Lost In Time

A Hidden Tale

It was sunny and the air smelled of spring flowers. Birds flew overhead as I materialized on the sidewalk, two moms out for a jog going right through me. As soon as the dizziness went away and my nose stopped tingling, I looked around, squinting in the bright rays of the sun. I was in a gorgeously modern subdivision of a wealthy neighborhood, mansions surrounding me with fancy landscaping and gorgeous flowerbeds in wonderful bloom. A little girl with blonde curls was skipping in the lawn in front of me, trying to chase butterflies. Her giggles and squeals filled the air, she looked so carefree and happy. Curious, I got closer, realizing she was the one I was here for, to watch and learn from.

"Samantha? Sweetheart, how did you get outside? You know your mother doesn't want grass stains on your beautiful dress, come play inside!" A strict voice called out, and both Samantha and I turned to look at a stern nanny, with the gaze of a hunting hawk standing on the front porch, dark oak front door slightly ajar behind her. Samantha nodded respectfully, waving goodbye to the butterflies as she skipped to the woman, who shooed her inside. I followed, watching in thoughtful silence as I stepped right through the door. The nanny disappeared, and Samantha giggled to herself, and with a furtive look around her, began to sneak like a ninja up the stairs, hunched over and quiet. She was clearly having a good time as she tiptoed down the upstairs hallway, light lavender walls tastefully decorated with regal family pictures. As Samantha paused and hid in a little reading alcove under some stairs, tucked neatly away into the wall to hide from some passing women in maid's uniforms I took the opportunity to closely examine a framed photo. A spark of recognition ran through me as I stared at a much younger Vivian and Samuel, recognizing their parents, Susan and Charles Montenet, and Samantha. Hm.

Little footsteps alerted me to the fact that Samantha was once again sneaking down the hall, her small hand pulling at a doorknob, before pushing it quietly open. There was Charles Montenet, busy typing away at a computer, sitting at a large mahogany desk. The room was clearly his study, ornate drapes covering most of a wall window, so only some sunshine peeked through. Gleaming bookshelves that looked brand new covered the rest of the burnt red walls, a stiff-looking fainting couch pushed against a wall. This was the office of a wealthy, successful man.

Samantha approached him, clearly her father, with the charming smile of a five year old. "Daddy, will you play with me?" Her little hands tugged on his white, neatly pressed button-up shirt sleeve, giving it a slight wrinkle near the cuffs. He sighed, a long and stressed sigh, but his fingers never stopped busily hammering away at his keyboard, eyes never straying from the large monitors taking up his desk surface.

"You know I would love to Samantha, but I am busy. Go play with your dolls in your bedroom." Charles didn't notice as her chocolate brown eyes, filled with happiness, slowly drooped and glimmered with tears, her bottom lip quivering as she quietly left the room and shut the door behind her. He never looked up once, not straying from his work except to fix his shirt sleeve, the little wrinkles of a hopeful five year old girl gone, just like that. Samantha bit on her pink bottom lip, taking a breath, before her eyes brightened and she ran down the hallway again, flying down the stairs, not even slowing down when the maids worried that she would fall, calling softly after the little girl. She slid a little, her white dress shoes sliding on the marble floor as she grinned, once again having fun, before pushing the big white French doors open as she bounded into the master bedroom.

Susan Montenet was standing in front of a gold triple mirror, talking on the house phone pressed between her shoulder and her ear, her black hair tumbling down her back in elegant loose curls. She was dressed in a white silk robe, critiquing a summer dress as she held it against her body, before discarding it with the many others on the large canopy-covered bed, the many different dresses a splash of color against the dark emerald green duvet and black mounds of pillows. The room sported a variety of greys and greens, Samantha's little blue dress and white tights with green grass knee stains standing out as she approached her mother with eagerness.