What Katie Did Next

A strange encounter in a self writing story from an over fertile mind.

Katie was a writer with a truly wonderful way with words and a fertile imagination to match. And Katie so loved the idea of stepping into the world of a make believe fantasy land where she could give full reign to her wildest ideas, dreams and desires.

However, as much as Katie tried to complete her first racy, romantic novel about a pretty, freckle faced young girl with strawberry blond hair in bangs and a white linen summer frock, falling in love with a handsome prince, real life just seemed to get in the way.

If it wasn’t the kindly, cumbersome and bumbling Mrs Bunburry in the rustic weavers cottage next door, falling off a rickety old kitchen step trying to put some delicious, freshly baked fruit scones in a cupboard above the oven, it was dear old wizened Aunt Alice down on the south coast getting caught in a ferocious riptide as she sailed her tenacious little dingy, simply called 'Wonderland', across the turbulent river at Sandbanks.

Katie was, to all who knew her, a super hero, or a super heroine, to be more precise. And much as she would have loved to bring the freckle faced girl closer to her handsome prince, Katie couldn’t ignore a distress call from her small circle of beloved friends and neighbours, and of course, dear old Aunt Alice.

This particular morning Katie went to her small antique Remington typewriter and loaded a blank page. There wasn’t a single sound from the old style bakelite telephone she kept on an old, oak book shelf. All Katie could hear was the slow rhythmic tic toc of the old mahogany grandmother clock next her favourite ornament, a ceramic white dove atop of a juniper plant. So far so good. Maybe today the freckle faced girl would get to meet her handsome Prince.

Katie's slender fingers delicately began to type the first words of a new chapter. Clackety clack, clackety clack.....

“And as the old mist enshrouded Gothic castle hove into sight the nervous young girl stopped to take it all in. She still had a long ways to go. The young girl, with her strawberry blond hair in bangs, suddenly saw an old rustic, ivy clad, stone wall cottage at the side of the road with an old splintered oak door, complete with a tarnished old brass knocker and a period stained glass window, with a picture of a jousting knight of old. The girl started to move tentatively towards the door of the house. It seemed as if she was ghosting across the old country road...……”

Katie glanced at the old clock on the old book shelf to her left. It was just ten past ten in the morning. She leaned back a little on her little wooden bench seat, a gift of thanks from her Aunty Alice after Katie saved her from certain death in her last sailing escapade down at Sandbanks. She wasn't sure where to go next with the story and was pondering on that problem when....

Suddenly there was a knock on the door downstairs. At first Katie tried to ignore it. Maybe, she reasoned, it was just the billowing wind blowing on the old brass knocker.

However, a brief moment later there was another, ever so slightly louder, knock. Katie raised her tired eyes to the peeling ceiling in quiet resignation. Oh well, she thought to herself, maybe tomorrow.

As Katie made her way downstairs she could see a strange and yet familiar silhouette through the stained glass door window. At the bottom of stairs Katie tentatively eased open the old oak front door.

In one short sharp moment, Katie went into some sort of shock and confusion. There stood right in front of her was a young freckle faced girl, the girl from Katie’s novel, the very girl she had been about to move closer to the old castle. Katie could hardly believe her eyes.

After what seemed an interminable time the young girl spoke with ever such a soft voice, a voice so soft it did not seem to be of this world.

“I wonder could you help me.” Whispered the freckle faced girl with bangs. I’m trying to find the old castle. I believe a handsome prince lives there and I feel compelled for some strange reason to go there to meet him. Something tells me it is my destiny. And something tells me you can help me?“

“Of course I can" stuttered Katie, "let me just get my coat, one moment please”

Katie turned to get her coat off the hall stand and in one deft swoop swiped her car keys off the little table nearby at the same time.

In that short moment that Katie took to look away from the front door, the girl simply and inexplicably disappeared. Gone, like the wind which had also strangely evaporated into a quiet, velvet, calm stillness.

Katie just stood trying to make sense of it all. She frowned a little as she thought “What in the name of the lord just happened.”

Suddenly Katie heard the familiar voice of Mrs Bunburry coming from next door.

“Katie, could you help me a moment dear!”

At the same time the old telephone began to ring. Katie tentatively picked up the handset and said “hello?“

It was Aunt Alice. “You’ll never believe what’s just happened.“ said Aunt Alice. "I was out in Wonderland skipping across the waves of the bay when all of a sudden......" Her Aunt’s tone told her this was a none urgent call. Katie just ever so slowly placed the handset on the antique mahogany Emily hall stand as Aunt Alice continued to rabbit on.

Katie made her way back upstairs and as she entered her room she saw the freckle faced girl stood next to her desk. Katie stood stock still, trying to understand what was happening.

The girl spoke as softly as before. “Here “ said the girl," you can show me way here, on this piece of paper.”

The girl was lightly touching the sheet of paper paper Katie had previously loaded into her old typewriter. Then as Katie slowly moved towards her desk the girl floated across the room to the leaded light window, looking yernfully at the old castle in the far distance. The girl's soft ebony asking had a sheen to it like a china doll which contrasted with the wood of the old oak, stained, sash window frame through which she pensively gazed off into the distance.

Katie slowly sat down at her desk and began to type.

"The young girl with rosemary blond bangs delicately lifted the old brass knocker.......

..................and I found myself sat back at my desk whilst the yearnful young girl stood by my room window looking out towards the castle."

Katie then continued with describing the route to the old castle as the girl had asked. By the time Katie got to describing the grassy knoll, over the other side of which was a rough country bridle path that led to the enchanted castle. Katie was at bottom of the page and looked across the room to the window.

The girl was gone, she had simply disappeared into thin air. Katie looked back at the clock on the shelf to see that barely a minute had passed since she last looked. Katie also noticed that her ceramic white dove had mysteriously disappeared from atop of the juniper plant.

Katie looked to the window and for a fleeting moment Katie thought she saw a white dove fly off into the distance after the girl. Katie looked back down at her desk.

Two extra pages of the story had somehow been typed and lay flat on the desk next to the typewriter. Katie couldn't recall loading two extra pages. What's more, this struck Katie as more than a little strange as normally it would have taken her a lot longer to type what she had written. It was as if time itself had been suspended.

Katie rose from her desk and slowly made her way to the old leaded room window. In the far distance Katie could see the castle looming in the mist. And she could just make out the shape of a white summer frock billowing in the wind as it crested a grassy knoll which led to the path up to the castle.

Katie went back to her desk and looked down at her old typewriter. The page was printed. The opening chapter to the story was finished.

Katie really wanted to continue with describing the young girl’s first encounter with the handsome prince. However, that was the start of a new chapter and Katie had had quite enough of fantasy land for today.

Suddenly Katie realised that she could smell the warm aroma of Mrs Bunburry's delicious fruit scones and hear the call for help from Aunt Alice as she trilled on about her recalcitrant dingy 'Wonderland'.

"Maybe tomorrow." Katie muttered to herself as she made her way back downstairs," Maybe tomorrow."