Light in the Shadows

by Hillman, Eva;

  They were working for the agency now, but also for Chris and Beth. They didn’t tell Beth the truth. She only needed to know they were helping her. Beth didn’t want anyone in her home or in her life that didn’t belong there. She had a simple life. She loved her job and she loved her home and didn’t want any change in her life. However, she realized life would never be simple again until they knew the truth. They would go in and search where they were not allowed to be. That night they waited until dark and dressed in black and they went to the house. It looked kind of spooky now, which it didn’t when they grew up.

  Chris went to the back door and picked the lock. Once inside they all stood there in the dark wondering how to start searching for Beth and Chris. Nothing had changed from when they grew up. It seemed the government had bought the house and it had been vacant from the time they had left. It made them wonder what was going on.

  The first thing Chris did was go to the stairs. When he looked up the stairs he saw an outline of someone. Someone was there. He called to it and it just disappeared. Chris thought he was seeing things. He was not afraid, but he wondered what was there. He knew ghosts weren’t real, but he didn’t know what to expect when he went upstairs. Beth stood in the kitchen and looked around. It was an old kitchen but was probably a good kitchen for her mother. Her mother was a good cook and made lots of wonderful food in that kitchen. Beth didn’t want this to happen. She just wanted her memories to be what she wanted them to be. Much to remember and much to forget as well.

  Finally, Beth started looking around. She knew who ever had been searching her home also searched everything in this house. The thieves must have wanted this something, whatever it is very much because they are still searching, Beth’s home and it was obvious to the siblings that the thieves were not going to quit until they got what they wanted. Beth knew she had to look in places where no one had looked before. Just then Chris came into the kitchen and looked at her trying to figure out what she was thinking.

  Chris didn’t want to tell her about the apparition he had seen. He wanted to know what she thought about the house. Beth said, “I knew it would be difficult, thought I could handle it but it is hard.” Chris agreed with her and said we have to think of something their mom and dad did that was different from what they had thought was okay.”

  Beth and Chris decided to take one room at a time to see if there was anything different from a normal room. They started in the kitchen. Which was empty. Of course, they looked in all the usual places and then they started looking in strange places. Chris took down the light fixture to look inside it, and in the wall around it. They continued looking in the kitchen because this is where their mom spent most of her time. Mom would know where it would be hidden, and she would be watching a lot of the time, it was safe. Of course, that was still a theory, but it made sense to them. They knew what they were looking for was small. They knew they needed to find it before the others. They were not sure who was looking for it but it was important.

  Stewart was just looking around. He did not know the house and he wanted to get familiar with the place. He thought of all the books that would be in the house when they grew up. Both parents were college educated and would read or study. Stewart looked at where they would keep their books. He found a room that would have been a den or a library with bookshelves all around the room. Shelves from floor to ceiling. He wondered where all the books were now.

  He went into the kitchen to ask Beth what had happened to the books and when he got into the room there was a feeling of something “not right.” Beth and Chris were there talking about the home and how they had grown up, and it was not a normal home as they had thought. Stewart realized the “not right” feeling was there because there was someone there besides the three of them. He didn’t say anything to Beth and Chris about his feeling; he just listened.

  Beth and Chris knew their life was strange and different from their friends. They knew they had to find out why. Beth told Chris “I know the house is the answer and we will have to be here until we find out what had happened with our parents.” Chris agreed, and said the same thing. “Now is the time to find out what was going on that day and all of the days before they died.” Stewart and Chris and Beth discussed what to do next. Searching was not just the answer, it was what they needed to do, but Beth and Chris thought they needed to know what was going on with their parents. They needed to research their father’s job.

  Chris called his superior to see if they could find out what Christopher was working on. Chris, Beth and Stewart needed to get away to think what to do next. They were all stressed from what had happened tonight; they realized they were hungry, so they locked up the house and went to the motel.

  They changed clothes and went to get something to eat. They knew they didn’t want to be seen by the people in their hometown, so they drove out of town to find a restaurant. Outside of town was a bar that served food. They ate a pleasant meal and spent several hours talking about what they were doing here and what to do next.

  Stewart wanted to know where were the books that were in the home. Chris and Beth remembered they kept most of them and donated the rest to the local library. Most of the furniture was donated to the Salvation Army Thrift Store. Stewart asked the two about the furniture that was donated and the books as well.

  We believe the formula was hidden in the house. Both Beth and Chris started thinking about all the furniture and all the items that were in the house where they grew up. Most were of no consequence to anyone, they were just part of a normal home.

  As Beth and Chris were thinking about that time they remembered how sad they were to leave the only home they knew. Katy had taken care of most of the details and they didn’t pay much attention to what was done. Now Katy was gone and there was no one to ask. Then Chris told them about the apparition he saw, when they were at the house. What he thought it was Eric trying to tell them to search an area they knew about.

