Photo by Caitlin Taylor on Unsplash
Here I was now – on my way to the past.
I sold my apartment, resigned as a private tutor, and left everything familiar just like that. The salary was thrice the amount I was making and the rent to my new home was pre-paid three months in advance.
I would be able to save up to $1,000 a month and still have enough left to indulge in my time-consuming hobby – thriller books.
The offer was too tempting to refuse.
Besides, after my mother’s death, there was nothing left for me to do in the city. I had no family I was aware of, no friends, or goals.
I lived day to day; there were days when I skipped meals; even breathing felt like a waste of time. It was time to change things up.
That phone call arrived at the right time.
I was contemplating ending my life.
When I learnt that I was returning to Dew Shire, I knew that I had done the right thing by accepting this job offer.
During my adolescence and even during my adulthood, I never even once thought of visiting that place.
For a very long time, I even forgot about its existence. I erased every memory I had of it. Still, Dew Shire called me back home where I belonged.
I received this offer for a reason, it was not a coincidence. I just knew. There was something very ominous and arcane about this place, one that gave me goosebumps and a dry throat.
“How much do I owe?”
“Nothing. Please be safe and,” the chauffeur rummaged through his pockets until he handed me a business card with his phone number. “Call me if anything should happen.”
I stuffed the card in my pocket and closed the door.
In front of me was a narrow alley, which led to a barred gate. There were towering trees on either side of me and well beyond the steel gates.
I waved the chauffeur farewell and watched him drive away before advancing.
The round moon was the only thing welcoming me as I made my way into the sleeping hamlet and ambled through the lone trail until I saw the first of several huts on my right.
I was told to continue down the alley until I reached the red brick school building to the left across a dilapidated building, which used to be a church.
I readjusted my backpack and sniffed the cool air. It smelled like downpour and earth even though the cobbled alley was not damp with rain.
I tried to reminisce my childhood but there was not even a single memory left of this place in my head.
When I finally reached the school building, a person greeted me and offered to carry my backpack. It was a man in his late thirties I think. He was wearing this very stale and textured brown blazer over a white shirt and a tweed green-brown waistcoat.
It was 2023. This man looked as if he was still stuck in the 1920s with his overly formal wear.
“Come; I’ll show you where you will be staying, miss.”
We entered the school building and scurried through a winding corridor until we arrived in front of an office. Rather than an office, though, it was a bedroom with its own draped bed, desk, and a redwood cabinet.
I could tell from the dustless window frames and the fragrance of lavender that someone had been in here to clean up.
After helping me unpack, the man bid me goodnight and said Mary Magdalene (he called her Mary) would arrive in the forenoon to show me around the village and greet the children.
I locked the door after him and sank into the office chair. Somehow, perhaps because I was exhausted from the three-hour journey, I soon fell asleep in that position.
A remote din startled me. I gasped and frantically looked around the crammed office room until my eyes landed on the door. With my heart in my mouth, I stumped towards it.
I could hear voices on the other side. Unbeknownst, I clutched the knob and tightened my grip. The murmur was inexplicable.
When I finally opened the door, I came face-to-face with a young woman and the stranger who welcomed me last night. They both crammed up before the woman spoke to me.
“You must be Ana Carlton, we talked on the phone.” The young woman reached her hand out.
“I’m Mary.”
I shook her outstretched, cold hand. She looked younger than I imagined. Even her voice lacked the agitation I recalled.
Her speech and mannerisms were eloquent and graceful. She was dressed in a similar fashion to the guy next to her.
I unwittingly looked down on my own attire and pondered whether I was the odd one in this god-forsaken place.
“You seem surprised, Miss Carlton.”
I scratched the back of my head with an edgy snigger and changed the subject. “Just a little tired. It was a long drive. Are the kids here?”
“They’ve been waiting for you. Shall we?”
We strode down the winding corridor. It was still too early in the morning hours, so the lights were turned on. The countryside, from what I read, was usually much darker in the mornings than what they were in the cities.
I noticed that one of the rectangular lamps flickered as we passed by.
The pair in front of me did not speak or strike up a conversation with me as we turned right around the corner and entered yet another corridor. We advanced in the quietude until the duo stopped in front of an ajar door.
I could hear chitchat from the small gap.
I left my phone on the desk so I did not know the exact time, though.
