Grandma Annie and The Dresser - Chapter 3, written by Sandie May Joyce (Sandie Angel). Please scroll down to read the story...
Chapter 3
As the weeks passed, everyone noticed how much Grandma Annie had changed, everyday she had grown a little younger. Her skin shone with a vibrant complexion.
"Grandma! What happened to you? What have you done to your skin?" The same question has been asked by everyone.
"Why? What is wrong with my skin?"
"Quite the opposite!" They all replied. "There's nothing wrong with your skin, but the wrinkles are gone! And you're looking fabulous!"
"Yeah! I noticed that myself. I've been using the cream that Susan bought for me on my birthday. That's all I've been using," Annie answered cautiously. She did not want anyone to know she's been going into the mirror every evening before she went to bed. There has been so much fun on the other side of that mirror - she gets to see her old friends again, just as they were when they were young. Tommy, George, and Suzy; and there's also their friends Amy and Brady; Laura, and John. They were all inside that magical mirror. Annie didn't want anyone to know, but she suspected that going into the magic mirror is the secret to keeping her young, and every time after a visit to the mirror she would come out looking younger. At this rate she thought, sooner or later she would look to be the same age as her children! What a riot this is! But she must exercise discretion, she wouldn't tell anyone about this, otherwise, they may think there's something wrong with her and may take her dresser away, then she would not be able to see her friends anymore.
Mark came to see his mother last weekend, and he was surprised at how well Annie appeared to be. He even went to buy her some healthy food, and some ginseng tea - but after seeing her, he didn't think his mother needed those things anymore. He stood there in disbelief, wondering what is happening to his mother.
"Mom! Have you checked with Dr. Bell lately?"
"Why? I'm feeling fine, Mark! Don't worry!"
"I don't think there's anything wrong! As a matter of fact, I love your energy! I was just thinking perhaps Dr. Bell may have given you some kind of energy pills, or some pills that, somehow, has a reverse aging effect on you, and I'd like to know what it is that he has given you," he said.
"Nooooo! I'm not taking any new medications. Only the ones he has prescribed to me, and I'm not taking any more pills. Pills are for sick people, and I'm not sick!"
"Okay, I'm happy that you're feeling fine. But why are you ignoring your friends now? You have not got together for any social meetings with Mrs. Clarkson next door. She has invited you many times over there for dinner and but you kept turning her down. Is there a special reason for you to turn her down? You two have always been friends."
Goodness! How does he know? That wretched woman! Some friend she is! She must have been talking about me to Mark behind my back! And I thought she was a good friend!
"It's okay! Don't worry, Mark! She and I are still friends. I just was pre-occupied in the evening whenever she invited me. It was just bad timing," she explained so that Mark would not get suspicious about the dresser and the mirror.
"Just do whatever that makes you happy, Mom," said Mark, smiling.
Annie wished it was that simple. Many times she wanted to tell her secret to somebody about the mirror, but she just couldn't find a good candidate. She may have to keep that secret to herself for a long time.
She had decided to call upon her neighbour friend soon to invite her over for an afternoon tea. Dorothy now looked like an old lady, even though she was three years younger than Annie.
On the constant insistence of Mark, Annie finally went to see Dr. Bell for an annual checkup. Dr. Bell was surprised to see how well Annie was, and there didn't seem to be anything wrong with her physically. He has concluded that it was a medical miracle. Annie came out of all those physical tests a winner! Mark just had to accept that his mother is getting younger.
Unbeknownst to Annie, her great-granddaughters, Marylynn and Melissa, had been spying on her. The two became aware that their great-grandma would always lock herself in her room after dinner, and would not come out until the following morning. They tried knocking on her door several times but met with silence. There didn't seem to be anyone inside the room.
Where does Grandma go after dinner? If she is not in her room where is she?
Well, she must have gone somewhere if she is not in her room, but how did she get out? By climbing out the window?
After dinner, both Melissa and Marylynn would stand outside of the house behind some bushes, looking for signs of their great-grandma climbing out the bedroom window. Is grammie experiencing some form of delayed teenage rebellion?... Because climbing out of the window is what some teens were known to do, but they've found no signs of grammie climbing out of the window.
They went back inside to knock on her door, pretending that they had some cheesecakes or dessert for her to eat, but there was no answer from the room. Just complete silence.
Marylynn and Melissa were both puzzled by this. They decided to tell their mom and dad.
