The dream
Knock knock!!!!
"Yeah? Who’s it?" came an elderly woman to open the creaking door
"umm…hi…my name's Samantha and i want to stay at some place overnight since it’s raining heavily and i can't find my way back in this situation and....." she was interrupted by the old lady
"ohh!!honey. Come on in...you are all drenched up" Samantha felt relieved that finally she got some place to spend the night as she had no hope and of course no courage too that she could go and find some other place. The old lady gave her an oversized frock and a long sweater so she could keep warm for the night..."...The frock smells of an old worn out lady...ah...what the heck...it’s still so much better than staying up in the rain all night.." she thought and looked for a washroom...the place wasn't well lit and there was a mushy smell hanging in the air all over the place, there was no T.V. and obviously she didn't expect a computer or an iPod for a lady like the owner of the place...she went a bit more inside still trying to find a washroom and she thought "man!!! this place gives me the creeps" and began wondering if it was the right decision she made to let herself into that place....who knows the lady might be an old witch…and would turn her into something!! She shuddered at the thought...
"Here...sweetheart" Samantha gave out a little shriek when she heard someone from behind...it was the old lady...
"What happened?? You look strange...and you still haven't changed??"
"oh-uhh..i was...umm…a looking for some place to change. And i couldn't..."
"ohh…come here honey...you see that bolted little door? That’s the washroom. Go ahead...and be quick or your tea would turn ice...it's freezing out there"
Samantha picked up the clothes which had fallen from her hand while she was petrified with the thoughts coming to her and went for the "little bolted door"...
"ahh...look at you...you look lovely in that pretty frock" the old lady seemed to be really happy with the way Samantha had tried to "wear" the old haggard frock on her tiny shoulders..
"Thanks" all she could muster was this little word after the beaming face and twinkling old eyes greeted her...
“Ohh sweety...come have tea..here"
"thanx..it's too kind of you Mrs...??"
"Vera. My name's Vera..and you are?"
"Samantha Mcoulloh"
"so Samantha..what brings you to this little village which is mostly in ruins now?"
"Well...it may seem a bit funny but i came here to...you know...to check on somebody"
"umm..i didn't get you..why should that be funny??"
"it's like two days ago while i was sleeping at my friend's place i had this weird dream where i saw this ruined village..and i saw my...umm..grandfather living in a lonely cottage here..."
"and??" Samantha had been able to rouse the old lady's interest in her reason behind coming to this place..
"and..i saw that he was trying to hold my hand and take me somewhere and…"
"so..were you able to find your grandpa??"
"umm..no the strange part is i've never met my grandfather only seen his photographs...i..just...had this bad dream..and wanted to see..you know..if the place actually existed..and i was lucky enough to locate the place on a map i found in the library.."
"And your grandfather??"
"Umm...he died some years ago..i enquired about him...from...from...an uncle of mine who lives in the south of Arizona and according to him my grandpa never ever visited this place whole his life...i hadn't heard from this uncle of mine since i was 6...the day my parents and my grandma left the world...it was…uhh…an accident…but still I wasn’t sure if my uncle actually knew anything about my grandpa…so…I decided to…." For a moment Samantha thought why on earth she was detailing this stranger….but she still went on
"ohh..am so sorry..you must be all by yourself since then??"
"yeah…I work and live with a friend of mine….its...actually…like...i never asked about him..cz..when he left us...i was just 3..and by the time i turned 6 nobody ever mentioned him...in the family" Samantha paused for a deep breath as if to take all the air inside and puff up the lungs for more energy..
"ohh...i am sorry honey.." Vera seemed sorry for her
"i think i should go to sleep...i have to catch an early train tomorrow"
"here...let me show you the guest room"
They both walked in silence to the bedroom and Vera showed Samantha a comfortable and cozy room to spend the night...the night wasn’t too comfortable though…”it’s raining cats and dogs” Samantha felt a bit tensed but she didn’t remember when she dozed off….
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Knock… Knock…
"Yeah? Who’s it?" came an elderly woman to open the creaking door
"umm…hi…my name's Samantha and i want to stay at some place overnight since it’s raining heavily and i can't find my way back in this situation and....." she was interrupted by the old lady
"ohh!!honey. Come on in...you are all drenched up" Samantha felt relieved that finally she got some place to spend the night as she had no hope and of course no courage too that she could go and find some other place. The old lady gave her an oversized frock and a long sweater so she could keep warm for the night..."...The frock smells of an old worn out lady...ah...what the heck...it’s still so much better than staying up in the rain all night.." she thought and looked for a washroom...the place wasn't well lit and there was a mushy smell hanging in the air all over the place, there was no T.V. and obviously she didn't expect a computer or an iPod for a lady like the owner of the place...she went a bit more inside still trying to find a washroom and she thought "man!!! this place gives me the creeps" and began wondering if it was the right decision she made to let herself into that place....who knows the lady might be an old witch…and would turn her into something!! She shuddered at the thought...
