Chapter 24
While there are many kinds of surprises that exist in the world, one must be careful to remember which ones make you want to smile and laugh and those that make you want to run and hide under your bed.
For example, if your family and friends surprise you in your home with a strawberry shortcake, candles, balloons, streamers, packages, and smiles, this is considered a good surprise. It is one that is worth laughing and celebrating as they create wonderful memories that can be treasured for years to come. Another surprise was one that had recently befallen my dear sister and her partner around the time young Holly discovered the secret passage; one where the announcement of new life that would bring happy tears, means for laughter, and equally precious moments valued higher than any orphan's fortunes.
Then there are the surprises that can make your stomach churn in utter disgust and fear; ones that will keep you awake at night fearing what is lurking just beyond the darkness. One awful surprise came to me when I learned of the defection of a close personal friend whom I had grown up with. We were once as close as comrades could be, extinguishing the fires that littered our world and we had undeniable trust in one another. So, when the surprise of his defection was revealed and his murderous and arsonist ways began, I spent several nights checking in my closet before wondering why this shocked me so while staring at the ceiling painted to resemble Escher and Penrose's Stairway. Another frightening event came years ago, though at this time with Holly S. had not even happened yet, where I learned of the death of my family members, both in terrible ways and both leaving daughters behind to navigate the world on their own. I was left weeping under my bed and refusing to leave even for a cup of tea, years later the shock of their sudden departure has not completely left me.
However, this surprise experienced by Holly S. the night she returned from Prufrock Prep, was neither joyous nor devastating, but thought-provoking and confusing. It is the kind of revelation where you are unsure of what you should feel and question every aspect of your life before this very moment.
Every family has its secrets. Doors left unopened, books kept locked in safes, secret passageways undiscovered, but as Holly S. stood in her music room staring at the floor, she had now realized that she had discovered all these surprises through the use of a simple line of musical notes. This was a place that she had been inside thousands of times before and now it no longer seemed safe by this revelation. The disbelief did not make her laugh, nor did it make her want to run. Her mind filled with many questions as she took a cautious step towards the opening.
The room beneath the floor was extremely dark, resembling the space under one's bed where you hide to escape such dreadful surprises. Or a cave waiting for the opportunity to swallow you whole. While darkness had never frightened her before, Holly felt the need to be afraid of what was before her.
What could possibly be down there? she wondered to herself. What purpose could such a space serve to my mother? Or my father? Why did they keep it a secret from me?
If only one of them were here with her at that moment, able to explain why there were so many secrets in this household.
Despite the fear inside herself, the young girl has discovered another family secret on her own, without the assistance of K.S. or the taxi driver or her friends or Count Olaf disguised as a gym teacher. She felt anticipation and a strange form of excitement that her discovery could lead to further answers about her past, her parents and this strange organization known as V.F.D. These positive feelings compelled her to move forward to the edge of the door, her toes standing on the inky blackness below. Her legs felt the desire to move forward, to step into the secret door when a sickly feeling washed over her.
She hesitated, her foot hovering in mid-air and questioned it all. Did she want to know what was down there? Was it all worth it if her parents had gone to great lengths to prevent her from learning all these things?
She shut her eyes and while the space beneath her feet was merely a few feet deep, she felt as though she was on the highest peak of a mountain, preparing to jump off and being unsure of where she was going to land. The thoughts of her friends come into her mind and their desperate search for answers. If only she had brought them along, then perhaps she would feel stronger and more obligated
It's time… she thought to herself. No more hiding… no more secrets
She left the music room and went to the kitchen, opening up the drawers until she found a flashlight. Mr. Caliban was nowhere to be seen, but there was a plate with a half-eaten sandwich upon it. Whether this virtual stranger intended to come back and finish it was unknown. She went back towards the music room more slowly and quieter than before to not disturb the man if he was sleeping or reveal what she had found. It was her secret to uncover, no one else's.
Holly S. switched on the flashlight and shone it down into the darkness, shattering it like a mirror. It appeared rather empty at first, but as she drew closer, she noticed strange objects stacked to the one side of the space. There was a tiny ladder, leading down to whatever was stored below.
Sucking in a deep breath, she slowly lowered herself below the music room floor, the rungs of the wooden ladder creaking with each footprint, decomposing with the dreaded enemies of time and dry rot. It was possible that this place had not been touched in nine years because of the death of her mother.
The layers of dust and cobwebs certainly seemed to confirm this as Holly shone her light to where all the strange objects were arranged. Ducking under a particularly large spiderweb, she took several steps on the concrete.
A tiny bookshelf stood against the farthest concrete wall, lined with volumes of various shapes and sizes. When Holly moved her hand over the layers of dust, they revealed copies of various books, some she had heard of and others not quite so much. There was Charlotte's Web by E.B. White, a book about mythology, Ivan Lachrymose: Lake Explorer by Vincent Francis Doyle, The Coded Poetry of Edgar Allen Poe by Edgar Allen Poe, The History of Lucky Smells Lumber Mill by unknown, Matilda by Roald Dahl, A History of Valorous Farms Dairy by Cheesemakers, I Lost Something at the Movies by Lena Pukalie, The Mamba du Mal: The Snake that will Never Kill Me by Tony "Mommy" Eggmoneror, Remarkable Phenomenon of the Mortmain Mountains by unknown, a collection of Mozart's symphonies, The World is Quiet Here play script and a junior novelization of Hypnotists in the Forest.
It was an odd collection of books that was for sure, but they must have meant something if they were kept down here. If only Isadora was with her at this moment, she would love to acquire these poetry books for her collection.