"Oh, perhaps Grandma was sleeping when you knocked," Susan explained. "When an old person goes to sleep, they sleep well. Obviously, Grandma did. She looks well-rested these days. I'm glad for her."
"Where would she go?" Eddie (as his wife would call him) asked. "If she didn't climb out of the window, then where would Grandma be? She must be inside the room. Right?"
"I don't know! But I find it odd that she would not answer me when I knocked. It has not been her usual practice to lock her door either. She has always been leaving her door unlocked, so Melissa and I can go in to visit her whenever we knew she was awake, but now she is locking us out of her room too," said Marylynn.
"I think something strange is going on, but I don't know what it is since she is in her room all the time, and she no longer accepts Mrs. Clarkson's dinner invitations. They have been good friends for a long time. Grandma seems mad at Mrs. Clarkson lately. I need to know the reason why," said Melissa. "We just want her to have some good friends around, and not locking herself inside her bedroom all the time."
"Girls, girls! I know you are concerned! But I promise you there's nothing to be alarmed about. Grandma had a complete physical checkup just a few weeks ago and came back with a clean bill of health. According to Dr. Bell, Grandma is as healthy as a horse! We should all be happy for her," said Susan, trying her best to comfort the girls.
"She's 89, hun!" Eddie reminded his wife.
"Sure, she is! But there's nothing wrong with a woman of 89 years old to want some solitude. Perhaps she's tired of the social gathering with Mrs. Clarkson! Who knows? Perhaps that's why she's locking herself into her bedroom and doesn't feel like talking with anyone after dinner. Sometimes, even an old lady needs some time to herself. Have you thought about that? It's a phase any old woman would go through, I hope that's all it is."
"But I miss talking to Grandma after dinner!" Melissa protested. She felt as though she has lost a best friend.
"Okay, okay! Girls! I will talk to Grandma when I see her, alright? Now, you two must run along and not get too worried. I'm sure Grandma Annie is just fine. Don't worry!"
Susan comforted her two girls, yet within her heart, she too had grown suspicious of her mother-in-law's sudden introverted behaviour. Ever since Annie's 89th birthday, she seemed to have changed into another person, and sometimes she would wonder if this is the same Grandma Annie who had spent her birthday with the family. The face cream she had bought for Annie on her birthday was just like any ordinary face cream. There was nothing unusual about it. It should not have that kind of reverse aging on Annie's skin.
Perhaps she has met someone out there in the park somewhere who has given her some magical potion or magic pills or something? Someone who could do magic? Ha! Grandma isn't fair! She's not sharing her secret with anyone! Not even with her doctor, not even with Eddie or his Dad! Grandma is keeping her secret recipe all to herself and that's not fair! I need to know that recipe too! Susan thought. She has made up her mind to find out the truth from Grandma.
Unbeknownst to Edward and Susan, the girls secretly acquired a key to Annie's room. They have decided to find out the truth for themselves.
Tonight, Edward and Susan were both in the living room watching TV after dinner. An hour had passed, and Melissa and Marylynn were sure that their great-grandma would be in her room, locking the door behind her, as she had become accustomed to doing after dinner.
The two girls tiptoed up the stairs came in front of Annie's door. They began knocking.
"Grandma!" They called out to her as they knocked.
"Grandma! Are you in there?" They knocked again, but as usual, there was no answer.
"Grandma, we've brought you cheesecake! The one that you like," Melissa said. "It's so delicious! You should try some too!"
"I'm bringing it in now, Grandma!"
Melissa, her hands trembling, inserted the key into the lock on the door, and to her surprise, it worked!
The door swung open.
The girls were stunned to find Grandma was still very much inside of the room. She was sitting in front of the dresser, her eyes staring blankly into the mirror!
"Grandma! We thought you were sleeping! Look! We've brought you cheesecake! The one that you like," said Melissa as they brought forward the dessert on a plate.
"Grandma! Are you alright?"
To their horror, they found Grandma Annie remained motionless. She was not even aware of the girls' presence. She was there in the room, yet she wasn't there!
"What's wrong with Grandma? Why isn't she responding to us?" Melissa asked Marylynn in bewilderment.
Marylynn tried waving her hand in front of Annie, but she did not even blink her eyes.
"I'm not sure! This is weird!"
Marlynn felt grandma's pulse to check if she was still alive. It was faint, but it was definitely present. Yet, her body seemed to have gone hard. Does that mean she's dead? Horror struck the girls as they screamed for Grandma to respond.
