World I Never Knew

It was a week before Halloween, October 2010. Angela Matthews sat on the balcony of the third floor of her decrepit house over-looking the beautiful, autumn Vermont scenery. When she was younger she never truly appreciated the beauty of her home state. Since the accident, things have changed.

She sat there, paint brush in hand, her easel set before her. A mixture of various hues of red, orange, and yellow sat in the pallet in her hand. She expertly stroked the brush across the canvas creating an almost mirror image of the scene before her.

An eagle soared above her as she concentrated on her work in progress. Her face had the same expression on it that had been there for the past five years. Unemotional.

Ever since the accident, Angela shut herself off from the outside world. She had someone who would leave food by her mailbox at the end of the driveway every Friday. In her mailbox would be the amount of money needed to cover the groceries. She hasn’t had face to face conversation in the past five years.

No one ever goes to visit her anyway. Her house is set far into the woods, away from most civilization. She has no neighbors; her former friends are long gone away at college. Her family is dead. She is left all alone in the half burned down house. So, it startled her when her doorbell rang. Her head whipped around, her red hair flying across her face.

She slowly crept down the two sets of stairs to her front parlor. Evidence of the fire was still visible on the walls and floorboards. Quietly, she crept to the door and looked out the peephole. There were four young boys there, around the age of fourteen. How they got there she wasn’t sure. She kept the gate at the end of the driveway locked; only opening it to place money in the mailbox and put the garbage out and bring the bins back in. She decided they must have climbed the fence.

She turned her back to the door and started to make her way to the kitchen. It startled her when one of the boys soon pounded on the door. She turned on her heel and glared at the door.

“Is anyone there?” they shouted, hitting the door again. Angela was sure everyone in town knew that she was a shut-in. she tip-toed over to the side window and pulled the curtain back.

She was surprised to see one of the boys right there against the window trying to peer in. she instantly released the curtain and jumped away from the window. Not five seconds later she heard the boy’s terrified screams. Soon his feet pounded against the porch floor as he ran.

“Dude! Where are you going?” one shouted.

“The person in there. There’s something wrong with their face. It’s messed up man.”

“Oh come on. You’re such a pussy.”

“No way man. I’m serious. That shit is freaky. I’m out of here.”

Angela was still staring at the door as if waiting for the boys to ring the bell again. She hadn’t moved the entire time. She could hear the three remaining boys conversing on her porch. Soon, their footsteps sounded as they descended the steps to leave her property.

“You know man… that was probably just a Halloween mask.”

“No way dude. That was most definitely not a mask.”

“Yeah whatever, let’s just go.”

Angela stood rooted in her spot for a good five minutes to be sure they were gone. Once she was satisfied she opened her front door to look out at her mangled property. The grass was overgrown, populated by weeds and wild flowers. The porch was decapitated, falling apart in places. The steps were crumbling. She silently walked towards her gate to find it locked no evidence of being opened that day. She turned back to her house and went inside, locking the door behind her.

****

Joe Jonas sat in the driver’s seat of his car on the side of the road. His flashers were on warning on-coming drivers of his location, a map unfolded on his lap. He had been in Maine, seaside, alone for a small getaway. He was on his way to New Jersey to meet his family for Thanksgiving. He was lost; in the middle of Vermont.

His head moved left and right as he alternated looking at his printed out directions and the map. His index finger hovered over the map, tracing an invisible line of the path he intended to take. Once he was sure he knew where to go he folded the map back up and placed it on the seat next to him, the directions on top.

“Okay… let’s do this.” He muttered to himself, turning the volume of his radio back up. He glanced over his shoulder to make sure it was safe to turn back onto the road, singing along to the radio as he did so.

Night-time was approaching and fast. Joe was finding it hard to see where he was going. Just when he thought things couldn’t get any worse his car started to slow down on its own. That’s when he looked at his gas meter and saw the needle hovering over the empty symbol.

“Shit!” he said, smashing his hands down on the steering wheel. He used what little power was left into the car to turn right off of the road onto what looked like a field.

After turning the key and shutting the car off he pulled out his cell phone to call AAA. He dialed the number and waited while the phone rang, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel.

“Hel-” *Click*.

“Hello?” Joe asked into the phone. No answer. He pulled the phone away to examine what was wrong. His battery symbol was flashing and then it powered down. “Are you kidding me?”

He threw the phone down onto the passenger seat. It bounced off and fell to the floor, rolling underneath the seat. He had left his charger at home… in New Jersey. He sat back, placing his head on the headrest and closed his eyes, running his hands over his face trying to think of what to do. He couldn’t very well sleep in his car in the middle of nowhere. It was the middle of November and already it was starting to snow. He decided to get out and see if there was a place he could stay nearby.