  “I believe it was Eric as he was always there for mom and dad. He loved far beyond the grave. All of them thought about that as they drank their coffee. They thought about all the things that happened in the last few days. They were very excited about solving the mystery. Beth said she was tired and needed to get some sleep, so they went to the motel to rest and start over in the morning.

  They each went to their own rooms and went to bed, but none of them could sleep. Very early in the morning each of them got up and decided to go back to the house and maybe while they were there they would think of what to do next. Beth got up and put on the same clothes she had wore when they went to the house the day before. As she got dressed she could hear someone next door doing the same thing. When she opened the door, there stood Stewart all ready to begin the day. Beth asked him into her motel room and offered him a chair. She told him that if they were both ready to go to the house they might as well wait for Chris.

  While they were talking about the house, the apparition and what it all meant they realized they were thinking the same things. Beth told Stewart you are saying the same thing I am thinking. You answered my questions before I asked them. We are on the same wavelength. What is going on? Stewart said to Beth, I have known that for a while you were to be with me, he continued, I just didn’t want to say it until we got this mystery figured out.

  Beth thought about it for a minute and then said, “you are a very special person and I have known that but now isn’t a good time to even think of us.”

  With that she was very quiet and decided to get ready to wakeup Chris. Right then he knocked on her door. Beth was standing up to open the door for Chris and told them both, let’s go.

  I need to get this figured out so I can get back to work and my life. When they got to the house they were very quiet. They didn’t know where to start or what to do. Chris picked the lock the same way he did before, and they entered the kitchen. Everything looked the same. Nothing had changed that they could think of. They decided to go upstairs. Chris told them, don’t
panic as I told you what I saw yesterday, and this could be from him or her or whomever it was that I saw.

  As they climbed the stairs they wondered if it was going to be the same. They were not scared but concerned that whatever was going on was very dangerous. As they entered the hallway they knew it not be the same. The trio went into the first bedroom off the hallway. It was the master bedroom. There was a bathroom next to it. They looked around but didn’t see anything to stir their curiosity. Then they went to the next bedroom and it was the same. An empty room would have been a bedroom for Beth. This where she spent most of her life as a young girl. It looked wonderful when her mom decorated it, but now it was just an empty room.

  Chris went into the room that had been his and nothing looked different. It was just an empty room; it didn’t mean a lot to him like it did Beth. He had spent most of his life in that room, but he was okay seeing it again. The next room had been a guest room. It used to have a bed and was decorated very nice by their mother. Although they never had any guests. The next door was the opening to the attic.

  The attic was not a place Beth wanted to go when she was a child. She was not exactly afraid, but she just didn’t want to be there by herself. Chris and Stewart wanted to see the attic now. Beth wasn’t happy but went with them anyway. They climbed the stairs and opened the door. Nothing was there. No surprises. Just an empty attic. As they stood looking around and there was a light in the corner that shouldn’t have been there. Before they could react in anyway the light moved. It went to a rafter that was part of the attic. The light was on the rafter. Finally, Chris moved to go to the light.

  Beth whispered, “don’t go there. Please stay here.”

  Chris went anyway just like he didn’t hear her. He put his hand on the rafter and just stood there looking at the light. When he looked at the rafter, he realized there was cut in the wood; the rafter had been cut and put back the same way it was taken out. Just a small cut, nothing anyone would ever see if they didn’t know it was there. Stewart went to Chris. Both stood very still just looking at the light. The light was as tall as them and silvery and moved around like it couldn’t stand still. A light that was not a light but a stream of incredible movements of many lights all rolled into one. It was awesome; more incredible was that the light didn’t move but was on the rafter. Both men knew the light was showing them something.

  Beth finally went to the rafter also. She wasn’t scared anymore, just curious. She knew the light was there to help them. How she knew that she wasn’t sure. Beth said in a whisper, it wants to show us something. It must be where the light is. Chris put his hand on the rafter where it had been cut and it opened like it had been on a spring. There was a burlap sack in the hiding place. Chris took the sack and in it was a bunch of un-mailed letters. Christopher had written to Maud and the letters had been saved. It must have been after they were married, and it didn’t make much sense for him to write at that time.

  After they took the sack of letters out, Chris moved the rafter and it went back into place. It looked like it had never been opened. Beth took the sack and put it in the backpack along with all the things they thought they would need for the day. Once the sack was safe in Beth’s backpack the light left. It was gone. Chris, Stewart and Beth stood there for quiet awhile looking and wondering about it. The light was giving them something and it must have been important, or it would not have been there.

  The trio was anxious to look at the letters, but they didn’t want to take them out where anyone could see them. They didn’t know if they were being watched but they could not take the chance.

