PART III - Chapter 25: FULL CIRCLE

Chapter 25

 

Full Circle
(Ó 2010)

Late in the evening on the sidewalk of the dark road, the lone figure of Logan Ian Morrow approached the small village that he and his late wife had once resided. By what he had seen since he disembarked from his train, the little village had not changed in any way what so ever. It was the same as it was in the seven years since he abruptly left, actually, it has been the same for almost a century.

A slight breeze now hummed through the bare limbs of the trees that lined either side of the small two-lane road. Just as it was in the city upon his arrival earlier, he saw an old familiar landmark that made him to anticipate the next.

Behind him he pulled his luggage on their wheels, the rumble sound mixed with the humming breeze along with his own footsteps were the only noise that could be heard all around. Then he stopped and came upon the one landmark that he was anticipating the most, the small white and red brick cottage home across the road on his right. He stopped and gazed at the home, the small house that Lily had fallen in love with, and that he purchased for her, where they both lived during the last years of her life.

It was a two-story redbrick with white siding, small, but large enough for the both of them and room for guests. - - -

- - - “Oh Logan, isn’t it simply beautiful? It’s the home I have always imagined I would have.” She said to him.

“Yes it is.” Must be a hundred years old.”

“Shall we take a look on the inside?”

“Okay.” He answered reluctantly. They both stepped up the small stone pathway and up the steps of the porch. Lily then knocked on the front door.

A middle-aged woman opened the door and first looked at Logan, “Yes?” she asked him, then she saw Lily and an expression of joy came to her face and she exclaimed, “Oh, welcome back! It’s nice to see you again. Is this your husband?”

“Um … yes it is.” Lily answered, she looked up at Logan, knowing that she had been caught.

“Welcome back?” He said as he looked down at her.

“Oh come on luv, just have a look inside.” She said to him hesitantly.

Logan then stepped inside the home and watched as Lily began to sell it to him, she had her famous half smile on her face as, no matter what it was that she showed to him it was always “wonderful’, “stunning”, "beautiful”, and she kept telling him what she could do here and how she would decorate there. However, she was simply crooning over the sunroom. She went into the small wood-floored kitchen, opened the side door, and showed him the gazebo that was in the back yard and how she would enjoy sitting out there from the spring to autumn. When she came back into the kitchen she said, “And just wait until you see the upstairs honey, especially the master bedroom, come I’ll show you.”

Logan held up his hand to her and said, “Just hold on there sweets, you don’t have to show me the upstairs.”

“But Logan - - -”

“Lil Girl, you don’t have to continue … you see … I surrender. I’m not even going to argue or negotiate. You know that I’ll never be able to defeat you with this, so why don’t we just see what it’s going to take to buy this house and take it from there.”

Lily looked at him with a surprised look, “You mean … we can get it?”

“Will it make you happy?”

“Oh yes luv, very happy.”

“Then … I guess we’ll take it.” He said shrugging his shoulders.

Lily let out a squeal of joy then ran and jumped up into his arms and then began kissing his face repeatedly, “Oh thank you honey, thank you … thank you … thank you!”

“So, how long have you been planning this?” - - -

- - - He named the home “Chalet de Lily”. He walked past it slightly and stopped; he left his luggage there on the sidewalk then crossed the road to look closer. There they were, he could see them still in the dark, the rose bushes that she had planted on either side of the house. She grew them from the seedlings that her mother gave her from her championship roses back in London. The bushes were still there, thank God, whoever lived there now had taken good care of them. They seemed to be like a welcome home sign to him.

He then stepped more to his left to look into the back yard, yes, the gazebo was still there also. The home was still the way it was when he had left, the outside of the home at least.

Then … something had caught his attention. There was a movement of some sort; he then looked upward to the window where he knew the master bedroom was the curtain there seemed to part slightly. He must have awoken whomever it was that lived there now. He decided to quickly leave to see if the little hotel in the village was still there and get a room for the night. He then quickly stepped back to his luggage and proceeded the short distance to the crossroad that was the entry to the small commerce area of the village, there a sort distance up the street he saw that yes, indeed, the little hotel was still there.

Logan then turned to look at his former home quickly one more time, he would come back tomorrow in the daytime and look at it again, maybe even call on the owners at make his proposition to them. He then began to make his way to the little hotel, an emotion of joy came over him as he saw that the village had not changed one bit since he left. He felt that he had finally come to the end of all his journeys.

Logan Ian Morrow had come full circle.

* * *

“Something” … had awoken Barbette Pinchot from her tranquil sleep as it has the many other times since she and her husband, Lauren, moved into the small cottage some four years prior. Barbette has always considered herself a “spiritual” girl, that she “had something extra” and that she was “sensitive” to things that her husband would always consider unusual. Barbette had a deep belief in all things supernatural, while her husband, an acknowledged atheist, had none.

This had made things difficult for her, especially after she and her husband, Lauren, had moved to this small home by the equally small village outside of Paris. Barbette has always felt that there was something in this house, that she could feel a presence there. She felt that whatever this something was, it was not a threat to her, her husband, or their young son who was asleep down the hall.

She tried to tell Lauren of the feelings that she would have in the house, but she stopped about two years before. Because whenever she would try to tell him of what she would sense, he would always say to her things like, “Stop believing in such nonsense,” or “you’re crazy to even think of such garbage,” and his favorite line, “I do not believe in God, how can you expect me to believe in your ghosts?”

