Strings Of Time

X

"Ah..." answered the old man, "The Mathews'. How do you know them?"

The young lady sighed and fiddle once again at the piece of paper. "I used to work there as an assistant for Henry Mathews, however, that obnoxious daughter of his... Ugh! Thinking about her makes me really mad."

The old man laughed, "Well, she is a bit of a pain in the ass."

Elise looked at the old man with curiosity, "Do you know her?"

"She's my granddaughter. Her mother is my daughter. You see, that kid had a tough life. I couldn't imagine waking up every day without seeing a bit of color. As you may have known, she's quite of an artist. I've seen her paintings. It's amazing... All the colors mixed together making a beautiful outline of life. However, her father was never impressed by his daughter's talents. He wanted Alex to be a different artist... more like a musician."

"But..." the young lady slid closer to the old man, "But how did she lose her eye sight?"

The old man pursed his lips and shrugged his shoulders, "They said that, when you lose someone near and dear to your heart, your sight goes along with them." The old man stood up and smiled at Elise, "Maybe you should go back there and make amends with The Mathews'. Maybe they need someone like you to uplift their dying spirits. I should know, you just made my day."

Before the old man could walk away, the young lady called him, "What's your name, Mister?"

The old man smiled, "Carlisle. Christopher Carlisle. And you?"

Elise was suddenly dumbfounded, she shakenly stood up with wide eyes, "E-Ely... My name is Ely..."

The old man smiled and tipped his head, "Nice talking to you, Ely. You should come visit me sometimes and I'll tell you a story about a girl that I once knew who changed my life forever. In fact, she looks just like you. Good day to you."

And just like that, another soul from Elise's past came to life and he was there at their home town, alive and well. She would dream of Christopher often and now he's back in her life but in a different state.

Elise once again found herself standing in front of Hadleigh Hall, anxious to see the father and daughter.

"I thought I would never see you again." Said Mr. Mathews, hugging the young lady. "What made you change your mind?"

Elise glanced at Alex's room and made a deep breath, "I don't know... Maybe... sometimes you have to see what's on the other side of Pandora's room and ask for an apology."

Henry smiled and nodded, "She's not in her room. I think she's out in the garden."

"I see..."

"Well, I better go now. I have business to attend to and I'll be home tomorrow." Henry hugged the young lady once again and went on his way.

Elise went to the garden and Alex wasn't there, she's not in the gazeebo either. She looked around for a bit and found Mr. Bello watering the flowers. "Mr. Bello..."

Mr. Bello turned his attention at Elise and smiled widely, "Ah! Miss Summerhall! Good to see you again! I thought, you're not coming back! We missed you." Mr. Bello gave Elise a warm hug while patting her back.

"Mr. Bello, have you seen Alex?"

The man gave Elise a curious look, "Alex? Err... I saw her going in at the lighthouse. Why?"

Elise smiled and kissed Mr. Bello's cheek, "Thank you, Mr. Bello. The garden looks nice." The young lady waved goodbye to the gardener and ran through the field to get to the lighthouse.