  They took a break to eat lunch and then they went back to the house. Someone had been there after they left; the place looked like a tornado had been through it. The cupboards doors were off; everything connected to something was gone or torn. They just backed out and left things like they were. Stewart wondered if there had been a trap set up to take pictures of them. They hoped they were safe.

  As they dove to the motel they decided it was best to leave the town. They had stayed longer than they should have, as Stewart and Chris knew it not smart to stay somewhere very long. Get in, get it finished and leave.

  They checked out of the motel, got into the car and stating driving without knowing where they were going. As they drove they all thought about what to do. They kept looking behind them to make sure no one was following them. All three of them needed some down time to sort thing out.

  Beth suggested going to a resort of some kind. It sounded like a good idea. When they stopped for gas they got a map and searched for a nearby resort. They decided to go in a different direction to find the one they found on the map. Since it was not the season for vacations they were able to get reservations when they called. They got all settled in their rooms and went out onto a patio that was part of the hotel. Such a great place and they thought it would be a great place to be if they were just going on a vacation. They got something to drink and settled back to just relax. They agreed this was a safe place to look at the letters. Beth went to get the burlap sack. When she got back, they each took one of the letters to look at it. Somehow they knew it was more than just the letters that was important or they would not been hidden like they were.

  As they looked at the envelope, knowing they had never been mailed they understood there was a reason. They passed all the letters to each of the trio to look at them and read each one. Something in one of the letters stayed with Chris and he read them all. He just relaxed and thought about what it was that bothered him. Beth and Stewart sat with the letters knowing there was something about them, something different.

  Suddenly Chris yelled, “I know what it is. It has got to be the stamps. Dad wanted to be a stamp collector. He talked about it a lot. He just didn’t have the time or wouldn’t take the time. He knew he had to figure out the formula instead.

  “Mom was very frugal, and I am sure they had to put the money somewhere. Dad could have researched which stamp to buy as a good way to invest money. No one would look at the letters. The problem would be to keep them safe.”

  Chris said, “The more I think about it all I think mom and dad knew something would happen to them. They needed to protect us kids. There must be some kind of message to let us know what to do next.”

  So they all looked at the letters again hoping to find what mom and dad wanted them to know. Each of them read the letters again. They didn’t say much except how much Christopher loved Maud and what he would want her to do if she was alone. That was the answer. What Christopher wanted Maud to do was to find the formula. Dad had it hidden. Maud knew where it was, and she was to take it to someone that was higher up in the government.

  Christopher had met Timothy Allen when he first started on the project. He told Christopher that all the governments in the world needed what he was searching for. He told him that if he ever found it or came close to it, to let him know. He would take care of it and no one would ever know who had developed it and how it was going to be used. They decided to wait and see if the light would be able to tell them what to do with it.

  Of course, they didn’t have the formula yet, but they thought they would somehow find it. They knew it wasn’t in the house where they grew up. If it were the light would have told us. Stewart said to them we know if it is not in the house then the only place it can be is something that was your moms. After several minutes of discussion, they all admitted they were tired and after they had dinner they went to their rooms. All three of them were hoping somehow in their sleep they would figure it all out. All three of them slept well; they really need some sleep and rest.

  Christopher and Maud, Beth and Chris’s parents met when they were very young. They went to the same school. Christopher was teased because he liked books more than people. Maud stuck up for him, but Christopher didn’t like Maud anymore than he liked anyone else. He was different from most of the kids in their class and he was okay being different. He didn’t want anyone to care. He just wanted t
o be left alone. Christopher went to school because he had to, but he didn’t enjoy it. He didn’t like much in his life except books. He studied, and he researched everything he could find. He loved to look at things that intrigued him. His mom died when he was three and although he didn’t remember her he remembered her love.

  His dad was the one who raised him and was always there for him. His dad was a lot like Christopher. He really didn’t need anyone, and he like to work. He was a bookkeeper with an insurance company and he spent a lot of time with his computer in his office. Christopher was alone most of the time and he liked it that way. He loved books. He read the entire encyclopedias in the house.

  Christopher had a mind that remembered things he had read. They left each other alone but were there for each other when they needed something. Christopher’s dad, Paul had a maid who cooked and cleaned for them. She made lunches for them and prepared a dinner for when they got home. Paul and Christopher usually took their food to their rooms and ate while they worked or read. Paul did the best he could, and he was very proud of Christopher and did what he thought was best in raising his son. Paul knew his parenting wasn’t like other people, but he was okay with it. Together, father and son led a life that would seem strange to many people but was fine with them.

  Christopher went to school and learned what they taught and then he went home to read. He listened to the teachers and did the homework and then he would study more at home. Christopher got straight As and didn’t have any problems with any teacher, rules, or whatever they needed him to do. The only thing he had a problem with was the kids he went to school with. They didn’t like him because they didn’t understand him. Because they didn’t understand him they teased him and bullied him.