"Here...sweetheart" Samantha gave out a little shriek when she heard someone from behind...it was the old lady...
"What happened?? You look strange...and you still haven't changed??"
"oh-uhh..i was...umm…a looking for some place to change. And i couldn't..."
"ohh…come here honey...you see that bolted little door? That’s the washroom. Go ahead...and be quick or your tea would turn ice...it's freezing out there"
Samantha picked up the clothes which had fallen from her hand while she was petrified with the thoughts coming to her and went for the "little bolted door"...
"ahh...look at you...you look lovely in that pretty frock" the old lady seemed to be really happy with the way Samantha had tried to "wear" the old haggard frock on her tiny shoulders..
"Thanks" all she could muster was this little word after the beaming face and twinkling old eyes greeted her...
“Ohh sweety...come have tea..here"
"thanx..it's too kind of you Mrs...??"
"Vera. My name's Vera..and you are?"
"Samantha Mcoulloh"
"so Samantha..what brings you to this little village which is mostly in ruins now?"
"Well...it may seem a bit funny but i came here to...you know...to check on somebody"
"umm..i didn't get you..why should that be funny??"
"it's like two days ago while i was sleeping at my friend's place i had this weird dream where i saw this ruined village..and i saw my...umm..grandfather living in a lonely cottage here..."
"and??" Samantha had been able to rouse the old lady's interest in her reason behind coming to this place..
"and..i saw that he was trying to hold my hand and take me somewhere and…"
"so..were you able to find your grandpa??"
"umm..no the strange part is i've never met my grandfather only seen his photographs...i..just...had this bad dream..and wanted to see..you know..if the place actually existed..and i was lucky enough to locate the place on a map i found in the library.."
"And your grandfather??"
"Umm...he died some years ago..i enquired about him...from...from...an uncle of mine who lives in the south of Arizona and according to him my grandpa never ever visited this place whole his life...i hadn't heard from this uncle of mine since i was 6...the day my parents and my grandma left the world...it was…uhh…an accident…but still I wasn’t sure if my uncle actually knew anything about my grandpa…so…I decided to…." For a moment Samantha thought why on earth she was detailing this stranger….but she still went on
"ohh..am so sorry..you must be all by yourself since then??"
"yeah…I work and live with a friend of mine….its...actually…like...i never asked about him..cz..when he left us...i was just 3..and by the time i turned 6 nobody ever mentioned him...in the family" Samantha paused for a deep breath as if to take all the air inside and puff up the lungs for more energy..
"ohh...i am sorry honey.." Vera seemed sorry for her
"i think i should go to sleep...i have to catch an early train tomorrow"
"here...let me show you the guest room"
They both walked in silence to the bedroom and Vera showed Samantha a comfortable and cozy room to spend the night...the night wasn’t too comfortable though…”it’s raining cats and dogs” Samantha felt a bit tensed but she didn’t remember when she dozed off….
Knock… Knock…
Samantha heard a light bang on the door and wondered who it could be. She
checked her watch...it was 2 in the midnight or morning she thought...the
person at the other side of the door kept on banging but nobody
answered..Samantha wondered if the old lady was fast asleep..she got up from
the bed...thinking it might be some poor traveller like her and wanted to stay
overnight….
she went for the door..
"yeah???may i help you?" Samantha tried to make out who was at the door as she stood there all alone and nobody was to be seen…she closed the door thinking she might have imagined things…since it was pouring heavily….nobody could make out if there was actually somebody at the door…
On reaching the room she was staying that night a little box was neatly placed on the center of the bed…she checked if there were any windows and remembered how creepy the house looked when she had first entered here and had badly wanted to see a window but couldn’t find one…
the box had a little key in it and a yellowed note...that said "for my little sugar sam"
and chills ran down her spine when she looked at the signature below..Lawrence Mcoulluh..her grandfather!!!
she saw herself falling off on the floor unconscious...
"hey..open up now...are you fine??" Samantha saw the old lady Vera’s anxious face and the place around her..she was still in the same macabre old house she had visited last night except that it was morning now but it wasn't raining only windy and chilly too..she got up from the bed and looked around in confusion as she suddenly remembered about the small box...
"did you find any box here while i was.." and the old lady instantly got up from the bed and came back with the box Samantha wanted to know about...
"Is this you are talking about?" and again that uncomfortable feeling ran through her when she held the box in her hands
"I found this on the floor this morning" Samantha looked at the woman's worried face and opened the box...the key and the note was still there..the only thing she didn't notice was the back of the yellowed paper...it seemed like a little riddle and she couldn't get what did it mean...
