Vanitas

“…And may he forever rest in peace. Amen.”

The stillness of mourning filled the cold air, the sounds of sobs barely making their way through the steady rain that fell from the November sky. It was the afternoon of my grandfather’s memorial service, the suddenness of it all still sinking in even as I watch the casket get lowered into the earth. Weeks before he was his same old chipper self, dancing around as well as his aging body could allow to the tunes of his earlier years and then one morning - as I made my way over to his estate in at Champions Farm in West Sussex - I found him in his favourite armchair with a book in his lap, cold as ice. At first it had appeared he had fallen asleep in that chair, as was common for him to do, but as circumstance had it, this time was different.

I felt my inner pocket of my jacket begin to vibrate.

“Hello? This is Robert.” I said into the phone as I turned from the service and began making my way across the wet grass to a place out of the rain.

“Yes, hi. Is the Robert Devon?” A kindly sounding woman asked on the other end.

“This is, may I ask who is calling?”

“This is Melinda Fanning, of Fanning & Associates,” the voice replied, sounding more official, “I represent your Grandfather and his estate. Would you be able to meet me at the property later today?”

“Uh, yes I can be there within the hour.” I replied, checking the time on my watch as best I could with beads of water running down the surface.

“That would be perfect. I will see you within the hour then.” And with that the call the ended.

“Rest in peace old man, I sure will miss you.” I muttered under my breath, looking over to the place where the casket had been just a short time ago. The unturned, muddy earth was now being scraped back into the hole by two burly groundskeepers dressed in rain jackets.

I pulled off Greenhurst Lane and made my way up to the gate which blocked the main drive leading to the estate that sat just off the main road. As I approached the gate to put in the gate code, a black Audi A3 Sedan came to a halt with a crunch as they left the pavement and onto the gravel. The windows had a dark tint to them so I could only just make out the silhouette of the driver, who appeared to be a woman with shoulder length hair. Presuming it to Miss Fanning, I returned my attention to the path as the gate opened to reveal the estate a short distance ahead. As I pulled forward through the gate the Audi fell in line behind me keeping a few metres away from the boot of the car.

I pulled up alongside the front door of the estate in an effort to make it a quick trip from the car and into the house, the other car parking right behind mine.

“You must be Robert.” The driver said she stepped out of the car, holding her small briefcase above her head as a make-shift umbrella.

“And you must be Miss Fanning,” I replied turning to face her, my quick entrance being delayed now as I waited for her to meet me at the door. “I know I’ve got the key around here somewhere.”

I rifled through the pockets of my slacks eventually finding the key tucked in with a small note.

“Ah there’s the little bugger.”

I inserted the key and after a little adjusting of the handle, opened the front door to reveal the hall where my grandfather’s coats still hung. The house had gone seemingly untouched since his passing, the only visible difference was the absence of my grandfather meeting me at the door and that of a fine layer of dust covering the surfaces.

“Please, come in.” I said, turning to Miss Fanning and motioning her to enter ahead of me. “Would you like a cup a tea?”

“Yes, tea does sound lovely, thank you.” Miss Fanning replied as she began making her way down the hall, “What a beautiful home your grandfather had.”

“Thank you. He was very proud of this place, especially his garden. If he were here today, I’m sure he would insist on showing it to you. Right this way Miss Fanning.”

We walked up the hall and through a door on the right which opened up to the breakfast room, the ivory walls lighting up with the flick of a light switch. A small wood table sat in the middle of the room, all of the chairs tucked neatly away along the sides. Various photos and pieces of art were hung neatly on the walls, revealing the intricacies of the old man’s taste in decoration. On the right side of the room was another opening leading into the kitchen, the granite counters glistening ever so slightly in the light cast from the breakfast room.

“I’ll put the kettle on, feel free to make yourself at home, I’ll just be a minute.” I said as I began rummaging through the cabinets looking for the tea chest. “I know it’s around here somewhere.”

Once the kettle was on, I headed back out to the breakfast room to where Miss Fanning had sat down and opened up her briefcase, pulling out a file folder and a small envelope.

“Now, Robert, as I told you on the phone, I represent your late grandfather and this estate. Shortly before he passed, he gave me a ring asking if I would contact you, and only you, in the matter of handling his last will and testament upon his passing.” She paused, letting the words sink in before gesturing to the file folder in front of her, “It was his wish, as detailed in this folder before me that you be the sole inheritor of this estate and all the contents of it, that you do with it as you see fit. Additionally, he wanted to ensure that this envelope be hand delivered to you and that upon opening it you would know what to do.”