Mary stepped aside and gestured for me to enter. The small classroom was hardly functional; the dirtied beige walls were peeling, the loosely hanging lamp flickered and moved at each movement, and the floor was grating.
The entirety of the classroom told me time had not been kind to it. Apart from the old-fashioned blackboard and desks, this place could barely be called a place of education.
I lost my motivation and will the second I entered this drab place and, eventually, let my eyes wander to the only row of desks before me.
The children, three girls and two boys, stood up as soon as they became aware of us. They observed me with as much inquisitiveness as I did.
I studied them one at a time until my eyes wandered to the last desk, where a skinny girl with plaids quickly averted her gaze upon seeing me glimpse at her.
“This is your new teacher, children. Remember what I told you and behave.” Mary directed her honeyed and rotund voice at me. “I’ll take my leave then. Please call if anything should bother you.”
I nodded and watched as the pair walked out. Numerous eyes were, in return, observing me with great keenness. I cleared my throat to disperse the hardened mood and took a seat at my designated desk to the far left of the blackboard.
This was my first time being in a classroom; ever since I graduated, I had only worked privately as a tutor and with only one child at a time.
I was strung out – anyone in my stead would feel that way – but it was not anything unpleasant. I looked forward to the challenge. Besides, I thought, as I looked up at the alarmed faces, these kids must be more nervous than I was.
“My name is Ana but call me whatever suits you,” I began and naturally paused before asking the children to introduce themselves, starting from the left.
“My name’s Michaela and I’m seven years old, miss.”
Michaela had straight blond hair and a pair of emerald eyes. She was nowhere near a woman, but I could tell from her confidence that she would grow up into a Wonder Woman one day.
I nodded and looked at the boy next to her.
“I’m Derrick, miss.”
Derrick had tanned skin and curly hair. His eyes were almost pitch-black and boundless.
He lacked Michaela’s confidence and looked like he would rather be anywhere else but in this classroom.
I smiled and let the girl next to him take over.
“My name is Laila, miss, and I’m seven like Michaela.”
Laila was as white as a sheet. Her porcelain skin matched that of her black, velvety hair.
Her eyes were ocean blue and she had high cheekbones. She reminded me of a black-haired Marilyn Monroe.
As soon as her turn was over, she dropped her eyes and bashfully looked at the boy next to her.
“I’m Hans and I’ll become the mayor one day!”
The other kids burst into stifled laughter and I belatedly joined them until my eyes landed on the girl with the plaids. My smile faded; she was the only one staring blankly at her desk.
“And, what about you? What’s your name?” I asked amidst the lightened mood that soon hardened with my sudden question.
The girl with the plaid flinched and would not look at me. Hans spoke in her stead.
“She’s Vera, miss. She doesn’t speak much.”
“Is that so?” I replied. “In any case, I’m glad to meet you, Vera.”
We spent the rest of the morning studying a book I brought with me. The children were exceptional readers, so I figured their former teacher had taught them well.
By the time the clock struck twelve, I ended our first school day and was handing out the homework I had prepared when Vera grabbed my sleeve. The other children had already left at that point.
I patiently waited for her to speak her mind, but she would not say a word – or let me go.
“Is something the matter, Vera?”
She glimpsed at me. I could tell that she wanted to say something but couldn’t. I placed my hand over hers and smiled.
“What is it? Do the others bother you?”
She shook her head.
“It’s okay, you can tell me what’s the matter. I’ll keep it a secret.”
I finally heard her voice. Still, she would not look at me. It was as if her whole world would crash and shatter if she did so. I could not help but wonder why she acted the way she did. I had seen my fair share of shy children, but she was different.
Laila was shy but Vera she… I didn’t know how to put it… strange or maybe antsy, even?
“C- can you take me home, miss?”
“Take you home?” I repeated, bewildered. “Do you live far from here?”
She shook her head. Then why? But if I asked her this, wouldn’t she lose heart and stop opening up to me?
I patted her hand and beamed to assure her that it was okay. She finally locked eyes with me and stood up in a jiffy. Before I knew of it, she seized my hand and led the way.
Such an icy-cold hand, I thought and tried to wriggle my hand a tad from her tight grasp. She held onto me for dear life.
We were passing by the coal-black church when she finally, and rather abruptly, let go of my hand.
I broke off and followed her gaze fixed on the crumbling church. As I was about to ask her what was wrong, she dashed into my arms with wide-open eyes and quivered.
