BREEZE FROM THE PAST CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 9

Early morning Nat was woken up by a call from his brother. Nat immediately freshened up and went on to meet his brother as he seemed like he wanted to have a serious conversation. Charlie met Nat even before he could enter the house and took him outside. Charlie jumped directly into topic."Nat this is about Elezabeth. I didn't tell you the complete story when I told you about her. She is not really from a different country. She is from a different age." and then he continued on to tell the whole story. He also showed the letters that they had found and the locket that had transported her to this era. He told her the whole story that she had told. 

The science geek in Nat refused to believe in what his brother was telling him. But then he knew why his brother had kept this piece piece of information from him till now and he also knew that there must have been something which would have proved that what she was saying was true if his brother had decided to tell the truth now. "So you now believe her story? " Nat asked his brother.

"The thing is...I am not sure what to believe in. Katy is an expert and Katy believes she could be really from the past. Else she would have to a very good historian and actress to have convinced her otherwise. Also I remember how distraught she was on the day I found her. I dont think that could have been faked. I also remember when I was leading her towards the guest room she seemed mortified that I was sending her off to the stables." he chuckled and Nat joined along. "So this was either the same house she lived in or she would have to have observed this place for a really long time and done proper research into this family and house. But the thing is why would she lie...if she was lying that is" Nat wondered out aloud."Which we can try and confirm by doing some research and back ground checks." " But what do we search for? Random people who were lurking around here?One of us would have noticed if something unusual was happening around here for sure" "We could first start with history. Find the newspapers from the past and see for any records which would lead to some mention of Elizabeth's family. According to her story her whole family was killed in this robbery. There must be some mention of that at least." "Lets go check in the net. We might find some archives  stored somewhere." And both the brothers hurried inside.

 After poring through various sites for a some time , they found a library in the city where they would find all the news papers around the timeline from which Elizabeth was. As Charlie had to go meet the customers, so Nat decided that he would go and search the newspapers for any information related to Elizabeth. Charlie did not remember the exact date when her family was attacked. So he asked Katy to help him with the investigation. She decided she would make small talk with Elizabeth and try to gain as much information as she could without raising the suspicion.  She also intended to examine the necklace and the locket to ensure the authenticity. 

So Katy decided to ask Elizabeth to help around in their own garden and both Katy and Elizabeth went out with the garden tools. Katy initially just told her about what she had in mind for the day and which patch was to be cleaned and which seeds to sown. Then she casually started talking about how they had come upon the house and how they renovated it."So was this the place where you lived when you were..." "in the past? Yes. I can see that the rooms are similar in the main house. But the decoration seem to be differnet. But then as I haven't really gotten a proper tour of the house, I wouldn't be able to say for sure."

Being aware that Elizabeth could be a fraud for all she knew,  Katy didn't feel very comfortable showing the whole house to Elizabeth. So she decided to play a little game and make the conversation a little lighter. "Ok , why don't you just draw a map of the house , the way it was when you were in the past and then I will tell you if its still used for the same purpose." she said with a smile and handed her a stick.
Elizabeth looked at her with a twinkle in her eyes and started drawing all the rooms and showed her the map of the whole house. While Elizabeth wasn't looking, Katy kept taking pictures of the map so that they could compare later with the house and see if that would give any clues as to her origin. At times Elizabeth would get distracted and talk about an event that occurred in a particular room or about people from her family who used to live there. She also spoke about an attic where her nephew loved to play but was scared to go in there alone.Katy didn't remember any attic being there when they built the house and figured the attic must have burned down or ruined at some point of time.  She made a quick not of that too and asked Elizabeth to show that in the map and point towards the entrance. Elizabeth did it through one of the rooms inside the house. And continued to spin another story from her life.
 Katy and Elizabeth spent quite some time with their heads bent in the garden and finally it was almost noon by the time they got back inside the house. Katy and Elizabeth had a quick lunch and then Katy went to her lab to along with the letters , the locket and other items that she had found in the trunk. Elizabeth had already left for helping Charlie's parents ,so KAty also sneaked into Elizabeth's room and took the clothes that Elizabeth was wearing the first time she met Charlie too from her room .

She also called Nat and gave him all the information she had managed to collect and both of them were determined to find out everything they could about this mysterious girl from the past.

