-Strange – 1 page –
Elizabeth all at once had opened her eyes and felt strangely rested. She allowed her retinas to adjust to the bright warm light and began to scrutinize her unexpected surroundings. She experienced a tinge of panic as she did not only did not know where she was but had absolutely no idea of how she got here. However as soon as the anxiety had risen it quickly faded and she became at ease with her dilemma. She purposefully studied the metallic room. Yes, there was no doubt about it; she was in some sort of elevator. She was alone and confused yet she did not feel afraid, in fact on the contrary Elizabeth felt remarkably tranquil. She noticed that she was wearing a long soft pink cotton summer dress and this bemused her, for she had not worn such a dress in a long, long time.
Elizabeth desperately attempted to concentrate on where she had just been. She examined the beautifully inscribed numbers next to the buttons which went all the way up to level nine. Vague slivers of memories started to cluster coherently within her mind. Yes, she had started to remember! She closed her eyes as images of her ailing health replayed.
“That was it!” she realized, ” I had fallen prey to the dreaded rampant fever”.
She remembered the servants in her big house tending to her. She remembered the doctor being called. She remembered the shaking of the heads. And she remembered finally falling into a deep blissful sleep. All at once she started to understand where she was and found herself excited at the prospect.
“I made it” she sighed. “I have actually made it! Bring me on home Lord, bring me on home.”
It was then that the elevator doors suddenly slid open to reveal a big brightly colored sign,
“Welcome to cloud nine”.
Elizabeth could not help but smile to herself as she paused to study the glorious peaceful scene. She could acutely smell the sweet scents of the multitude of colorful wild flowers; hear children’s enchanting giggling as they frolicked innocently under the cloudless blue sky. Somewhere off in the distance she was convinced that she could even hear the soft sounds of a string quartet performing Mozart, as it soothingly serenaded with the sounds of gurgling streams gushing crystal water down the green hills.
Eagerly she stepped forward just as a young woman and man appeared in her path. She recognized the faces instantly, her dead parents. Her heart froze in fear as her father waved an all too familiar axe in her face and pushed her abruptly back into the elevator.
“This is the wrong floor Lizzie Borden!” He yelled… “They are expecting you in the basement.”
Originally posted 11/30/2005
Love it.