Heathrow Manor

           It was a cool October morning as Sally sat on a bench by the Chesapeake Bay. The wind whistled through the almost-barren trees and scattered the leaves upon the ground like a multi-colored blanket.

           Sally pondered her existence after a tragedy had befallen her only child; a beautiful, six-year-old girl named Cindy. She was the love of Sally’s life and the only thing left to cling to in this world.

           It happened only one week before when Sally had taken Cindy to the park so they could have fun in the playground. It was a beautiful, sunny day and they had gotten so much enjoyment out of their time together. Sally was pushing Cindy on the swing when her phone began to ring. It was a call from her office so she decided to take it.

           After telling Cindy that she would be right back, Sally walked away from the noisy playground. As she raised the phone toward her ear, the sound that she heard instead, were tires sliding to a halt and the scream of a child.

           Sally turned to see where Cindy was, but could not spot her. She ran in the direction of the scream and saw a crowd gathering around a car in the parking lot. As she forced her way through the wall of people, Sally’s worse fears came to pass. Her precious little Cindy laid bloodied and motionless under the front bumper of a black Cadillac STS. Sally tried her best to revive poor Cindy, but it was too late.

           Emergency crews arrived and called the coroner to the scene. Cindy was officially declared deceased at 3:22 pm. Sally was distraught and needed to be sedated by the paramedics on the scene. She was taken to the hospital for an evaluation and after a lengthy discussion with both police and a psychologist, she was permitted to leave.

           The funeral took place at Chesapeake Memorial Gardens. It was a beautiful service, and all through the funeral, Sally felt as if Cindy was beside her holding onto her hand. It gave her comfort and strength strangely enough.

           ***

           The park bench where Sally sat seemed so far away from everyone despite the numerous amounts of people who jogged along the path beside her. Dogs barked and birds sang, but all that Sally heard was the sound of her heart shattering into a thousand pieces.

           Suddenly, out of the silence in her mind rang the familiar sound of her cellphone’s ringtone. She did not recognize the phone number but felt the need to pick up the call regardless. The man on the other end of the line claimed to be her grandfather, Edwin Heathrow III. Sally wasn’t even aware that her grandfather was still living. She hadn’t heard from him or of him since she was a child.

           Edwin heard of the tragic events involving Cindy and offered his deepest condolences. He then offered for Sally to come to visit him at his home upstate. After a brief pause to consider, Sally gladly accepted her grandfather’s invitation.

           The drive took less than an hour and when she arrived at the fifty-acre property, she looked up above the large, wrought-iron gates to see the words, “Heathrow Manor” Imprinted in stone. She pressed the intercom button and announced herself. The gates automatically swung open. The laneway leading through the estate was long and winding. Each side of the road was lined with brilliant yellow Bitternut Hickory trees. As the lane curved around a large pond to the left, Sally spotted the expansive stone manor house. She pulled up to the front entrance where a gentleman in a black tuxedo waited for her arrival.

           “Good evening, ma’am. I am Hanson, your grandfather’s servant. I would be happy to carry your luggage for you and show you to your quarters. Your grandfather will meet you in the study once you get settled in. Please, follow me.”

           Sally followed Hanson into the house. The foyer was bigger than her apartment back home. Red granite floors led to a beautifully hand-carved oak staircase that branched out in two directions at a central landing. She was taken to the bedroom that she would be staying in during her visit.

           The bedroom was magnificent. It was bright and inviting. The walls displayed several oil paintings and wooden carvings circled the room like sentries on guard. The four-poster bed sat at the far end of the room with a mattress so thick, that she would need to use a step stool to climb into it. Sally thanked Hanson for his assistance and told him that she would be back downstairs shortly.

           After freshening up, Sally made her way down to the study. As she entered, an elderly man stood up from a leather wing chair that sat in front of a roaring fire. For a man in his eighties, her grandfather looked spry and healthy. He approached her with his hand outstretched.

           “It is so wonderful to see you again after all of these years, Sally. Once again, I wish to offer my sympathy for your tragic loss. I only wish I had the opportunity to have met your little angel.”

           Sally thanked him for his kindness and his invitation. She did not realize that her family had come from money. As far as she was aware, she was the last one still living in the bloodline.

           They spent the next two hours talking about the lost moments and memories from the past. Her grandfather brought out photo albums of relatives that Sally never knew existed. She had lost her parents tragically when she was in her first year of college. Then she lost her husband, Cindy’s father in a freak boating accident. She was beginning to feel like she was cursed. When the sun had set, Hanson had entered the room informing his master that his sleeping quarters had been prepared.

           “Well, my dear, I think it is time for this old man to get his beauty sleep. I have to keep up my appearances in case I meet some young hotty one of these days, you know.”

           Sally laughed for the first time since that day in the playground. She said goodnight to her grandfather then went up to her room as well. After laying in bed, Sally turned toward the oil lamp that sat on the nightstand and lowered the wick, dimming the light in the room. The shadows danced joyfully across the walls.

           Just as she started to doze off and her eyes had closed, she heard a faint voice yelling, “Mommy!” Sally shot open her eyes and sat up. She could have sworn that she saw a shadow on the wall in front of her that was an exact likeness of Cindy. When no other voices came, Sally shrugged it off as her imagination was playing tricks on her and she fell into a deep sleep.

