Nathan's Room

I opened the door to the bedroom that Uncle Thomas had set aside for me. It used to be the attic, so it was dusty and the roof rafters were all exposed. It had one window, to the left of the bed. There was a chill in the air as if it were October, even though the June sun was shining through the curtains. 

As soon as the door creaked open I knew that something was different about this room compared to the rest of the house. It was far away from any noise, and yet it wasn’t silent because of the sounds of settling in the staircase below. If it wasn’t for the one window, the room would be completely dark at night. However, there was something even more unsettling than the random creaks and moans of the wood around me. There was this feeling I had immediately upon entering… a feeling that whomever used to live here hadn’t left. I felt anticipation of someone else entering and reclaiming the room as their own. 

Uncle Thomas said that he bought the house from the historical society, and that no one had lived there in over 100 years. Of course, whomever used to live here died years ago, and no family members showed up to the auction to claim the property. Yet, I couldn’t shake the feeling. I felt uneasy, like I was being given a stolen treasure. I loved this room, and I knew I could live here and be safe, at least for a little while. So of course, I tried to ignore the anxiety within me and settle in as quickly as possible. 

That is, until I saw him.

I had been in the house for a little less than a week when I woke up early one Sunday morning to find someone sitting in the window cill staring out into the sunrise. 

“Shit!” I yelled as I rubbed the sleepy from my eyes to see if what I thought I saw was real. I looked at him, and he acted like he hadn’t heard me at all. He was staring out of the window, but his eyes looked like he was unfocused and in another world mentally. He had dark, long hair, golden eyes that were reflecting the sky, and was of medium height and thin. He looked like he may have been between 16-18 years old. 

“Hello?” I asked, fearful of his response.

He looked at me, said nothing, then turned and looked back out the window.

“Excuse me? Who… I mean what… I mean… “

“Nathan.” He said without looking at me, like he knew exactly what I must have been thinking. 

“Your name is Nathan? How did you get up here? Who let you in? Do you know my uncle?” 

“I am Nathan. I know no one anymore. I live here.” 

This couldn’t be real. I knew it couldn’t be real. My psychiatrist put me on a different medication last week, so of course this has to be one of those rare side effects that no one ever gets. I was convinced that this was a hallucination, and that I could just go back to sleep and wake up and everything would be normal again. 

“Your name?” 

His voice was strong, but not too deep. It was smooth and knowing, as if he knew the answer to the question he just asked, but wanted me to say it instead. 

“Valerie. My name is Valerie. But who are you? Where did you come from?”

“I am Nathan. I come from here. This is my father’s house.”

“No, this is my uncle’s house… And this is my room. How did you get in here?”

And then, he started laughing at me. Laughing, like I had told the best joke he’d heard in quite a while. I knew then that this might not be a simply explained scenario. And I got chills when he laughed. I knew something was off, and I knew instinctively that Uncle Thomas was still downstairs asleep, and had no idea that this boy was in my room. 

Then it hit me. Then all of a sudden I knew what question to ask. 

“How old are you..?” I almost whispered the question, out of fear of the answer. 

“I was born in 1804.” He replied, sternly. 

1804. That makes him… No. no way. 

Then he gave me a knowing smile. And said, “Yes. My last living day was June 10th, 1821. I was 17.”  

I knew I was staring, but I couldn’t stop. He didn’t look like a… like someone who’d been dead for nearly 200 years. He was clean, though I could tell by his clothes that he was being honest about the time period he lived in. 

“You look pale,” his teeth were showing as he knew how silly that sounded coming out of his mouth. “Let’s go for a walk.” 

I don’t know what possessed me to trust this boy, but I got up and got dressed as if on command. I knew that this could be something I’d regret, but I also knew I’d have regrets if I didn’t go with him. So we went. 

We went downstairs and I left a note on the counter for my uncle, telling him that I’d gone out to look around some old bookstores I saw on my way in. 

Nathan smiled again, and we were off. He took me to the river and showed me where he was baptized. Then he took me to a small shack in a wooded area, where he and his siblings went to school.

  We walked through town, and nobody noticed Nathan at all. I couldn’t tell if it was because they couldn’t see him, or because people were so wrapped up in themselves and their own world to notice. 

While walking, we talked about so many things. He told me about his life, and how he was both happy and sad to no longer be human. I asked so many questions, most of which I’m sure made me sound ignorant and unlearned in the field of the afterlife. He didn’t seem to mind, though. He answered all of my questions with patience and kindness. 

“I’d like you to meet someone.” Nathan said as we turned toward an open field. 

“Okay, but it doesn’t seem like we’re headed anywhere with people.” I replied. 

He took me through a field of wild dandelions, then through some trees, past a stream, and finally to an old burial ground that looked as though people hadn’t been there in fifty years. 

“Here.” 

“Where?”

“Look. Just over that small hill. Here she comes.”

I waited, for what seemed like forever, until I saw her walking toward us. It was difficult to see through the piercing afternoon sun, but she was hard to miss once I caught a glimpse of her. She was tall and lanky, long curly dark hair, wearing a brown dress and no shoes. Her skin was olive, her eyes were golden, and she looked like a much prettier and feminine version of Nathan. 

“This is my sister, Ruth.”

“So nice to finally meet you, Valarie. I’ve seen great things.” 

“Hi. I’m sorry, seen?” I turned to Nathan, letting him see how confused I was. “What does she mean by that?”

He stood tall and looked at her, then back at me.

“Ruth sees what we cannot. She can see your future and past, and she knows things we cannot know.” 

I stood there, trying to soak in all of this information. First, I meet a ghost. Then he takes me to a burial ground to meet his sister, who knows the future?? This was beginning to feel like too much. 

“What have you seen??” I asked impatiently.

“I can only see if I cannot say.” This was Ruth’s only reply. 

I wanted terribly to pry and to know what she knew, but I could tell by the tone in her response that it would get me nowhere. So I decided to let it go. For now. 

“I know you have many questions,” began Nathan, “Unfortunately I can only answer a few. I knew I needed to be in the room today when Ruth told me about you. You have been struggling. You feel out of place. You feel unsafe, so you came here.”

I stood there, staring at his dark, serious, soft face. I was stunned. 

“You are safe now. You may not see us, but we will always be here. You live in a home where you are never alone. You are the new inheritance.”

* * *

I woke up. 

It was a dream.

But why?

I know why. Because he was right. I don’t know who he is, or if he even is anything, but he was right. Even in my dreams. I have been afraid. I have felt uneasy and alone. I needed this. 

Was he an angel, and maybe not a ghost? Or maybe he is no one, and it all really was just my subconscious. Either way, thank you to Nathan. I have found a home here.