"Grandma! Where are you, Grandma! Please, God! Don't let anything happen to my Grandma! Please bring her back!" Melissa screamed in horror as Grandma would not be "awakened."
Edward and Susan heard the girls' scream from downstairs and came rushing up to Annie's room. They were both shocked. They checked Annie's pulse and found she was very much alive, yet, she would not respond to them. Her body had become stiff.
Just how long has she been dead? It wouldn't have been that long since she had joined us at dinner time. Thought Edward. He was confused.
Edward came rushing to call his dad and told him what is happening. Mark called Dr. Bell and told him to come to the house immediately to check on Annie since Dr. Bell's house was just one block away from Annie's house. He also notified the other members of the family.
Within an hour everyone was there in the house. Dr. Bell checked Annie all over and determined that yes indeed, Annie was still alive, but yet she is unaware of what is going on around her. Despite her hardened body, her pulse showed that she was still pretty much alive, and her heart was still beating. The good doctor took some blood samples and advised the family that she should be put into her bed. They tried to move Annie from the chair to her bed, but she had become immovable. She seemed to have been glued to the chair and was extremely heavy. Dr. Bell suggested the family to just leave her there for the time being as he will need to do some more tests to determine the cause of this.
He advised the family to prepare for the worst. Annie may still have a pulse, but Dr. Bell was not hopeful that Annie would still be alive later.
Mark took the blanket from the bed and draped it over Annie. He was expecting the worst.
"And I thought you were healthy, Mom," Mark couldn't contain his sorrow. Tears were running down his eyes.
The family came together downstairs to listen to Dr. Bell's instruction. He would have an answer to this the following day. He also advised the family to keep checking on Annie's pulse, and if it stops to immediately let him know.
After Dr. Bell left for the hospital to do some tests, the family were discussing what was happening and were making a decision on where best to bury Annie just in case she would die. Susan went into the kitchen to make some coffee.
Suddenly, they heard a noise coming from Annie's room. They thought someone was moving Annie and the chair.
"Melissa! Please don't move Grandma! Leave her be! Don't touch anything in that room for now," Edward said loudly to his daughter.
"That wasn't me, Dad! I'm over here!" Melissa responded, sitting behind him at the piano.
"Oh?" Edward looked puzzled by the noise.
"Not me, either, Dad!" Marylynn said.
"Honey, are you up there?" Edward tried calling out to Susan.
"I'm in the kitchen, Eddie!"
By this time, everyone in the room was pretty much psyched out. Who could that be moving the furniture if everyone is down here?
They rushed to go upstairs to Annie's room, only to find Annie still sitting in front of the dresser! But now she was very much alive and in action. She was there looking at herself in the mirror, brushing her hair as she normally would.
"Oh! Who has left me with that piece of cheesecake? It was delicious!" Annie said heartily. She was smiling and well.
She stood up and turned around, took the empty plate and was about to walk it downstairs to the kitchen, but was surprised to find everyone there - staring at her in wide-eyed bewilderment.
"Mom, are you alright?" Mark asked.
"Sure, why not? What's the matter? Why are you all here? What's going on?"
"But mom! We thought you were gone! You did not respond to any of us when we called you an hour ago. How and why did that happen? Mom! Now, we need to take you to the hospital for a checkup." Mark insisted.
Edward was already on the phone with Dr. Bell, explaining to him what was happening. Dr. Bell was lost for words. He could not explain anything to the family of what was happening to Annie. There didn't seem to have any medical explanation for this.
Under Mark's insistence, Annie was taken to the hospital, where she underwent extensive tests and brain scan; but once again, it was determined that Annie was in perfect health and there was nothing wrong with her.
End of Chapter 3
Copyright (c) Sandie May Joyce
All Rights Reserved
If you can't remember what you've read in chapter 1 & 2, you may have to re-read them before you make your comment. This will give you a better understanding of the story.
As far as I can remember: It was in the story of Snow White there was a magic mirror, but NOT in the story of Cinderella.
The use of a mirror in stories is an old one. Recalling the magic mirror in Cinderella. In this case, the mirror has the capability of some sort of time or dimension travel into the past and rejuvenation ability for those who fall under its spell or use its powers. I've lost track in my crowded short-term memory of the first two chapters, but there must be much more than this going to happen for it to be a book.
Intriguing and engaging, Sandie. Your story keeps the reader (me) wondering what comes next. I would love that mirror. :) Thank you for sharing, Sandie. Love and best wishes,
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