Author's Note: I haven't received any reviews yet, so I'd really appreciate it if you tell me what you think of my writing. Even a short review would be much appreciated. Anyway, here's chapter two.
Disclaimer: Contrary to popular belief, I am not really Lemony Snicket and I sadly do not own 'A Series of Unfortunate Events'.
Over the course of my very sad life, I have lost many loved ones in the war between the two sides of a schism that should never have happened. I lost the love of my life to a fire, which destroyed whatever was left of my already shattered heart. My heroic brother, Jacques, was murdered not long after this. I barely got a chance to mourn the loss of Jacques before my dear sister, Kit, was killed by the medusoid mycelium. Like the Baudelaire orphans, I have had to live through a life dominated by unfortunate events. After each of these sad occasions, after every funeral, after every obsequy, after every failed séance, a friend of mine named Larry used to always give my the same piece of advice. He told me to "let them go".
In order to avoid confusion, I am now stating that my friend did not mean this literally. To literally let someone go would mean to release someone from your clutches. This is something I have asked Count Olaf to do on many occasions. My friend was merely using a phrase. He was asking me to move on and try to forget about my fallen loved ones. This can at times seem like an impossible request. If you have ever lost a loved one, you would know that you would not want to completely forget them. However, this doesn't mean that you have to spend your who life grieving. My failure to get over my love's death made my life miserable. That is why the Baudelaires had to get over the death of my niece... so they won't end up like me... a sad, old man with only a typewriter for company.
Violet, Klaus and Sunny Baudelaire had just finished burying the deceased infant, Beatrice Snicket. They were all haunted by the fact that Beatrice faced death when she had barely begun to live. The poor child was just over a year old when she died. Now the three siblings were on their own again and they had no idea what to do or where to go. Nothing remained of the cottage except for cinders and ash. The Wecem sisters were nowhere to be found so the Baudelaires had to assume that they were dead. It was the evening and the sun had already set. Violet, Klaus and Sunny sat beside Beatrice's grave, without speaking a word. Eventually, Klaus gathered the courage to break the agonising silence.
"What are we supposed to do now?" asked the middle Baudelaire, uncertain of what the future would hold for these unlucky siblings.
Violet placed a hand on her brother's shoulder, "We carry on".
Klaus, however, was not satisfied with this answer, "That's not what I meant. We're in the middle of nowhere, Violet. We have nothing to go on, no food or water, nobody to turn to and nothing to point us in the right direction. We won't even last a week on our own."
Violet felt just as desperate as Klaus did, but she forced herself to remain calm. She was the eldest Baudelaire and if she started panicking the way her younger brother was, it would only make things worse. She constantly reminded herself to be optimistic. She thought of her incredibly optimistic friend Phil when she did so. The last time she saw Phil, they were in a sabotaged submarine which was sinking further and further towards the bottom of the ocean. Violet had many more friends on that submarine, known to some as the Great Unknown. There was Fiona and Fernald, a couple of people who once found themselves fighting for the wrong side but eventually decided where their loyalties lied. There was Captain Widdershins of the Queequeg and Hector from the Village of Fowl Devotees. Finally, there were the Quagmire triplets, Duncan, Isadora and Quigley. Violet wanted nothing more than confirmation that her friends were still alive. That was just another thing to stay optimistic for.
"We've been in worse positions, Klaus," Violet reminded her brother, "We have all grown a bit and the heat has worn off the story of the Baudelaire murderers and arsonists. At least we don't have Count Olaf chasing us any more."
"Yeah," remarked Klaus, "because being chased by some homicidal maniac with a gas mask and a unibrow just like Olaf's is so much better."
Violet raised an eyebrow. It came as a shock to hear her brother speak with such sarcasm in his voice. Klaus had been significantly more bitter since Beatrice's death. However, neither Violet nor Sunny blamed him. They didn't feel much better themselves. Speaking of Sunny, you might be wondering why the youngest Baudelaire wasn't taking part in this conversation. The truth is that she was distracted by a shape she saw in the distance. While Violet and Klaus discussed how hopeless their situation was, Sunny walked over to the silhouette and picked up the object which was simply lying on the grass.
"Look!" Sunny shouted to gain the attention of her siblings.
Violet and Klaus came running over to see what their sister was calling them for. They found Sunny holding a book entitled 'Professor Fletcher's Reasonably Reliable Book on German Poetry'. All three orphans immediately thought back to the telegram they received in Mr Poe's bank, Mulctuary Money Management, shortly before it burned down. It was signed simply with two initials, 'JS'.
Violet took the telegram out of her pocket and all three Baudelaires read it for a second time.
"Baudelaires STOP We are delighted to hear that you are still alive STOP The few surviving members of VFD will meet for one last attempt to revive our organisation STOP Please attend if convenient STOP If inconvenient try to make it anyway because if this revival attempt is not successful the world will be rid of VFD and those who start fires will have finally won STOP"
It seemed that whoever JS was, he or she was on their side. JS was trying to revive VFD, a noble organisation dedicated to putting out fires and saving innocent lives. The Baudelaires' parents were a part of this organisation until their death. Along with the original telegram came a second message, which quoted a German poem.
