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The Homecoming
http://www.the-cbb.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=6015

Author:  Pat [ 03 May 2009, 19:05 ]
Post subject:  The Homecoming

Is there anybody there?' said the Traveller,
Knocking on the moonlit door;
And his horse in the silence champ'd the grasses
Of the forest's ferny floor:
And a bird flew up out of the turret,
Above the Traveller's head:
And he smote upon the door again a second time;
'Is there anybody there?' he said.
But no one descended to the Traveller;
No head from the leaf-fringed sill
Lean'd over and look'd into his grey eyes,
Where he stood perplex'd and still.

Con Maynard felt rather as if this poem had come to life, though she hadn't arrived by horseback, but had driven herself from the airport. Freudesheim stood locked and silent, with no reply coming to her knocking. No sign of life, or that anyone had lived here for some time, though she had spoken to her mother only the day before. But however hard she hammered on the door, only the echoing silence came back to her. She stepped back and looked up. The boxes of gay geraniums that lined the balconies showed only dead plants. One of the windows on the first floor looked as if it was broken, though from this angle she couldn't be sure. Puzzled, and becoming a little frightened, she walked around to the back. Most of the windows were too high for her to see through, but the Salon had French doors. They were locked tight, the glass so dirty that she had trouble peering through. What she could see showed an empty room, no furniture, only a battered stove where the fireplace should be. Seriously alarmed, she turned to the garden, intending to walk through to the school to see if they knew anything. That was when she saw the sunken garden, with the wilting and browned remains of cabbages where the roses should be. She almost ran to where the gate through to the school was, but to her horror there was only the hedge, unbroken by any gate, barring her way. Avoiding the house as much as possible, she made her way back to the road, and up the drive to the school buildings.

She kept her head down as she walked up the drive, not daring to look till she stood in front of the main door. Then she raised her head, and gasped. The building looked almost the same, though a little shabbier than she remembered. Big tubs of brightly-coloured flowers stood on either side of the doors, and there was a familiar hum of noise coming through the doors. Breathing a sigh of relief, she stepped through the doors, and came to an immediate halt. This was not the school! A long counter ran down one side of the hall, with a sign hanging over it stating that it was the Hotel Reception. The girls behind the counter wore clothes that dated back to before the War. Con turned and ran, terrified and crying, back down the drive to her car. Then she drove off down the Platz like a bat out of Hell. Down the steep road, through the low-lying clouds and down to the valley. Once in Lauterbrunnen she pulled into a layby and looked around her. Here everything looked normal, clothes and cars looking just as she expected, rather than the outdated clothes worn by the people in the hotel, and she sat back in her seat, shaking. There was a phone box on the corner, and once she'd seen it she couldn't take her eyes off it. Part of her wanted to ring her mother, and part of her was terrified that there would be no one there. In the end she knew she had to try, so she climbed out of her car and walked over to the box. She dialled the familiar number and listened to the phone ring at the other end. At least that was connected, she thought hopefully.

"Herr Doktor Maynard's residence," Anna's voice sounded so normal that Con almost dropped the receiver in relief.

"Anna, it's me, Con," she said in her fluent German. "I'm in Lauterbrunnen. I drove up but there was no one there."

"That is strange. We have been here all day. I do not see how you could have missed us."

"Nor do I Anna. I'll be up straight away."

Even after the successful call, Con found it hard to start the car, and take the road up to the Platz. The cloud layer had lifted, she noted as she drove, but that was all she could see that was different as she reached the Platz and drove towards Freudesheim. She parked the car and got out slowly, almost afraid of what she would find. But as she walked up the path to the front door it was thrown open and her mother came flying down the steps towards her. Con went into her arms and hugged her for a long moment, before turning and walking in through the front door. She was home.


With thanks to Walter del la Mare.

Author:  Lesley [ 03 May 2009, 19:09 ]
Post subject:  Re: The Homecoming

Spooky - slipped into an alternate universe there Con. Is she going to investigate?


Thanks Pat.

Author:  Liz K [ 03 May 2009, 20:12 ]
Post subject:  Re: The Homecoming

:shock: Interesting, I have read about this happening to someone.

Author:  abbeybufo [ 03 May 2009, 22:54 ]
Post subject:  Re: The Homecoming

Wow - thanks Pat - a weird time-slip indeed :shock:

Author:  JB [ 04 May 2009, 14:14 ]
Post subject:  Re: The Homecoming

How spooky. Hope there's more of this. Thanks, Pat.

Author:  Lyanne [ 17 May 2009, 14:40 ]
Post subject:  Re: The Homecoming

Ooh, that was scary!

Author:  Miss Di [ 18 May 2009, 05:02 ]
Post subject:  Re: The Homecoming

Very spooky!

Author:  jonty [ 04 Jun 2009, 17:37 ]
Post subject:  Re: The Homecoming

I love timeslips! Thanks, Pat.

Author:  hac61 [ 05 Jun 2009, 13:43 ]
Post subject:  Re: The Homecoming

It was the cloud layer. Who knows what goes on on mountains when the cloud comes down.


hac

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