"You didn't hear a knock at the door last night. Did you?"
"last night? No sweety..there was nothing except the rain..but where did you get this box? it looks like it’s from Harold’s old shop down the block..did you shop around?"
"no..it's like last night..i heard somebody...wait..what did you say? Harold’s shop? Where is it? Can you temme the way" and Vera could see Samantha getting restless all of a sudden..
"yeah..yeah..be a bit patient..i'll take you there..first you change into your dry clothes and we can..but what about your train? you don't have to get back?" Vera looked around for Samantha’s clothes
"uhh..no..i have to go to this shop you are talking about...but first temme did you find anybody in here last night?" Samantha hoped silently in her heart that vera would say yes..
"am afraid so..what are you talking about? nobody can get in here unless i open the door with that long old key of mine and the key is always tied around my waist and i remember that i haven't used the key till now after letting you in..look here" and she showed Samantha the key hanging from her waistband..
"but..is there any chance that you forgot to lock the door last night..i mean you know"
"i aint that old yet honey..you must've had a dream..come on..change and we'll go to this shop..what on earth were you doing last night...i hope i don't have a drug addict at my house" she laughed and went out
and Samantha could feel her hands go numb…she wondered what if somebody was playing with her but then nobody knew her in this wretched village and she got up determined to find out where did the box come from...
the shop was on a secluded spot and isolated..."this is a very old piece...but definitely bought from here" the man at the counter inspected the box..
"can you please temme..who bought this box?" Samantha was getting impatient now..
"well missy..it looks like it's a hundered year old box and i aint going to the stock and sales records to look for that box's owner.."
"ohh...son!!!We could look for it ourselves..if you could just help us a little bit..it's a matter of life and death you see" interrupted the old lady vera..and to Samantha’s surprise the shopkeeper led them into a small room full of big registers and record papers and lockers...
"there you go...all i can help is that this box has a little date inscribed under it...1953..and you should look for the record in that shelf....now i'll leave..and please don't let anybody know that i let you inside this place...it's like i just can't say no to old ladies like you..you..you remind me of my mother..she died when i was..."
"aww..poor you..don't worry about that" vera tried to shoo him out...Samantha meanwhile began shuffling through the records wondering why the lady was being so kind...
"oh my god i found it" after like an hour or so Samantha screamed in amazement...
"it's bought by a man named Lawrence Mcoulluh..." and Samantha couldn't trust her eyes..
"hey look..there's an address below..maybe the man lives here..."
after like 20 minutes or so..both of them reached a place uphill...a little cottage...nobody was in there..
"hello??Anybody home?" Samantha tried to find out
but nobody answered...though the house was too out of place and ruined mostly…Samantha suddenly remembered that it was the same place she had dreamt about that night which had lead her to come to this place..only difference was that the place in her dream was furnished well...
"there must be a little kitchen here" Samantha looked excited and Vera followed her..
she was right..."how do you know this?? have you ever been..." Vera was still trying to comprehend what was happening...and Samantha held her arm and rushed outside to a little outhouse..
"ohh...god...this is exactly what i saw" and she went to open the door...and her eyes could see a beautiful little black Bugatti...and she could hear herself saying.."this can't be possible..this must be a dream..this is all a dream..a dream..."
and then she remembered the riddle on the back of the old note...she quickly opened the box....
it read..."uoy pleh dluow arev retsis elttlil ym" and she couldn't understand the words written...she tried to figure out if that was some other language or just some puzzle meant to be solved…but how…the big question…she felt helpless and all of a sudden remembered Edgar Allen Poe’s The Purloined letter based on the fact that people can be deceived with the obvious and she looked for a mirror for a brilliant thought flashed in her brain…the words maybe a mirror image or written just backwards…
Voila!!! The riddle was solved...it said
"My little sister Vera would help you"
…the mirror fell from her hand and she looked around to find the old lady but all she could find was an air of desolation and in front of her was the most beautiful car she had ever seen...
she went for the door..
"yeah???may i help you?" Samantha tried to make out who was at the door as she stood there all alone and nobody was to be seen…she closed the door thinking she might have imagined things…since it was pouring heavily….nobody could make out if there was actually somebody at the door…
On reaching the room she was staying that night a little box was neatly placed on the center of the bed…she checked if there were any windows and remembered how creepy the house looked when she had first entered here and had badly wanted to see a window but couldn’t find one…
the box had a little key in it and a yellowed note...that said "for my little sugar sam"
and chills ran down her spine when she looked at the signature below..Lawrence Mcoulluh..her grandfather!!!
she saw herself falling off on the floor unconscious...
