Chapter 2(1819 A.D-Elizabeth)
Elizabeth enjoyed the family dinners. Her family consisted of her parents Lily and Martin Thatcher, her eldest brother Theodore and his wife and son (her favourite and only nephew), her elder sister and husband who had been married for a year now and herself. They also had a maid who lived with them in one of the many rooms in her house. Her sister had come home now on account of being 7 months pregnant and she was beaming with health and happiness. Elizabeth couldn’t help but feel happy for her sister and she couldn’t wait for her new nephew or niece to come. However, today the light-hearted chatter in her house didn’t bring her the peace that it usually brought. Her mind was continually drawn to the trunk in her room and she shivered with anticipation and excitement of what treasures lay within those letters. The lunch couldn’t end soon enough for her. She was ready to lose herself in the mysteries that the past held once again, and this time it was even more exiting as it was about her own ancestors.
As soon as the lunch was done and she had finished with her chores, she bounded up the stairs to her room and pulled out the letters in the trunk. She also held on to the locket the beautiful carvings on it made it impossible for her to ignore it. She went to her bed and opened the first letter.
Dear John,
It still feels so foreign to me that I am here and I met you. I am so very thankful for this peak into this life but I hope you do understand when I say I miss my family terribly. I feel very out of place here as I am still new to the ways of your living. But I am glad that you had enough time to spend with me so that you could teach me to read and write. This paper and ink has to be the most wonderful creation yet. Before I came here there was no such thing and only way people could communicate was through talking. This life seems more liberating and free compared to life that I used to live before. I have to thank you for making this a more joyful experience for me.
Yours truly
Sarah.
“No reading and writing!” Elizabeth shuddered. It must have been hard to converse only through mouth and no other means. Still this wasn’t enough to satisfy her curiosity. The letter, in fact, puzzled her even more. Why did Sarah mention about new life and old life? Where did she originally come from? She quickly took out the second letter and read it.
Dear John,
Your sister, Ann has been an absolute angel and she has helped me settle in here very well. With each passing day the ache of being away from my parents is becoming lesser. We still are no closer to finding a way for me to go back home or figuring out how I ended up here though. But I do find that the longer I have stayed here the lesser I feel the hurry to go back home. Hope you are finding business profitable in the town that you are in. But I must confess, no one at home ever travelled as far as you say you have and it does make me a bit nervous that you might come to some harm. Please do write soon so I can rest assured that you are well.
Yours truly
Sarah
Dear John,
Your unexpected visit 4 days ago did surprise me. But as you said now I can see that there is not much harm in travelling. But I must warn you that just yesterday Shawn, the neighbours’ son had to go on his horse and kill a coyote which was about to harm the cattle. There are these hungry animals roaming in the wild and I insist that you take care and protect yourself. Oh and also that gave me a chance to look at the weapon he used to kill the animal. I think he called it a ‘gon’ .I hadn’t seen it or heard of it before. I must admit I was too scared to touch it. Back home I am only used to weapons like spears, knife and swords. So this felt very new and powerful to me. And somehow that power to kill from such great distance doesn’t look like a very good invention. But who am I to judge the way of life here?
Looking forward to your next visit,
Yours truly
Sarah.
Dear John,
I know I am sending you two letters at once and may be the content of this letter is way too boring for a man. But it happened after I finished writing your first letter and I really wanted to share this piece of trivial yet joyful moment with you. The dresses which we wanted to be made for me are finally here and now I can wear my own clothes instead of your sisters. Not that your sisters dresses were bad just that it feels nice to finally own a pair of dresses for myself. These long dresses may be more hindering than the animal skin that I used to wear back at home, but they keep me warm and are very pretty. Besides I don’t think I would be respected here for wearing such clothes, though at home we had no choice because there was no cloth there. I still chuckle at times on remembering how startled you looked on seeing me for the first time. My outfit had come across as a shock to you just like yours had to me.
Yours truly
Sarah
Dear John,
I ought to be angry with you about the content of your previous letter. But to be honest with you I must confess that I blushed and turned a deep shade of scarlet. Ann actually came up to me and asked me if I was all right. I hope you don’t think I am too forward in confessing my feelings. It’s funny how slowly I have started spending more time thinking about your letters and looking forward to your visits than finding a way back home or thinking about my parents. Hope you write back soon.
Yours lovingly
Sarah
Dear John
I can’t tell you in words about how exited everyone is at home. Ann just refuses to stop talking about the wedding plans. We have a month left but still the preparations for the ceremony have already begun. But I must admit the ceremony here is more elaborate than how it used to be at home from what I heard. I feel nervous at the very prospect of standing in front of all those people. But I guess as long as you are with me it wouldn’t matter. As I have told you before I look forward to our new life together. Do take good care of yourself my love
Yours lovingly
Sarah
Dear John
I have hardly started writing and I can already tell that this is going to be one long letter. A lot has happened since I last wrote to you some of which were not very pleasant. But I am glad that they happened because now I know for sure that I love you and want to spend my entire life with you.