He reached into the backseat and grabbed his sweater. Keys in hand, he climbed out of the car and pulled his sweater on, closing the driver’s side door. He unlocked the trunk and dug around for his emergency kit and found the flashlight he was looking for. He grabbed that and his luggage bag. After locking his car he turned the flashlight on and shined it around for a moment, trying to collect his bearings.

The light fell across a gravel driveway. Shining the light further ahead, Joe could see a mail box. He slowly walked down the snow covered path, looking up to the sky at the fast falling flakes. Upon walking further down the drive he came upon a gate. He shoved against it trying to open it but discovered it locked. Squinting his eyes and looking through the bars he saw a large house ahead. It looked run down but he saw a light on in the downstairs window.

“If I try looking for somewhere else to stay I’ll freeze in this snow.” He told himself. He looked up at the stone wall in front of him and knew if he found the right spot, he could climb over it.

There was a spot, to the right that had a large boulder against the wall that was at the perfect height to jump up and reach the top. He stood on the rock and placed his bag on top of the wall alongside his flashlight. He crouched down and jumped grabbing onto the top of the wall. Using his strength he was able to pull himself up so he was sitting on the wall. He tossed down his bag and flashlight and then tumbled down himself, landing in the tall, snowy grass.

The lawn around him reached his waist when he stood up, brushing the snow from his body. He picked up his bag and the flashlight. He cautiously walked down the long drive, getting closer and closer to the house. As he got closer he could see a shadow walk past the lit window and froze, unsure of whether or not he really wanted to do this. He looked behind him and saw that the snow had already reached a few inches in height and nodded his head.

Finally, he reached the porch. He let out a breath of air, watching as it turned into a cloud around him and climbed up the crumbling steps. He hesitated in front of the door. Through the thick wood he could hear someone walking around. He set his bag down and rang the doorbell and the noise stopped.

“Hello?” he called. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the shadow in the window. “I know there’s someone in there… I can see your shadow.” The shadow disappeared from in front of the window and he heard walking, closer to the door he assumed.

His heart hammered in his chest as the door in front of him remained closed. He knew that whoever was inside was standing on the other side of him though. Unsure of whether or not the person really could hear him… for all he knew they could be deaf… he spoke.

“Please… my car ran out of gas on the road outside of your house and my cell phone battery is dead and I don’t have my charger. The snow is falling heavier out here and if I try looking for somewhere else I’ll freeze. I just need somewhere to stay for the night and a phone to use and I’ll be gone in the morning I promise.” He pleaded. Slowly the door creaked open and he saw red hair and the side of a beautiful young woman’s face. “Hi… can I come in?”

The girl swiftly nodded her head and opened the door the rest of the way, creeping back into the shadows. Joe smiled at her and picked up his bag. Looking around the front room he was in he switched off his flashlight and closed the door behind him. He looked around for his host and found her to his left.

“Hi, I’m Joe. Joe Jonas.” He said, sticking out his hand to shake hers. She extended her right hand but stayed hidden. “Uh… what’s your name?”

“Angela.” She said.

“Beautiful name.” he commented. “Thank you for letting me stay. I’ll be gone in the morning.”

“If it stops snowing you will.” She said. “Follow me.”

She cautiously stepped forward into the light and Joe let out a gasp. The left side of her face was severely scarred, the hair on that side of her head was thin and wiry. So very unlike the luscious red hair on the opposite side. Looking down her body he saw her left hand was just as scarred.

“I’m sorry.” Joe quickly apologized. “I just… wasn’t expecting…”

Angela didn’t say anything… she just walked up the staircase in front of them. At the top she flicked on a light switch, illuminating the hallway. Joe looked around him and saw many paintings hanging on the walls. They seemed very expertise.

“You can stay in here.” She said, opening a door. “The bathroom is down the hall and to the left. My room is at the other end of the hall, knock if you need anything. The linen closet is right across from you… you look like you could use a hot shower. Help yourself to anything you want in the kitchen, there’s plenty of food.”

“Alright… thank you. Again I’m sorry about that… before. Do you mind me asking what happened?” he asked cautiously as he set his bag on the bed.

“Yes. I do mind.” She said bitterly. “Whatever you do, don’t go up to the third floor.”

With that she swiftly turned and left the room, leaving Joe to stare after her. He looked around the room he was in. It seemed cozy enough. He dug through his bag and pulled out his pajamas. Angela was right… he could use a shower.