-

-

Ryan didn't sleep well that night. His dreams were filled with memories from the theater and his time spent with Lily. When morning finally came he was tired, but felt a renewed sense of urgency to find out more about the case. He couldn't quite explain it, but ever since he got home he felt like he didn't have much time.

He went to work as usual, but he had trouble concentrating on the case he was helping Natalia with.

"Hey Ryan, you don't seem very focused today. Did your weekend not go as you planned it?"

Ryan looked up from the shirt he was currently trying to extract DNA samples from, "What?"

"I was just wondering what was up with you today. You seem to be distracted with something and I thought it may have to do with your weekend?"

"No, everything went well except for the fall down the stairs".

Natalia almost missed the last part of his sentence since he said it in such a way that made it sound like it wasn't a big deal. "Whoa, did you just say you fell down the stairs? Are you ok?"

"Oh yeah I'm ok. I didn't hurt myself".

"Well then why are you so distracted then?"

Ryan didn't hear her as his mind started to drift back to the weekend and the dreams he had after coming home. It was only after he heard Natalia clear her throat that he snapped out of day dream, "What, oh yeah sorry about that Natalia. I just have a lot on my mind".

Natalia was getting nowhere with this, "Is there anything I can help you with?"

Ryan thought about her question for a moment and then responded, "If I wanted to find out about a case that occurred back in 1939, who would I talked?"

The question threw Natalia completely off, "Huh, why would you want to look at something that old?"

Ryan quickly realized how his question had sounded, "Oh, I just want to look into a murder that had occurred at the theater we investigated over the weekend".

This peaked Natalia's interest, "did you actually see a ghost or something then?"

"No unfortunately I didn't see any ghosts, but I did tell my friend I would look into some of the past inhabitants to see how accurate some of the stories are".

Natalia had hoped he would have said yes, but she didn't really believe in ghosts anyway. "Oh that makes sense. Well you should talk to the librarian over at the state library. They house a lot of the older cases in their archived room. I bet a case that was that old would be there".

"Thanks Natalia, I'll have to do that".

Ryan managed to get through the rest of the day and was now on his way to the state library. During his lunch hour he had gotten an appointment to talk to someone and was anxious to get there. He just hoped he would find something worth his while.

-

After finding a parking spot and making his way into the library he was asked to wait. After about 20 minutes of which seemed to last forever, an older woman in her late 50's approached him.

"Hi, you must be the young man whom I talked to earlier on the phone?"

Ryan stood up, "Yes, my name is Ryan Wolfe and I want to thank you for taking the time to talk to me on such short notice".

"No problem Mr. Wolfe. Well if you'll follow me I can take you down to room where we house the older cases". She led Ryan to the elevator and once they were inside she pressed one of the buttons. "Well the room you're looking for is in the basement. So tell me again, why do you want to see the records from such an old case? I didn't think the police went that far back when they worked on cold cases".

"No, it's not for a cold case. I just wanted to do some research but I was having trouble locating enough information from the internet or the newspapers from that time".

The librarian had an inquisitive look on her face as she listened to Ryan. "So why are you doing research on this particular case then?"

Ryan knew she would ask so he had already come up with an excuse, "I was doing research on my family tree and I came across her name. She is one of my relatives that I want to know more about".

"I did my family tree once, but I stopped when I ran out of information. Your tree must be really detailed if you're going through this much trouble".

"Well, I hope to preserve it for my family someday so I want to have as much information as possible".

As the elevator stopped she led him to a locked room. She pulled out the key and opened the door. As they both entered the room she turned on the light. Ryan was surprised by the size of the space he was now in. The room was very large with an endless amount of shelves filled with white boxes. There were also a few computers and other various items against one of the walls.

The librarian walked over to the one of the computers and after a few minutes had it turned on, "In order to locate what you're looking for I'll need some information about the case".

"Her name was Lily Van Walken and she was murdered at the theater located in downtown Miami back in 1939".

The librarian typed in some information and was soon printing something off. "Well, we do have a few items from the case in one of the boxes, but the rest has been scanned into our computers". She went to the printer and pulled the one paper off. "Oh, you picked a good one. We're going to need the ladder for this one".

They walked toward the back and were soon facing a wall of boxes, "Well the one you want is at the top. It is marked as case # 2543".

Ryan positioned the ladder that he had brought over and soon pulled box number 2543 down. As soon as he was on the floor she led him to a small room located near the computers. "Well this is where you can view what's inside, but you cannot take anything out of the room without the proper approvals. While you're looking I will bring up the case on the computer".

She left Ryan alone in the room. He looked at the box and wondered what he would find inside. He pulled off the top and looked inside. What he saw surprised him. There was a plastic bag which contained a very badly burned piece of clothing.