I found out how I suddenly came to be here...
I was sitting on the bed with Ann deciding the jewellery to worn with my wedding dress when I came across my chain and locket I used to wear at home. It reminded me of home and I just couldn’t help but wish that my parents were here to share this moment with me. While doing so I happened to stroke either side of the locket and I was suddenly transported back to my house. My sudden appearance startled my family but I guess they were well aware of the powers of the locket. They just hugged me and asked me about my experience. I told them about everything and I cried when I realised I couldn’t marry you. But they surprised me as they had a story of their own to tell.
Apparently the locket sometimes grants wishes to people who wear them so as to show them a new life and then lets them make a choice. They also said they would understand I felt the need to stay with you and that I need not feel guilty of coming back here. I figured I had moved into the future and hence you had so many items which were not present in my time. As there was still time for the wedding I decided to stay with them for a little while before returning. But that was not a wise decision. My cousin who overheard the whole story decided she would steal my locket and use it for herself. But maybe because I had the locket for a long time or may be because it realised that my cousin was being dishonest, it didn’t work on my cousin. It was luckily not very difficult to find the missing locket but I did feel bad on losing my trust on my cousin. But once this incident occurred I didn’t feel very safe staying there and decided to come back here immediately as I would rather spend less time with my family than losing you. Besides you are my new family now.
Now that all the mysteries are behind me, I feel happy to marry you. I am not sure if the locket will ever work again but I am just glad that it brought us together. Hoping to see you soon
Yours lovingly
Sarah.
Elizabeth looked with awe at the locket in her hand. She had a hard time believing in the information that she had just gathered. The locket she had in her hand had the power to transport her into the future or may be the past. What other wonders did the locket hold? She carefully rubbed either side of the locket but nothing happened. She lot out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. Still she put the locket around her neck and continued reading the letters. It turned out that Sarah and John got married as planned and had five kids two girls and three boys. John continued to travel and trade in different places but sometimes he took his wife along too. They seemed to have lived a very happy and contended life. Elizabeth decided she would ask her father about John and Sarah later but now she needed a nap. Soon she was fast asleep.
<<Previous Next>>
Elizabeth enjoyed the family dinners. Her family consisted of her parents Lily and Martin Thatcher, her eldest brother Theodore and his wife and son (her favourite and only nephew), her elder sister and husband who had been married for a year now and herself. They also had a maid who lived with them in one of the many rooms in her house. Her sister had come home now on account of being 7 months pregnant and she was beaming with health and happiness. Elizabeth couldn’t help but feel happy for her sister and she couldn’t wait for her new nephew or niece to come. However, today the light-hearted chatter in her house didn’t bring her the peace that it usually brought. Her mind was continually drawn to the trunk in her room and she shivered with anticipation and excitement of what treasures lay within those letters. The lunch couldn’t end soon enough for her. She was ready to lose herself in the mysteries that the past held once again, and this time it was even more exiting as it was about her own ancestors.
As soon as the lunch was done and she had finished with her chores, she bounded up the stairs to her room and pulled out the letters in the trunk. She also held on to the locket the beautiful carvings on it made it impossible for her to ignore it. She went to her bed and opened the first letter.
Dear John,
It still feels so foreign to me that I am here and I met you. I am so very thankful for this peak into this life but I hope you do understand when I say I miss my family terribly. I feel very out of place here as I am still new to the ways of your living. But I am glad that you had enough time to spend with me so that you could teach me to read and write. This paper and ink has to be the most wonderful creation yet. Before I came here there was no such thing and only way people could communicate was through talking. This life seems more liberating and free compared to life that I used to live before. I have to thank you for making this a more joyful experience for me.
Yours truly
Sarah.
“No reading and writing!” Elizabeth shuddered. It must have been hard to converse only through mouth and no other means. Still this wasn’t enough to satisfy her curiosity. The letter, in fact, puzzled her even more. Why did Sarah mention about new life and old life? Where did she originally come from? She quickly took out the second letter and read it.
Dear John,
Your sister, Ann has been an absolute angel and she has helped me settle in here very well. With each passing day the ache of being away from my parents is becoming lesser. We still are no closer to finding a way for me to go back home or figuring out how I ended up here though. But I do find that the longer I have stayed here the lesser I feel the hurry to go back home. Hope you are finding business profitable in the town that you are in. But I must confess, no one at home ever travelled as far as you say you have and it does make me a bit nervous that you might come to some harm. Please do write soon so I can rest assured that you are well.
