Chapitre 27
The next morning.
Reason was awake at 7:30 a.m., he took a shower and dressed. He wondered if Catherine was awake. He went down to the lobby to get some coffee and sit by the fireplace. It was chilly this morning and the coffee felt good as the fireplace did as well.
He was pouring his second cup when he heard Catherine say good morning.
"Oh good morning, how did you sleep?" He poured a second cup of coffee.
"I slept great, I loved my bed. It was very soft and fluffy. I need to get one of those comforters, I just love the way they feel." She took the cup of coffee from Reason.
"I know the perfect store to buy one." Reason said. "I was just having another cup of coffee to wake up. I slept well, but am a bit groggy this morning. Are you ready for breakfast?"
Catherine nodded and lifted up her cup in a gesture that she wanted to finish this first cup. They sat in front of the fireplace on the settee and drank their coffee in silence. "Whenever you're ready, I am."
Catherine finally said. "Let's go."
They were in the car driving towards Big Sur looking for a place to eat breakfast. "I want a good hearty breakfast this morning, I love omelets with grits and toast and hash browns all covered in gravy," Reason said as they drove along the highway, which was empty this morning. There was some fog here and there, but the visibility was not diminished.
After awhile they found a small café along the road and pulled in. "This looks charming. I hope the food is good." Reason said as they got out of the car.
An hour later.
"What we have to do is take Coast Highway and drive along for a few miles." Reason explained. Catherine was quiet, and Reason figured she was still sleepy. As they drove along Reason realized that he might be lost.
The surroundings looked so unfamiliar. He knew that the stretch in front of them was desolate and he decided not to worry about it. If they get lost eventually they will find their way. He came to a clearing along the side of the highway that looked like a place to park. He wondered if Catherine would be able to walk very far on the beach.
"I believe that if we park here and walk up the beach a ways we will run into it."
"How far do we have to walk?" Catherine inquired.
"I am not sure." Reason replied.
"I think that if we drive up the highway a bit more, there will be a small road that leads to the lighthouse." Catherine informed Reason.
"Why would you say that, Catherine."
"This place looks familiar to me. Like I have been here before. Let's just drive up a bit more. Trust me?" Catherine asked.
"Well okay, we can try it." He replied and wondered how in the world could she know this.
They continued to drive and came upon a small clearing on the side of the road. "There, let's pull in there and walk." Catherine exclaimed. Reason pulled the car
off the highway onto a dirt area and drove about 30 yards and parked the car.
"This seems like it could have been a road at some point. I have never been here before. Does it look familiar to you?"
"I am not sure, but let's try it anyway." Catherine said as she got out to the car.
They began to walk on what seemed like a narrow path that went through some low brush. It was definitely a path that had once been wider. They walked along it for about 50 yards and then Reason saw it.
"Look there it is, the lighthouse." He pointed in front of them. They continued to walk and came upon it very quickly. The brush disappeared and rocks and sand replaced it. The lighthouse stood there. It was very quiet except for the waves down below. There was no breeze even.
"It looks vacant." Catherine said.
"I hope it is, we are probably trespassing on someone's property." Reason said quietly as he looked around. They came up to the lighthouse and stood in front of it.
"Oh it's so beautiful, just the way I remember it." Catherine exclaimed.
"Have you been here before?" Reason asked with surprise.
"I believe that this is where I came when I was a little girl. But I thought we were in Monterey. How could this be the place? Is it not Monterey?"
Reason thought for a second and said, no this is Big Sur. I looked at the map and Monterey is way north of us."
"Maybe they changed the name of the town. If you had said we were going to Monterey then I would have known it was this place." Catherine exclaimed."
"Catherine! I can't believe that you have been here before. And you were at the estate as well?"
"Oh yes we came and stayed here for about a week, and then we abruptly left. My father never told me why."
"Well this is quite a mystery. I have always loved this place ever since I first found it many years ago. And come to think that you were once here. This is totally amazing!" Reason exclaimed. They had been standing there facing the lighthouse talking.
"Shall we take a look around?" Reason asked.
"Yes, let's do." They walked around the lighthouse and came to the west side of it. There was the door, Reason remembered it. They walked up to it, the porch was old and rickety.
"I only came here once when we were visiting. I saw a lady in a cloak she was down on the beach far ahead of us. I ran to see where she had gone and I found her not. So later I had snuck off when we were further down the beach and climbed up a steep path.
I only had a chance to peek inside, the door wasn't locked. I heard voices up in the lighthouse. A man and women were talking very loudly. I became afraid all at once. I didn't want to listen in on a conversation that was none of my business, and then I heard my mother hailing me. I had to run back very quickly.
I don't think I even closed the door. When I looked back once, I thought I saw a women standing at the door, but I couldn't make her out. I had hoped that she didn't see me, I feared she had. When I got back down to the beach, my mother had scolded me for running off without telling her."
"So I am sure you can't remember what they were saying after all these years could you?"
"Catherine shook her head and said, "I do remember her saying 'mon chere' and something else in French. It sounded like a name. I am not sure what it was. It sounded garbled. The memory was unclear as soon as I heard it."
"Mon chere! Is my dear in French." Was it a lover's quarrel? Who was French on the staff, one of the help? I wonder how I can find out. Who was she speaking with?" Reason said this all out loud. Catherine just listened and shook her head back and forth.
"Let's go inside." They opened the door and peaked inside. It was dusty and looked as if it had been disturbed recently. Several footprints were on the floor where the dust was thickest right at the threshold, most of it from the sand being blown inside.
It was a room just about the size for living in. The furniture was askew across the room. There was an old rocking chair sitting next to a book case that had been cleared off. A small wood burning fireplace was on the opposite side near the stairs that led up. An old desk sat near the door that had a small circular window above it. Otherwise, there was nothing else in the room. They walked over to the stairs and looked up.
"Are you ready to go up there?" Reason asked
"Is it safe? Do you think the building is intact?"
Reason thought for a second and said "let's find out." They proceed to climb the stairs that were built around the shape of the lighthouse. They seemed solid and weren't squeaking.
After about 12 steps, they came to a door. This must be another room. Reason pushed on the door and it gently swung open. It
was a kitchen. They walked inside and looked around. There was a sink board next to a wood burning stove against the far wall. This room was smaller than the one downstairs. A small square table and two chairs sat next to an old ice box made of wood and steel. There was nothing else in there.
They turned and backed out of the room leaving the door open. They started to climb the stairs. Reason thought to himself, why all the furniture left was, but all the smaller things removed. They climbed about ten more steps and came to another door. This one door seemed to be stuck when Reason pushed on it. He grasped the door handle and turned it and then gave it a hard shove with his shoulder.
"The weather may have warped the door." When he opened the door, it was even a smaller room which was the bedroom. They walked inside to find a rod iron bed up against the far wall. On each side were night tables. There was a dresser with a cracked mirror against the other wall. A wardrobe stood near the door.
"Doesn't this place feel so abandoned Catherine?"
"Oh yes, it feels like a tomb, like no one has been here since I was here as a child." She stood and gazed around.
"I wonder if it has been that long since anyone has been here. The stairs must lead up to the light, unless there is another room above this one. So I wonder where the dampness comes from in this room. None of the windows are broken and the other two rooms, the doors were easy to open."
"Do you remember the story of the lady I saw that night on the beach?"
"Oh yes, I can't get it out of my mind."
"Let's go down to the beach