Grandma Annie and The Dresser - Chapter 1, written by Sandie May Joyce, please scroll down to read my story...
Chapter 1
Little old Grandma Annie had just received a beautiful antique dresser from her great-granddaughters. It was made of red mahogany wood and decorated with beautiful carvings, and there was not even one single chip on the wood. On top of the dresser was a large mirror and one could look into it and would find the clearest reflection looking back.
Grandma Annie was happy today because the dresser was delivered to her, and it was her 89th birthday! This dresser reminded her so much of the time when she was young, like the time when she got married to her husband Bobbie. Bobbie was tall and handsome, with dark hair and had a clean-shaven face when they first met. Whenever Bobbie smiled he would reveal his perfectly white teeth that seem to light up the sky. Bobbie and Grandma Annie met in the town hall's new year party. The year was 1921. Life was a lot simpler then. You would meet each other, fall in love, and then you would get married, and have a few children together. Life seemed to parade itself in this supposedly logical fashion. Then came the recession, and Bobbie would lose his employment, and for the longest time, he would stay unemployed because there simply were no jobs available during the global recession and the depression period. Auntie Annie had lost most of her belongings then because they had to sell everything to survive, and that was including her beautiful dresser which she had received from her parents as a wedding gift.
Annie's children, Mark and his wife Sophia, with their daughter and son-in-law, Lisa and John, and the still unmarried Matthew were the first ones to arrive at Annie's home to celebrate her 89th birthday. Next to arrive were Lauren and her husband Tom, with their daughter Lori and her husband James. Edward and his wife Susan were already there to take care of the event since they and their children Melissa and Marylynn live in the same house with Grandma Annie. They were all present to witness the arrival of the dresser. As the dresser was being delivered, Grandma Annie was so excited. She smiled from ear to ear.
"Thank you, Melissa and Marylynn! What a beautiful dresser this is! Thank you, everyone! Oh, you, children, are spoiling me!"
"I'm so glad you like it, grandma! We just fell in love with it too, the minute we saw it," said Marylynn.
Grandma Annie looked at her own reflection in the mirror and was pleasantly surprised at how well and clear the image reflected back to herself. She noticed she had some wrinkles around the eyes, but she must admit she was still looking very healthy and well to be just a year shy of 90. That certain glow on her cheeks was hard to ignore. Her eyes turned bright as soon as she saw herself.
"Well, now you can see yourself every morning, and you've got a lot more drawers to fill. I guess we will have to buy Grandma Annie some new clothes too, won't we?" said Mark, who was Grandma Annie's oldest child. He also had dark hair but it was now going grey too with age. Mark was like the spitting image of his father, Bobbie.
"It's so beautiful! You girls have made a great choice!" said Edward to his two children.
"I love those brass pull out handles on the drawers, and also the carvings of the dragon and the phoenix on the sides of the dresser. This dresser had been clearly very precious to someone in the past. I am surprised at how well-maintained this dresser is. There's hardly a chip on this dresser!" Susan exclaimed, examining the dresser for wood that may have been chipped.
"You should look inside the drawers too, grandma. They are all very clean too inside," said Melissa.
Grandma Annie opened the drawers and Melissa was right! There was not a stain inside the drawers. It looked like the dresser had never been used! There was still a label to the side of the drawer, showing the product number and the name of the factory, with the date stamped from long ago at the time the dresser was made, so one could tell this was not a brand new, but an old dresser. Grandma Annie couldn't contain herself. She was over the moon, smiling from ear to ear. Finally, she now could own a beautiful antique dresser! She had been dreaming of owning one for a long time already, and now today her great-grandchildren have made her dream come true .
She continued to unwrap all the other presents that her children and grandchildren gifted to her, and one by one she had thanked them all. Life was good for Grandma Annie, but she wished that her husband Bobbie was still alive to see how well his family had turned out to be.
If only Bobbie were here to see this, he would be so happy for me too! She thought.
They spent the rest of the evening singing songs while Melissa played the piano. Her favorite granddaughter was sixteen years old now. She had been playing the piano ever since she was five. Melissa had a beautiful set of bright and shiny blond hair like her mother, Susan. She stood about 5' 5" and had a beautiful physique like a model. She and Marylynn, who was 14, were the closest to Grandma Annie because they and their parents, Edward and Susan were living with Grandma Annie in the same house to care for her because Grandma Annie was getting old.
By the end of the day, the grandchildren helped move the dresser into Grandma Annie's room before they left. Everyone was quiet now, and Grandma Annie retired back to her bedroom to get ready for bed.
This has been a beautiful day for Grandma Annie, and now as she lay on her bed she felt that, as a single mother, a grandmother, and a great-grandmother, she had done a great job in bringing up this family. If Bobbie was here he would have been proud of his family too.
