What Tomorrow May Bring

by Tony Bertauski

  As she rounded the corner of the front porch, she heard rustling and voices a few yards off to the side, in the darkness near a large tree. She caught a glimpse of a couple of campus security guards hustling a tall student away from the house. Alessa gasped as she realized the student was Nikhil.

  His nose was bleeding and he looked defiant, but scared. Had he gotten into a fight after she’d deserted him? She didn’t know him very well, but it still seemed out of character for him. She supposed people were known to do strange things when they were drunk and upset. She wanted to help, but her presence would probably only make things worse. She put it out of her mind and continued on.

  Alessa cut across the unlit lawn and leapt a low hedge to join the path, far enough from the house that she was sure no one would see her. The last thing she needed was to try to explain to one of her sorority sisters why she was trekking to the library in the middle of the night.

  Alessa reached the library in a few minutes time. As she expected, it was mostly deserted except for a handful of hardcore studiers dispersed at different tables throughout the building. She felt slightly delinquent as she dizzily made her way towards the local history section on the third floor, where she knew the old record books were stored. It seemed somehow inappropriate to be intoxicated in this somber old place. Alessa hoped the other students were too engrossed in their studies to notice her.

  On her previous visit, the last entry Alessa had read was the one from 1908, where she’d learned of Isaac Mason’s sister, Josephine. Knowing that the university had purchased the house sometime in the 1930s, she decided to grab the four volumes documenting 1900 to 1939 to see if she could learn anything more of the house’s history between the time of Isaac’s arrival and the university’s acquisition.

  Alessa opened the first book to 1909, scanning the page for the right address as the words swam lazily across her vision. Trying to shake off her stupor, she flipped hastily through the remainder of the book, but found no mention of 33 Mason Manor that year. She moved on to the next volume.

  The first half of this book was useless as well, and staring at the tiny letters was starting to give Alessa a headache. She was beginning to think she wouldn’t find anything that decade when she came across an entry in 1917:

  Mason Manor, No. 33. New Owner, William Mason, as of May 3rd. Residents: None.

  So in 1917 when – according to her previous notes – Isaac Mason would have been 17 years old, his family vacated their home and transferred ownership of the property to Isaac’s uncle, William, who appeared to have declined to move in or rent it out given the lack of residents recorded in the entry. Alessa noted this information on her laptop and continued reading. She pressed through the rest of that volume and onto the next, not finding any additional entries until 1933:

  Mason Manor, No. 33. New Owner, Eastern State University, as of September 4th. Residence converted for office use.

  Alessa noted that there were entries for other properties recording when they were converted to residential rentals or office space, and there was no such log for 33 Mason Manor prior to this one in 1933. From what she could tell, it sounded like the house had stood empty from 1917 until the university acquired it in 1933.

  Alessa tried to list the plausible explanations for this series of events in her head. She thought perhaps it was possible that the family had just moved away and sold the property to William. That didn’t explain why he had chosen not to live there or at least to rent it out to another family, though she supposed that perhaps he was wealthy enough that an empty second home wasn’t a concern.

  Inspecting her notes, Alessa remembered something vague that the librarian said in the article that Janie had clipped, something about “the passing of a wealthy family.” If Isaac’s family had died, that could provide a sound rationale for why William didn’t live there. Maybe the house was still damaged from whatever tragedy had struck them, or maybe William just couldn’t bring himself to do it. It might have been too painful to be in the house where he’d lost his brother’s entire family. And it would also explain why he eventually relinquished his family’s farm to the university, since it wasn’t going to do him much good sitting there abandoned.

  Of course, with this little information to go on, it was impossible to know which of these theories might be correct, or if there was another explanation entirely. But Alessa had a hunch.

  She felt fairly certain now that Isaac was indeed the ghost. He seemed to be the only possibility given that William had apparently lived well past his teenage years, and Albert, having fathered two children, presumably had as well. It also seemed like an uncanny coincidence that all record of Isaac’s family mysteriously vanished at the same time when Isaac would be the right age to fit the description of the ghost she was seeing. The simplest explanation was that they had tragically died, leaving the property to William, who was too haunted by their memory to make use of the house. And the simplest explanation was usually right.