Yours truly
Sarah
Dear John,
Your unexpected visit 4 days ago did surprise me. But as you said now I can see that there is not much harm in travelling. But I must warn you that just yesterday Shawn, the neighbours’ son had to go on his horse and kill a coyote which was about to harm the cattle. There are these hungry animals roaming in the wild and I insist that you take care and protect yourself. Oh and also that gave me a chance to look at the weapon he used to kill the animal. I think he called it a ‘gon’ .I hadn’t seen it or heard of it before. I must admit I was too scared to touch it. Back home I am only used to weapons like spears, knife and swords. So this felt very new and powerful to me. And somehow that power to kill from such great distance doesn’t look like a very good invention. But who am I to judge the way of life here?
Looking forward to your next visit,
Yours truly
Sarah.
Dear John,
I know I am sending you two letters at once and may be the content of this letter is way too boring for a man. But it happened after I finished writing your first letter and I really wanted to share this piece of trivial yet joyful moment with you. The dresses which we wanted to be made for me are finally here and now I can wear my own clothes instead of your sisters. Not that your sisters dresses were bad just that it feels nice to finally own a pair of dresses for myself. These long dresses may be more hindering than the animal skin that I used to wear back at home, but they keep me warm and are very pretty. Besides I don’t think I would be respected here for wearing such clothes, though at home we had no choice because there was no cloth there. I still chuckle at times on remembering how startled you looked on seeing me for the first time. My outfit had come across as a shock to you just like yours had to me.
Yours truly
Sarah
Dear John,
I ought to be angry with you about the content of your previous letter. But to be honest with you I must confess that I blushed and turned a deep shade of scarlet. Ann actually came up to me and asked me if I was all right. I hope you don’t think I am too forward in confessing my feelings. It’s funny how slowly I have started spending more time thinking about your letters and looking forward to your visits than finding a way back home or thinking about my parents. Hope you write back soon.
Yours lovingly
Sarah
Dear John
I can’t tell you in words about how exited everyone is at home. Ann just refuses to stop talking about the wedding plans. We have a month left but still the preparations for the ceremony have already begun. But I must admit the ceremony here is more elaborate than how it used to be at home from what I heard. I feel nervous at the very prospect of standing in front of all those people. But I guess as long as you are with me it wouldn’t matter. As I have told you before I look forward to our new life together. Do take good care of yourself my love
Yours lovingly
Sarah
Dear John
I have hardly started writing and I can already tell that this is going to be one long letter. A lot has happened since I last wrote to you some of which were not very pleasant. But I am glad that they happened because now I know for sure that I love you and want to spend my entire life with you.
I found out how I suddenly came to be here...
I was sitting on the bed with Ann deciding the jewellery to worn with my wedding dress when I came across my chain and locket I used to wear at home. It reminded me of home and I just couldn’t help but wish that my parents were here to share this moment with me. While doing so I happened to stroke either side of the locket and I was suddenly transported back to my house. My sudden appearance startled my family but I guess they were well aware of the powers of the locket. They just hugged me and asked me about my experience. I told them about everything and I cried when I realised I couldn’t marry you. But they surprised me as they had a story of their own to tell.
Apparently the locket sometimes grants wishes to people who wear them so as to show them a new life and then lets them make a choice. They also said they would understand I felt the need to stay with you and that I need not feel guilty of coming back here. I figured I had moved into the future and hence you had so many items which were not present in my time. As there was still time for the wedding I decided to stay with them for a little while before returning. But that was not a wise decision. My cousin who overheard the whole story decided she would steal my locket and use it for herself. But maybe because I had the locket for a long time or may be because it realised that my cousin was being dishonest, it didn’t work on my cousin. It was luckily not very difficult to find the missing locket but I did feel bad on losing my trust on my cousin. But once this incident occurred I didn’t feel very safe staying there and decided to come back here immediately as I would rather spend less time with my family than losing you. Besides you are my new family now.
Now that all the mysteries are behind me, I feel happy to marry you. I am not sure if the locket will ever work again but I am just glad that it brought us together. Hoping to see you soon
Yours lovingly
Sarah.
Elizabeth looked with awe at the locket in her hand. She had a hard time believing in the information that she had just gathered. The locket she had in her hand had the power to transport her into the future or may be the past. What other wonders did the locket hold? She carefully rubbed either side of the locket but nothing happened. She lot out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. Still she put the locket around her neck and continued reading the letters. It turned out that Sarah and John got married as planned and had five kids two girls and three boys. John continued to travel and trade in different places but sometimes he took his wife along too. They seemed to have lived a very happy and contended life. Elizabeth decided she would ask her father about John and Sarah later but now she needed a nap. Soon she was fast asleep.
<<Previous Next>>
No comments:
Post a Comment