“A wedding?”
Salem was perched on the window seat in my room. The sun was shinning today, coming full force into the room and scattering the shadows that had been on the floor. I was sat on the bed, my legs crossed under me. Thankfully, despite my fears, the grandfather clock had opened up into the old and gloomy hallway that I was familiar with. Salem had been there waiting for me, anxiously pacing up and down the hall. I had tried my best to relay what had happened but I was still fairly shook up so we had decided to meet up again this morning.475Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI88nAJh0WN
“Seems so.” I twirled the invitation in my hands. “There seems to be quite a few guests at the house. The wedding itself isn’t for a few days so maybe they’re having some sort of house party beforehand?”
“No wonder I had such a strange feeling about that clock.” Salem stared off into the distance. “To think that it’s actually a connection to another time. And all you had to do was go inside and the close the door?”
We had already been through this a hundred times so I sighed and said simply,
“Yes.”
“And you’re sure no-one saw you?” He asked, also for the hundredth time.
“Pretty sure.”
“This is unbelievable.” Salem shook his head.
“You’re telling me. I was just getting used to the idea of my house being haunted. Now I have to cope with some time-traveling portal as well.”475Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRDE7qJbt6Z
“Oh, so now you don’t think you’re hallucinating anymore?” A slow smile spread over Salem’s face. I smiled back.
“I’m still not entirely convinced.”
I looked back down at the invitation.
“Do the names mean anything to you?” I asked Salem. He shook his head.
“No, I don’t remember them at all.”
“The good news is that at least we have some more information to go on. I’ll see if I can find out more about these people when I go to the library later.”
Salem looked confused.
“Surely there’s an easier way to do that?” He said.
Now it was my turn to look confused.
“What do you mean?”
“Go through the grandfather clock again obviously.”
I nearly chocked on my own breath.
“Are you insane! We have no idea how that thing works. I’m lucky I didn’t get stuck back then. How do we even now it always opens on the same time period? I could end up in the middle ages being tried for witchcraft.”
“But we do know it works and we do know that you end up going back to 1924.” Salem responded patronisingly. “Because of the photograph. You must go back at some point.”475Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtTFdNc1OfB
A cold feeling took over my body and I noticed goosebumps breaking out over my arms. I had forgotten about the photograph in all of the mayhem of time traveling, but now Salem’s words hit home rather uncomfortably.475Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCXNIBAcPhA
“There’s no proof that was definitely me in the photograph.” Grasp at those straws Lacey. “I’m certainly not willing to risk everything on the chance that it was me. And anyway, just because that photograph exists doesn’t mean I have to go back. We can change time, you know, like in Back to the Future.”
“Back to the what?”
“The film? You know with…never mind.”
A knock on my door made me jump. The door swung open and my Dad came inside.
“Lacey-are you OK? Are you talking to someone?” He looked around the empty room.
“Nope-just practicing some of my tour guide bits. I’ve found out lots about the house.” More than you could imagine.
“Oh, that’s great honey. With that in mind, you’ll never guess what I found in the attic! Come check it out,” and with that he disappeared once more and I heard his footsteps on the stairs. I guessed I was supposed to follow him so I headed down into the main hall, sensing Salem following behind.
“What is it Dad?” I asked.
Dad was stood in the middle of a pile of boxes, most of which were open, their contents spilling over the sides and onto the floor. It appeared to be a collection of clothes, a hodgepodge of both men’s and women’s outfits, all very old and clearly from a bygone era.
“Isn’t this great?” Dad was holding a bowler hat in one hand and a pair of oversized trousers in the other. “I found a bunch of boxes in the attic that were filled with vintage clothes. Some of them are probably past their best but I think we could salvage a few of them. They’d be great for our murder mystery weekends don’t you think?”475Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx0dRh25on2
I smiled as I joined Dad. The clothes appeared to be from the early part of the twentieth century. Some were very obviously moth-eaten or stained but there were a few pieces which, after a good clean, could be wearable.475Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJI3qYz8uXT
“This is great Dad.” I opened another one of the boxes. This one was filled with scarves, a few bags and, right down at the bottom, some dresses. I riffled through and pulled out some of the garments.
“How about this Lacey? Should fit you.”
I turned back to my Dad and saw that he was holding up a dress. It was true, it looked my size. However as I looked at it more closely something else sparked my attention.
“Look familiar?” Salem’s voice was right in my ear and I jumped.
Unfortunately it did look familiar. The cut, the shape, the frilly collar, the embroidered detail. It was the dress from the photograph. The dress that someone who looked remarkably like me was wearing in the photograph.