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BREEZE FROM THE PAST CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 8

Nat kept talking on the way back and little did he realize that Elizabeth was unusually quiet. He kept up his stream of constant chatter about computers as if the little talk with his brother and soon to be sister in law didn't happen at all. But Elizabeth on the other hand was just distantly aware of his presence, her mind was totally occupied by memories which were hidden deep inside till now. She remembered that her best friend was about to get married when she left and now she wouldn't get to share her friend's happiness.

The fact that her friend must think of her as dead was really upsetting. But Elizabeth had already made her decision to live in the present and not think of the past, so she pushed all these thoughts and concentrated on what Nat was saying. "...So if you want to buy anything all you have to do is log in to the Ebay site and choose the one you like among the various options that they present you with and just type in you card no and the payment is done." " Wat is the card no used for?" " Oh!! It given by the banks to enable the...." and the conversation went on..

When they reached near the house Nat suddenly stopped Elizabeth and said " You know ever since you came here you have just been working. How about I just take you around for a day...Like give you a tour? We could do anything you like" Elizabeth realised she did miss riding her horse and  hunting. She agreed readily so that it would help her forget about her past too. " Is there any place where we could find a horse and go hunting?" She asked. That was the last thing that Nat expected her to ask but he masked his surprise and said " We could find a horse for riding I guess but hunting is not really allowed around here." But he smiled at her slightly downcast face and said " but there is something that you might find interesting."

 He took her to a neighbour's house and they borrowed their horse for the day and both of them went racing each other through the country sides. For someone who was new to the place Nat realised Elizabeth did move around with a sense of ease and familiarity. He didn't mention it though...after spending some time playing around he guided her towards a shooting range.

As soon as she saw the targets and the guns her whole face lit up with excitement and they went on to have a round of match. She was both impressed and terrified by the power of the new guns and bullets but she loved the tough competition that Nat was in each of the games,may it be horse racing or shooting. After the hour was up both of them rode up to a nearby restaurant and had a magnificent lunch. She loved a few of the items that were around but Nat did burst out laughing at her expressions for a few new items that she tried...especially when she had ice cream for dessert.

On their way back home they came across a photo booth and Nat saw Elizabeth look at it curiously. Nat realised this must be another thing that she has no idea about and took her in and both of decided to take a strip of pictures. Elizabeth looked shocked and scared in most of them except in the second one where she was laughing at how scared she got the first time. She was amazed at the pictures of herself when they got the strip. Nat realised with a little surprise that he would definitely like to keep these pictures with himself. But dismissed the idea and decided to let her keep the pictures when he saw her looking at them longingly.

Elizabeth found herself thinking about the outing very often as she did her chores back home.
Nat was again cooped up inside his room in front of the computer and she was a little disappointed that he didn't seem to be thinking about it as often as she was. Finally when it was time to go back to her room she decided to immerse herself in the computer book and learn as much as could about the world that was her new home.

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BREEZE FROM THE PAST CHAPTER 7

Chapter 7(2010 AD)

Charlie woke up early next morning and prepared breakfast. Then he got ready and went to the airport to pick up Katy. She looked very tired, but he just couldn't get her to stop asking questions about Elizabeth. “If you promise to give me two hours of Elizabeth free time in the house I will tell you all the details about her on our way back” He said finally.

“I cross my heart and promise...please tell me about her now and then give me half hour to meet her and then I’ll never again mention her...” she said with a pout. Charlie raised his eye brow “never again?” he said sceptically. “For two whole hours” she corrected immediately and they laughed together. He kept his side of the promise and told her all the details including what Nat had told him the previous night about her stay in his parents’ house.

Soon they reached home and first thing that Katy did was knock on the guest house door. Elizabeth seemed to have just finished taking her morning shower and she looked wide eyed at Katy. Charlie introduced the two of them and he took Katy’s luggage up to the main house and left the two girls to do all the chatting. Soon she came back beaming and said “You know what, I have a feeling she’s genuinely from the past...else she is a better historian than me.” “You promised not to talk about her for at least two hours...remember?” “Hmmm I did didn’t I? Dang it...” Charlie laughed. But he was pretty nervous now that the time had come
for him to propose.

He had already laid out the breakfast and he led Charlie toward the dining room. Soon they had completed breakfast amidst laughter as Katy told him of all the adventure and experiences that she had on her trip and both of them cleared the table, well he couldn't argue much once Katy had set her mind to do something. Then to Katy’s surprise Charlie insisted on taking a walk and as soon as Charlie reached the spot he had decided upon, he got on one knee and proposed to her.

