Returning To the House That Was

It was to be a day like no other. 

The sky was overcast and still.  Not a breath of wind, and the threat of rain loomed in the overlay of clouds.

Simon was tired.  He had just got off the plane from Dubai and caught a cab straight to his destination.  He had mixed feelings beneath his jet lag.  Apprehension about what he would find.  Sorrow for what had happened, but at the same time, a sense of relief that it was over.

He had not seen the house for ten years.  The years of neglect showed in its bones.  Weeds were up to your waist in the back garden, and shingles hung on by a thread.  In places, the gutters were nonexistent.  It needs more than just a fresh coat of paint. 

Old man Thompson next door had been keeping an eye on it just to make sure no one broke in, but that was about all he had done.  He couldn’t blame him; it was not his responsibility, and he must be over eighty these days. 

Just like the relationship he had with his father, more than just a coat of paint was needed.  It was too late for all of that.  With the passing of his father, every hope of reconciliation disappeared.

He pushed on the gate.  It did not budge.  He hit it hard with his shoulder and managed to dislodge it.  It creaked as he opened it.

Under the gnome that had sat by the front door, he found the key to the front door.  No one would want to break into this house, he thought to himself.  This was a house of horrors, except for one thing: Laurie.

He still didn't know if she ever existed or if it was all in his imagination. Teenagers, full of energy, often imagine ways to explore their growing sexual fantasies.  In his case, it had been more than that.  She had been his saving grace.  Comforting and a welcome relief after another beating from his father.  It seemed every time his father got drunk or upset about something, he became his punching bag. 

He thought he was safe in his room, but that was short-lived.  In time, the door became no barrier to his father.  “It is my house, and as long as you stay here, I will do what I like, when I like, and you will do as I say.  You have no rights here, boy.”

Putting the key in the front door, he managed to get it open with a bit of coercion.  The hallway was dark, dusty, and uninhabited.  He wondered again what he gained by coming here.  Was he trying to bring about closure, or somehow cleanse himself of his memories?

No, he had one purpose for coming back.   To see his room one more time and to relive the fantasies he had cherished with Laurie.

Dirty gray sheets covered what was left of the furniture in the family room to the left. Dim light filtered through the small window above the sink. He could see the kitchen table and chairs ahead.

Why hadn't he let his sister sell her place years ago, right after their father died?

He had not had a good relationship with his sister and had barely communicated with her.  He put the thoughts out of his mind.  He focused on a doorway three doors down the corridor: his old room.

The sun was beginning to set and he didn't want to be here in the dark.  The electricity had been shut off.  Shadows started to be cast from the furniture and the walls and began to get weak and started to get freaked out.

Standing in front of the door, he hesitated.  Was this a good or bad thing he was doing?

Did he really want to open the door and see the ghosts of his past that had haunted him for years?

“Get on with it,” he told himself.  “You came here for one reason and one reason only: to see your old room.  To see some sign that maybe Laurie had been back.  Maybe she left him a love letter,” he fantasised with a missile.

He opened the door and gasped.  He could not believe what he saw.  It was not possible.  He shut the door and closed his eyes, hard.  Like when you are trying to clear a vision you have just seen.

Again, he opened the door.  No, it was real.  What he was seeing was real.

The old Holland blind was drawn open.  The light coming through the window was sufficient to make it all out.  The memories flooded back like a tidal wave. His room was just as he had left it.  The bed was made, covered with his old school blanket from boarding school.  His desk had books and his old, now-ancient computer on it.

He sat down in the only chair in the room.  How could this be?

How could the only room in the house that was still recognizable be his room?

Laurie!  Laurie had been here, anticipating his return, waiting, hoping he might come back.

He sat in the chair, bewildered, confused, and even excited.  Could it really be her?

How would he ever know?

Would he, could he ever get to see her again?  Was there a chance that they might even be together?

His head was spinning.  He was dizzy with all these crazy thoughts.  He closed his eyes, but they continued, flashing in and out of his brain like trains at a station.

Lost in a sea of thought, he sensed a change in the light.  It seemed suddenly brighter.  He opened his eyes, and there she was in all her glory.  Laurie.

Dressed in a thin white satin dress that accentuated her perfect shape.  She looked like an angel. Her lips, ruby red as always, surrounded her beautiful smile.  A smile that had brought so much comfort throughout the darkest years of his life. Her eyes.  The pleasure surged through his veins at the sight of her brilliant blue eyes.  In his mind, she was a princess, beauty personified.  She hadn’t aged one bit.

"Why? Why did you desert me?” she said in a very faint, quiet voice.  There was no malice in her voice, just disappointment.

“I have waited for you all these years.  I have kept your room just as it was when we met all those years ago. I have waited for you, my darling.”

Simon could not believe what he was seeing or hearing.  Laurie had a glow that he had not recognized before.

The door to his room slammed shut.  There was no breeze, and he had heard no one else in the house.

Laurie lifted her hand towards him and started to glide toward him.

“You are mine now, my darling, and we will never be apart again.  You and I forever….”

"We will never leave this room.”

Till next time,

Calvin

Submitted to the "The Forgotten Room" challenge: