Timely Action

Fall, 1988

It was a beautiful fall day. The crowd was huddled up in their warm coats and looking forward to the promise of hot apple cider and apple pie after the ceremony. The mayor went up on stage to a round of applause. 

“Fifty years ago, this town placed a time capsule in the middle of Town Square to celebrate Bloomsburg’s 100th anniversary. Today, we celebrate our fine town with a beautiful fall festival, parade, and fireworks. Welcome to Bloomsburg’s 150th anniversary!” The crowd all clapped and cheered. “Now, it is time to open the time capsule. Walter, if you please.” Walter and another man brought the time capsule up on stage. “We have two cameras trained on the time capsule and a large screen so everyone can see the moment we open the time capsule. Are you ready?” The crowd stamped and shouted while the cameras were put in place. “Countdown: in 10, 9…” The crowd started counting down with him. “3, 2, 1!” The mayor pushed open up the lid. Everyone gasped. A few people screamed. The mayor stood there in shock.

Walter, the mayor’s aide, quickly went up to the time capsule and closed the top. He said into the microphone, “This will clearly be investigated.” Then he asked everybody to enjoy the rest of the festival. He pulled the mayor aside, and they began to talk. The crowd slowly scattered. Police sirens were heard in the distance.

When Police Chief Martin and Deputy Chamberlain arrived on the scene, they ordered other officers to interview witnesses and took a look at the time capsule themselves. One witness said, “All I could see was her face and her eyes staring right at me through the screen!” Another said, “I remember her eyes were closed, almost in a prayer.” A festival worker said, “She looked like she just died yesterday!” Everyone asked the all important question, “How did she get in there?”

50 years ago

Charlotte couldn’t take it anymore. Every night, her husband spent all of their extra money on alcohol. Prohibition had ended just 5 years ago, but Charlotte wished it was still happening. Matthew drank every night and would come home upset over something or other. Last night, he came home upset that supper was cold even though he was 4 hours late. Then he had beat Charlotte and kicked her in the stomach. 

Charlotte could still feel the baby moving inside but endangering the baby was the last straw. How could she subject her child to this man? She couldn’t live with herself if something happened to her baby. She decided to go to the County Commissioner’s office and file for divorce. 

Waiting for an answer, she tried to stay at her parents’ house in downtown Bloomsburg. They would have none of it. “Your husband is your family now.” Even when she showed them her bruises, they still were unsympathetic. “What happens at home is between a husband and his wife.” She had no choice but to continue to stay with Matthew. 

Three weeks passed. Charlotte would be giving birth in a couple weeks. She was anxious to leave Matthew before the child was born. The letter she had been waiting for arrived in the mail. They had approved her claim for divorce, the abuse was evident by the pictures of the bruises the Commissioner had insisted on taking, but the child could not live with her. They cited the need for the child to be raised by his father and the lack of money Charlotte had. 

Feeling lost and alone, Charlotte wandered the crowded streets of Bloomsburg. She was stopped by a newsboy trying to sell the Press Enterprise. The headlines were about the time capsule due to be buried next week. Residents were invited to bring letters or small mementos to Town Hall for consideration. They were also looking for a secretary to handle the logistics. Charlotte applied for the job, saying she was a hard worker and would only be available for about a week anyways. They gave her the position. 

She had the hard job of deciding what could and couldn’t go in the time capsule. Anything not family friendly went in the trash. Many people wrote letters or included stories about their families. The local school decided whose essays and drawings would go in based on a fun contest! 

On the last day before the time capsule was to be buried, Charlotte was getting more and more nervous. She hadn’t yet saved up enough money for a train ticket to a place where Matthew would never find her. She couldn’t stay with him. The papers for the time capsule were chosen. She started to fill the capsule. A man came in with a last-minute addition to the time capsule. “My wife wanted to include this letter. I wrote it to her in the trenches outside of Somme, the night before a major battle.” Charlotte took the letter and read the heartfelt words of a man who loved his wife. She held back tears as she put it in the capsule. No one would ever love her in that way. 

Her bosses left for the day before she was done. Charlotte wanted to make sure everything was perfect. How sad that not even half of the capsule was filled. She was just placing the last few papers when the pain started, sudden and fast. Charlotte had to think fast. There was no way she was bringing this baby home to Matthew, to his hands, to the bruises. She wrote a note and stuffed it into the bottom of the time capsule. She put a couple blankets on top of the paper. Then, she stepped into the capsule and closed the top. 

Fall, 1988

Chief Martin and Deputy Chamberlain were the first to inspect the time capsule closely. Chief Martin opened the sealed lid. “Wow, she looks almost perfect. Are we sure she’s been dead for 50 years?” Mayor Green stepped in. “I can assure you that this capsule has not been touched for 50 years. There was a lock installed 20 years ago after a vandal attempted to break in. He, of course, was apprehended before he could open the capsule. No one has attempted since.”

Deputy Chamberlain interrupted the musings of Mayor Green. “I think there’s something under here…” He put on a pair of gloves and lifted the blanket from the young woman’s shoulders. In her arms was a clearly newborn baby; the umbilical cord was still attached, connecting mother and baby. 

The story and letter the young woman wrote were later published in the local Press Enterprise:

Fifty years ago, Charlotte Williams disappeared. Her husband, Matthew Williams, reported Charlotte missing the week after the time capsule was put in the ground. He said in the report that he assumed that she had run off to live with family but that they hadn’t heard from her. He was very concerned because they had a child due soon. Charlotte was never found…

...until now! Charlotte was discovered during the time capsule ceremony in front of the whole town. Residents were shocked by the almost perfectly preserved young lady. Rumors spread that her murderer had locked her in there. Those rumors can now be laid to rest. Charlotte narrated her own story in a letter found in the time capsule, which has been exclusively given to the Press Enterprise to publish.

To whomever finds me,

I face the finish of my life under my own volition. My child and I cannot live under the constant tyranny my husband Matthew displays on a consistent basis. My child will not be born to live under his abusive reign. 

I wish my child to be named Charlie Williams (Charles, if it’s a boy; Charlotte, if it’s a girl). I want to be buried separately from my husband. I want to be free from him in the next life like I never was in this one. 

Sincerely,

Charlotte