Stranger Things Have Happened (Elvis Presley story)

Chapter 2

I turn and look at the street. There are cars parked along the side of the road, but they are strange. They all must be at least sixty years old, but look brand new. Is there an old car show or something? Turning to look at the hotel again, I see that it is not the hotel, but a small dress shop. I look through the window and see a few women inside, staring back out at me with crazy expressions.

Feeling a little self conscious I turn away from the window. Okay, where am I? I don't think I recall seeing any dress shops by the hotel, so maybe I wandered away by accident. But I don't remember going anywhere.

Hearing footsteps and whispers, I look over my shoulder and see a middle aged couple walking towards me on the sidewalk. They look strange too. It's like they're wearing costumes straight out of the 1950's. Both of them stare at me with mouths wide open and eyes big.

"Um, excuse me? Do you know where the hotel is? I thought it was right here," I point to the dress shop. The two of them stop dead in their tracks the second I open my mouth, and the woman grabs hold of the man's hand, yanking him behind her as she runs away. What the hell was that all about?

Now more and more people walk by, all staring at me with bewildered looks, whispering things to each other. And all of them where costumes like that couple. Not knowing what to do, I cross my arms over my chest and start walking away. Hopefully the hotel is this way. The stares don't stop and neither do the whispers, and I even notice people following me.

Suddenly out of the corner of my eye I see a young woman approaching me, maybe a little bit older than me. I am afraid for a second of what she might do but I realize that she doesn't look at me like all the others do. She looks friendlier. When she is close enough, she gently grabs hold of my hand and pulls me behind her, briskly walking down the sidewalk away from everyone else.

"Come along," she mumbles over her shoulder. I wonder if I should be letting her take me, but I don't question it. At this point I'm just happy to get out of there. She turns right at the corner and leads me down a suburban looking street. Fortunately all the others have stopped following us, and the street here looks much less populated.

Houses line both sides of the road, and I notice that all of them have old cars in the driveways as well. We soon reach the end of the street and she releases my hand.

"Who are you?" I ask once she finally stops.

Turning to glance at me, she shakes her head. "I could ask you the same question," she lets out a breath and sticks her hand out to me. "My name is Margaret."

Hesitantly, I reach out and shake her hand. "I'm Anna."

She bobs her head in a brief nod and turns yet again, starting up one of the driveways to our left. Once she realizes that I'm not following her, she calls back at me over her shoulder. "Come on, we're here." I nod and run to catch up to her. The driveway leads up to a small yellow one story house. When we reach the door she bends down and lifts up the corner of the mat, retrieving a key. Unlocking it, she returns the key to its place and ducks inside, holding the door open for me. Taking in a deep breath, I follow her in and let the door shut behind me.

Looking around I see that we are in an entry way of sorts, black and white framed pictures handing on the walls. Almost without warning, Margaret turns and faces me.

"May I?" She asks, pointing at my jacket. I nod and tug it from my shoulders, handing it to her. Taking it, she spends a few moments studding it, turning it this way and that. Draping it over her arm, she carefully reaches out and takes both of my hands. At first I am confused, but then I realize what she's doing.

She holds my arms out to the side, curiously inspecting my clothing with a furrowed brow. My eyes wander around, searching for anywhere to look. I bite the inside of my cheek almost painfully hard. When her eyes finally return to my face, her expression one of wonder. She reaches out and touches the end of my hair, looking at it in awe before letting it fall back to where it was before.

"Well, let's get you changed, shall we? Out of these curious, well, whatever they ares." She gives me a small smile and takes me by the wrist, leading me further back into the small house. Stopping at the end of the short hallway, she opens the door on the right and tugs me inside behind her, turning and closing the door.

It's a bedroom, her's I'm presuming. It is small but cozy, and I can't help but look at it with fascination. There is a twin bed tucked in the corner on the opposite side of the room with a soft coral colored bedspread, neatly made. Beside it is a small wooden nightstand, a little white lamp placed on top. The closet is on the wall to our right, and to our left is a wooden desk and cushioned chair. The walls are covered in a pale beige wallpaper with a tiny pink floral print twisting and twirling all over it. White lace curtains hang from the window, lazily blowing in the gentle breeze.

She walks over to the bed and puts my jacket down before turning and opening the closet. After browsing through it for awhile, she motions me over. I approach her and peer inside.

"Why don't you pick something out? Anything you like," she steps aside and gestures at the hanging garments. My eyes grow wide and I begin to shake my head.

"Oh, I don't think," I start, but cut myself off when I look at Margaret's face. She just looks to friendly, like she wants to help me. So I let out a breath and start looking through the closet. There are dresses and skirts and tops, all of which practically look like antiques to me. Everything is so beautiful, like something you would see in an old picture. When my fingers brush over a forest green dress, it catches my eye. Pulling it out, I get a closer look. It is short sleeved and has tiny white polka dots all over it.

"That would look wonderful on you!" Margaret beams, walking over to me and patting my shoulder. She soon lets her hand fall away and she looks confused. "What's the matter?"

"Thank you for saving me back there, and it's so nice of you to do all this. But I just really have no idea what's going on," I say hesitantly.

She nods her head. "Yes. Well, I wish I could explain but honestly I cannot. One second I was downtown shopping and the next you appear out of nowhere! And I saw how all those people were acting and I knew you must've needed help. Obviously you are quite lost."

I ask the next question, not really sure if I want to know the answer. "What is the date today, if you don't mind me asking."

She makes a strange face at me. "Why, it's June 19th."

I swallow thickly. "What year?"

"1957."