Lauren Pinchot was not in any way a stern or abusive man to his wife, it was just that he was a staunch atheist and socialist who worked in the French government. Anyone who knew him would tell you that to have a debate with Lauren would always be calm, cordial, and yes even humorous. Except whenever the subject was of religion or of any spiritual belief. He would then become angry and refuse to listen to any of “that idol worship drivel.” To him there was what only he could see, feel and hear.

The only times Lauren would show any type of anger or resentment towards Barbette was whenever the subject of her “ghosts, spirits, psychic abilities and sensitivities” would transpire. Therefore, she began to keep it all to herself over the years while living in the house. The feeling that something else was there, and whatever, or whoever it was, it had a feeling of emptiness, of deep sadness and longing. She could feel these vibrations, and therefore knew in her heart that whatever this presence was, it meant no harm to her or her family.

However, tonight was different. The presence that was part of the house would wake her sometimes, and she would feel its sadness, but now when she woke, for the first time she had felt vibrations of a different nature. They were the complete opposite of what she was used to, this evening she was awakened by feelings of … could it be …elation? 

She looked to the bedroom window which the dim lights of the nearby village was slightly illuminating. She slowly sat up at kept looking at the window, she felt drawn to it for some reason. She looked over to her husband and made sure that he was fast asleep, which he was. She then turned her legs outward to the side of their bed and gently stood up; making sure that her movement would not awaken Lauren. Once she was completely out of the bed, she stepped lightly towards the window and came right in front of it. There she parted the curtain slightly and peered straight outside. She saw nothing at first, and then she looked down to the gate in the front yard and then let out a muffled gasp.

Standing there right at the gate was the dark silhouetted figure of a large man. The dim lighting from the village was to his back causing him to look like a large three dimensional shadow. Barbette could not see his face or any other distinguishing characteristics. She stared down at the dark figure for some seconds, and then the figure appeared to look up and directly at her through the window. This caused Barbette to release her gentle hold on the curtain and draw both her hands to her lips. She again gasped, this time though it was muffled by her hands, and then she stepped back away from the window. She was somewhat frightened and looked to her husband who was still fast asleep in their bed.

She quietly then stepped quickly over to Lauren and began to shake him gently on his shoulder, she whispered with an excited tone, “Lauren! Lauren! You have to wake up!”

“Hmmm?” He moaned and then opened his eyes, “What? What? What is it?”

 

“Lauren, please,” barbette whispered, “you must come, come to the window.”

“What? What is the matter.” He said now massaging his eyes.

“Shhh! You must come to the window. There is somebody out there standing at the gate and he is looking at the house.”

Lauren then swiftly threw the blanket off of himself and stepped to the window. He then flung the curtains open and looked down to the gate. There was nobody standing there. “Where? I do not see anybody.”

Barbette then stood next to him and looked to the gate, “But he was there, I saw him standing right there, he was not moving at all. He then looked up at me and I got frightened.”

“Are you sure you were not dreaming?”

“No, I was not, he was standing there. He was nothing but black, and he was a large man, he was like a big shadow.”

Lauren then became curious, “What made you come to the window in the first place? Did you hear anything?”

“No,” She said timidly, “I just … I just woke up. I woke up and felt that I had to come to the window.”

Lauren then let out a disgusted sigh, “What is this? Another one of your ‘spirits’ my dear? You woke me up in the middle of the night because of one of your ghosts? I thought that you were through with all that muck.” He then stormed back to the bed and angrily sat back down, settled in and through the blanket over himself.

“Lauren, please do not be angry with me, and please do not make fun of me. I saw it standing there, as plain as I see you now. It was big and dark, and I did feel something that made me wake up, and I felt it drawing me to the window.”

“Barbette!” He said angrily through gritted teeth, “I will not have any of your ignorant, idiotic conversations about your ‘specters’ and strange feelings in the middle of the night. This time is meant for sleeping, not discussing any crazy dream that you may have. Now get back to bed and go to sleep, before I get very angry and wake our son.”

“But Lauren … please…”

“Barbette!” He said angrily, “That is enough! Go back to sleep.” Lauren then turned to his side which would be with his back to her, covered himself and shut his eyes tight. She knew then that the conversation was over and any attempt to continue on this subject would just result in him loosing his temper. She didn’t want that because it would just wake their son, Albert, and make him upset for the rest of the night.

She then dropped her arms to her side, however she didn’t return to bed at first, she decided to check on their son who was asleep in his room down the hall. She then stepped from the bedroom and crossed the narrow hall and opened the door to Albert’s room She peered in and saw the sweet face of her little boy. She stepped over to him and caressed his soft hair. He was just now a little over two years old and he too seemed to have inherited her sensitivities. Because he sometimes would look around the room and smile and say, “nice ladies.” She herself did not concern herself with it because she did feel the presence in his room of someone or something that was positive in nature, and she knew that there was no harm to come to him.

She then stepped back away from him and into the hall and quietly shut his door, leaving it ajar slightly. She re-entered her bedroom and looked to her husband who appeared to be once again back fast asleep. She then crept back to the window and looked again out from it. She half expected to see the big dark shadow standing again at the foot of the gate, just like in all those low budget horror movies. But, there as nothing , or rather nobody there.

She then sighed in frustration, went back to bed with Lauren, where for the rest of the night she would find herself falling in and out of sleep.