  It was two in the morning and Alessa’s buzz was slowly twisting into a dull throb in her temples. She’d probably learned as much about the ghost – about Isaac – as she could on this particular night. She decided to return home and sleep off her impending headache.

  As she packed up her belongings, Alessa hoped that this new knowledge would be enough to lay her recent preoccupation with the ghost to rest. For the sake of her sanity, she at least had to try. If she hadn’t known it before, the evening’s events had made it abundantly clear that her fixation was getting in the way of her life, and it wasn’t healthy.

  There was nothing she could do for Isaac. His life was in the past, and she would have to let him go. Now it was time for Alessa to take care of herself.

  13. CONNECTION

  Laying on her stomach with her face pressed into the pillow, Alessa squeezed her eyelids together, but to no avail. The relentless drumming in her head had kept her awake the better part of the morning, and the bright light creeping in her bedroom window was only magnifying the sharp pains surging through her skull. All she was asking was for a couple more hours of sleep. She knew she was just delaying the inevitable; eventually she would have to face the debacle of the night before. But maybe not quite yet.

  She closed her eyes for a few more minutes, but it was no use. Until she got some water and food in her system, Alessa would never get comfortable enough to fall back asleep. Covering her head with a blanket to block out the sun, Alessa blindly reached out from her bed, groping the floor for her backpack. She withdrew the half-empty bottle of water from the night before and tossed the covers from her face with a groan.

  She sat up and took a tentative sip. Her mouth had been seized by a dry, sour rot, a taste which mingled unpleasantly on her tongue with the plasticky lukewarm water. After downing the remainder of the bottle, Alessa lay back in bed and draped an arm across her eyes. She’d known last night that she was going to regret all that beer, and she’d been right.

  Alessa cringed as her memory of running out on Nikhil surfaced, the flush returning to her cheeks as she recalled his dismayed expression. How could she ever explain her behavior in a way that didn’t seem absurd or ridiculous? He would never understand.

  She was glad, though, that she’d decided to go to the library last night. Knowing that the ghost was Isaac Mason had at least answered some of Alessa’s questions, and she no longer felt the same compulsion that she once had. If Isaac had lost his entire family in some tragedy, it certainly explained why he hadn’t moved on, and as long as Alessa understood where he was coming from, she thought she would eventually be able to peacefully coexist. She just needed to figure out how to block out the feelings he incited in her, and then she’d be able to ignore Isaac during their little encounters the same way that he always ignored her.

  Alessa fetched the box of cereal from on top of the fridge and tumbled back into bed. She would have preferred something hot and greasy, but unfortunately dry corn flakes were the best she could do without sl
ogging to the cafeteria. She munched away, breathing slowly, staying as still as possible to avoid jolting her aching head.

  She lay back down after consuming a satisfying amount of cereal and felt immediately relieved. She was able to take a 20 minute nap and felt significantly better when she woke up again. Not back to normal yet, but better.

  Being a Sunday, Alessa could at least stave off any possible encounter with Nikhil by staying in her house for the day. She was sure Janie wouldn’t mind bringing back some real food from the cafeteria whenever she ventured over that way, so Alessa decided to stay put and focus on getting some work done, namely an upcoming term paper for her ethics class. Despite the sustenance and rest, though, she still felt gross. She needed to brush her teeth and shower before she could even think about being productive.

  Alessa felt disoriented when she finally got out of bed and headed to the bathroom. Her equilibrium was off, and she felt like she was wandering in a daze. This hangover couldn’t wear off soon enough.

  When she got to the bathroom, she found that both showers were occupied, and neither of them had freed up by the time she’d finished brushing her teeth. She decided to swing by Janie’s room to wait.