He pulled the bag out and saw some writing on it. It said that it was the dress that Lily was wearing when they had found her body. From what he saw in the bag it was pretty hard to tell it had once been a dress, but as he turned it over in his hands he got a better look at the material. It looked like it had once been a pretty blue dress with sequins on it. As he stared at it a vision suddenly flooded him mind. What he saw was Lily wearing this dress on the last night he saw her, but how could this be. It was just a dream so how could he have known what kind of dress she had been wearing. Maybe he had seen a picture in the theater of her in this dress; it was the only possible explanation. He put the dress and the image of Lily out of his mind as he pulled the next item out.

It was another plastic bag with burnt clothing inside, but this one wasn't as bad as the dress. He was turning it around to figure out what it was when he suddenly dropped it to the ground. He stared at it refusing to believe what he was looking at. Inside the plastic bag was a dark brown leather coat that he instantly recognized as the same one he had worn and somehow lost at the theater the night he was there. His friend John had said they would look for it but here is was; inside a box from a murder that occurred over 70 years ago. His mind once again went back to this dream and what he remembered scared him. It was an image of him trying to use his jacket to put out the flames that were engulfing Lily's body. There had to be some sort of explanation, but he wasn't coming up with it. He just continued to stare at the jacket when his thoughts were interrupted by the librarian.

"I have the files up one the screen when you're ready". She looked at him and realized that he was looking at the floor. As soon as she saw what it was she immediately went over and picked it up, "You need to be more careful with the evidence Mr. Wolfe".

Ryan looked embarrassed as he took the item from her hands, "Sorry, I will be more careful".

"Well, as I mentioned before the file is up on the computer when you're ready".

"Thank, I'm finished with the box, but I can put it back before I look at the file". He placed the jacket back in the box, not wanting to look at anything else.

Once the box was back in its place Ryan sat down and started reading the case file. It wasn't very long, but what he read confirmed what he had seen in the newspaper clipping. The only suspect they had to the case was a previous night watchman by the name of Ryan. It went on to say that he had never been caught and eventually the case was closed as unsolved. He looked at the librarian as he was finished, "Well I would like to thank you very much for taking the time to show me this stuff".

The librarian noticed that he did not look very good, "Are you ok Mr. Wolfe?"

"I'm fine, but it was just hard reading about a family member's death this way". Ryan could tell that she bought his story and was glad she didn't bring it up again.

Once they were back upstairs he said his good bye and drove home. His drive was filled with the information he had just learned; or rather seen. He kept trying to think of how his jacket ended up in an evidence bag from a crime so long ago and the only thing he came up with was that it was not his jacket. It was merely one that just looked like his jacket.

When he got home he went straight to his computer. He started writing down all the facts from the case to see if it would tell him what to do next. When he had finished reading everything he had written down for the 100th time, he still had nothing. This was driving him nuts and he wanted answers. He just wished he could somehow go back to that time again or at least talk to someone who was there.

It was this last thought that made him stop. Something suddenly occurred to him and he realized that while it was a long shot, there may be someone he could talk to and that was Lily Van Walken herself.

-

-

-

-

After some extensive research Ryan had finally found out the name of Lily Van Walken's mother; which was Isabella Touvelle. He had also located several women with that same name; one of which was still alive and living in a nursing home outside of Miami.

He didn't know what he was trying to prove, but he kept having dreams about his conversation with Lily about faking her death. He didn't have any proof that she had accomplished it; especially since they had her body, but he had to know. If he didn't do this he knew he would slowly go nuts.

He had taken a few days off and was now on his way to the very nursing home that Isabella Touvelle was living at. He tried to talk to one of the workers there but since he was not family they refused to give him any information over the phone.

He pulled up to what looked like your average nursing home. It had several older people being pushed around in wheel chairs and several other older people sitting in one of the shaded areas off to the side of the building.

He walked in and quickly found the front desk. He told the nurse who was at the desk that he was a nephew of Isabella Touvelle and wished to see her. She didn't seem to question him and soon led him to her room.

She knocked on the door before opening it and then went inside while Ryan waited outside. "Good afternoon Bella, your nephew is here to see you. Do you feel up to having company?"

Ryan could hear the nurse talking inside and then heard another voice reply, "I don't have a nephew, are you sure you have the right room?"

"He said he is your nephew. Do you want to come and have a look?"

"You can send him in; it might be nice to have some company for a change".

The nurse came out of the room just then, "She said you can go in now".

"Thanks", Ryan said as he moved to the side to allow the nurse to pass. Once she was gone he slowly made his way into the room. He didn't know what he was expecting to find, but he was here now and he knew it was too late to turn back now.

He walked into a room that was nicely furnished but very small. He saw that there was someone sitting in a chair with her back to him. When she didn't move he made his presence known. "Hello".

Bella heard a man's voice and slowly stood up. She had not had any company in such a very long time and was not used to moving very fast. She used the chair to steady herself and turned her entire body to face her visitor.

