My zone

I loathe old houses, more so if they are three levels high and over a block long in length. I don't mind if there was some people; I meant lively ones, but this place left to me by Uncle ranked the worst in the list of I dislike list. If not for the inheritance of over a million dollars in cash, I would had said 'no thanks' and continue with my life of writing tales.

"Welcome to the Manor, Master Jimmy." I doubt the Butler Association would admit this man. "My name is Bruce."

Bruce was not your typical butler; swap the three piece suit for the NASA space astronaut suit complete with oxygen box. But you may want to increase the height as this man had the soles of his feet below the suit. The so named butler saw me looking at his toes.

"We had a fire in the kitchen and was assisting in extinguishing it." Bruce held up his right hand to showed me the faulty faucet. "The pipes was also clogged. But I can't assured you that its all taken care of."

Then was the moment, I saw the maid; later told to me was also the Maintenance Maid or M&M for short, running passing him with her hemline of the skirt rather tardy in display. She was a fast runner with her expensive 'air-blown' trainer.

"Hello Master Jimmy. Oh, Bruce, I think we may had spark off a secondary fire in the Attic." Monica was the maid's name. "Its where they stored the antique paintings. Those are flammable too."

It was then I told Bruce I would manage my own luggage; considering a back pack was even one. Bruce had taken off in a hurry, and it was then I noticed the oxygen box was leaking. Well, que sera sera.

If this was told to be was a house, I would be screaming mad if they had told me it was a manor. In fact it was a mansion ( define as a large dwelling home. ) with the width of two football field. Where I was standing, there was long corridors on my right and left and in front, plus a double flight of stairs leading to the next level. And right of me was the portrait of dead uncle, Manus Manny Main. No, he was not the founder of 3M but he did had some shares in it. I was to looked for Bruce again; I needed two directions, one to my room and the other was the bathroom.

"Oh hello, Jimmy." I looked up to the floating apparition. I was clear of all senses when I made that last statement. She looked like my grandmother; well, the dress does fit that era.

"I am your grand aunt or was it great grand aunt Polly Popping? Gracious, your family had too many branches, I had lost count." The apparition spoke out. "But never fear me. Its Hannibal, your ....other uncle you should fear. He's dreadful with the violin. He think he was the re-born Mozart but he was more like Benny Hill trying to do opera."

It was then, I heard the crashing sound on the upper level. I would had assumed that the attic had collapsed. But I was wrong. I saw Bruce walking down in his new suit'; the dandy one won by the dancer on the street with the umbrella during a rain.

"We sorted out the fire. Monica had removed the roof so that we could channel the rain on it." Bruce replied. "Thank the family, we had your Grand Uncle Living who had spent his effective years with the Shaman in the desert. He can bring in the storm when you least expect it."

"Another loony in the family. Thank fully he died in 1890, but they had to move his skull to the library. Dreadful when they stored your head from your body." Polly was without doubt the tale spinner in the family. I remembered then when my grandmother said with Polly around, your life would be told for generations. Talking about the encyclopedia ancestor, I realized I was in urgent need to find the bathroom

"Bathroom? There are twenty of them on this level and forty on the upper levels. But mind you, not all are working. Some are locked for reasons best not disclosed." She saw my hands waving. "Second door on the left."

I rushed there and opened it. I reeled back gasping for air.

"Pardon me. That was the thunder box ( the old term for the toilet ). Try the next door." I had a feeling that she was looking to remove me. Soon I joined her at the hall and was told that my room was ready. I said my goodbye to Polly, and followed Bruce.

My room was on the next level counting the doors, it was number thirty five down. It was huge; the size of my senior classroom with the four poster bed and four doors closet and a five feet wide dresser. There was a new desktop computer at the far corner but I doubt it was wireless. I saw the cluster of wires and cables on the floor.

"We need to do some wiring for your visit. The amount of connections we had to fixed was numerous considering that the estate was over one hundred and twenty acres." Bruce spoke to me as it he was the cable TV man. "The neighbors were most obliging."

"You meant that you stole on their power source." I looked hard at Bruce.

"Despicable me, I did it all the time." Bruce smiled. "Since Edison came over."

"Edison died years ago. It can't be." I corrected him unless he was telling me that the spirit came here.

"No, Edison was the local contractor. He does most of the wiring here. His father and grandfather before him. We are obliging to generations."

"Bruce, how old are you?" I had to asked.

"I am seventy eight and pushing onto ninety before I retire. We are a hardy lot. My family had served your family since Jefferson was electrocuted by the lightning. None of us left the mansion. Not even your ancestors, they all come back regardless of where they may had lived or died. There is a curse in your family and mine. We are interlocked to be together not in marriage but in service. Your family is the patron and we are the servitude."

"Welcome to your new world. A world where the two families are interwoven through time. We live and die here or return here on our death. This is not hell or heaven but our in-between space reserved only for us. It was to be our curse or blessing, I do not know which but believe in me, there are no turning back when you are in this space."

"Welcome home, Jimmy. Care for tea? I could ring for one. The tea would be ready when we reached the kitchen." Bruce smiled at me. "The other one that was not burnt. We have twelve kitchens here."

"Do you served burgers?" I had to asked.

"Only five years frozen ones. Your Uncle Collins ordered a 20 footer container but he died on the thirteenth serving. "

Footnote:

There is another dimension beyond that which is hardly known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity or as narrow in thought and wide as the mind can bear. It is the middle level between bright and dark, between reality and imagination, and it lies between the head of the man's hair end and the edge of his large toe. This is the in-between area which we call choose not to name for fear it would sought us in.

 

Adapted from the Twilight Zone.