Katy was not one to cry easily. So he was surprised and scared as sudden tears sprung in her eyes. But soon he felt relieved when she smiled through them and accepted to marry him. They were now officially engaged and Katy now seemed like she would in fact never talk about Elizabeth ever again!!! They spent some more time outside wrapped in the blanket of bliss and happiness and slowly wound their way back into the house. It was only when they saw Nat near the door animatedly teaching something in a book to Elizabeth that they
remembered about her.

Before they made their presence known to the two people, Charlie pulled Katy aside to
convince her to let Elizabeth spend another day with his parents while he would try and postpone his appointment so that they could spend their engagement day together peacefully.Katy accepted and he ran to make the required arrangements.

After a quick phone call..(the client was very understanding and more than ready to meet the next day) he came back beside Katy who was inspecting the flowers in the garden and together they informed Nat and Elizabeth the happy news. "She almost said no cause she was terrified to have you as the brother-in-law...but then I convinced her that she doesn't have to be civil to you.. so she agreed" Charlie said with forced seriousness and Katy nudged him..."Well I am awesome...and, it would be difficult to have to make do with a mediocre person like YOU ,when someone dashing like ME, is around ...and I did warn you yesterday... aint that right Katy?" asked Nat with equally forced seriousness."You are absolutely right Nat. You just read my mind" "Hey not fair" and everyone burst into laughter. Elizabeth and Nat congratulated the happy couple and they left to the give the newly engaged couple some privacy.

Katy looked at the retreating backs and wondered out loud "Looks like your brother is getting along pretty well with Elizabeth."
"Yes it does look like that. A little too well in fact. Do you think we can tell him the truth now?"
"I guess we could . Else it might become a little awkward when he figures he likes a girl who is almost a century older than him"she said."I overheard their conversation by mistake and its funny how determined he is to make her a computer expert. Did you see the book in her hand?"
"I saw it with her yesterday actually. He told me that she didn't find computer useful and you had to see the expression on his face then...it was priceless"
"LOL I wish I was here too" she said laughing...
"Katy do realize you just said LOL instead of just laughing?? Elizabeth is going to have a hard time fitting into our family I guess"
"oh !! I did didn't I..ya I guess you are right!! " and they spent rest of the day without any idea that Elizabeth and Nat were having adventures of their own.


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BREEZE FROM THE PAST CHAPTER 6

Chapter 6(2010 AD)

Elizabeth insisted that she do some work around the house to earn her food and shelter. She said she could clean up the house or even the garden. But Charlie insisted that she take at-least a days’ rest before she could start working. To tell the truth he wasn’t comfortable with her working and wanted just some time to think of the recent events on his own.

He led her towards the guest house which was a little to the left of the main house. But when Elizabeth saw him turn in that direction she asked him incredulously “Are you making me sleep in the stable?” and she blushed realising she had spoken her thought out aloud. Charlie stopped in his tracks. “No, the stable has been converted into a guest room as we no longer keep the horses. Did...is this the same house you lived in?” he asked. She nodded and they continued along the path. Once they reached the guest room he showed her how to work with the shower and turn on the heater. He gave her Kathy’s skirt and blouse. The fascination on Elizabeth’s face was quite apparent at the new inventions but she was still a little apprehensive about the clothes. She said with a small laugh, “I can now imagine how Sarah must have felt coming from her past.” Charlie didn’t, but still he nodded his head.

The next day Charlie gave her breakfast. He had decided the previous night that his mother might be a better person to deal with Elizabeth till Kathy came back. So he asked her to freshen up and took her to his parents’ house. They made small conversation where Charlie told about his family and how she could help in that place especially with Scintilla having had a miscarriage and needing a few days rest. He had already called his mother and filled in on the new developments and the required arrangements had been made for a few days. Of course he couldn’t tell her that she was from the past as they wouldn’t believe and probably scold him for letting such a girl live with them, so he decided to tell them that she was a from a small village in a foreign land .That would make it much easier to explain the accent and would be convenient reason for her lack of knowledge of the present day inventions.

Elizabeth listened to him carefully including the instructions to keep up with the fake identity. Soon they reached Charlie’s parent’s place and he introduced her to his mom, dad and Nat. His mother welcomed her warmly with a hug, a cookie and a big glass of orange juice. She always seemed to think orange juice and cookie could help solve any problem in life...probably one look at the sad eyes of Elizabeth were enough to let his mom know of her pain...His father gave a curt nod and went back to reading the newspaper and Nat who seemed to have just woken up did a comical curtsy, which  would have gone unnoticed by everyone else except that she curtseyed back!!! That certainly caught attention of everyone in the family. “Oh you make a fool of yourself and look she responds so as to ensure you don’t get embarrassed. If I were you I would forget all about that grocery gal , young man” his father said. Charlie could hold back his laughter no longer and soon everyone joined in including a red faced Nat, except for poor Elizabeth who just smiled politely, unsure of what had just happened.

