The Secret of Notre Dame (Chapter Three)

Chapter One

Boom! Boom! Boom! The clock struck midnight. The sky was jet black, with the moon eerily peeking out from behind the clouds. My heart banged against my ribs. Where was I? A shiver ran down my spine. Maybe it was the wind, I contemplated, I mustn’t worry so. I stepped out from the darkness. The ground crunched below me and the frosty air felt like it was nibbling against me. In front of me was a colossal building, the white paint peeling. Moss grew wildly out of the cracks, covering nearly all of the building. Go in!, a voice softly whispered. What was in there? Maybe it could be treasure or… My trail of thought faded away. I must go in there, I told myself, what is the harm of going in a building? I opened the door and sneaked inside. I looked around. There was nothing there; only four grey walls and a grey floor. Suddenly, the door slammed shut. Click… Click… Click… Click… The sound of footsteps echoed through the room.

“Hello?” I whispered, my legs shivering. “Who’s there?”

There was silence. I need to get out! I fled towards the door. Clutching the handle, I pulled with all my might. The door didn’t move… I was trapped! My stomach twisted into a knot and I felt my palms sweating. Where should I go? The door was locked but there were stairs… I had an idea! I rushed towards the stairs, the floor scratching against my bare feet. After I ran up the stairs, I came across a platform surrounded with a thin, wire rail. I looked over the rail; there was a thick mess of emerald green trees and a fog surrounded the forest like a cold blanket.

Suddenly, I heard a noise. Click! Click! Click! Click! I wasn’t alone! Almost immediately, a hand gripped my shoulder. My body froze and I could hardly move a muscle. Hesitantly, I twisted around and a strange thing met my eyes. Something that looked like a man towered over me, his gnarled fingers still placed on my shoulder. He wasn’t solid; his body was wispy and looked like black smoke. Panic rushed through my body. Where could I go? The door was locked and I could hardly jump out of a tall tower. I ran to the stairs and fled to the door.

“Help!” I shrieked, my voice hoarse. “Help me!”

I pulled the door as hard as I could but it didn’t move. I heard footsteps again; this time loud and clear. The footsteps were getting louder and louder… Closer and closer… I pulled with all my might and the door swung open. I fled into the darkness, leaving the tower far behind. My legs were wobbly and I felt dizzy, but I ran on and on, for what seemed like hours. The trees in the forest surrounded me. There was nowhere I could go. Thud! I felt the ground collapse underneath me. My legs ached and my arms felt numb. My eyes blinked. Where was I? The ground squelched as I pulled myself up. The light of the moon lit up the hole through a narrow crack near a wall nearby. A fire danced in the corner as vibrant colours of red, yellow and orange exploded. Two armchairs were placed either side of a circular red rug. In those chairs were two creatures, though they were human sized! The room started spinning and blurred into one another. My legs collapsed beneath me. Everything went black.

Chapter Two

I opened my eyes. Was I dreaming? The transparent, daffodil yellow curtains let the sun rays flood into the room and, despite it being too bright, I was glad. That dream spooked me, it seemed so vivid. The scent of crispy toast filled my nose and I could almost taste it. My checked red and white quilt felt heavy against my body, yet it provided me with safety. Yes, I thought to myself, I was back home, where I belong. A dozen thoughts filled my mind. Even though it was just a dream, it seemed like I was actually there… The floorboards creaked as I eventually threw myself out of bed. As I strolled towards the bottom of the stairs, a strange thing happened. Thud! Thud! Shoes creaked on the floor. I saw a woman and, though I had never seen her before, she seemed to know me. Curly hair as white as the snow framed her oval face and deep wrinkles covered her face. Beady, emerald eyes stared bloodshot at me and her nostrils were flared in disgust. A fur coat swept over her shoulders and she struggled to walk in enormous high heels. The scent of toast was replaced by a heavy smell of strawberry perfume. I felt myself cowering in the sight of her.

“What are you looking at?” she sneered, saliva spitting out from in between her crooked teeth. “Get ready, today is a very important day today.”

“Who are you?” I asked, in spite of myself. As she replied, I thought I saw a forked tongue slivering in her mouth. I rubbed my eyes. It must’ve been a figment of my imagination…

A few hours later, we arrived at a peculiar place. The woman, who claimed to be my Auntie Irene, was strange to say the least. Apparently, my mother, Rosemary, was Irene’s sister, yet Irene looked nearly 70 years old… The sky was grey and seemed to rumble in anticipation. A wrought iron gate loomed over us, casting a dark shadow over our faces. As I saw the words engraved on the top, I remembered. I remembered that awful night nearly 10 years ago… I remembered smoke rising… I remembered screams… Yet Irene was nowhere to be found in my memories. The words said: “Cemetery”. All of a sudden, there was silence; birds stopped chirping and bees stopped buzzing busily. My heart dropped like a stone and my hands shivered. There were stone graves, easily hundreds of them, were neatly arranged into rows, each with names on them and dates. Suddenly, Irene grabbed my wrist and pulled. Her grip was so tight I couldn’t free myself. She pulled me around the graves, her beady eyes examining every name. Almost immediately, Irene stopped at a crumbly, tiny grave with two names; Thomas and Ophelia. I remembered those names… Were they my parents? I could almost feel my heart break. I turned sideways to see if Irene was still there; she was. She was staring at me, her eyes glowing red and her teeth incredibly sharp. Rain poured down, showering Irene and I with water.

