Chapter 2: Winds of Warning

Dear Reader, this chapter is a part of a novel being developed in real time. Thank you for joining Elyse and I on this journey. I hope you enjoy the story. ~CC

Looking around, Elyse has the feeling she was a ways from home. She didn’t recognize anything around her other than the angle of the landscape.

Well, she thought, it couldn’t hurt to go see what’s over there. It would be pretty easy to pick the trail up again.

She started to make her way through the fallen branches and look out for any poison ivy or oak as she headed over to the mysterious gap in the distance. As she got closer, she noticed that the edge was a clean line cut into the ground-very unlike a creek edge or little cliff. Getting closer, she noticed bits of furniture on the ground scattered and since claimed by nature.

Odd, she though to herself, but her parents did say people used to dump their garbage out there years ago. Still, this furniture looked like it had been nice once before it was donated to the woods.

As she reached closer to the edge, she started to see what looked like a concrete floor, and then getting closer, an old metal curved bed frame that looked like something she had seen in movies about hospitals. But there was never a hospital around here. This is way too rural an area. As she reached the edge, she finally got a full view of what was carved into the side of the ravine. But it wasn’t carved, it was built. It was a house. Maybe a hill house? But this property has been long abandoned and there was no roof and only 1 wall that was built into the hill. The whole place looked as though a giant sword shaved off any parts that didn’t follow the grade of the ravine. Like a dollhouse, partial walls showed where some rooms where and the parts of the exterior walls on either side were still intact, but the parts that didn’t touch the earth were gone. The roof was gone and where the wall facing the river would have been was gone.

Elyse took it all in, What happened here? She wondered. How did I not know something like this was so close to my house?

She carefully made her way around to one side, using the old bricks as a staircase, but making sure her hands held on to the bricks above not trusting how secure the bricks below were.

When she got close enough to jump down, she landed on the hard floor and looked around. It felt bigger than it did from above. Everything was the right size. There wasn’t much for furniture, and she realized it wasn’t a concrete floor, but stone. This structure was older than her first guess. She began walking toward the edge to look down and see how far up she was, as she looked over the edge, interspersed in the trees laid long decaying parts of beams, bricks, some more metal furniture. She could make out some shards of glass, probably from the windows that would have offered a wonderful view. From below the stone floor, rotted edged of wooden beams jutted out from the ravine-at one point reinforcing the floors and walls and down at the farther edge, the beams were more worn, less pronounced. That corner the edge of the structure had given way to gravity and without going over there, Elyse knew it wasn’t as safe.

The entire back wall had no indication of doors or windows and was built solidly. A green broom closet still stood against the wall and if there has been any paint or color anywhere else, it had since washed away.

The floor felt cool and smooth under Elyse’s feet. A thin coat of moss grew over it making it soft and as she stepped she kicked up the smell of the moss. The whole place had a dampness to it.

Elyse wanted to go look in the other rooms a little more closely. The bottoms of doorways still indicating where they once stood, but she was careful not to step over the low parts of the wall close to the edge. She has climbed enough trees in her short life, she knew even her small frame had weight. She walked close to the walls making her way around getting a sense of the space. In the corner, what was once a wooden chair was now a few legs barely held together and peeking out of the leaves that had accumulated around them.

Elyse wanted to see what might still be in the broom cupboard as her curiosity was piqued and swimming in the mystery of it all. As she walked around toward it, she could tell that the bottom had fallen out from years of being exposed to the elements. A stronger breeze picked up again, but the structure shielded her from its strength and only disturbed the leaves closer to the edge.

As she reached the cupboard, the little toggle of wood holding it closed had split. As she touched it to turn it, it fell to two pieces on the ground. The door didn’t move-still sealed in place by moisture. A little tug was all it took to open the door, and the smell of wet earth spilled out as though it had outgrown its host. Elyse took a step back and turned her face away to get a few clean breaths back in her and to clear the stench from her nose. Looking back in, she could make out broom handles whose bristles have long disintegrated. Old glass bottles were on the top shelf, the top of the cabinet, still surprisingly in tact. Pieces of fabric hang to one side, probably aprons, Elyse guessed. Not a very exciting find. She glances to the left to reach for the door and stops.

Inside the door, there are names etched and little dash-marks. Elyse takes her sleeve and carefully brushes some of the debris off the writing.

Lizzie 10/4/1878, Age 8.

John 10/4/78, Age 6 was written a bit underneath.

There was more writing on the inside of the door. As Elyse brushed at the door, more names became clear with different ages and dates

Michael 3/4/75, Age 10

Jo 7/23/80, Age 9

Samuel 6/7/79, Age 6

And it went on. As Elyse examined the dates, she noticed they were only over the course of 5 years.

Why were these recorded here? What was this place? Elyse wondered looking around again trying to picture this place with children occupying it.

Curious to get a better look in the next room, Elyse gently closed the cupboard door and made her way across the doorway. This space was a bit more sparse in the sense, there was less furniture. A few wooden chairs dissolving, and off to the side was a small table with a drawer.

A desk, thought Elyse. She made her way over to the desk and pulled at the drawer. It didn’t budge.

Hmmm, she murmured to herself.