After making some small talk, Elizabeth and his mom went to get on with some chores around the house and Charlie decided to give his brother’s new game a try. He had to admit that the game was distracting and pretty good especially since he won the game. He wasn’t sure if Nat let him though but he didn’t let that bother him much. He was eager to know when exactly Kathy would be back as he didn’t know how long he could keep Elizabeth’s identity a secret from his family.

He called Kathy as soon as he reached home and was more than exited to know that she would be back the next day morning!! And he hadn’t decided on the perfect dish to cook yet!!! His plan of having the perfect engagement would now have to a little astray now especially considering how he would have to visit his new clients at the construction site tomorrow afternoon but he intended to make full proper utilization of the morning hours. So he got down to preparation and the rest of the day was spent in cleaning the house and getting the right recipe and ingredients.

It was only when Nat called to tell him that he would be escorting Elizabeth to the guest room, that  Charlie remembered the real reason behind Kathy’s early return.  Yet nothing could now hamper his excitement at meeting her tomorrow. When Nat and Elizabeth reached home he was surprised to see them talk and laugh and for the first time Elizabeth seemed to be genuinely enjoying her time. And the fact that Nat had taken up the responsibility to make conversation was really surprising. Soon Elizabeth retired for the night and again surprising Charlie, she had a “Computer for Dummies” book in her hand. ” You have already had your influence on her I see” he told Nat.  “ It’s surprising how one has been born in this age and hasn’t even seen a computer  till now Charlie. I don’t know man...she seems genuine and sweet and you know...really curious...And believe me she really has  never before touched a computer. Or a camera for that sake of matter. Mum was telling me that she didn’t know how to operate the dishwasher, coffee machine and the washing machine. When we gave her coke she started spluttering and literally spraying all over the place. Yet let me tell you its not for lack of curiosity or ability. She has been learning some faster than the other, but learning never the less. And  she made this really weird tasting porridge today for lunch...Oh and guess what she doesn’t find computer very interesting or useful!!! Can you believe that!!!” She saw a use for the coffee maker, for the telephone, for the washing machine and dishwasher...but she couldn’t figure out why we have to have computers...Thats why I gave her that book....Oh if she can read she will know its worth and oooh wont she be sorry for what she said..and haha...hehe.hehe...you wont belive the disaster that she was with the oven...man she’s awful at baking...I’ll tell you that!!!” “Stop Nat, take a breath in between will ya you have been speaking about her for like 10 mins straight...I see she’s had an influence on you as well...” “He come on big bro you weren’t at home today anyone would be talking about such a strange little girl let me tell ya that...We had to be at careful throughout the day as we had no idia as to what she would do next..or ask about next.” It must have been difficult for all of them today, but somehow the slight flush told Charlie that Nat atleast might have answered a few too many questions than was necessary. “Speaking of you being a no show today what were you doing all cooped up in your house? Dont tell me you are still not done with that book!!”  Hmm quickly changed the subject too...Definitely something happening in there Charlie thought...but decided not to probe further...for now. “I have been making preparations my dear brother, time for you to get a sister-in –law don’t you think???” he said. “Wow! Oh my GOD are you going to propose to Kathy? Finally” He said with a smile “All the best bro... And don’t worry if she says no, its probably because she wants to marry me don’t take it personally” “Oh no don’t worry we are family and I could never take it personally Nat...you did get my charm and a few of the same genes as mine  after all!!!” and they got into a friendly banter and little brotherly scuffle...


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BREEZE FROM THE PAST CHAPTER 5

Chapter 5(2010 A.D-Elizabeth & Charlie)

Elizabeth was so glad to be out of that horrible man’s clutches and back on her legs that she almost skipped with joy before the reality of the situation hit home. She realised her hand was still on the necklace and figured she had been transported but the question was where and to which age. The rational part of her brain guessed future because of a number of weird looking items in the room, and that she had to come up with something, a plan to live in this new place but one look at the familiar panels of her old dining room and the familiar cut of the dining table and chairs reminded her of the fact that she could never go back to her own home, she could never meet her old friends or family. A mixture of guilt for getting Jonathan home, anger at him for killing her family, fear of what lay ahead, shame that she had felt relieved to have escaped drove all the rational thoughts away and she suddenly had difficulty breathing at first and then she broke down sobbing for what seemed like hours. She didn’t even realise till a man had entered the room and gently laid a hand on her.

