I was working till late evening that day. We had to deliver the final build to the client by EOD. My boss had called me in that morning and had issued a stern warning “Shaun! Get your team up to the task and make sure that the build goes today! I do not want any excuses this time”. It was a tough assignment but at last, we got it together and delivered the build successfully. I was elated that my boss would be happy now and I could talk about my promotion in the next appraisal meeting. I was feeling hungry and I grabbed a cheese burger and a soda from the office vending machine. I finished my meal with few of my team mates who had stayed back for the project delivery. We cracked a few developer jokes during the meal and all of us were so relieved to have finally completed this project.
After having our meal, we locked the office and took the elevator to the basement car parking. We said our goodbyes and drove off to our homes. My house is a bit far from the office. I commute around 30 miles to reach the office every day. I had got a great deal for this house last year. A family that was living there had to urgently shift to London for business and they sold the house to me at quite a bargain rate. I was so lucky to be living in a big house now. It was so much better than my one bedroom, rented Apartment. The only downside was that my house was now a long distance from the office. It took me almost an hour to drive to the office and another hour to get back home. My drive back home takes me through the freeway for about 10 miles from the office.Then for the next 10 miles or so there is a lonely stretch of big Victorian style houses. The final stretch again takes me through a forest area. My house is in a lonely forest place. But, I enjoy the peace and calmness of my locality. As I took my car out of the driveway, I looked up to see dark clouds. I checked my phone and saw a thunder storm warning. It seemed like it could rain heavily at any time now. I could see bolts of lightning in the distance. This was not a good sign, I hoped I could reach home safely before it started raining too heavily.
I drove at a good speed of 80 km/hr. and I had only gone about 7 miles from the office when it started raining. The rain was bad and I could not maintain my speed. I reduced my speed to around 50 km/hr. and could barely see around 15 feet ahead of me. I started driving carefully. There was a sharp bend ahead in the road after some distance. As I took the sharp turn I could hear my tires screeching loudly but I maintained the car balance and could somehow keep the car steady on the road. I had barely gone 50 feet ahead when I saw a tree had fallen in the center of the road. The tree had also brought down an electric pole. I put on my brakes as hard as I could to stop the car. The car tires screeched as the car stopped barely inches away from the fallen tree.
I cursed my luck as there was no other way around to get to my place. There was also no point in turning back as the office was locked and my colleague had taken the keys with him. There were also no Motels nearby. So, I parked my car on the side of the road and placed a STOP sign on the rear of the car so that no other vehicle would accidentally bump into it. I took out my umbrella and got out of the car. The best chance I had of surviving this bad weather was by seeking shelter in a nearby house. I could spot a light from a distance and decided to move in that direction. I started the flash light from my cell phone and started walking in that direction. My shoes were now completely soiled after walking in the wet mud. After walking for about half a mile, I came to the source of the light. The light was coming out of the window of an old Victorian mansion.
I opened the gate and watched for any sign of a guard dog. On making sure there was no dog, I passed along a small garden and went to the main door of the building. There was a doorbell by the side of the road. I rang the doorbell and waited for someone to answer it. After waiting for about a couple of minutes, I was about to press the doorbell for the second time when the door was opened by someone. At the same time, a loud thunderclap followed and a cold shiver ran down my spine. The flash of lightning revealed the face of the person. It was a beautiful face. It was the kind of face that can bewitch a young man. The woman was dressed in a black dress.
With one hand, she was holding a candle stand and with her other hand, she held the door open. “Yes, Sir! Caught in the rain now, are we?” she asked me with a smile. “Yes, Ma’am! There’s a tree fallen down the road and I can’t go any further until it’s been removed. Could I spend a few hours in the house till the rain stops?” I asked. “Of course, Please come in,” she said. I got inside and it was quite dark. I had turned off my cell phone flash light and the only light in the room was from the candle in the lady’s hand. I was feeling slightly uneasy in the darkness. I guess the lady sensed it and said “The power went out with the rain. And, the emergency light is kept upstairs” she said pointing the candle in the direction of the stairs. The stairs were leading to another floor within the house. These were big wooden floors which I had seen in the big mansions in old English movies. She placed the candle stand on a table and made me sit on a sofa. “My name is Shaun Graham” I introduced myself as she sat on the opposite sofa seat. “Nice meeting you Mr. Graham. I am Sofia Hepburn” she answered. “Miss Sofia, do you live alone here?” I asked her out of curiosity. “No. Actually, my sister and her son are also staying with me. They are sleeping upstairs.” We talked about for a little while and then we felt sleepy. Sofia politely arranged my bed in the guest room and went upstairs to her room to sleep. I kept my phone on the side table and as I was feeling very tired I fell asleep immediately.