“You shouldn’t be here!” she hissed, a forked tongue slivering inside her mouth. Suddenly, she sprouted fur and her nose squashed into a snout. It roared, baring tusks from the side of its face. I ran. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! My heart pounded against my chest. I needed to get away… Away from the monster… I tripped over something, my arms shielding my fall. I was doomed, the monster was sure to get me… The monster’s footsteps were getting closer and closer… I could hear them getting louder and louder. A glint of gold sparkled in the corner of my eye. I grabbed it; it was a golden watch, with a small button on the top. Holding my breath, I pressed the button. I waited for the monster to strike, pressing my eyes together, not bearing to watch. Nothing happened; I stayed waiting on the ground. I opened my eyes and looked around. The sky was no longer grey, but a crystal clear blue. I wasn’t in a cemetery any more.

Chapter Three

Where was I? Something felt rough against the skin of my cheek as I lifted my head from the ground. The sky flashed different colours; ranging from a fiery red to a cold blue. I was in a sort of dream-like world: I couldn’t feel their pale skin or their straw hair. Colossal birds, or more like dragons, filled the air with their shrieks and roars. My heart skipped a beat when I saw them, though nobody seemed to mind that they actually existed. I tried to scream but my voice was hoarse. I ran, my legs aching. I had run too many times that day, yet I seemed too frightened to do anything else. I heard my footsteps echo across the gravelly concrete, and I knew I was alone. Everybody else had vanished; even the dragons in the sky seemed to become silent. I came across a large building, paint peeling and the hinges of the door squeaked every time the wind blew it open. Windows were arranged in neat rows, each one was identical to the other. A wooden fence, coloured chocolate brown, was bound around the building, nearly hugging it. The fence was broken by a large gap, which had little cobbles cutting through the unruly grass. Rain poured down, showering me and a woman nearby. She was carrying what seemed like a baby; it struggled and fidgeted in her arms. Over her head, a grey cloak stretched towards the ground, only showing red pumps tied onto the woman’s foot. She looked around nervously every five minutes, as if sensing something behind her… I was too absorbed to move from behind an enormous tree. What was the woman doing? Why did she have a baby? She ran towards the building and towards the stone steps near the oak door. Gently and carefully, she placed the baby onto the steps and held her thin hands to her eyes. She was crying! I wanted to comfort her but… How could I react if a stranger came over and comforted me? No, I decided, I’ll just watch her for the moment. I heard her talking to the poor baby, her voice low and hushed, nearly a whisper. I could barely hear her, so I moved towards a closer tree, craning my head to hear.

“I’m sorry,” she sobbed, her voice nearly breaking. “Just remember… You’re not like other children, somebody’s after you. I’ll be alright, my dear Belle. You have the same eye colour as me… A lovely sky blue.” She paused, peering over her shoulder. “D-Don’t forget, okay? G-Goodbye, Belle.” She kissed the baby’s forehead, before bursting into tears and racing away. My heart sank like a stone. Why did she leave the baby? ‘Not like other children, somebody’s after you’ repeated itself in my mind. Suddenly, the image dissolved into nothing. The dark horizon seemed to melt into the building, which, like-wise, melted into the grass below it. I could see nothing but a bright light. The ground was white as well, as if I was in the middle of nowhere, neither here nor there. As I stumbled onwards through the blinding light, I saw a figure. The figure was tall; nearly towering over my head. It stepped forwards, getting closer and closer to me and I realised that it was the woman from the vision. She looked completely different, yet her eyes were solemn like the other woman’s. Curly golden hair framed her pale face. An ocean blue dressed swept across the ground as she walked forward. Rosy cheeks were like little apples on her face, while her arms lay limply by her sides. Big, brown eyes looked at me, questioning and inspecting me.

“Why are you here?” I asked her. She nearly smiled at my question; it was like she had not spoken to a person in years. “Who are you?”

“I am reminding you,” she replied, her voice strangely echoing. “I am somebody you know; I am Ophelia.” Ophelia… Why was it so familiar to me? I looked at her from head to toe. Something seemed peculiar about her…

“Reminding me of what?” I inquired, puzzled. Ophelia was not explaining anything to me. Why did she have to remind me? What was she reminding me of? She nodded, as if reading my mind.

“You are curious, little one.” Ophelia mumbled. She looked at me, yearning for something. “You were always curious, Belle.”

“That baby?” I replied, shocked. “I’m not Belle, unless…” I became lost in my own thoughts. Somebody had led me to that special watch. It can’t have been Irene; she didn’t seem human enough to do it. For some reason, the watch had done something but what? I can’t have travelled back to the past, because I saw something before that vision… Ophelia still looked at me, blankly. She had given too much away, I was sure she had.

“You must go back.” She muttered eventually. The silence between us two had been awkward, you could tell by the lack of comfortableness in Ophelia’s eyes.

“Go back where?” I snapped. Where could she send me? I couldn’t remember anything about who I was or where I came from. I didn’t know anything about my past, yet Ophelia had given me a clue. Belle, my name was, though it sounded too strange to be my name. The woman was still there, her brown eyes flickering with fear.

“Do not talk to your mother like that!” Ophelia snapped. Her mouth spread into a wide circle, before her hands clasp against it. She couldn’t be my mother! There was something about her eyes, but what was it? As quickly as it had begun, the dream seemed to fade away in the blink of an eye.