I own nothing except the made up characters! Don't worry all will be explained in the next few chapters, this is just a set up.
That summer after my eighteenth birthday was when I found my self on the cobblestone road of Fleet Street London, England. My parents had died when I was very young; I went to live with my grandfather after their death. My grandmother had died of cancer long before I was born and my grandfather never remarried. I had joined a study abroad program in collage and was sent to London.
While I was away in England, my grandfather had a heart attack and died. My family had once lived in London, and had an old building still in our name. I had inherited this very building after grandpa's death. I knew nothing of it; no one had ever mentioned it to me before. My long time boyfriend Thomas flew out to London when he heard what had happened, he was going to come with me to check out my new inheritance.
I had one of the locals scribble a map for me to Fleet Street, where my families building was located. Fleet Street was a small narrow road that was still preserved old time London. I checked the address on the paper I had. We ended up in front of a very old and poorly kept building. It was a two story brick building with two large store type windows on the bottom floor and upstairs was mostly roof tiling with a large odd shaped window right in the middle over looking the road down below.
"You sure this is it?" Thomas asked with the same disbelief I had.
"According to my Grandfather it is." I said waving the paper with the address on it.
"Mrs. Something or other's pie emporium." Thomas said reading the faded wooden sign over the buildings entrance.
"So it was a pie shop. Wonder what the upstairs is?" I said mostly thinking out loud.
"Only one way to find out." Thomas took the old rusted key out of his pocket and unlooked the door.
Inside there was a long counter in front of a stove a several ledges that I assumed were to place fresh cooked pies. The baking counter was covered in different utensils used for baking and dust……lots of dust. I walked over to one of the shops windows and pushed back the raggedy dirty curtains to look outside. The windows were covered in dust, dirt, and grim; too thick to see out of. Removing all the dust would be task number one.
"Joanna, I missed a call from my mom. I'm going to go call her back; god knows what'll happen if I don't." he said walking towards the shops entrance.
"Ok, tell her I said hi." And he was outside, leaving me alone with the dust. This place needed some light; it was giving me the creeps. In attempt to calm my self I started singing an old song my grandfather used to sing.
"No, there's no place like London….."
I heard a bang from behind me and I quickly turned to see a woman behind the counter picking up some of the dusty utensils. She was wearing an old style dark dress, and her frizzy hair hanging all around her shoulders. Her skin was awfully pale and had dark rings around her eyes. She looked dead.
"Um. Excuse me." I said timidly, a little freaked about the strange woman who appeared out of nowhere. She looked up at me immediately and smiled.
"Ello there dear. You 'ere fer a pie?" she said with accent.
"I don't mean to be rude but what are you doing here?"
"Tis me shop. Though these 'ave ta be the worst pies in London, but pity a woman alone." I was about to ask her more questions and explain how I now own the shop when I hear Thomas come back in, and I turned my back to the woman.
"Alright, you want to check up stairs now?" he asked. I turned back to the baking counter and the woman was gone.
"Yes please." I said trying hard not to sound scared out of my mind. Maybe I just imagined the woman.