  Janie was awake, barely. She had been half-dozing, watching an old movie on her laptop in bed when Alessa entered. She scooted over to make room for Alessa to sit adjacent to her. “Morning, sunshine. You look almost as good as I do.” Even with a hangover, her sarcasm was unrelenting.

  Alessa just moaned in response and rested her head on Janie’s shoulder.

  “I know, I know.” Janie patted Alessa’s leg sympathetically. “Do you want to talk about what happened with you last night?”

  Alessa moaned again.

  “It seemed like things were going well with Nikhil…” Janie prodded. “Why did you freak out?”

  Rousing her head from Janie’s shoulder, Alessa released a long sigh. “I don’t know… We were about to kiss, and then I looked up and all I saw were Isaac’s eyes, and I just couldn’t go through with it.”

  “Isaac? The ghost?”

  “Yeah, I went to the library last night and confirmed that it’s him. Isaac Mason, 17 years old when his family died in 1917.” Alessa dropped her hands in her lap definitively. Looking at Janie, she qualified, “At least I think. The records aren’t exactly exhaustive.”

  “That must have been a sight. I’m sure the library staff appreciates having inebriated students stumbling through the stacks in the middle of the night.”

  Alessa laughed in agreement, then remembered that she’d wanted to ask Janie about what had happened to Nikhil after she left the party. “Oh, I wanted to tell you, on my way to the library I saw Nikhil in trouble with campus security. His nose was bleeding like he’d gotten in a fight or something. Did that happen here?”

  Janie looked surprised. She thought for a moment. “I don’t think I saw anything. After you left, Nikhil stormed out and Josh went to follow him. I don’t think I saw either of them again after that.”

  “Sorry.” Alessa couldn’t believe she’d managed to ruin Janie’s night as well.

  Janie shrugged. “Eh, it was fun while it lasted.” After a moment, Janie closed the lid on her laptop and set it down on the bed. “I really don’t feel like doing work today.”

  “Me either,” Alessa agreed. Too bad she had that paper to tackle.

  “What are your plans for the rest of the day?” Janie asked.

  “I was going to shower and then attempt to get started on my ethics paper, but the showers are all full.”

  “Well, there’s always the bathtub upstairs.” Alessa knew Janie was half-joking – with only a tub, the attic bathroom was rarely used – but Alessa considered for a moment. A bath might be just what she needed.

  “Hmm… I might actually go do that,” Alessa replied.

  “I was kidding.”

  “I know. But I could use a little detox, plus it will give me an excuse to put off work for another hour.”

  Janie reflected, and nodded her head. “Good point. Maybe I’ll take one after you.”

  Alessa smiled. “I’ll let you know how it is.” With that, Alessa rose from Janie’s bed and headed for the attic. She swung by the bathroom on her own floor to grab her towel and toiletries then climbed the small staircase to the attic level.

  There wasn’t much on this floor besides a locked storage space and the small bathroom. Stepping inside the tiny room felt like going back in time, as it was the only lavatory in the house that the university had decided not to modernize. The bathroom was very simply furnished with just the big white clawfoot tub in the center of the room, leaving only a few feet of space to maneuver on each side of the basin. A matching pedestal sink was positioned across from the foot of the tub, the same height as the brown chair rail molding. One glass and bronze wall sconce affixed to the ivory wall above the sink provided a dim light, but on the outer wall running alongside the bath, a high round porthole window set in a dormer shed plenty of sun across the black and white mosaic tile floor.

  Alessa draped her towel over the side of the tub and opened the faucet. At first the water ran a little brown – sediment accumulated from disuse – but after a few moments, it was streaming in clear and hot. She plugged the drain and prepared to wait. As the bath filled, Alessa stepped around to the other side of the tub to peer out the window, her foot nudging something as she did so. She looked down and found a half-empty box of bubble bath. Well, apparently she wasn’t the only one who used this bathroom.