"The following is an extract from a German poem written in 1667 by an admirable poet.
He felt the entrance's green brightness
wrapped cooly round him like a silken cloak
that he was still accepting and arranging;
when at the opposite transparent end, far off
through green sunlight, as through green window panes,
whitely a solitary shape
flared up, long remaining distant
and then finally, the downdriving light
boiling over it at every step.
Encounter In The Chestnut Lane by Rainer Saturday Rilke"
Violet was the first to speak, "Where did this book come from?"
Klaus replied honestly, "I have no idea. It's just the book we need to decipher the message in JS' poem. It can't be a coincidence that the very book we needed just happened to be lying on the grass here."
The Baudelaires has earlier agreed that the poem contained a hidden message. VFD often used a code known as Verse Fluctuation Declaration. A secret message would be concealed within a poem by replacing certain words. Klaus pointed out in the bank that it was unlikely that the poet's middle name was Saturday. He was convinced that it was part of the message, that VFD's next meeting would be on Saturday. He was certain that the location of the meeting was hidden somewhere in the poem. Now that they had this book, they could find out where the meeting will be held.
"Read the poem," insisted an impatient Sunny.
Klaus opened the large book and looked at the contents. He quickly found the poem they were searching for.
"Encounter In The Chestnut Avenue," he read, "by Rainer Maria Rilke, 1875-1926.
He felt the entrance's green darkness
wrapped cooly round him like a silken cloak
that he was still accepting and arranging;
when at the opposite transparent end, far off,
through green sunlight, as through green window panes,
whitely a solitary shape
flared up, long remaining distant
and then finally, the downdriving light
boiling over it at every step."
"You were right", Violet said happily, "His middle name isn't Saturday. If this is Verse Fluctuation Declaration, then we know when the VFD reunion is going to be."
Klaus nodded silently. He was too distracted by the poem to speak until he found another difference between the poem itself and the version this mysterious JS sent them.
"Take a look at this", he started as his sisters leaned it to get a better look at the book, "It says in the book that the poet was born in 1875, but it says in the telegram that the poem was written in 1667. That isn't possible."
"Maybe it's part of the message," Violet suggested, "Let's read the poem and find out".
"The first line," Sunny announced, pointing at the top of the page.
"Sunny is right" said Klaus, "The first line is 'He felt the entrance's green darkness'. In the telegram, it says 'He felt the entrance's green brightness'. The word 'dark' or 'darkness' must be part of the message."
"The title!" Sunny shrieked, excited by her discovery.
"Right again, Sunny," said Violet, "The telegram says that the title is 'Encounter in the Chestnut Lane'. The actual poem is called 'Encounter in the Chestnut Avenue'. What does this all mean?"
By the time Violet had finished speaking, several connections had already been made in Klaus' brain. He thought as hard as he could. The year 1667 had to mean something. The word 'dark' had to be relevant too. Then there was the real title, 'Encounter in the Chestnut Avenue' instead of 'Encounter in the Chestnut Lane'. Suddenly, everything became so clear to Klaus.
"I know what the message means... I just don't know why VFD would choose that place for a top secret meeting" he said thoughtfully.
"What is it?" asked Violet, "Where is the meeting going to be held?"
When Klaus took a moment to respond, Sunny blurted out, "Where do we have to go?"
Klaus looked at his sistered and responded, "It look like we'll have to go back to 667 Dark Avenue."
667 Dark Avenue was a very tall apartment building that stood in the same city as two buildings which were burnt to the ground by villains, the Baudelaire mansion and Mulctuary Money Management. The Baudelaires briefly stayed there a long time ago, while in the care of Jerome and Esmé Squalor. Esmé ended up being in cahoots with Count Olaf and Jerome was too nervous to help the Baudelaires. The last time the Baudelaires saw the Squalors, they were in the burning Hotel Denouement. They never found out who died and who survived that fire.
Violet looked at the poem and everything suddenly became so clear, "Of course... 667 from the date, dark instead of bright and avenue instead of lane. You're a genius, Klaus."
"Never mind that," said Klaus in reply, "How are we going to get there?"
Luckily for the Baudelaires, Violet was on top of things, a phrase which here means that she knew how to get to the city. "I memorised the way here from the city when Faith Wecem first brought us here. All I have to do is retrace my steps. You were unconscious overnight after the fire at Mr Poe's bank, so it's Thursday now. We have two days to get to 667 Dark Avenue and nothing to eat or drink. We should get going immediately. Leave the book behind. It has served its purpose and carrying it with us will only slow us down."
The Baudelaires accepted the task of walking all the way to the city on foot with only two days until the meeting at 667 Dark Avenue. Klaus closed the book and was about to lay it back on the ground when a loose piece of paper fell out of one of the pages. Klaus crouched down and picked it up.
"Hey," he started, "Take a look at this."
The Baudelaires leaned it to see what it was. There was a single sentence and a signature, hand-written in very messy, scarcely legible writing.
"I hope you find this book useful, Baudelaires.
JS"