She began to pull out the drawers one by one to look them all through again. She found a piece of paper in one of the bottom drawers. On it was a scribbled note, "Enjoy the magic mirror," it said. There was no signature on the note. Grandma Annie was surprised. Who could have written this note? Surely, it wouldn't have been one of her children, or grandchildren, or great-grandchildren? If anyone of them had written this, it would only be meant as a birthday wish for anything magical, and there would have been a signature on this note. She tried searching for clues in the other drawers, but there were none.
Okay then, I will have a magical year! She smiled. This could be a good omen.
She sat in front of the dresser and began to comb her hair. She took the hair clip off from the top of her head that held her hair together, allowing her still surprisingly full tresses to cascade down to her shoulders.
Now she seemed to suddenly discover that she actually looked younger when she let her hair down. The glow on her cheeks was still there because of the peachy blush she had put on her face. It was time for her to take a bath and wash that off. Sometimes Grandma Annie wished the peachy glow on her face would stay on her cheeks forever, so she could have a permanent glow. Suddenly, she was behaving like a young girl. She looked at herself in the mirror and began to arrange her hair this way and that way, experiencing the many styles that she could wear her hair.
Oh, silly me! It's time for me to take a bath. Annie thought to herself and proceeded to go into the bathroom. Grandma Annie had always been a strong woman who was capable of doing everything by herself, even bathing herself at 89 years of age was of no exception.
She ran the hot water and began taking a bath. It was very relaxing after a busy day to soak her whole body in warm water. She stayed there in the tub for about half-hour and then dried herself. As she came out from the bathroom she noticed the mirror on the dresser had become foggy.
Oh, no! I mustn't spoil this magic mirror! It should never become foggy! Ah! I should have covered it up with a bed sheet or large cloth, or something first before I went for my bath. Grandma Annie became panicky. She took a large towel and began wiping off the moisture on the mirror. After a few strokes, she suddenly found herself in another surrounding that was not her bedroom. She was startled. What has happened? She couldn't believe her eyes!
End of chapter 1
Copyright (c) Sandie May Joyce (Sandie Angel)
All Rights Reserved
Thanks Ron, Jane, and Eva, for taking the time to read this! Tense is now corrected.
Oh, yes! All these chapters of stories I'm posting are to go into my new book of supernatural/paranormal/fantasy storybook. For some reasons authorden does not have "supernatural" and "paranormal" listed in the category section, so I'm listing this story as Fantasy. I think as the story continues to develop this may well be a Fantasy story. All my stories are short stories although they may have chapters divided by each scene the story would lead into. I don't have the experience to write a great big novel yet like Stephen King and other authors, I'm just satisfied to produce my new book of short stories. I may post another chapter of this just so everyone will know where this story is leading into. My other stories that I have posted recently will also be in my new book as well:
Room 1038 is a paranormal story in which the spirit of a young woman who is refusing to recognize the passage of time and her own death because her mission had not been accomplished.
Woman On The Beach is a science fiction story. I have not finished writing this story yet, so it may or may not be in the new book.
Journey Into The unknown describes a poor young girl who was kidnapped because she looked like a girl who was rich. The kidnappers made a demand of her to do something for them in return for her freedom.
There will be many other stories as well. Some are already written, and some are still inside my head waiting to be let out. I feel another book from me is long overdue. I'm trying to have one before Christmas.
There is still a lot of work to be done and editing is in priority, so I thank everyone for any suggestion.
Sandie
P.S. Ron, too bad about your 1928 dresser ruined by the artist. But that 1940ish vanity set is an antique, you should treasure that one by yourself rather than leaving it to a tenant who may not be aware of its value. I think anything over 70 years should be considered an antigue.
In spite of her, and many others, trials during the Great Depression 1929-1945, Grandma Annie has persevered and seems, in your story, to have an ideal family and situation. My mother, at 89, still lived alone because she insisted. With my father gone when he was 85, she was downsizing and renting. She now lives in assisted living at 93 and has very few possessions. Will not accept any gifts to fill her room.
I have an oak dresser that was described as, "1928 wedding furniture," by the owner of the cottage I bought with the dresser in it. Unfortunately, an artist rented the cottage before me and painted the beautiful oak. The dresser also has no mirror. But I do have a 1940ish "modern" makeup station with a mirror that my tenant is using upstairs.
From what I'm reading, things are about to become supernatural. That's okay. But I think your lead in should describe whether or not this is a story that has parts or is from a book.
Also, in the first paragraph, you use, "was," in past tense, when the rest of the paragraph uses, "is," the present tense.
If you took every major epic fantasy that has ever been written and twisted them all into one fantastic tale of magic, sword play, and just plain old fantasy fun, you might get the first half of this 235,000 word monster of a read. The last half is a
BOOK I of THE JADE OWL LEGACY SERIES: An out of work Chinese History Professor crosses paths with a young scamp in San Francisco and becomes part of a quest for a lost and dangerous Chinese relic.