"hey..open up now...are you fine??" Samantha saw the old lady Vera’s anxious face and the place around her..she was still in the same macabre old house she had visited last night except that it was morning now but it wasn't raining only windy and chilly too..she got up from the bed and looked around in confusion as she suddenly remembered about the small box...
"did you find any box here while i was.." and the old lady instantly got up from the bed and came back with the box Samantha wanted to know about...
"Is this you are talking about?" and again that uncomfortable feeling ran through her when she held the box in her hands
"I found this on the floor this morning" Samantha looked at the woman's worried face and opened the box...the key and the note was still there..the only thing she didn't notice was the back of the yellowed paper...it seemed like a little riddle and she couldn't get what did it mean...
"You didn't hear a knock at the door last night. Did you?"
"last night? No sweety..there was nothing except the rain..but where did you get this box? it looks like it’s from Harold’s old shop down the block..did you shop around?"
"no..it's like last night..i heard somebody...wait..what did you say? Harold’s shop? Where is it? Can you temme the way" and Vera could see Samantha getting restless all of a sudden..
"yeah..yeah..be a bit patient..i'll take you there..first you change into your dry clothes and we can..but what about your train? you don't have to get back?" Vera looked around for Samantha’s clothes
"uhh..no..i have to go to this shop you are talking about...but first temme did you find anybody in here last night?" Samantha hoped silently in her heart that vera would say yes..
"am afraid so..what are you talking about? nobody can get in here unless i open the door with that long old key of mine and the key is always tied around my waist and i remember that i haven't used the key till now after letting you in..look here" and she showed Samantha the key hanging from her waistband..
"but..is there any chance that you forgot to lock the door last night..i mean you know"
"i aint that old yet honey..you must've had a dream..come on..change and we'll go to this shop..what on earth were you doing last night...i hope i don't have a drug addict at my house" she laughed and went out
and Samantha could feel her hands go numb…she wondered what if somebody was playing with her but then nobody knew her in this wretched village and she got up determined to find out where did the box come from...
the shop was on a secluded spot and isolated..."this is a very old piece...but definitely bought from here" the man at the counter inspected the box..
"can you please temme..who bought this box?" Samantha was getting impatient now..
"well missy..it looks like it's a hundered year old box and i aint going to the stock and sales records to look for that box's owner.."
"ohh...son!!!We could look for it ourselves..if you could just help us a little bit..it's a matter of life and death you see" interrupted the old lady vera..and to Samantha’s surprise the shopkeeper led them into a small room full of big registers and record papers and lockers...
"there you go...all i can help is that this box has a little date inscribed under it...1953..and you should look for the record in that shelf....now i'll leave..and please don't let anybody know that i let you inside this place...it's like i just can't say no to old ladies like you..you..you remind me of my mother..she died when i was..."
"aww..poor you..don't worry about that" vera tried to shoo him out...Samantha meanwhile began shuffling through the records wondering why the lady was being so kind...
"oh my god i found it" after like an hour or so Samantha screamed in amazement...
"it's bought by a man named Lawrence Mcoulluh..." and Samantha couldn't trust her eyes..
"hey look..there's an address below..maybe the man lives here..."
after like 20 minutes or so..both of them reached a place uphill...a little cottage...nobody was in there..
"hello??Anybody home?" Samantha tried to find out
but nobody answered...though the house was too out of place and ruined mostly…Samantha suddenly remembered that it was the same place she had dreamt about that night which had lead her to come to this place..only difference was that the place in her dream was furnished well...
"there must be a little kitchen here" Samantha looked excited and Vera followed her..
she was right..."how do you know this?? have you ever been..." Vera was still trying to comprehend what was happening...and Samantha held her arm and rushed outside to a little outhouse..
"ohh...god...this is exactly what i saw" and she went to open the door...and her eyes could see a beautiful little black Bugatti...and she could hear herself saying.."this can't be possible..this must be a dream..this is all a dream..a dream..."
and then she remembered the riddle on the back of the old note...she quickly opened the box....
it read..."uoy pleh dluow arev retsis elttlil ym" and she couldn't understand the words written...she tried to figure out if that was some other language or just some puzzle meant to be solved…but how…the big question…she felt helpless and all of a sudden remembered Edgar Allen Poe’s The Purloined letter based on the fact that people can be deceived with the obvious and she looked for a mirror for a brilliant thought flashed in her brain…the words maybe a mirror image or written just backwards…
Voila!!! The riddle was solved...it said
"My little sister Vera would help you"
…the mirror fell from her hand and she looked around to find the old lady but all she could find was an air of desolation and in front of her was the most beautiful car she had ever seen...