Ryan watched Isabella stand and use the chair to steady herself. He didn't know if he should offer to help, but decided against it. He knew older people were sometimes very stubborn and didn't want to have anyone help them.

He stood there and watched as she turned around. As soon as she did he saw the face of someone who had definitely been around for some time. Her face was old and wrinkled but there was one thing clear, he didn't recognize her. But he could tell by the look on her face that she recognized him.

"Ryan, is that really you?"

Ryan was speechless. How did she know his name; but then he remembered the nurse. She must have told her his name and with her advanced age she must have assumed she knew him.

"My name is Ryan; do you know who I am?"

She made her way over to him to get a better look, "Of course I know you, but seeing you now tells me one thing, which is that you were telling me the truth. I now wished I had listened to you. I'm sorry for not listening to you".

Ryan was confused by her words, "What are you talking about. Where do you know me from?"

"From the theater of course. You told me that you were from the future but I didn't believe you, but here you are now. When you told me that you would take me away I wished I had listened and gone with you".

Ryan's face went white at her admission.

"Are you ok Ryan, maybe you better sit down?" Bella tried to help him, but she was barely able to stand on her own as it was.

Ryan used the wall to make his way over to her bed. He sat down without taking his eyes off of her, "How is this possible" was all he could say.

"I don't know myself, but here you are and here I am".

When Ryan got his senses back he finally replied, "You're really Lily Van Walken then?"

"I am Ryan, but I have not used that name for a very long time now".

Ryan just kept staring and the more he looked at her the more he started to see the Lily he once knew, "what happened to you?"

"I had to leave so I faked my own death; something to which I now regret".

"But how did you do it".

Lily went on to explain how she did the whole thing. She told him that she had help from the prop masters assistance who worked there part time. He had been going to medical school and was able to get one of the dead bodies they used during school to pass as Lily's body. She had then tried her luck in New York but was never able to make a go of it. She finally ended up back in Miami after she had learned her boyfriend had died and made the best of it she could. She ended up marrying the same person who had helped her fake her death, but never had any children. She eventually ended up here after her husband passed away. She said she didn't regret what she did, but know that she knew she may have had a chance at another kind of life with Ryan she wished she had taken it.

Ryan sat with Lily for the rest of the evening and promised to come and talk with her again in the morning. He told her he was planning on staying in town for the night and would come and see her again.

As Ryan drove to the hotel he just couldn't believe anything that had just transpired back at the nursing home. He figured he would soon wake up and realized it was all a dream.

Once he was at the hotel he fell into a dreamless sleep.

The next morning he drove to the nursing home and saw that there was quite a lot of commotion going on in the lobby. As soon as someone saw him they came over to see what he wanted.

"Hi, can I help you with something?"

"Yeah, I'm here to see Bella Touvelle".

The nurse's face suddenly changed from the slight smile she had greeted him with to a frown, "Oh, I'm so sorry to have to tell you this, but she passed away in her sleep last night".

Ryan's face was filled with shock, "What, she died, how, what happened?"

"She was old and died of natural causes" was all the nurse could offer. She was soon called away to help fill out paperwork.

As Ryan stood there watching he saw them wheeling out a covered body on a gurney. He knew who was under then but resisted the urge to run over there and pull the sheets back. There was nothing he could do for her now. He was just glad that he had found her and learned the truth. This was something he would never be able to explain and also something he would never be able to tell anyone. No one would believe him even if he tried.

He stood there and watched them load up her body and watched as the van drove away. He knew it was time to go home, but as he was leaving the same nurse from last night was suddenly at his side.

"I'm sorry for you loss, but I'm glad I caught you before you left".

Ryan turned to her, "Thank you".

"When they found her this morning she had left something in a box addressed to her nephew Ryan. She must have known it was her last night". She handed him a small box and said, "Once again I'm sorry for you loss" before leaving.

Ryan looked at the box but did not open it up until he was sitting in his car. He stared at the box for a few minutes and then took the top off. He looked inside and found a bracelet which he pulled out and held up in front of his eyes. It was the same bracelet he had given to Lily. It was his only proof left that he was not crazy and had not imagined the whole thing. He knew he would always think of her every time he looked at it and it made him smile. He didn't know why the events that played out for him occurred and he had nothing to take away from the experience. All he had were his memories of a beautiful lady.

A few days later he attended her funeral. There were only a few people there, but it was a nice. He stayed long past the service and was there as they put her coffin into the ground. Before he left he placed four lilies on her grave and said, "I'm sorry we didn't have more time together. Perhaps we will meet in another life and under better circumstances".

Ryan walked away but glanced back toward her grave. As he looked back he could have sworn he saw Lily standing there holding her flowers and smiling at him. It was not the Lily he saw only recently, it was the Lily he remembered from his days in the theater. He closed his eyes and turned back toward his car. He wanted to look back again to see if she was still there, but he changed his mind. He wanted to remember her as she was.

THE END

-

-

Hope you enjoyed it.