Holly moved the beam of her flashlight to the next curious item, a map taped to the wall with scraps of the adhesive substance leaving residue on the concrete walls. Below the map and on top of the bookshelf was a globe of the world. If only Quigley Quagmire was still alive, he could probably decipher these maps easily and tell her what they meant.
The light moved once more to see... the shimmering lens of an eye.
Holly jumped in fright, hitting her head on the ceiling/floor and dropping her flashlight when she saw the silver eye of some kind of creature looking back at her. She let out a shriek and backed up towards the ladder, ready to escape upwards if this thing was aggressive. The sound of her heartbeat pounded in her ears, the breath caught in her throat and the pain of coming bruise on her head. She had received yet another kind of surprise, the ones that have you running for the hills or into your closet despite the dangers that lurked inside.
She assumed that she had stumbled upon a creature that was dwelling beneath the house. Perhaps this is why her mother had kept this passage a secret, keeping a creature down here. If only Sunny was here, she could protect Holly from the strange beast with her very sharp teeth. However, the beam of her flashlight rolled along the grime-covered floor and remained fixed on the creature… it had not stirred nor reacted in fear as she had. In fact, the only sounds heard in the tiny space were her own.
After taking a few moments to calm herself and to rationalize what she was seeing, the girl took a second look and realized the shimmering eye was part of a strange-looking statue. It seemed to resemble an eel with its long dark body that almost formed the shape of a question mark. It was not much bigger than a large milk bottle and had carved black ridges going down its back. There were sharp teeth making a thin line around the mouth of the statue and tiny what appeared to be spindly legs at its chest. It had one lifeless silver eye drilled into the head that appeared to gaze at her in an almost hungry fashion. After picking up the flashlight and reaching forward, the statue felt hard, made of either metal or some rare species of wood that was coloured or painted black and as she ran her hand the length of the creation, there were various other slits and holes along the body.
Why would her parents keep such a strange object in the basement? If it was a piece of artwork, she was glad that they kept it down here as it would most certainly frighten a child or any guests who came over for a lovely meatloaf dinner. Why would someone make such an ugly and eerie piece of art? Why did it make her so uneasy?
What stood behind the statue was a collection of documents and artifacts that were stained with a great many sorrows and regrets from my own past, whom I entrusted to my brother and sister-in-law to keep safe while I was on the run from the law. I asked my relatives to store them and be stacked to the exact height of the statue, due to a certain creature's desire for order. These objects were meant to be hidden because the world was and still is not ready to hear the tragic events that took place at Stain'd by-the-sea. While my documentation of these series of unfortunate happenings is concealed for my own benefit of being able to sleep at night, it was also done due to the respect of surviving parties and copyright law.
While Holly S. did not realize that she had stumbled upon an inky ocean of a great many family secrets, something golden caught her eyes.
Beyond the statue and riddles of the past that I would want to be hidden under my bed, there was a small table and on it stood a large book bound in black leather, and something long and round.
Holly walked to the desk and picked up the object.
It was a strange device, resembling a telescope. It was made of wood but was accented with rotating rings of brass. These rings had various numbers and symbols carved into the metal and on the end was a brass cap with an insignia with the letters VFD on it. Picking up the device, Holly pulled on one end, revealing more tubes made completely of brass with some more rotating wheels with symbols and numbers and a tiny lens on the end. Once the object was at its full length, the cap with VFD engraved on it pops open, revealing a larger telescopic lens.
"What could this possibly be used for?" she muttered to herself. It merely seemed to look like a fancy telescope. Her best guess would be out on a boat at sea to spot an incoming storm or creatures of the deep. However, she was drawn to the strange configuration of the object, twisting the dials several times and hearing various clicks within. If only Violet were here, she would be very interested in this invention and she could tell her how it worked.
While still holding the device in her left hand, she looked down at the book that was entitled:
The Incomplete History of Secret Organizations in gold lettering.
It was a thick volume that was heavy to hold. If only Klaus were here, he loved large works of literacy and he could probably tell her what the book was about just by skimming the first few pages.
Another mystery, another secret, perhaps it held the answers she needed.
But as Holly picked up the book, a folded piece of paper fell from its pages. As it drifted to the ground, she noticed that her name was written on the back.
She became even more shocked when she recognized the handwriting.
Her heart skipped a beat and she swallowed the anxiety and confusion building up inside of herself. She pocketed the device, picked up the paper and then tucked the large book under arm before going back to the ladder and pulling herself up into the light of the music room. She walked over to one of her mother's heavy brass lamps, turned it on and sat down.
Her hands shook with emotion as she reads the name on the back of the paper. The curve in the ink seemed to dance in front of her eyes. She recognized that the "H" in her name was slightly askew, leaning to the left, and the small loop on the end of the "y", something her mother always did when writing her a letter or signing her birthday cards. It was a small idiosyncratic trait that the observant girl had noticed as she'd grown older and treasured the tiny detail to keep her mother alive in her memory. She could picture the strokes of the pen as she wrote the name of her beloved child, as I imagine how my dearly departed Beatrice wrote my name at the beginning of her 200-page letter of sorrow to me.
Swallowing her sadness, Holly wished that Duncan was sitting next to her, providing her with the desired comfort needed to read this letter and recover from the shock of its discovery. It clearly held secrets that had been hidden under her mother and father's metaphorical bed. Whether the kind of surprises held within this paper was happy or distressing, I cannot say for sure because as far as I know, it is still in my niece's possession, a piece of her family history and the key to many secrets.
A/N: I am so sorry that it's been a long time since I've updated, I hope you enjoy it. Please feel free to leave reviews and comments. We'll find out what is in the letter next chapter.