           The next morning when she had awakened, Sally decided to surprise her grandfather by making him breakfast, but when she entered the kitchen, it was her that was surprised. Her grandfather had already finished a plate of bacon and eggs.

           “Good morning sleepyhead! Have a seat. How do you like your eggs? Hanson here is an amazing cook. If you don’t want eggs, he can cook up something else for you.”

           “That won’t be necessary,” Sally replied. “Bacon and eggs sound wonderful. I take my eggs over-easy, Hanson. Thank you very much.”

           After breakfast, Sally and her grandfather toured the house and property. There were so many rooms and corridors, that it would be quite easy to get lost. In the back of the property, sat a very old cemetery. Edwin told Sally that it was the Heathrow cemetery. Many of their relatives had been buried there over several generations. Edwin pointed out where his plot was situated for when he passed on.

           ***

           Sally sat alone in the library while her grandfather napped. His collection of old books was extensive. She was browsing through novels on a lower shelf when a book on one of the upper shelves slid out and landed on the floor beside her. It was a first edition of the book, “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” by Lewis Carroll. It brought back fond memories of her childhood when her mother used to read it to her. Then she recalled that this was one of Cindy’s favorite stories as well. Sally and Cindy would act out the characters as they read.

           “My sweet little girl. I miss you so very much,” Sally stated to the empty room. “I wish you were here with me now to enjoy this grand old house. You would love it here.”

           The library door blew shut suddenly and Sally spun around to see if a window was open. None of them were. She then reopened the door and searched the hallway for someone who may have been there, but nobody was to be seen. She called out, “Is someone there?” No answer.

           Sally returned to the library and picked up the book, but instead of returning it to the shelf, she decided to bring it with her out to the garden where she sat on a porch swing. She read out loud to herself without realizing at first that she was. When she finally stopped herself, she heard another voice. “Read me some more, mommy.”

           Startled, Sally dropped the book to the ground. Was she going insane? Is she starting to hear things that weren’t there? She knew it wasn’t because she was sleepy again. It was midday and she was wide awake. She heard the voice once more.

           “Please, don’t stop now mommy. It is just getting to the good part.”

           This time Sally was positive that she was hearing her baby girl speaking, but how? She picked the book back up and read the rest of the story. All the while, she felt warmth as if Cindy was cuddled up against her.

           “I have to go for now mommy, but I will be back.” Sally looked at her watch and it read 3:22 pm.

           Later in the evening, after considering all possibilities, Sally decided to get the opinion of her grandfather about the events that had transpired. He had this to say.

           “Sally, my dear, there are things in this world that may not seem possible and may be difficult to explain, but they still exist. Cindy’s spirit is not the only one who travels these halls. I have heard and seen many myself. There is something about Heathrow Manor that draws our deceased family members to it. If you pay close attention, you will take notice of the others. Even your parents are around here at times. How do you think I was able to find out about Cindy’s death and get your phone number? I didn’t Goggle the information.”

           “I think you mean, Google, not Goggle, grandfather.”

           “Yes, yes, Google. The point is, these spirits have the opportunity to move on but they choose to stay among their family members instead. If you choose to stay here permanently, you are more than welcome to do so. That way, you can be near your loved ones forever.”

           Sally grew excited about the idea. From that day forth, she decided to try to have conversations with the spirits of those she lost. She knew that if she returned to the city, she would continue to be depressed which in turn would affect her job performance and eventually cause her great mental and possibly physical hardship. She knew that moving in with her grandfather would be in her best interest.

           As the days turned into months, the conversations began to increase. Sally not only spoke with her daughter but also her parents and husband. It was almost like having them there physically. She always looked forward to sharing her stories with her grandfather over breakfast as well.

           The next morning, Sally was excited to tell her grandfather about what Cindy had shared with her the night before, so she hurried down to the kitchen. As she reached the bottom of the stairs, however, Hanson had asked her to wait because he had something to tell her. Edwin had passed away peacefully in his sleep and the coroner was on his way to the house.

           Another funeral in less than a year. This one was much smaller, however. With no family members and her grandfather’s limited list of living friends, the funeral home only had a handful of guests. Most were people who delivered supplies or groceries to the estate regularly.

           Sally and Hanson were the only ones in attendance for the reading of the Will. Hanson was given the option to stay on with full pay if he chose to or he could choose to retire with a substantial severance package.

           Sally was left with the deed to the property and all that was on it. She was also left with an extensive fortune that had been placed in trust in her name. Sally was sad at her grandfather’s passing but happy that she would not have to leave her new home.

           Hanson chose to stay on for as long as he was physically able to do so and Sally was glad. She would enjoy the company. She began to treat Hanson more like a family member than a servant by sharing the workload and stories of her conversations with him. Hanson, in turn, always made time for Sally when she needed someone to talk to. Hanson always enjoyed hearing of how his former master was getting on now that he had passed on. Hanson made a habit of preparing a cup of hot coffee for Edwin every morning and set it in front of his place at the table.

           Heathrow Manor was more than a home to Sally now; it was a rebirth. She felt alive once more and this was all because of the dead.