  She shook some of the bubble bath powder under the running water. The scent of lavender filled the room and a fluffy white foam floated to the surface of the water. The window began to fog from the heat flowing from the tap. When the water reached the halfway point, Alessa closed the faucet and stripped off her clothes, tossing them in a heap in the corner.

  She touched one tentative toe to the water and immediately withdrew. It was hot. Steeling herself, she plunged the full foot into the water. It seared initially, but after a moment her skin adjusted. She stepped her other foot in and slowly lowered herself into the water, exhaling as she went. Again, the pain only lasted a few seconds before bliss overcame her.

  Alessa sighed deeply and leaned back against the tub, sinking lower in the water until only her face rose above the bubbles. She closed her eyes, listening to the muffled underwater sounds that filled her submerged ears. It’d been years since she’d last taken a bath and she couldn’t in that moment remember why – showering was a poor substitute indeed.

  Alessa’s body relaxed completely, the warm water loosening every ounce of tension from her muscles. Her headache subsided into the background as she breathed deeply and luxuriated in the soothing aroma of the froth hovering below her nose.

  After a while the bath started to cool slightly. Alessa slowly peeled open her eyes, thinking of adding a little more hot water to prolong the experience. As her eyes adjusted, she thought she saw something out of place at the foot of the tub.

  It was a hand, ever so faint, draped over the edge of the basin. Alessa stared, disbelieving, as the hand slowly materialized, stretching into a strong muscled forearm, a rolled-up white shirtsleeve, an elbow, a shoulder, a long narrow torso. Within a matter of seconds, there was Isaac in full form, sitting on the edge of the tub in his usual brown trousers and boots. He was facing away from Alessa, his fingers dabbling in the water behind him without disturbing even a single ripple on the surface.

  Alessa felt the familiar mix of emotions – panic, sorrow, and that ever-present magnetic pull that she just couldn’t seem to shake. She sat transfixed, staring at his apparition. He glanced towards the doorway every so often as if he were waiting for someone, his bright blue eyes lazily wandering across the wall in front of him to pass the time, lingering occasionally in the direction of the door. Alessa held still, waiting patiently for the image to fade, as she knew it soon would. She felt more in control than she had the last time, less unnerved, merely curious instea
d of overpowered. She was overcome with sympathy for this boy who had lost everything.

  Isaac inclined his head toward the water, a few light brown locks of hair falling forward to obscure the blue of his eyes. He drew his fingertips from the water and extended his arm in the direction of the faucet, his head following the trajectory of his reach. As his view scanned across the head of the bathtub, he did a quick double-take. Alessa wondered what might have caught his attention.

  She watched as his eyes widened and his mouth gaped, the same mixture of astonishment and apprehension flooding his expression that Alessa had felt so many times before. It was only then that she realized what he had seen. It was unmistakable – he was looking directly at Alessa.

  As Alessa locked eyes with Isaac, all the old emotions came raging back, more powerful than ever before. She felt a crushing desperation to reach out to him, to clutch his hand as tightly as she had in that horrible dream and never let him go. She sat up slowly, never dropping her eyes from his, mustering all of the courage she possessed to inch her arm through the foam in his direction.

  She could see him start to recoil as he understood what she was doing, but then something stopped him. He sat motionless, waiting, staring at her with anticipation, his chest rising and falling with each rapid breath. Alessa’s fingertips closed the gap between them, now only a hairsbreadth away.

  And then, suddenly, he was gone.

  14. REVERSAL

  Isaac sat down on the edge of the tub listening to the splash of the water as it spilled from the faucet into the basin. Steam warmed the chilly room as it rose from the bath and he breathed deeply, enjoying the respite from the long, cold winter they’d been enduring.

  Isaac glanced at the door wondering when his sister, Josephine, would come upstairs. She had made a muddy mess of herself helping him in the stable with the horses. By the time they’d finished, she was shivering violently from head to toe and Isaac had offered to run her a bath to help her warm up and clean off. At almost ten years old she was more than capable of doing it herself, but Isaac liked to coddle his little sister in the few ways she would allow.