A Forever Stay

The hotel’s presence swallowed them in its shadow even as the midday sun shone brightly above. They needed a place to stay while they took in the sights and sounds of the wilderness outside the city. Neither of them was the backpacking type but Mark was the more adventurous of the two, so willing to try new things and take some risks. They were both in their twenties. Mark worked in finance, which afforded him a comfortable lifestyle and frequent vacations. He was tall, confident and restless. Jill was very much the same except for the lack of a career.

           “You told me it would be a nice lodge in the woods, Mark,” she said. “This looks like Dracula’s vacation home.”

           The hotel was an imposing red-brick gothic mansion built in the middle of pristine woodlands. It was hard to tell what was on the other side due to the enormous height of its front façade.

           “You want to do the honours?” Mark asked, gesturing towards the huge knocker on the door. It depicted a bearded man holding a scythe in one hand and an hourglass in the other.

           “My God, it’s really heavy,” she said.

           “Use both hands.”

           She heaved the knocker up and let it fall back down, slamming into the door with a thud. This was immediately followed by the muted chiming of a grandfather clock somewhere beyond the door. After a short while the door opened and an elderly lady wearing a house servant’s apron answered the door. Her hair was done up and held together under a white cap.

           “May I help you?” she said.

           “Yes, I called earlier about the room, I wonder if it’s still available.”

           “Why yes, of course, we have many vacant rooms. Please, do come in.”

           The housemaid held out her hand and ushered them into the house. The grand foyer was all mahogany except for the birch flooring. The upstairs was connected by a large winding staircase on either side of the wall. A chandelier with unlit candles hung from the ceiling.

“This place is massive. Even bigger from the inside.”

           “It is quite impressive,” said Jill.

           “I’ll fetch Mr. Goddard, please wait here.”

           The two of them stood there scanning their eyes and gawking at the ceiling, walls and adjacent rooms.

           “How do you think our room’s gonna look?” asked Mark.

           “I don’t like it here; it gives me the creeps.”

           “What? What are you talking about? It’s gorgeous and costs us almost nothing to rent a room here.”

           “Can’t we find someplace else to stay?”

           “It’s too late now, after our little detour earlier. There aren’t any other hotels or B&Bs for miles.”

           They heard loud footfalls echoing on the hardwood flooring. A man in his early thirties followed by the housemaid entered the room and smiled. The man wore a tailored dark blue suit, clean-shaven and stood with a sort of military posture.

           “Welcome… welcome,” he said. “We are glad you could join us; tell me did you find the journey here to your satisfaction?”

           “Yes, it was quite… to our satisfaction. Actually, we are just happy to have found such a gorgeous place to stay for such a reasonable price.” Mark gestured at the large foyer.

           A look of concern at once fell over the man’s face. He leaned over to the housemaid, who was a full head and a half shorter, and whispered something in her ear.

           “Will you excuse us for a moment?” He smiled again, pivoted 180 degrees on his heels, and disappeared along with the housemaid into one of the adjoining rooms.

           “To your satisfaction?” Jill said, leaning in towards Mark.

           “Maybe they speak differently in this part.”

           “Well, he is good-looking, that’s for sure.”

           Mark took a step back. “Guess that means you’ve changed your opinion on this place?”

           “No… no, it just means one less negative thing about staying here.”

           “One less negative or something very positive?”

           She smirked and grabbed Mark’s shoulder. The man once again entered the foyer, this time the housemaid’s head was bent and her gaze lowered to the floor.

           “I do apologize but I feel there has been a rather unfortunate miscommunication on our part,” he said as his eyes followed the housemaid exiting the foyer. “We do not allow guests to stay at this residence, in fact no one stays at this residence except us. It’s our one rule”

           “Oh, that’s strange, on the ad it said…”

           “Yes, I believe it was worded incorrectly by one of our staff. You see, we have specially built domiciles around our property which we prefer our guests to enjoy. They are of a more… modern construction.” The word modern exited the man’s lips in a drawn-out fashion. “I hope this will not sour our relationship moving forward.”

           “No… not at all,” Jill said.

           “I was worried there for a moment, I thought you were going to kick us out,” Mark said.

           The man feigned a laugh.

           “That won’t be necessary we have more than enough space for our potential guests and plenty of amenities that I’m sure you will find to your satisfaction.”

           “So, this place is your house, right?” Mark said, scanning the foyer’s ceiling.

           “Yes, that is correct. My family and I live here. We rarely leave the premises, and the staff are also advised to retire to the shared dormitories.”

           At that moment, the housemaid walked in carrying two bags and an oversized ring of keys, which jangled as she entered.

           “Ah, here we are, Ms. Christianson will guide you to your rooms, which should be located immediately to the east and south of our house. We hope you will enjoy your stay.”

           The man courtesied the two of them with a slight bow, turned on his heels and walked back down the large hallway.

           “Please follow me.”