“Still think you don’t go back?” Salem continued.
“Shut up” I muttered under my breath.
Dad was busy sorting the clothes back into the boxes and didn’t hear.
“We’ll go through these properly later. Great find though huh?”
“Sure Dad-let’s hope we have many more great finds.”
“I’m heading into town now,” Dad started stacking the boxes into a storeroom off the main hall. “Do you want to join me?”
“Sure-I fancy some fresh air. Let me go grab my bag.”475Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6xQd3ErXeZ
I ran back up to my room and grabbed my bag and coat. Salem was still following me but I decided to ignore him.
“Do you think you’ll go back tonight? Through the clock I mean?”
Ignore.
“Lacey?”
Ignore, ignore.
“We know you go back so it must be safe. Please Lacey, it might be the only way to find out what happened to me and why I’m here.”
Ignore, ignore, ignore.
I headed back downstairs where Dad was waiting. Salem didn’t come after me and I started to feel bad. Maybe I was being too rash, but this wasn’t something that happened everyday, and, quite frankly, I wasn’t prepared to risk my life for someone I didn’t even know. I hoped a walk around the town might help clear my head.
…..475Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrbDKGbwLT7
The town was just large enough to sustain a small high street-a neat road with red brick buildings squashed together and the odd alleyway leading back into a small square of additional shops. There was an eclectic mix of businesses from the everyday to the more niche. A bank, a real-estate agent, a pet food shop and a butchers were interspersed with a small art gallery, an artisan bakery, a bridal boutique and a rather expensive looking jewellery store. Old-fashioned, metal lampposts were dotted along the street and hanging baskets overflowing with flowers were hung up outside the various buildings. There was an aura of calm about the whole place, people walked leisurely to their next destination, not bashing into each other whilst staring at their phones. Everything felt clean and well-cared for. It was certainly different to where we had lived before.
As Dad busied himself at the small supermarket I choose to have a wander down some of the side streets. They were all quaint cobbled streets that twisted and turned into small squares surrounded by shops on all sides. One had a little coffee shop that smelled of freshly baked cakes, a designer children clothes shop and a second-hand bookshop. I strolled back to the high street and down another side street. This one opened out into a very small courtyard with just one shop. The swirly gold writing on the shop sign was with dotted with stars and proclaimed Madam Geary’s Health, Spiritual and Gift Emporium.
The shop was small, barely six feet in width, though I sensed it went much further back. The windows had heavy red curtains that were pulled back with gold, plaited cords. The merchandise on display in those windows was an interesting mix. There were fairly mundane items like scented candles and incense but also more unusual pieces such as tarot cards in silk pouches, delicately carved wooden rune stones and colourful crystals. It was the sign propped up on a small metal step that I was most interested in however.
Fortune telling, horoscopes and communication with spirits. 475Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmzBBIUh2vQ
Come inside!475Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5ZtxTYhCuA
The old me would have thought that anything like this was going to be a scam, but the last few days had opened my eyes up to a lot of things that I would previously have doubted. What was the harm in seeing what would happen here? Nervously, I pushed the door open, a small bell giving away my presence to whoever was inside.
The interior of the shop was much like the exterior. Random bookcases, tables and cabinets lined the walls and the floor. All of them were crammed with various articles for sale. The air felt warm and smelt slightly sweet. At the back of the shop behind the old-fashioned till was a beaded curtain. Almost as soon as I came in a woman serenely walked through it, a disturbingly serene smile on her face.
“Good afternoon my dear. What may I do for you this afternoon? A fortune reading perhaps? Or maybe a love spell to catch your sweethearts eye?”
She was an old woman, at least in her sixties, though she was dressed as if she were much younger. She wore a floor length dress in bright orange with billowing sleeves and a dark blue sash tied around her waist. Her ears were sporting the biggest gold hoop earrings that I have ever seen and her face was plastered with bright red lipstick and dark blue eyeshadow. Her wrists jangled when she moved due to the dozens of bracelets she was wearing. Maybe this had been a mistake.
“Um, no thanks. I was just looking for a gift for a friend but I think I’ll come back another time.”
‘Are you sure my dear?” She picked up a packet of tarot cards from the counter. “Madam Geary can see many things invisible to others. I sense great things will be happening to you soon.”
This was definitely a mistake.
“No thank you. Maybe another time.” I backed away to the door and threw it open, ready to make my escape until her voice stopped me once more.
“Give my regards to your ghost. I’m sure you’ll be very happy together.”475Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFaZ0G4F70r
