A Discovery In the Attic

Samantha snuggled into the covers and thought about the days events. After Sarah had gone to bed, Sam had swallowed her pride and went downstairs. Her parents and Toby were all sitting in the living room talking. "...Yeah, I never looked at a hockey mask the same way again," Toby finished, laughing. He looked at Sam entering the room, "Speak of the Devil," he directed at her.

"Hey, the prank was all Sarah's idea. Well, except for the axe, that was my idea," Sam replied, forcing a smile.

"Why does that not surprise me," the trio said, in unison. Everyone laughed. "Sam, don't

cower in the corner, come in and sit down," her father told her. Sam entered the room and sat down on the couch next to Toby.

She hit Toby in the arm and said, "You so deserved what you got, Jason. Jumping out at us in a ski mask, wearing black gloves as if you were going to kill us without leaving evidence." "It was all worth it though to see him begging on the floor," she directed toward their parents.

"I think that is a part Toby conveniently left out," Karen said, smirking

"I didn't leave it out, I just forgot," he replied, glaring at his sister. Toby playfully punched her in the arm.

It became awkwardly quiet for a moment, until Mr. Williams started to tell a story of his own. It went on like that for a while, the four of them bouncing around stories. All of them were deliberately avoiding a discussion about what happened in the kitchen that morning.

Around four o'clock their parents had left the living room so they could prepare for the barbecue they were going to have that night.

After they left Toby said, "Sam, I am sorry about this morning." Sam didn't reply, she just took his hand and squeezed it.

The barbecue went a little smoother than breakfast. Sarah, of course, joined them. They all got into a conversation about her book, and amazingly, Sam actually didn't mind so much. She actually kind of enjoyed it. Afterwards, Sam faked a headache and went upstairs. Now here she was, in bed at 9:00 pm. And for what, embarrassment, pride, all of the above? She chose the latter. Amazingly, Sam's eyes went heavy and she fell asleep.

Dream Sequence:

Sam found herself in a room that was pitch black. She heard breathing in the background.

"Who's there," Sam asked.

"Me," a voice replied. A match was lit and was used to ignite a candle wick.

Sam saw that the voice belonged to a dwarf like man, with very large, facial features. Every time he took a step there was a jingling sound, much like that of keys. Sam looked down at his belt, noticing that it wasn't keys, but, jewelry.

"Who's me," Sam asked the little man.

"You are," he replied vaguely.

"No, no, no, who are you?"

"I am me."

Sam was getting very irritated with this big nosed, midget. "Okay, well maybe you could tell me where I am."

"This is an oubliette..."

"A place of forgetting," Sam said, interrupting him. The man looked at her, surprised.

She saw the look he gave her. "Don't ask me how I know that, because, even I am unsure."

"Fair enough," he replied. He started walking toward what looked like a closet, he opened it and Sam saw light come out of it. "I must be going." The little man walked out, leaving the door open.

"No , wait, don't leave me here alone!"

Sam ran after him, the door shut behind her and she found herself alone. She looked around and saw what looked like a wall of fun house mirrors. Suddenly a feeling of dread washed over her as she approached them. She walked slowly, wondering where the sudden fear came from. She finally reached the set of mirrors and gasped. The reflections looking back at her were not her own, but, Sarah's. They started to scream at her, their eyes glowing red. Sam, too afraid to scream, watched in horror. In the mirrors, she saw the barn owl coming toward her, screeching. The mirrors shattered on the impact of the bird's large wings. Sam finally screamed. (end of dream sequence.)

Sam sat up in bed, sweat pouring off her, mixed with tears. What have I been eating before bed lately, Sam thought. Who was that dwarf? And why did he seem so familiar.

And that barn owl. He made me feel scared and safe all at the same time. Sam shook her head and got out of bed. She walked out into the hallway. Sam was about to head down to the kitchen when she turned the other way and went toward the door of the attic. She opened the door and it creaked. Thank god this family is full of heavy sleepers.

She walked up the narrow stairway, all the while wondering what was calling her to the attic. She wished she had brought her robe and had worn her slippers. The attic was very dusty and she felt exposed wearing only an oversized tee shirt and walking in bare feet.

What am I doing here, my god I am turning into Sarah. She was about to turn around when she spotted something. It was Sarah's old trunk. She made her way past an old painting and wardrobe, and knelt down in front of the trunk. Thankfully, there was no lock. She lifted the lid and looked inside. She saw a photo album, some stuffed animals, books (all fairytales of course), an old CATS program, and some other trinkets.

Sam took out the photo album and flipped through it, noticing a lot of the pictures were of Sarah's Mother, Linda. Oh, and there is her lover, Jeremy. Sam didn't know much about Linda, though she knew what a selfish person she was for leaving behind her daughter. Sam had met the woman once when she was about eight years old. She had been visiting Sarah for the weekend when she had, unexpectedly, dropped by. She remembered thinking how much mom and daughter had looked alike, but, oh how different they ever were. Sarah was responsible, caring, and loyal; unlike that witch of a mother. When she approached Sam and introduced herself, Sam responded like the open child she was. "So, you're the bitch who left Sarah." Of course after her mom left, Sarah scolded her for her rudeness as well as her language. Then she gave it to Toby after finding out he had been the one who had taught her the cuss word.