***

           In the morning, the couple went out to enjoy the wilderness and do some backpacking in the mountains. There were several other guests also staying at various smaller houses scattered around the property. All the guesthouses were of a different construction than the mansion. More modern, as the man mentioned. The rooms were fairly well-furnished and decorated, much akin to the average bed and breakfast one would find. They returned at dusk, walking across the open expanse of property under the watchful gaze of the giant mansion and its dark turrets.

           “Jill… Jill, hey come over here.”

           “Mark, I’ve already seen it, I get it, it’s nice.”

           “Not that. Look inside, what do you see?”

           “What? I don’t see anything.”

           “Exactly, I noticed the same the thing last night as well. Didn’t the guy say they lived there?”

           “So what?”

           “Well, there is nothing inside of there. No family, no lights, no movement… nothing.”

           “Maybe they’re on vacation?” Jill shrugged and began to walk off in the direction of their domicile. “Let’s go I’m tired.”

           “No, I’m going to go have a closer look.”

           “Mark, no. Leave it alone.”

           Mark had already left Jill behind and was beelining it across the enormous lawn. Jill threw her hands up and followed him. Mark walked up to the east side wall and squared up to one of the oak panelled windows. No sign of life inside, not even a distant light in some far-off room. Jill caught up with him and curiously looked inside as well.

           “See? I told you. Strange, isn’t it?”

           “He did say that the staff sleep elsewhere, so what do you expect?”

           Jill flashed him a blank stare. Mark looked at her then back at the window. He eyed up the corners of the window and pressed both palms up against the pane.

           “You can’t be serious, Mark.”

The window jerked upward slightly then stopped.

“What is it? I can’t see.”

           “There,” said Jill, pointing down at the bottom right of the window. A latch was hooked onto the window frame, preventing it from being lifted up. Mark let the window down gently.

“Mark, let’s just leave.”

           Mark looked at Jill and took off his rucksack. “Not yet.” He rifled around in a front pocket eventually pulling out a multitool and flipping through it.

           “You’re not really going to break into there, are you?”

           “We’re not breaking in… just having a look.”

           He handed the multitool to Jill. “Will you?”

           Mark again pressed his palms and lifted the window slightly. “Slide that thing under there and unhook the latch.”

She reached in and jiggled the tool back and forth. It eventually caught onto something but then slipped out of the latch.

“Come on, try for real.”

“I am, I am.”

           The tool slipped out again.

           “Try angling further under the window frame.”

           She reached with the multitool under the window frame as far as it could go.

           “Now, take your time.”

           She felt the multitool hook onto the latch more sternly.

           “Now lift up slightly.”

           With some effort, the latch slid out of the window frame hole and made a muted metallic sound, like that of a coin being dropped onto wood.

           “You think anyone heard us?” She said nervously as she contracted the blade.”

           Mark ignored her and lifted the window.

           “Come on,” he extended his hand. “You go in first.”

           After a moment both of them were inside the mansion. As with the foyer and hallway, every floorboard in the room they stepped on squeaked and groaned. Mark pulled out a flashlight and shone the light in the room. In one corner was an old oak panelled fireplace with large circular mirror hanging above. Old Victorian chairs were placed about the room with small two-person tables, equidistance from one another. Each table had a silver tea set on it with ornate designs carved into it.

           “Mark, these look gorgeous, they must be ancient. How do these people afford it?”

           “Let’s go find out.”

           They continued out into the hallway, which in both directions was pitch black except for Mark’s flashlight. Each room’s doors were left open and everything inside looked as if part of a collection in a museum. They stumbled upon a reading room, which housed books stretching as far back as the early medieval period. A large dining room with silverware and porcelain tableware, all sitting behind glass displays or kept in large cabinets. None of it locked up. Finally, there were countless bedrooms on the second floor, which had beds that looked like they had never before been slept in. All of them empty.

           “Does anybody actually live here?” asked Jill.

           They were both standing in a pristine-looking guest bedroom with the bed neatly made for whoever might stay there.

           “Gotta hand it to those maids, they know how to keep a place spotless.”

           “No kidding, right? You’d think with a giant place as old as this we’d at least find some dirt or I don’t know… dust.”

           “This is old money, Jill. These people don’t have to work a day in their lives, they just pay others to do it for them while they are away on vacation.” As they exited the guest bedroom Mark glanced at his watch, it was half past twelve. “Think there’s anyone in the master bedroom?” Mark asked motioning with his eyes towards the room at the end of the hallway. Jill flashed him a smile and the two headed down the hallway. Along the walls hung portraits of the family. Mark passed his flashlight over each one as they walked along.

Husband.

Wife.

Son.

Daughter.

“Seems people do actually live here, or at least their portraits do.”

And then all of them together in one portrait. The clothes worn in the portraits appeared at least a century old. The wife and daughter wore large, flowing dresses with their hair done-up, while the husband and son both wore tailored suits and bowties. Before the master bedroom hung one final portrait of an old woman seated in the living room surrounded by the family on all sides.

“Grandma?” asked Jill.

“Looks that way.”

The old woman in the portrait was wearing all black with a large bonnet on her head. On her lap she held a 17^th century Baroque clock and a book with an old man on the cover. The old man held a scythe and an hourglass.