She jumped with a start and didn’t know what to say at first. She just kept staring and Charlie who was feeling more and more uncomfortable with each passing minute. He finally asked, “ I can see you are upset, but I must ask you who you are and how you happened to come inside my house” Elizabeth decided to go with the truth, afterall what did it matter what this strange man with the strange accent thought of her... “I am Elizabeth Thacher born in 1802,daughter of lily and Martin Thacher. We were attacked by a Jonathan and his gang and my family was killed. I was fighting with Jonathan in an attempt to escape and the next thing I know I am here. I am not very sure of what exactly happened but I would be very glad if you would let me earn a living here till I find a proper place to stay.” Well she at-least told a part of the truth what he didn’t know he didn’t have to. According to her Charlie had heard enough already as he seemed to look like he had seen a ghost.

Charlie snapped his mouth shut as he suddenly realised he must look like an idiot with his mouth wide open. But her story was quite ridiculous after all, how could a girl in her late teens be born in1802? She definitely had to be lying, but her clothes, mannerisms and her accent seemed different and she actually seemed to believe she was from the 19^th century. Well everything could be faked, but the distress in her eyes as opposed to the brave face she put on told him otherwise. He decided to ask a few questions before jumping to conclusions and sat down on a chair.

“Ok you must understand that it is hard for me to believe your story as it is the year 2010 as of now.” He saw her gasp though somehow he felt she had expected it. “So I am gonna ask you a few questions and you are gonna answer them.” He waited for her to accept though it wasn’t a question and continued...

“Which year were you in when you got attacked?”

“1819 sir”

“And you told the attacker was called Jonathan. So you knew him?”

“He posed as a traveller who needed care and shelter for a few days. So we had taken him in for the night, but turns out he was one of those bandits roaming around the country. Now I know how it might have been difficult for sheriff to catch these people. They don’t let anyone who has seen their faces alive. So no one to identify them” She said with a grimace.

“Could you please recall and tell me each and every event that occurred on that...tonight? Even small details matter.” Any sane person would not normally have just kicked this blatantly lying girl out of the house first thing, but he didn’t know he wanted to probe more into the life of this delusional girl more. He felt in some weird way she must be speaking the truth.

She told him all the details from when she woke in the middle of night to when she found herself in the present. She also told him about how she had her hands on the locket when she found herself here and about the letters that she had read. She fully expected him to laugh at her and call her names. She certainly would have if she were in his place. But he just looked at her locket for a long time without telling anything. He asked her to stay where she was and suddenly disappeared into the house.

Elizabeth had the time to actually look at her surroundings and she realised with a start that it was the same house that she used to live in, hence the familiar furnishings. Before long Charlie returned with a stack of letters and showed them to her. Now she was certainly shocked to realise that these were the same letters that she had read just a few days back. “So you actually believe me? I certainly find it hard to believe it myself” she said. “Could I take a look at the locket if you don’t mind?” He asked. She gave it to him and he gingerly stroked the locket. “It doesn’t work all the time. The first time I found it I tried stroking too.” She said with a slight smile. But soon the smile faded when she realised she could never go back without causing harm to rest of the family.

Charlie decided he had to consult Kathy about this and after giving the Elizabeth something to eat he went to call her. Kathy as always listened patiently and then decided to come a home as soon as possible so that she could decide if Elizabeth was genuinely from the past or not. Till then she could live in the guest house just outside the main house.


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BREEZE FROM THE PAST CHAPTER 4

Chapter 4(1819 A.D-Elizabeth)


Though Elizabeth asked her parents, uncles, aunts and many people around the town she couldn’t find anyone who knew anything about any John or Sarah who suited the description. They seemed to have led a pretty normal life as she couldn’t even find any note of them in any of the books or newspapers. It seemed pretty odd, a girl materializing out of nowhere would cause some stir but she guessed John and his family must have ensured to keep it a secret. Finally after a week of fruitless searching she decided to leave the matter alone. But she continued wearing the locket and necklace.

Her life continued as usual for the next couple of month. The only news to stir the peace were the frequent reports of families being killed in their bed and being looted in a few neighbouring towns. As the crime rate was increasing the police and Sheriff were pretty busy trying to find the crooks and keep the town safe. Her sister and brother had gone back to their own houses and life was pretty quiet. She continued rummaging through the attic once in a while to find something interesting but other than some books she didn’t find anything of much interest.