Sam smiled to herself. We all were close at one time. A feeling of sad regret washed over Sam. Pushing the feeling away she put the album back . She was about to close the trunk when something caught her eye. It was a bookend, that looked mysteriously like the dwarf from her dream. In fact, it was him, from the big nose to the odd clothing. She picked up the object and noticed a book underneath it. Labyrinth, now why does that name sound familiar. Oh, Sarah used to read this to me when I was little. Back when I used to enjoy fairytales. She was surprised that she really didn't remember when or why she had decided to stop indulging in fairy stories. Sam shrugged it off and picked up the book. She started to skim the pages. Hmm, interesting.

Sarah woke up with a start, breathing heavily. She knew that she had been dreaming, but she couldn't remember what it had been about. Even more confusing was the first name to pop into her head when she woke up was Hoggle. She hadn't really thought about her little friends from the Labyrinth (The Place) for at least ten years, well at least not consciously. Sarah looked at her alarm clock, which read quarter after two. Sarah moaned. Now wide awake. she got out of bed and grabbed her robe. She left the guest room while she struggled to put it on.

She walked quietly down the stairs and walked toward the kitchen. She was surprised when she found the kitchen already occupied. Toby was sitting at the kitchen with a mug of hot chocolate.

"Hey, you couldn't sleep either, huh," Toby asked her, putting his mug down.

"No, I slept, but, something woke me up." Sarah ripped open a package of instant cocoa and poured it into a mug. Toby watched her as she poured the hot water from the kettle into her cup.

"What's wrong, Sarah," he asked her, as she sat down next to him

"Nothing is wrong. I think I may have had a bad dream. I am okay."

There was silence for a moment between them, then Toby asked, "Did you talk to Sam?"

"Yeah, did you?

"Yep, I am really worried about her, Sarah."

"You and the rest of the family.

"She used to be so full of life, and so open. Remember when that bully was picking on Cindy?" Sarah nodded and smiled. The bully had been a fifth grader named Jo. A very aggressive, big girl. She was jealous of Cindy, so she had started to make fun of her buck teeth (this occurred before she got braces to correct the problem) while waiting at the bus stop.

Toby continued, "When that girl, Jo, called Cindy Bucky the Beaver, Sam lost it. She walked right up to the girl and said, "That's pretty big talk coming from a big, fat, blubber butt." At this point Sarah and Toby had walked up. They had decided to surprise Sam and Cindy by picking them up from school and taking them to see Free Willy. Toby had just stood there in stunned silence. Sarah, being the adult, was posed, ready to interfere if things got out of hand. Jo had just looked at Sam, beyond shocked. Sam stood her ground, while Cindy, bravely walked up and stood next to her, showing that she had her friend's back. Then, a strange thing happened. Jo, known for never backing down from a fight, walked away and got on the bus that had just pulled up.

"I honestly thought that girl was going to kill Sam," Sarah said, slightly smiling.

"Well, maybe that girl realized there was a lot more too Sam than just pig tails and a sketch pad."

Sarah smiled, "Well, I really do hope that she will get through this, and just maybe she will let us be there for her." Sarah yawned and stood from her chair. She grabbed her mug and said, "I think I need to go back to bed."

She was about to leave when Toby grabbed her arm and said, "I am not just worried about Sam, Sarah. Are you really, okay. I know that your breakup with Danny was hard. I really don't like seeing you hurt, sis."

"Thanks for the concern Toby, but I am fine." She patted his shoulder and said, "and don't worry Toby, I am sure you will work things out with Nancy." She gave him a reassuring smile and then left the kitchen.

I hope so, Toby thought to himself.

Sarah walked up the stairs thinking about Toby's concern. He really shouldn't be worried. I never felt that Danny and I really connected, we were never on the same wave length. The sad thing was, when she had found out he had cheated on her she was more angry than hurt. Her pride had been hurt, not her heart. She didn't love him, sadly that had been the case with all her past boyfriends. She had definitely tried to give them her whole heart, but she just couldn't. All those men just could never match up to... her thoughts were interrupted when she collided with her sister.

Sarah clutched her cocoa, grateful that the mug was almost empty. "Um, Sam... Why are you all dirty and why do you have my old, teddy bear, Lancelot?"

Sam looked at her sister, guiltily. "Well, I ... think Sam, THINK! had a bad dream and I needed something to cuddle with." Sam rolled her eyes to herself, Oh, yeah, good one Williams. The FBI sure could use you for undercover work.

Sarah looked at her sister and raised an eyebrow. It was obvious her sister was lying, but she went ahead and played along. "So, you went up into the filthy, dark attic just to get a teddy bear.

"It was a very scary dream, Sarah." Brilliant, Brilliant. Why the hell did I use this bundle of stuffing for an alibi.

"Well, I wish you sweet dreams, then."

"You too, Sarah." Sam inched her way back to her room. Sarah watched her sister suspiciously as she held her back close to the wall with one arm behind her back.

Sam backed into her door and opened it. "Goodnight, Sarah." She closed the door, leaving a highly, suspicious sister in the hallway.