Our Dream Home

Our Dream Home

Jazmyn was walking down a long dark hallway. The walls were covered in maroon wall paper with gold flowers. Scenic paintings hug along the walls. In between each painting was a light with a faint glow. Jazmyn felt like the lights were guiding her down the story the painting told, in another place and time. At the end of the hall there was a bright red door. Jazmyn approached the door very slowly, fearing what could be on the other side. She had a strange feeling in her stomach. Feeling like what ever was on the other side of the door could change her life forever. As she reached for the crystal door knob, she awoke, confused, not knowing where she was or where she had been.

The past few months have been cold, cloudy and rainy. It was dark and grim for so long. Jazmyn couldn't wait for the warmth of the sun to touch her face. It seemed the ground hog wasn't lying when he predicted six more weeks of winter, that's for sure. But not today. It was the first warm day of spring. The sun was shining bright with a faint breeze that carried the scent of honey suckles through the air. It was a perfect day to take a long drive out to the country with the love of her life, her husband, Matthew.

They have been married for 20 years and both of their children had grown up and moved out. Jazmyn and Matthew were at a point in their life where they wanted something different. Something far away from all the drama and noise of the city and somewhere they could actually hear themselves think.

Matthew turned down a dirt rode lined with huge magnolia trees. At the end of the road was an old Victorian style home with a wrap around porch and a porch swing. Jazmyn got excited and told Matthew that this is the house they had been dreaming about. She had no idea how true that statement was. Was it the house of her literal dreams? Jazmyn had a strange feeling that she had been there before but knew she hadn't.

Matthew and Jazmyn purchased the home. They knew that it would be a lot of work but were looking forward to building their dream. Matthew started renovating the house and decided to start with the fire place. He tried the smoke test to see if there was a blockage or any leaking. Smoke filled the room, the chimney indeed was blocked. Matthew opened all the windows to air out the room. When the smoke cleared he stuck his hand in the fire place and felt a cloth bag. He pulled the bag out of the fire place and opened the bag. He found a small black book inside. It was a journal that had belonged to the original home owner. The house was built in the early 1900's and back then they wrote everything in their journals. Matthew yelled for Jazmyn to come into the house to show her what he had found.

Jazmyn opened the journal and started reading. It was written by a young widow named Gloria. From what Jazmyn read, Gloria loved to read about distant lands. She wanted to travel to every place she had ever read about. At this time American was at the end of WW1 and Gloria learned that her husband had been killed in action. She was young and widowed, with no children. She had no way to to make money so she decided to rent rooms to travelers and drifters passing through town. She still dreamed of traveling and decided to start saving every penny she could to be able to do that one day. She saved money from the end of WW1 to the beginning of WW2. In about 20 years she managed to save the small fortune of $20,000.00. That was a lot of money for a woman to have back then. Since she was widowed and alone, she decided to turn one of her rooms into a panic room to hide her small fortune and valuables. She had a bookshelf built that was in fact a secret door into her panic room. She was nervous that one of the men drifting through town would steal from her.

Jazmyn and Matthew decide to see if the bookshelf in their hallway was a secret door. On the shelf was a large vase and behind that vase was a button and when Matthew pushed it the door opened with a poof of dust. There0 was a hidden room. A room frozen in time. They turned on a flash light and entered the room. The walls were covered in maroon wall paper with gold flowers, there was a couch, a bed, jarred preserves, painting stacked in the corner, and tons of books. In the back of this room was a bright red door with a crystal door knob. This was the hallway that Jazmyn had dreamt of. Jazmyn's heart started beating fast and she told Matthew about her dream. She was scared to open the red door. She had that feeling in her stomach again. Matthew told her he'd open the door for her to stand back. He opened the door and discovered the skeletal remains of who they thought was Gloria, holding $20,000.00 in her hand and surrounded by all of her most valuable possessions. Matthew and Jazmyn screamed and ran from the room.

When they finally caught their breath they called the police. They shared the story with the police and they removed the body of the woman who had been missing for 50 years. Jazmyn couldn't help but think that Gloria had led her to that room through her dreams. Jazmyn was right, the thing on the other side of that door did in fact change her life. She expected a big surprise but not that kind of surprise. Gloria was now free to go to those distant lands that she had read and dreamt about for so long.