“Hey, isn’t that the same guy we saw on the front door?” asked Jill.

           “Yeah, I think you’re right. Must be their grandfather or something.”

           The couple went into the enormous master bedroom and saw much of the same as elsewhere. Pristineness, untouched extravagance and a museum-like quality to everything. A grandfather clock sat in the corner of the room. Its hands were stuck at one minute before midnight.

           “Must not be working,” Mark said, scanning his flashlight over the body of the clock. He squatted down to have a closer look. Near the centre of the clock the same old man was carved into the wooden panelling. Long beard, hourglass, scythe. Mark ran his fingers along the clock, which felt cold to the touch.

           “There’s no photos anywhere?” asked Jill. “I mean, none of the rooms have any photos of the kids or pets or the couple. Nothing.”

           “Yeah, it’s strange. I think we can go now.” Mark rose and turned around to see Jill’s look of concern. “You might have been right this time. Let’s go.”

The two walked down the hallway at a quickened pace as the floorboards groaned underneath their feet. Mark checked his watch at the top of the staircase. Both hands had stopped moving and appeared stuck. He shone his flashlight on the watch and saw the time as one minute to midnight. Holding the flashlight with his teeth, he tapped the watch.

           “Dead.”

           “What?”

           “Timepiece gave out. Must be the battery.”

           He took the flashlight back out of his mouth and followed Jill down the stairs. At first the foyer appeared as dark as before. But with each step they took down the staircase, the foyer grew increasingly brighter. Sunlight from outside was shining in through the windows of the house. Finally, reaching the foot of the staircase, they could see a bright midday sun shining through the windows, flooding the house with light. With a shaking hand Mark clicked off the flashlight and hid it back in his rucksack. The couple stood there in silence. Jill huddled next to Mark and grabbed his arm. He looked down at his watch again.

One minute to midnight.

           “How long were we in here for, Mark?” asked Jill.

           “I don’t know, timepiece is… dead.”

           They both heard the familiar sound of the wood panelling creaking and groaning as someone was walking towards them down the hallway. At first just one set of feet, but slowly joined by others until finally a family seemingly materialized out of the rays of sun coming in from outside.

           Husband.

           Wife.

           Son.

           Daughter.

           All of them dressed in the same 19^th attire as in the upstairs portraits.

           “Mommy, who’s that?” asked the daughter, looking up at her mother.

           “They’re guests.”

           “Guests? I don’t remember us having invited any guests,” the son said.

           “They were staying with us long ago, son.”

           The man walked forward in front of the frozen couple and graciously smiled. “I believe we’ve met before,” said the man. “I never properly introduced myself, my name is Francois Goddard and this is my family. My wife Elena.”

           “Pleasure to meet you.”

           The couple gulped and nodded their heads.

           “My son, William.”

           “Dad, why are they here?”

           “And my daughter Anna.”

           The little girl curtsied in silence.

           “I’m really sorry for… for,” Mark spoke through trembling lips.

           “Oh, that’s okay, we understand. We occasionally receive guests like yourself whose curiosity… let’s say, gets the best of them.”

           “Will you call the police on us?” Asked Jill as she gripped Mark’s arm.

           “What? No, of course not,” said Elena. “We are honoured to have you as our guests.”

           Jill tilted her head, “really?”

           “Of course. We forgive you.”

           “Oh, thank you, so much, and once again, we apologize for disturbing your very beautiful home.”

           The two turned around and walked towards the front door with downcast eyes. Mark reached for the door handle.

           “I’m afraid it’s not as straightforward as that,” said Francois.

           Mark’s hand fell to his side and the pair turned back around.

“You see, long ago this place we call our home was blessed, although admittedly some may call it a curse, with the ability to be outside of the normal laws of space and time.”

“So, what do you mean, the police can’t do anything here?”

           “No, sweetie,” said Elena, stepping forward. “You see, time does not affect us in here.”

           “Or you two ‘guests’,” added William.

           “Yes, I’m afraid after your… shall we say, unfortunate choice of actions, several decades have elapsed. We are uncertain how many exactly.” Francois gestured behind him at the guesthouses outside. “We rent our domiciles on the property in order to have some money to care for the lawn and greenery around our property, however…”

           “… we don’t really have a need for upkeep within the house itself,” said Elena. “Time and all that it brings, the suffering, the lost loved ones, we are not affected by that cruelty here.”

           “Nor is our home,” said Francois. “We needn’t worry about maintenance outside of the laws of time and space.”

           “However, the outside world still follows these laws, including our lawn and everything on our property.”

           “And even if we wanted to, we cannot let you go back.”

           “Your family and friends probably think you’re dead anyway,” added William curtly.

           Elena shot him a cold stare.

           The couple took a step back with dropped jaws.

           “In short, you are unable to go back to your timeline,” said Francois.

           “We’re sorry,” said Elena.

           “You can play with us now!” Said little girl, waving a doll she held.

           Jill fainted on the hardwood floor with a thud.