I woke up early in the morning and came out of my bedroom. Since it was quite early I did not wake up Sofia or her family. I left a thank you note for her on the table and left the place. I found my car and saw that the cops had already cleared out the tree and an electrician was fixing the pole. I felt so glad that I had found such a nice house to spend the rainy night. I was also thinking about my charming hostess and I decided to thank her by taking some flowers to her over the coming weekend. I drove home and suddenly realized that my phone was missing. I remembered that I had kept it in on the side table and had forgotten to collect it. In a manner, I was glad that I had found an opportunity to meet her again so soon. I quickly dressed up and finished my breakfast. I took my car and on my way picked up some flowers. I smelled the flowers and I could imagine Sofia opening the door for me in her lovely black dress.
I tried imagining what I would speak to her. I guess I wanted to ask her out for dinner. I drove the long distance very quickly and as I approached Sofia’s house I could see few police cars parked outside. I got concerned and hurriedly parked my car. I got out and approached a police officer who was sealing the area outside the house. I greeted him “Good Morning Officer!” and asked him anxiously “Is everything alright?”. “I’m afraid not Sir! There’s been a burglary last night here.” “What?” I muttered. “Is everyone in the house alright?” I asked him anxiously.
“The land lady and her son were found murdered upstairs by the house maid today morning.” “What about the sister?” I asked. “Is she fine?” I asked desperately. “There were only two people living in this house. By the way, are you related to these people?” “No. I guess I confused them for someone else” I said. I looked up again and confirmed that it was the same house. The whole thing became clear to me in a moment. Sofia was the burglar. She had murdered the lady and her son. When she saw me she played along as the owner of the house and must have slipped away from the house while I was sleeping. I knew that the police would track me by through my cell phone. So, I narrated the whole episode to them. Sofia was caught a few days later in another city where she was spending the loot with her boyfriend. From that day I made sure not to venture into lonely houses to take shelter.
After having our meal, we locked the office and took the elevator to the basement car parking. We said our goodbyes and drove off to our homes. My house is a bit far from the office. I commute around 30 miles to reach the office every day. I had got a great deal for this house last year. A family that was living there had to urgently shift to London for business and they sold the house to me at quite a bargain rate. I was so lucky to be living in a big house now. It was so much better than my one bedroom, rented Apartment. The only downside was that my house was now a long distance from the office. It took me almost an hour to drive to the office and another hour to get back home. My drive back home takes me through the freeway for about 10 miles from the office.Then for the next 10 miles or so there is a lonely stretch of big Victorian style houses. The final stretch again takes me through a forest area. My house is in a lonely forest place. But, I enjoy the peace and calmness of my locality. As I took my car out of the driveway, I looked up to see dark clouds. I checked my phone and saw a thunder storm warning. It seemed like it could rain heavily at any time now. I could see bolts of lightning in the distance. This was not a good sign, I hoped I could reach home safely before it started raining too heavily.
I cursed my luck as there was no other way around to get to my place. There was also no point in turning back as the office was locked and my colleague had taken the keys with him. There were also no Motels nearby. So, I parked my car on the side of the road and placed a STOP sign on the rear of the car so that no other vehicle would accidentally bump into it. I took out my umbrella and got out of the car. The best chance I had of surviving this bad weather was by seeking shelter in a nearby house. I could spot a light from a distance and decided to move in that direction. I started the flash light from my cell phone and started walking in that direction. My shoes were now completely soiled after walking in the wet mud. After walking for about half a mile, I came to the source of the light. The light was coming out of the window of an old Victorian mansion.
I tried imagining what I would speak to her. I guess I wanted to ask her out for dinner. I drove the long distance very quickly and as I approached Sofia’s house I could see few police cars parked outside. I got concerned and hurriedly parked my car. I got out and approached a police officer who was sealing the area outside the house. I greeted him “Good Morning Officer!” and asked him anxiously “Is everything alright?”. “I’m afraid not Sir! There’s been a burglary last night here.” “What?” I muttered. “Is everyone in the house alright?” I asked him anxiously.
“The land lady and her son were found murdered upstairs by the house maid today morning.” “What about the sister?” I asked. “Is she fine?” I asked desperately. “There were only two people living in this house. By the way, are you related to these people?” “No. I guess I confused them for someone else” I said. I looked up again and confirmed that it was the same house. The whole thing became clear to me in a moment. Sofia was the burglar. She had murdered the lady and her son. When she saw me she played along as the owner of the house and must have slipped away from the house while I was sleeping. I knew that the police would track me by through my cell phone. So, I narrated the whole episode to them. Sofia was caught a few days later in another city where she was spending the loot with her boyfriend. From that day I made sure not to venture into lonely houses to take shelter.
THE END
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