But after a cold afternoon in November it all changed for better or worse she couldn’t decide. She was riding her favourite horse Thunder in the fields along the road when she saw a weary stranger who looked like he would pass out any minute. She quickly got down from the horse and asked if he would need any help. On closer inspection she realised that inspite of all the dirt and the messy hair the stranger looked very handsome. His angular face, strong broad shoulders and the slight stubble made him look very manly and attractive. She quickly dismissed those thoughts gave him the water from the holder in the saddle. He drank it noisily but still didn’t seem to have the energy to talk properly. He needed proper nourishment and rest and he needed them quick. She decided to take him home and immediately helped him onto her horse.

Once he was properly nourished he seemed much better. He seemed pretty kind and Elizabeth found herself admiring him more with each passing minute. She was pleased when her dad offered him a place to stay for the night in their house before he could continue with the journey. She spent some time showing him around the house and them he retired into a room for the night as he was tired. During the tour she learnt that he was a traveller, out to seek adventure, who got lost from his group a few days back. He seemed keen on carrying on with the journey as soon as he was well enough to do so. In the mean time he would work in the town in exchange for food and shelter. He had also run low on his travelling supplies which he had to replenish. She hoped she would get to know him well during his stay in the city.

That night she was suddenly woken by a loud bang. She immediately climbed out of the bed to see the lower part of her house in fire. When she turned around to run out her room she saw the stranger, Jonathan he had called himself, standing in the doorway with a lopsided grin. There was certainly something not right about it. Why was he in her room? Why was the house on fire? Where were her parents? She pushed those thoughts aside and said “We got to get out of the house quick. Let me get my parents and the servants. Come we have to hurry”. But he continued to block her exit and didn’t seem concerned at all. She looked up at him in confusion and that is when she saw the evil gleam in his eyes. She slowly backed towards her dresser so could get her hand on something to hit him with. “What have you done? Is this your doing? “. “You are a smart little girl aren’t you? It’s sad that you will have to die so soon just like the rest in this house.” he said advancing towards her. “How could you? We helped you. We took you in and ensured you were treated well and this is how you treat us? You creep” She cried though she knew it was pretty useless. But she just needed to keep him distracted from her deliberate movement towards the dresser. “You did help me kid. But, not to get well, you helped me loot you. I guess your parents didn’t warn you about nasty scheming strangers.” He still had that irritating smirk and something about his arrogant behaviour riled Elizabeth. With a war cry that would have woken the whole farm if it still had people in them, she hit the stranger with the thick comb that she finally had her hands on. But unfortunately he ducked and charged at her. She couldn’t get away from him fast enough and now he seemed really angry. He hoisted her up on his shoulders and started walking out of the house. She kept banging him and tried to get away from him, but he seemed to be made of stone. Once they reached downstairs she realised the extent of damage done to the house. He bellowed something and that’s when she realised he had some accomplices to help him out but she wasn’t surprised. Another person came out from the smoke with a bundle undoubtedly filled with all the important n worthy stuffs from her house. “Make it fast the fire is quickly rising...we can’t risk being caught in a burning house again...” he growled.”Aye boss...and I see you got a prized treat for us” the other guy replied eyeing Elizabeth the whole time. She felt shivers of disgust run up her spine. Involuntarily her hands went up to her neck and she rubbed it against the pendant and the next thing she knew she was in an empty room which seemed familiar but yet foreign.

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BREEZE FROM THE PAST CHAPTER 3

Chapter 3(2010 A.D-Charlie)


Charlie looked out of the window of his modest 2 storied house just in the outskirts of Mistran city. He loved his place that he had renovated all on his own. When he first finished studying architecture and had hit a jackpot on his first project designing the ultimate shopping complex for the city, he was itching to explore the historic architecture around the area. That was when he had stumbled upon this perfect lot which came with a couple of acres of land and the tumbled down house. He decided he would make this his new residence and had immediately bought the place. Surprisingly the deal was good and he became the owner without much hassle.

He was a quick learner from beginning and he enjoyed helping his father who was a mason when he was young. But he was more creatively oriented and he knew he couldn’t just stand there and build what others asked him to. He made a conscious decision to become an architect and designer. The job seemed to be made for him. He loved the challenges and the freedom. He was also glad to get a house so close to where his parents lived so he could visit them often. He had a brother whom he could trust with his life and a super hot girlfriend who was at present overseas on work for a month. She was a historian and he met her when he had to consult her regarding the historical value of the various things he had found at his new home. Since then there had been no looking back and he knew she was his soul mate.