Startled, I looked around us and then returned my gaze to the church where the oval gate was slightly cracked. What in the world had she seen? I did not dare to ask.
Vera lived across from the grocer’s shop. I knocked a few times before the door cracked open and a sturdily built woman in a filthy apron and greasy, dishevelled hair emerged.
She scowled as we locked eyes, then finally noticed the skinny girl tightly holding onto my arm and weighing me down. The woman, whom I assumed was Vera’s mother, swiftly snatched the girl and dragged her in through the crack.
I was about to ask if I could speak to her when the door slammed shut right in front of me. Dumbfounded, I turned around and focused on the church in the distance before shifting my gaze to the grocer’s shop.
The owner quickly averted his gaze upon locking eyes with me. I glimpsed at the church again before making my way to the shop. The bells rang as soon as I entered and made my presence known, although I was certain the owner already knew.
I grabbed some dairy products, coffee, and utensils for supper. When I was about to pay, the owner quickly glimpsed up and addressed me. I studied his hands and noticed he was trembling and fidgeting. Even his eyeballs quivered.
“You must be careful around here…”
I knew that already, but why did I have to hear this exact phrase from someone already living here? I could understand the chauffeur – an outsider – but why would this person tell me this as well?
Just as I was about to speak my mind, we both turned our heads towards the door, startled.
The bells rang.
The guy who followed Mary around entered. The owner fell silent and quickly put my stuff in a plastic bag as if to tell me to hurry and leave. He wouldn’t even accept the cash I gave him.
I looked over my shoulder as I grabbed the plastic bag and noticed the strange man carefully watching us, then put what I owed on the desk anyway, and made my way out.
I was a few steps away from the church building when the strange guy appeared beside me.
The grocery shop owner’s odd behaviour crossed my mind at the time, and I could not help but wonder what had caused him to be so antsy and on his toes.
The man next to me was hardly intimidating. His mannerism was that of a timid recluse. I kind of felt sorry for him, actually. How miserable was he to tail and run errands for Mary?
“How was your first day, miss? I hope the children behaved.”
“It was okay, I suppose. I’m trying to get to know them little by little.”
“I hope you’ll like it here. Mind, most don’t. They leave as soon as they get here. But, you know, Dew Shire is a quiet and peaceful place…”
I forced a smile. “I’m sure it is. I’m not interested in the rumours and things like that if that’s what you mean. I only believe what I see.”
He let out nervous laughter. “Actually, most of us already know you – or rather your mother. She’s somewhat of a celebrity here.”
“My mum?” I repeated. “How so?”
“It’s a long story. She was a kind soul; your mother I mean. We all liked her very much, so it’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Yeah? How funny. My mum didn’t say much about this place, actually. It’s kinda weird to hear that people liked her when she… I don’t know, I grew up thinking she resented this place.”
“She did? Did she say anything else about Dew Shire… and about us to you?”
“No, she—” I stopped midway through, “do you perhaps know my father?”
“Your father? No. But I’m sure Mary knows.”
I smiled upon hearing this. “Mary must know a lot of things, huh?”
He did not reply. Instead, he mumbled something I could not understand and excused himself, as if he had just made a grave mistake.
I observed him as he scurried back to the grocer’s shop.
His shoulders were rounded; his figure belonged to an old man who had been through hell. Lonely, even agitated… I could not figure him out but one thing was sure.
He did know me, though. He wasn’t making things up. As he vanished out of sight, I recalled that he was the only one whose name I still did not know.
We had met thrice already, but he never introduced himself. I brooded on like this until I was close enough to the church premises to notice that the cracked gate was now locked tight.
I tried to open it, but it wouldn’t budge. How strange. I heard people didn’t use the church anymore, guess I was wrong…
After doing the dishes in the restroom, I returned to my desk and fetched a pack of cigarettes I brought with me from home. I meant to quit while in Dew Shire but did not feel like it at this moment.
My mind was filled to the brim.
I took my first drag outside the school building and sunk into the only available bank next to the entrance. Half an hour later, as I was about to put out the cigarette, I noticed what looked like a torch outside the barred fence.
It piqued my interest and so I rose to my feet to catch a glimpse of what was going on. But it was gone, whatever or whoever it was in these wee hours.
Reluctantly, my eyes fell on the towering church. Vera’s quivering body flashed through my mind. What had caused such fright in her? Beyond this towering building made of coal.
I returned to the office and locked the door.
