The Precipice (18 page)

Elizabeth took one last look around while the state trooper headed around to the driver’s side of his squad car. They were the last three remaining at the inn after a mandatory evacuation that had started a few hours earlier. She could tell the storm had strengthened significantly since they started the sweep of the inn’s guest rooms. Sleet stung as it hit her face. The wind and rain were whipping her hair into her face. She kept wiping wet strands from her eyes and pulling them out of her mouth. The wind was getting so strong that it was becoming difficult to stand in one place without getting pushed to the side.

She really needed to get out of there before it was too late. Elizabeth found it hard to leave her beloved childhood home, though. She didn’t want to think about what it might look like after a category four hurricane had plowed through it. She turned and watched Lt. Perkins disappear down the driveway of the inn. It was her turn to leave, too. Her eyes welled with tears. She reached for the door handle of her car and gave it a pull, but it didn’t budge. She tried it again and a look of horror crossed her face. The state police had returned her car to her, but had neglected to give her back her keys. Were they inside? The rain was hitting the window so hard that she couldn’t see in. She banged on the window with her fist and it didn’t give. Even if she was able to break the window, it wouldn’t do her any good unless the keys were inside. Panic was starting to take over. A strong gust of wind pushed her to the side so she had to shuffle her feet to keep them under her. Her eyes were wide and she was desperately looking around her, trying to get herself out of this mess. She was going to have to wait out the storm here.
But where is it safe?
She shuddered at the idea of the tunnels. Before the cave-in she would have considered the tunnels a safe place to wait out a storm, but not anymore. Then she remembered her cell phone. She headed for the porch of the inn, hoping for a little refuge from the storm, while she slipped her phone out of her pants’ pocket. As both feet landed on the porch, she flipped it open. She could call ahead to Rashelle and they could come back to get her. One glance at her phone told her she had no service. The storm had probably already taken out cell towers along the entire East Coast. She had no way to call for help. What about the phone in the inn? She grabbed the knob on the front door. Through the windows she could see the porch furniture and the bicycles stacked up inside so they wouldn’t become flying projectiles outside in the storm. She tried to turn the knob and it didn’t move. Her eyes grew wide and she stubbornly tried again and again, shaking the knob and trying to force it to turn. “NO!” She pounded her fists on the door. She had no way to get in. This couldn’t be happening. She had nowhere to go. For the first time, she felt that she was in real danger…she was all alone…she was going to die alone.

She turned around and pushed her back up against the door, slowly sliding down into a crouching position. Tears fell down her cheeks and melted into the rain drops that were already there. She began to sob. She couldn’t believe it was going to end like this. She rested her bottom on the welcome mat in front of the door and hugged her legs with her arms. Her whole body was shaking from her sobs. She bowed her head, resting her forehead on her knees. This was it. Amid regrets that were crossing her mind, she had an irrational thought that she wished she had gone to the lighthouse one more time. She didn’t get a chance to go back up into it after she got interrupted by Renard when she had first arrived. She loved that lighthouse. It always made her feel safe—

THE LIGHTHOUSE!! She would be safe in the lighthouse! She just needed to get there. She would need to get down the cliff and across the breakwater. It would be very treacherous. Unfortunately, she didn’t have much choice. The lighthouse was her only hope. She gathered all the courage she could and headed down the front steps, across the front lawn. She started to run toward the path through the woods, the wind blowing in from sea and nearly knocking her off her feet. She did not even bother to take one last look at her car. She felt as if it had been a traitor to her. It wasn’t there for her when she needed it most.

Elizabeth reached the narrow path in the woods and was relieved that the trees provided some shelter against the strong wind. She moved as quickly as she dared, taking little steps in rapid succession. She needed to get to the lighthouse as quickly as possible before the storm got much worse, but she would need to do it without falling and getting hurt. She kept going, one foot in front of the other, little steps. Finally, she reached the lookout on the bluff where the path took a turn. Elizabeth slowed down enough to navigate the turn on the muddy path. Just as she thought she was clear to speed up, her foot slipped out from underneath her and she almost went down. She caught herself after some uncoordinated acrobatic maneuvers with her arms flailing and she headed to the steeper part of the trail. Slowing her pace, she cautiously proceeded. The wind was getting stronger in her face because the trees were thinner at this point on the trail and would be all the way down to the end of the path. She held onto tree branches to keep her balance, trying not to go too fast. She thought of Nana, Rashelle, and Kurt. She hoped they had made it safely to the shelter. Hopefully they weren’t worrying about her. She wished she had a way to get in touch with them. She wished she had a way out of there.