Together they had worked on renovating this house and making it their home by ensuring that it retained its old glory and yet had all the modern day facilities and amenities. He remembered the day they had found a trunk filled with a bunch of old and almost torn letters and how exited Katherine had been. The letters were written between someone names John and Sarah and frankly speaking he found the content of the letter hard to believe. But Kathy was exited and searching around more for the items mentioned in the letters. She did find an old gun, some toys and a few clothes but there was no way they could tell if those things belonged to the same family that wrote the letters. But as he suspected there was no locket which matched the description of those mentioned in letters and “supposed to have magical properties” was present. He decided it must have been some kind of code or an inside joke and left it at that.

He had already chosen a ring at a vintage shop and hoped to propose Kathy as soon as she returned in this house after a hot meal cooked by him. He had already made plans for how they would have their 19th century themed wedding in this very house. He couldn’t wait to make Kathy all his.



He finished the coffee he was drinking and decided to visit his parents before leaving to work. He had meeting with a potential client today and he had prepared well for it the previous night. Now all he needed to do was relax and meeting his parents and being in the house he grew up in would definitely calm his mind. But once he reached his parents house he realised that he had to seek for the calm somewhere else. His 20 year old brother Nat seemed angry and way too gruff as he chopped of the wood making a lot of noise outside the house. His parents didn’t seem to notice his mood as they were busy talking a grieving Scintilla their maid. He decided he would better deal with his brother and would talk to his parents later. Nat was always one to keep his feelings within himself and Charlie worried that one day he might have an overload of emotions and finally break.

“Wow did the fire wood attack you in the night bro? Go easy will ya...” He said with a slight smile. Nat smiled but continued chopping with the same intensity.”Please let me grieve in peace for the love of my life has decided to go looking someplace else for love. I don’t want you trying to make me smile. I have to warn you that your shameful attempts to lighten the mood of this soulless black holed excuse of a person, is going be all in vain. Especially considering the consolation comes from a man who has the love of HIS life safely loving him back”. “Black holed? Does such a phrase even exist?”Charlie joked at the theatrics of his younger brother. Nat had a soft spot for the new girl working at the local grocery store for the past month but hadn’t been keen enough to ask her out. So he knew the big words of heart ache couldn’t have been for real. Nat just felt a jab at his ego as ever since the first day she showed more interest in one of Nat’s friends than Nat himself. Charlie knew that only thing hurt here was his brother’s ego.”You know that the right one will come by soon and then you will be glad that you didn’t have to settle for nothing more than a small crush. Nat nodded and Charlie thought it would be best to change the subject.”So why is Scintilla crying?” Nat sobered up “She had miscarriage. Poor thing was really looking forward to having this baby I guess. But you know I am not very good at handling such situations so I decided to stay away from it.”Charlie felt sorry for her. He looked one last time at her tear filled face and decided he better get going ” K then meet ya later” he waved at his brother and left the house.

The meeting went well and his client seemed impressed by his new design ideas. The contract was signed and work would begin on the new building by next week. He wished that all his clients were that easy to please. He came back home after the long day and as was tradition called Kathy and spoke to her about the day for some time. Then he went on to have supper watched a bit of news on television and went off to sleep.

The next day was a lazy one; he didn’t have much to do at work so he decided he would read a book that he had been planning to read from quite some time. Around noon when he was almost lost in the story of the book he was pulled to reality by the knock on the door. It was his brother with a bowl of steaming pasta and various other items that his mother had cooked. His mother often sent him food which she would prepare through Nat because she worried that he wouldn’t feed himself properly which on some occasions was true like this one where he got distracted.

“So how is the broken heart?” He asked his brother as he sat down to eat his meal. “Its healing surprisingly fast...I guess I was not that into her after-all” he said. Charlie rolled his eyes and continued eating.”So, you up for playing my newly developed hardcore computer game? Me against you. I will even let you win for once.” Nat asked with a smile. Charlie loved his brother and loved such playful ribs even more.”Oh dear Nat how thoughtful of you but I am afraid I’ll have to reject the offer as I have a book to complete and you have a job to go to” “ugh, you didn’t have to remind me that ...the responsible kid” he said making Quotation sign with his fingers. Nat worked for a software firm in the city. As his parents’ house was fully equipped with high speed internet and new computers and up-to-date software, Nat had the liberty to work from home most of the time. Though this might come across as an ideal situation it was only temporary, cause Nat wanted to start his own gaming company and was just saving up for that purpose. Nat decided he must get going and went back to his place. Charlie then spent a pleasant afternoon completing the book.

