I shut my book sighing. I had just finished reading about the Pirate Code. Some archaeologist had discovered the actual Pirate Code by Morgan and Bartholomew five years ago in some long forgotten cave. Scholars were in a frenzy, something new to write about. Coincidentally, my favorite non-fiction author (E. R. Bailey) decided to write a book about it. As soon as I saw the book on the shelves, I scooped it up. Now, as I finished it, I couldn't stop thinking about pirates and how cool they were.
My obsession with the Old West suddenly faded. My new obsession began. Oh yes, pirates. I loved history, and frequently I wished I had a time machine, just to go back and visit her favorite eras. Unfortunately for me, time machines weren't available and I couldn't go back in time and live through history. The only way for me to live through history was my day job. I worked at a place where we dressed and acted as if it were the 1880's out west. I even got to wear a corset! My job was pretty cool, but the atmosphere was ruined by tourists on their iPhones snapping pictures of us dressed in their shorts and sandals with socks.
I sighed again. I'm sure people think I'm crazy with all this fantasizing about living through history, but it was sure better than living in this time where the only thing people cared about was their latest twitter update. I forced myself to get up and get something to eat. I had been reading for hours and forgot to eat. Since I was being lazy, I just popped in a microwave meal. As it was cooking, I looked outside. It was sunset.
Even though the sun was setting, it was still stifling hot. I lived in Arizona and it was summer. I lived in an old rental house. I had air-conditioning, but it was broken. The repair man was coming tomorrow. Thank god. The furnishings were rustic and things looked really old, even though the house was updated about fifteen years ago. You can guess why I chose this house to rent. My food "dinged" indicating it was ready to eat. It said to let it sit for two minutes, but does anyone actually do that? I sure don't.
As I was finishing my dinner I heard a crash. I set down my plate in the sink as I went towards the noise. As I got closer I heard loud cheery voices singing along to some old sea shanty. I stopped at my hall closet door. This was definitely where the noise was coming from. I paused with my hand on the door knob. Slowly opening the door I peaked in.
Hundreds of dirty sailors in some sort of pub were singing and drinking and gambling. I shut the door. How was that in my house?! I opened the door again. This time I shut the door behind me. As the door shut, it dissolved into a solid wall. Wherever I was, I was stuck here.
Author Note: Stay tuned for more! If you are a fan of the Lost in Austen miniseries, that is where I got my idea. That's why it's a bit similar. Rate and review please! :)