With that, Miss Fanning slid the envelope over to me and began opening the file folder when the kettle started to whistle.

“Excuse me a moment while I grab that.” I got up and made my way back into the kitchen, grabbing two tea cups out of the cabinet and pouring each.

“Here you are Miss Fanning, I hope you like Earl Grey. It seems that was all that my grandfather had.”

“That’s fine, thank you.” She replied taking the tea cup from my hand and placing it on the saucer in front of her. She then opened the file folder back up before sliding it over to me along with a ink pen. “There are a few signatures I need from you stating that I informed you of all your grandfather’s wishes and provided a copy of his last will and testament for review, and acknowledge all conditions listed on pages 5, 6, 9, and 12.”

I picked the folder up and began to scan through the pages, making sure to initial or sign on the lines as needed.

“Alright, that should do it.” I stated as I set the ink pen back down, taking a sip of tea, the liquid warming my body on its way down. “And what of the contents of the envelope?”

“Your grandfather gave me directions not to open it and to ensure you opened it in privacy.” Miss Fanning replied, flipping through the pages of the folder ensuring that all lines were signed, adding her signature here and there. “I’ll be done in just a moment and then I will leave you to it. Unless of course you have any additional questions for me?” With that she glanced up for a moment before returning to the file.

A short while later, after Miss Fanning had left, I returned to the breakfast room where the small envelope lay on the table. I sat down in front of it, staring at it for a moment before picking it up. I turned it over in my hand feeling a smaller, but surprisingly heavy, object sliding to the other side as I did so. As I opened it the object that I had felt sliding fell out with a ‘clang’ onto the table.

“A key?” I asked, as if my grandfather were sitting across the table from me.

The key was an old, tarnished bronze key with an ornate, bowed head and two-toothed bit on the bottom end. It almost resembled that of an old jailer key.

I looked inside the envelope, finding a small piece of paper tucked inside. It was a handwritten note in my grandfather’s writing, and it read:

“Behind this Vanitas, the location familiar to a wee lad,

Lies a work more talkative than this, yet known only by its creator

This will lead you, to a small fortune hiding in plain sight.

You will find the way, I have Faith in your Ability.”

Vanitas? I thought to myself. I stood and began pacing, playing this note over in my head. As I did it occurred to me, grandfather had a replica of a painting that symbolises the impermanence of life, the futility of pleasure, and certainty of death and always referred to it as “Vanitas”. I headed out of the breakfast room and across the hall to the sitting room, tucking the key into my pocket on the way. I entered and the stillness of the room hit me, causing me to hesitate a moment before passing around my grandfather’s armchair and over to the painting on the wall depicting a stringed instrument sitting in the middle of the table, on one side a small bowl, the other a skull. I gently lifted the frame off the wall and in doing so a small object fell from behind it, landing with a light ‘thud’ at my feet. The object was a small, black, leather notebook with slightly yellowed pages. I flipped through the book, more of grandfather’s writing flooding the pages. Eventually I came to a page with a small ribbon tucked between the pages, on it there were numerous inscriptions and drawings written in fine detail. I began reading some of the text scrawled along the edges and realised they were the names of some of my grandfather’s favourite classic novels.

“The old man did love his books.” I said to myself, turning and heading to his library where I began finding the titles to his favourites listed on the page, “Wuthering Heights”, “Great Expectations”, an original of “Les Misérables” written in French, and “A Tale of Two Cities”, among others. Upon coming to the last one on the list, “Faith in the Ability of Man” - a Victorian era bound book – I realised there was a small space behind in which was tucked a small wooden box, with an old fashioned lock. Once I was able to pry the box out of the space in the wall, I gently set it down on the nearby table and felt in my pocket for the old key in the envelope. I pulled it out, hesitating slightly before inserting it into the lock. It slid in with a small ‘click’ and I turned it before opening the lid. What lay before me, was a carefully packed stack of £ 20,000 and another note which read:

“To my grandson, a man always there for me

I leave you this small inheritance,

Use it so that you may fulfill your dreams,

And travel to the ends of the Earth

As we talked of in our stories when you were a wee lad.

This is just the beginning.

The rest will find you when you are ready.”