But the same couldn’t be said for the rest of the day. In the evening he went for a walk in his land and he returned to see a girl of about eighteen years of age crying in a corner of his dining room.


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BREEZE FROM THE PAST CHAPTER 2

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.

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BREEZE FROM THE PAST CHAPTER 1

OK,I have decided to post my novel chapter vise as I finish writing them...:) I hope you guys enjoy it:) Here's the first chapter...

Chapter 1(1819 A.D-Elizabeth)

Elizabeth couldn’t believe that her friend had decided to get married so soon without even knowing anything about the person she was about to get married to. All Caroline knew about her future husband was that he had an honest job and would provide her with all the necessities...well and a few children. But, What about love? What about courting? What about building a friendship first? If her friend knew what she was getting into then she didn’t want to interfere. But one thing she knew for certain, she would never get married like that to a man without even knowing what he was like or if they would get along together. True she wasn’t one to sit dreaming about being married like most of the girls she knew, she would rather go horse riding and hunting with her cousins or uncles, or read a good book which transported her to new world so completely different from the one she lived in. Yet, with most of the girls her age getting married she couldn’t help but think what she wanted and what she didn’t in her married life.

If one were to ask she wouldn’t have told you that she felt trapped in her life, after all she came from a wealthy family and her parents were honest understanding people who never forced her to do anything she didn’t want to. She was much better off than most of the other people out there. She wasn’t constantly nagged to behave like a proper girl and not do any physical chores like Caroline’s mom nagged Caroline. Elizabeth always never understood why people had to differentiate chores into boy chores and girl chores. Her parents always insisted that she does help around the house and as long as she did that they didn’t mind if it was chopping the wood that she did or cooking in kitchen. But she did realise that not everyone in town were as broad minded as her parents. So in fact she felt she was lucky that she could lead her life of freedom and most of her days were filled with happiness. She was curious by nature which made it easy for her to learn anything, may it be sewing, cooking, reading or horse riding. Sometimes she even engaged in the games that her brothers played...but that didn’t mean she was good at everything. She was good at some while not so good at others especially when it came to physical work but as long as it gave her satisfaction she definitely didn’t mind doing anything.

But it was this same curiosity which made her wonder what it would be like to live in a completely different world. When she read books from past or about mythologies from various other cultures she wished she could be transported to those places just long enough to see what they wore, what they ate, how they governed, how justice was served...oh the list was endless. She felt guilty for entertaining such thoughts but that was just a part of who she was. No matter how much she tried she just couldn’t stop her thoughts from flowing in that direction.

She looked up with a smile on her lips as she saw her favourite nephew come running to her.”Aunt Lizzy, aunt Lizzy you have to come with me and see grandpa’s attic” The 10 year old was bursting with excitement and she couldn’t help but play along with him.”It has the spookiest feeling to it aunt Lizzy. I just couldn’t go there on my own. But I do intend to explore that place. Please aunt Lizzy you’ll come with me and we can explore it together can’t we? Please? Please?” She looked at his innocent pleading face and didn’t have the heart to refuse. Since she didn’t have any immediate job to take care of, she decided to go with him. A little of his curiosity rubbed on to her too as it had been long since she herself had explored the attic.

She lighted a wick and then they opened the door leading to the attic which made her nephew frown “Well! I didn’t realise there would be light here. Now it doesn’t look that spooky after all...”She had to laugh at how unsatisfied he looked at the prospect of missing out on an adventure, but putting the light off would make it extremely difficult to explore the attic so she continued without saying anything. They found boxes filled with some old clothes, lots of paintings of people she didn’t recognise and a few yellowing books. She also found a few letters bunched up inside an old rickety trunk which also contained a few knickknacks like ribbons, a dried flower, and a necklace with a beautifully engraved pendant. She realised that this must belong to one of her ancestors and decided to find out more about them. With that thought in mind she continued exploring the attic but didn’t find anything as interesting as the trunk, though same couldn’t be told about her nephew. He found many items which could interest a ten year old like shells, feathers some fancy looking pebbles and marbles. Soon he grew tired and hungry and they decided to come back to continue with the explorations later. She collected the trunk which was not very heavy and they went down to the house together. She left the trunk in her room before she went to have dinner with her family
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