After an excruciatingly long climb down the path, going from tree to tree, she reached the bottom. She looked out in front of her at the lighthouse; her refuge.
Not much farther now. Almost there.
She was trying to convince herself. There was no turning back anyway. The shed was her first stop. She reached in to grab the key off the nail…..it wasn’t there. “OH MY GOD!” she screamed into the wind. There was no one around to hear her. Why wasn’t the key there? What did that mean? Was there someone already in the lighthouse?
Elizabeth had no idea what the answers were to those questions. Her eyes grew wide again. She was desperate to figure out what to do. Maybe whoever had the key had left the door to the lighthouse unlocked. Should she take the chance and cross the breakwater? She watched as the wind was whipping the waves over the huge rocks, her path to safety.

She had to risk it. She was out of options. She took a deep breath and headed toward the lighthouse across the rocks. The wind was directly in her face so she had to lean forward to keep from being blown backward. The sleet stung her face. She tried to focus on each step, on her usual technique for crossing the jagged surface. One foot in front of the other, pushing through the wind. She felt a wave crash on the rocks just behind her. She didn’t dare look. That was too close
. One step at a time.
A wave crashed just in front of her. Was she next
?
She couldn’t let that thought occupy her mind. One step at a time. It couldn’t be much farther
.
Then she made the critical mistake of looking up to see how close she was. The wind caught her in the face and pushed her backwards. She was forced to take two or three steps backwards and her foot missed its mark on the last one. Her left shoe wedged down into a crevice between two large rocks. She felt a sharp pain in her ankle that was twisted at an awkward angle. At that moment, a wave crashed over her. Her wedged foot kept her from getting knocked into the frigid water, but the wave did manage to push her onto her side. She hit hard and she lay there with her hip throbbing. She was so cold. She wasn’t winning the fight and she didn’t know how much more she had in her. Her whole body ached from getting thrown onto the rocks. She just lay there with the storm thrashing all around her. She considered just staying there and letting Mother Nature do her will. She was breathing hard. Another wave crashed over her. She held her breath until the water subsided. How much longer could she take this?
Elizabeth, you have to get up! Don’t just lie there. Get up!
It took everything she had left to pull herself up into a sitting position. She needed to save
her own life. She yanked and yanked on her foot stuck between the rocks. It wouldn’t come out. This can’t be it. She couldn’t die out here on the rocks, all alone. Her grandmother would be so sad when they found her…if they found her. She thought about her grandfather and how he had fought the storm and didn’t win. She wondered if this was how he had felt. Another wave crashed over her hitting her hard on the side of her face. Water slammed into her nose and mouth. She was so overwhelmed she couldn’t even cough at first. After a few seconds, her body went into panic mode and fought to get the water out of her nasal cavities. She coughed and choked and gasped for air until finally she could start to breath in air.
Lizzi, get up! Get out of here!
Thankfully the waves gave her enough of a reprieve so she could catch her breath. Then another wave. This one knocked her sideways again, but she kept herself from hitting the rocks. She was desperately trying to save herself. She had to get her foot out from between the rocks. In all her struggling, fighting the waves, it felt as though the foot was wedged further into the rocks. She had to get out of there and get to the lighthouse. That was her only hope. She had to get her foot out from between the rocks…her foot, but not necessarily her shoe! Quickly she loosened the ties and pulled out her bare foot, leaving the shoe between the boulders. She could tell she was running out of time. The waves were getting higher and more violent. She bowed her head to the wind, held her breath, and started to run toward the lighthouse, perhaps a foolish act but she had nothing left to lose. Finally, she reached the large wooden door. She threw herself against it. Fortunately it was on the side of the lighthouse opposite the wind so she had a momentary break. The door was heavy so she had to give it a good tug. As she was pulling, she noticed her hands and arms were all scraped from fighting the waves on the rocks. She didn’t realize it, but her legs looked even worse. The door didn’t move. She tried again, this time she used so much force that her wet hands slipped off the handle and she catapulted backwards and landed on her rear end. This couldn’t be happening. It can’t be locked!
She picked herself up and flung herself at the door, banging on it with both fists. “GOD, PLEASE HELP ME! YOU ARE MY ONLY HOPE! PLEASE LET ME—”

She thought she could feel the door pressing toward her. Could it be? She stepped back but grabbed onto the door handle for stability. She couldn’t believe her eyes. In the doorway of the lighthouse, with a look of fear and shock, was none other than her sweet, elderly grandmother. Amelia reached toward Elizabeth, grabbed her by the upper arm, and firmly pulled her inside, slamming the door behind them. “What are you doing here?! For God’s sake Lizzi, you could have been killed trying to get down here!” The volume of her voice was approaching shouting. She was scolding. “Why didn’t you leave when you could?!” She reached over and locked the door behind Elizabeth.