Years of weather caused the wood to swell. Elyse reached into her bag and pulled out the pocket knife. Not the reason she thought to pack it, but glad she did. She stooped down to get a closer look at the drawer and started to work the knife into the gaps. Reaching under the drawer to feel around and see if she could help it along, it seems that bottom is a solid piece of wood.

Elyse took a deep breath and slowed down a bit. She needed to be patient with her current strategy. The wood of the drawer began to flake away at the edges and after several minutes the front of the drawer popped off completely falling to the ground.

She peered into the opening and started to feel her hands around inside. The space was pretty clean, no mouse or other animal had made it’s home here. Her hand formed around a long round object. As she pulled it out to see what she held, the pearl handle was noticeable and then the tarnished blade became clear. A letter opener. Setting it on the desktop, she reached in again, this time, she felt another object, rougher in places. Needing both hands to remove it, she slid out a rusted tin. Elyse worked to get the lid off, but it was so rusted, she thought she might wait and take this piece home to see if any of her dads tools would open it.

On the final examination of the drawer to see if anything else was left, all she found were wooden bobbins who’s thread had failed and fallen off. And that was it. Not a complete loss, the tin still held some mystery. Elyse picked up the tin again turning it over in her hands and hearing the items inside rolling around. There were some quiet things shuffling and some things that made more noise, maybe a chain?

Elyse took one more look around the desk before she was satisfied she found all there was. Then began to make her way into the third room. This room was clearly the kitchen. It had the most furniture and part of the fireplace remained, although the chimney had long since collapsed and brick was strewn about. There was a warmth to this room that seemed missing from the others-as though this room held all the joy.

The table angled toward the floor like a slide, the legs bent and crumbled underneath and moss grew on the top. Little bits of wildlife grew up around it as it sat shaded by the low hanging branch of an overgrown tree-like an umbrella, but instead of holding off the rain, it’s as though it encouraged it to stay there. A small table sat near the fireplace and as Elyse walked closer, she stepped on something odd. Pushing leaves around with her feet, she saw metal and wood buttons on the ground. A sewing table, perhaps?

The rocking chair leaned to one side. The seat completely gone out of it along with part of the right rocker, so it was still and quiet even when the breeze picked up.

It was then Elyse noticed the change in temperature since walking into this place. It’s the height of summer, in the daytime and yet there is a chill to the air and the sunshine she can see in the distance, but she is standing in a very shaded area. Eerie.

All of a sudden, Elyse gets this sinking feeling in her belly. It’s the same feeling she get’s when she’s taking too long to go to the bathroom at church and instead of going right back upstairs, she gives herself a little tour of all the rooms downstairs-looking in cabinets and drawers and seeing what soda is stocked in the fridge this week before realizing how long she’s been gone and if she doesn’t go back up, her mother will come looking.

Elyse takes one more look around the house and heads for where the front door once stood. Mud has created a slick at the door, so she steps carefully to not tumble toward the ravine and see how those who once lived there made their way out. Up at the top, beyond the coyote trail she sees a very old railing attached to two trees. Slowly, she works her way toward it-this seems the most obvious way to leave and starts to pick up on a different path that cuts up. As her feet sink into the grass occasional touching a stick or a rock, she begins to notice a certain pattern. Elyse begins to feel around in the ground under her feet and yes, there are stairs here! The ground has long eroded underneath, but she can feel the edges at places just enough to determine their presence. Still, the ground is soft and the angle up severe, so Elyse walks carefully, holding on to trees and low limbs. Sliding here and there, but mostly staying vertical.

When she connects to the coyote trail she stops and looks around. From this angle, there is no indication of the house sitting below. Had she come this way, she would have walked right by it.

Elyse looks up at the railing, it’s not far, but still a bit of a hike with the slope of the hill. She continues up. This stretch is far less muddy than the part leading to the trail. It’s easier to traverse and her feet are finding much more grass than mud. By the time she reaches the railing, her feet are nearly ‘country clean.’

The handrail is attached to two trees that have long been needed for this function and the rail itself have been thoroughly worked over by all sorts of tiny critters. Elyse doesn’t touch it as even the lightest touch could make it fall apart. Just beyond the ground evens out for a spell as though even the Earth needed a rest. It was a small landing area, just enough for two people to walk next to each other.

Elyse looks around trying to figure out how far she is from home. Hopefully, her mother isn’t calling for her. She’s supposed to stay within yelling distance. As she survey’s the area, she sees on the other side of the tree holding the railing, there is a piece of stone in the shape of an obelisk. It was nearly covered in vines, just the top peeking out. As Elyse approached it, the ground dipped a bit. As she stepped down, she noticed it was as tall as her!

Elyse recognized this shape as something she would see in a cemetery, she looked around, could she be next to an old cemetery? She knew of small country plots in the area, family plots and plots that people seemed to forget about. Could this be that?

She ventured into the thicket around the obelisk looking for anything else, feeling carefully with her feet to not stub a toe, but doesn’t feel anything. As she searches, a sudden gust of cool wind comes up, almost from below her, blowing her dress and hair in all directions. Elyse realizes it’s probably close to lunchtime and her mother will be looking for her. She will have to come back later to look more, better prepared.