7th March 1985

“Are you up?”, Sam knocked at the door and said gently, “It’s morning according to you”.

Murphy jumped out of bed and opened the door.

“Sam you’re up so early”, Murphy exclaimed.

Sam was looking at her intently, trying to judge her health status.

“Yeah. So how did the night go? Rested well?”, Sam asked in concern.

Murphy tried not to look tired of thinking over stuff till late last night, she gave a cheerful look as to pretend that things are fine.

“Yeah. Rested well”, she smiled.

“Should I go with your statement or make my own judgment?”, he pointed, “breakfast will be ready in some minutes, I’ll be waiting”.

Murphy sighed with relief, it was so hard hiding expressions when she is once used to tell everything.

. . . .

Murphy joined in the breakfast after getting fresh.

“Seems like a nice cook of you”, She said as she took the first bite of cheese omelet.

“Murphy?”, said Sam with concern in his eyes and tone, “Nanny called in last night when you were asleep, I didn’t want to get to up but she seemed worried”.

“What happened to her? Everything’s alright?”, she stopped eating. Looking worried. 

She wasn’t okay with the thought of life breaching her last stand as well.

“She was asking about you again and again and insisting and asking to visit her soon”, He said, “as I told her about your job laid off, so she insisted more, couldn’t call her off”.

He spoke as if he had already made his mind for something.

She waited for him to disclose his response to the events that had befallen upon her.

“We are going to her for somedays”, He said finally, “It’s good that we move away for somedays and meet her, I know things will be fine when we are back”.

He paused and spoke again.

“Nanny has waited a lot already, and our busy days had kept us from seeing her for so long”, He added, “And I think we should be with her when she hasn’t gotten better from her ailment”.

She was listening so carefully, as she didn’t want to miss any information about her Nanny, carefully monitoring his tone, and not letting any expression of Sam go unnoticed.

His face seemed too worried, his eyes were showing concern. It was after a long pause that she took to make a decision.

“I think you are right, we must get a break”, she said in a shaky voice, “I need her alongside too, maybe this is what I need to turn the gloom all around”.

It had been too long that she had dumped too much of words inside her, she wasn’t able to hold it back anymore.

It was causing her pain now. Her rib cage seemed to pain without even getting hurt.

She wanted to channel out everything to her Nanny, who was her acting mother for life. She had much reverence and love for her. She was the last hope in the world she could hold to as in place of a parent. 

“Okay then. Let’s pack the essentials and move out today”, He said happily, “I have already booked up for the train, I knew you will agree”.

He was already done with his decision making, he found it right to move away, it was the only way for them to feel relaxed by seeing their hope and living some moments with her.

She felt relieved the same way as if she had been given a chance to live some moments of her life.

. . . . . . . . . . .

They boarded the train at noon, luckily they got a cabin with not so many passengers in it.

She took the window seat facing Sam on the opposite bench.

The train jerked slowly and started roaring towards its destiny.

Watching out of the windows aimlessly with fewer emotions, Murphy thought how the world is passing under her vision so quickly. Nothing there belonged to her. Not a person who would be sad after her or asking her to stay in that town for a little more. She pondered too deep and stared too far. 

Not even her only rented house was asking her to stay in there anymore. It was haunting her too as the world did.

The way her murky past was haunting her.

The curious incident of the last day was unforgettable for her.

‘Who is Teressa?’

‘Why am I dreaming about her to be me?’

‘Where did the stairs lead to?’

‘The flute sounds, the distant sound of a song’

‘What was the connection between the dream of the  little girl Anna and now this?’

She was glossing over the events over and over and tiring her mind that Sam broke the chain of it by asking for food.

She shook her head and said that she isn’t hungry.

“Are you still thinking about yesterday’s incident?”, he asked.

“No, just enjoying the sight out of the window”, she lied.

“Can you explain to me what’s wrong?”, he insisted.

Murphy didn’t look in his eyes anymore, she knew she wouldn’t be able to go away with her not so true answers.

“I need to rest for some time. I feel tired.”, she quitted the convo.

She closed her eyes hoping that Sam doesn’t notice the stress pouring on her face. She pretended to be sleeping. That she did fall asleep in a few moments.

A wrecked, solitary flute. . .

Playing just for me. . .

Over and over on a service. . . .

Being everything but an ear. . .

Creaking through my soul. . . .

My precious flute it’s playing. . .

She was going down the stairs, in her blue gown. The fog was getting denser, as she was getting nearer and nearer to the temple.

The air was so deeply involved with the melodious song and flute, that was making her lose her consciousness. She thought as if she is sleepwalking there at the enchanting notes in the air.

The magical voice was so captivating that she couldn’t think about anything else than to get lost into the notes of it. The mind was gone numb and obeying some ulterior orders, it wasn’t her body who was moving, she thought.

Her body seemed like a puppet to her, who was following some unknown strings, she wished to move out of the body, or gain controls over but that went vain.

“Teressa?. . . .”, a cold voice said.

She stopped walking down the stairs instantly, and someone put a cold clammy hand on her shoulder, stopping her from turning back.

“You know what you have to do, don’t be befooled by any imposters, you have taken vows, and royalty doesn’t back off from their words”, the voice assured.

The voice seemed too familiar to Murphy. As she had heard this somewhere before.

She started walking again towards the temple, slowly and delicately covering stairs step by step.

Murphy was so agitated and furious about her going that way, she wanted to stop her from moving, she wasn’t able to. She tried to scream but her voice was silenced by some forceful invisible pressure on the head from inside.

‘Stoooppp! Stop right there! Don’t gooo!’, Murphy screamed inside her mind.

‘You have no vows to bear, stop!’

‘Know yourself, remember your worth’

Murphy screamed in her mind, but her body wasn’t responsive to any of the voices other than the enchanting melodic flute in air.

‘Playing just for me. . . .

Creaking through my soul. . .

Taking me to my heavens. . . .’

She sang softly.

The old mysterious stairs were about to an end, it was beyond painful. Murphy was feeling pain inside her ribs again. Still moving on towards the temple.

There she reached the main door. The door was wrecked, it seemed too old for the age of the castle itself. It had some weirds marks on it as if depicting any odd sort of creature. Some old rags were hanging from the side of the door, the door seemed scratched by something so sharp.

She stood at the door, the door was closed.

‘That’s yours forever, your little birthday gift, it knows your food steps’, a familiar voice which she remembered all of a sudden.

. . . . . .

She stepped at the rock at the door of the weird residential, as soon as her feet touched it, something vibrated under feet, seeming as if something sprung to life, from immense underground.

It kept on vibrating and screeching sounds began to start from under the temple, and the door thudded open.

. . . .