A Past on Pause - Chapter 7: Garrett (April 30)

[Lilygirl]

Chapter 4: Bach

Listening to her heels clicking on the stone tile of the foyer, Izzy couldn’t help thinking they sounded like a timer counting down ... to what she wasn’t sure. As she got closer to the bathroom, Izzy’s heart rate increased as did her breathing. She had to wipe her clammy hands on her designer snake skin pants to turn the knob of the bathroom door.

Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Izzy opened the bathroom door. Funny, she was expecting everything to look different somehow. Laughing at her own foolishness, Izzy stopped in front of the closet door to the left of the bathtub. The moment of truth had arrived.



Well, I guess it wasn’t the nectar, Izzy thought. Calm descended over her, it felt good to know her mind hadn’t been playing tricks on her last night.

As she walked down the stairs, Izzy couldn’t help but let her mind wander over the limitless list of secrets her basement might hold. It could be full of old junk gathering dust and mildew that she would have to throw out. Or it could be full of priceless antiques from this house’s past owners that she could have restored and sold.



It could be completely empty, just waiting for a party animal like herself to bring it to life with furniture and electronics and parties.



It could be the home of all sorts of rodents and pests that she would have to hire someone to come and exterminate. Izzy swallowed hard, she hated creepy crawling things.



It could be an old nectar cellar or gardening plot; or an old dungeon with secret rooms and tombstones and everything else creepy. A shiver crawled down Izzy’s spine, she certainly hoped not.



It could be a ... ah ... Ah ... AH ...ACHOO! A head-clearing sneeze brought Izzy out of her mind and back to the dust her footsteps off the bottom of the stairs had stirred up into the air. Wiping her nose with the back of her hand, Izzy blinked rapidly trying to clear the dust and moisture from her eyes.



As her eyes tried to adjust to the very dim lighting and her vision further hampered by the dust cloud surrounding her, Izzy thought she heard the faint sound of ... was that Bach? .. to her left. Izzy waved her hands in front of her face trying to clear the dust. It was a useless attempt to see beyond the dust and darkness.

The sound of the doorbell ringing startled Izzy.

[Magz from Oz]

Oooooo very intriguing.  Can't wait the next update.

[Louise56]

Very mysterious! Can't wait for more.

[Schipperke]

A suspenseful story, beautifully written!  Can't wait to learn the secret of the mysterious basement ... 

[bubbles]

Wow Lilygirl! I never knew how talented you were at storytelling! Where did you get Izzy's pony tail from in the first chapter?

[Lilygirl]

Thanks for the comments everyone! I'm glad you are enjoying my story.

@ bubbles: the ponytail is the Dramatic Ponytail from the store. I've had it so long I needed to go find it for you. 

[bubbles]

Thanks Lilygirl!

[Lilygirl]

Chapter 5: The Basement



“Hi Tanya, thanks for coming,” Izzy said as she hugged her friend. “Again, sorry about biting your head off last night.”

“Time to forget about it, girl. So, a basement huh? In this massive house why would you need a basement?”

“I really have no idea but then I don’t notice things like that. Evelyn would probably know, she’s been here for as long as I can remember. Should we go ask her or just head on downstairs?”



“I came to dig through dust and sneeze, let’s get this adventure started!”

“Boy, are we ever going to be disappointed if there’s nothing down there, hey?” Izzy gave a chuckle. “It might be one boring afternoon.”



“Well, then I guess we’ll just have to settle for manicures at the spa. What a hardship!” Tanya grinned and gently shoved Izzy through the front door. “Your basement waits.”

~~~~~ # ~~~~~

“So when is your next party?” Tanya asked as the girls made their way to the basement stairs. “I think we should have a games night this time. Darts, Foosball, Pool, and the like.”

“I don’t have any of those, Tanya. Are you suggesting I buy everything just for one party?” Izzy held the bathroom door open for Tanya.

“Well, not just one party. When we get the basement cleaned out you’ll have tons of space for everything! Which closet is it?”



Izzy opened the closet door on the left and stepped inside. “The stairs are in here.”

“This is seriously weird, Izzy. How do you live in a house for years and never notice a staircase?!”

Izzy shrugged and lead the way down the stairs into the dark basement.



“Wait!” Tanya whispered when they reached the bottom. “Do you hear that? It sounds like a piano. Did you put on some music down here to make sifting through dust more fun?”

“I hear it too, and no, it’s not me.”

As her eyes adjusted to the dim light, Izzy found herself standing in front of piles and piles of boxes, dirty, musty boxes.

“Whoa, this looks like work for more than one afternoon!” Tanya summed up the sight in front of them. She rubbed her hands together, “Where do we start?”

[Gogowars329]

The basement is packed! I wonder what secrets Izzy and Tanya will find...

[Lilygirl]

I'm feeling inspired so here's another update!

Chapter 6: Music

Dust tickled Izzy’s nose and she squinted trying to see past the boxes. Soft piano music filtered back into her conscious.

“Light, we need more light.” Izzy turned to her right searching the wall beside the stairs for a switch. Finding one, she leaned over the chairs blocking her way and flicked the switch to ON. Dim, hazy, gray light filtered down from the ceiling lights through a layer of grime and dust. Izzy sighed, it wasn’t much better than when the lights were off.



Stifling a sneeze, Izzy listened to the piano music coming from her left. It gave her a feeling of calm and ... something, trying to find its way out of her subconscious. As if in a daze, she turned to her left, winding her way past Tanya and the piles of boxes, compelled to find the source of that music.

Tripping on a step-up, Izzy grabbed the metal post bracing the ceiling. She managed to stay upright and stepped onto the raised platform. Dining chairs and a long wooden table stood in front of her piled with dusty books and clothes. Her eyes travelled counter clockwise around the space. More matching dining chairs, some sculptures and art, a stone water fountain, and then what looked like living room furniture including a couple of sofas and low tables. Next to the sofas stood a couple of tall lamps, one of which was casting a faint, dusty glow over a black grand piano.



Izzy rubbed her eyes, squinted, and rubbed them again. There had to be some mistake. A young woman sat playing that grand piano, fingers moving over the keys in a practiced caress. Sheet music was propped up on the stand, open but not needed. The woman swayed back and forth, strands of her black hair floated softly around her face, having escaped from its confining twist.



“Izzy, IZZY!” A pause in the music allowed the sounds of a confused Tanya to penetrate Izzy’s brain. “Are you seeing what I’m seeing?”

Izzy slowly nodded her head as another vaguely familiar song started floating up from the piano. “She’s playing the piano. Bach.”

Tanya’s elbow found its mark in her ribs and Izzy jumped. “I know that, silly.” Tanya said, “What is she doing here? Who is she?”

The magic of the moment disappeared. “I have no idea.” Izzy said, and she stepped over to tap the woman on the shoulder.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you!” A deep voice called out from behind the girls.

[Gogowars329]

What is a woman doing down there and who is this mysterious deep voice? So suspenseful...

[Louise56]

How did the woman get down in the basement? I can wait for the next chapter!

[Magz from Oz]

Oh WOW! What an update!  Well worth waiting for... Seriously hanging out for the next chapter though.

[DeLouche]

This is a great series, loving this story!

[Lilygirl]

Hi everyone!

Yes, we are back or would be except I just got told that I've been hogging the computer since my husband "put so much work into it", whatever that means. So, the update is ready, the pictures have been uploaded to photobucket, and I've been heavily hinted at to get my hands off this computer. So things will wait a while longer (until I'm not feeling so annoyed anymore). Sorry guys.

Hopefully tomorrow.