“Nana!” She was shouting over the driving wind and crashing waves. It sounded like the ocean was starting to swallow the lighthouse. “What are
you
doing here?” Her emotions overcame her shock. “Oh, I am so glad to see you!” She hugged her grandmother with all her might. She loved her so much. She couldn’t believe she had found her in the lighthouse. They could only pray that the fortress that had stood strong and tall for so many decades would carry them safely through this storm. It was a strong one. Elizabeth was still scared of the hurricane, but felt so much better now that she was with her grandmother. They lingered in the warmth and comfort of each other’s arms.

Finally Amelia pulled away, taking a step backwards, and looked directly into her granddaughter’s eyes. “Let’s find a place to sit this one out for a while.” They headed over to the wall on the far side of the lighthouse. It was the side that the wind was coming from. A couple of old blankets were already in a heap on the floor. They tried to make themselves as comfortable as possible. The wind raged just outside the walls. They held each other and prayed. The waves relentlessly crashed against the wall on the other side of them.
Please hold strong. You’ve stood for all these years. Please protect us from the storm.
For over an hour, they held each other and listened to the force of the hurricane outside. They could only imagine what it looked like on the other side of the fortress walls. The winds continued to whip the water against the lighthouse. The century old structure creaked and groaned with the battering to its front. Grandmother and granddaughter held onto the hope that they would survive the storm.

Chapter 25 

T
he winds were dying down a bit. Sounded like the eye of the storm was approaching. It was a time to catch their breaths, but it would only be a brief reprieve. The tail end of the hurricane would soon follow. Amelia thought it was time for them to have a little chat.

Amelia turned toward Elizabeth. “Lizzi, there is something I need to tell you, once and for all. You should have heard this a long time ago and if I don’t tell you now…well, it’s time you finally knew what happened to your parents.”

Elizabeth quietly gasped. Finally, and in the middle of a major hurricane, she was going to get to hear what she has been dying to know for years.

“And I know that we all have kept this from you over the years, thinking we were protecting you from the pain. But I imagine not knowing was just as painful.” She paused to gather her thoughts. Elizabeth was all ears, anxious and fearful to hear the truth. “Your parents loved you so very much. I don’t think I saw two people who got as much joy from being with their child as your mother and father did with you. You meant the world to them. The three of you were inseparable. You did everything together. When one was helping to run the inn, the other was with you.

“Your mother was so good at handling the day to day operations at the inn. The guests and the staff loved her. She was so sweet. Your father was more of a “big picture” kind of guy who ran things from more of a backroom operation. Also, a very sweet guy. They made a great team and the inn was quite successful under their reign.” She paused again, perhaps to catch her breath, and then continued. “You were so happy while they were alive. You loved to be where your parents were. All of that changed one day. You were little, about four years old. You and your father had taken a walk down to the lighthouse one afternoon, as you loved to do so often. It became dinner time so your mother took a walk down to fetch you two. It had been particularly windy that day, the fringes of an offshore storm, so the water had been unusually rough. No one could have predicted what happened next. Your mother had nearly reached where you and your father were sitting on the breakwater, and to her horror, she watched as a rogue wave crashed on top of you. She ran to try to help you. When the water receded, your father was nowhere to be found, but she could see you clinging to the rocks below at the water’s edge. You were half submerged in the cold water. Frantically, she ran to pull you out of the water. There was no one else around to help. She picked you up and carried you part way up the rocks when another wave knocked her down from behind—”

“She fell and the force of the wave knocked me out of her arms,” Elizabeth continued. Her grandmother looked at her, eyes wide in disbelief. “She was able to keep me from getting sucked in by the sea. But she wasn’t so lucky. She was pulled into the water as my father had been.”

“How did you know?” Her voice was breathless. Amelia was incredulous. She thought she was the only one that knew the details of the horrible tragedy. “Who told you?”

“No one. I saw it all in a dream, one that I will never forget.” She looked as though she could see the dream in her mind’s eye quite vividly. “It was many years ago and, at the time I wasn’t sure what to make of it. I will never forget it, though. So it was my parents…” Elizabeth was lost in her thoughts and holding her breath. Her poor parents. Then she thought for a moment of Amelia’s connection to the event. “…but how did you know what happened to them?” She hadn’t been there.

“I also had a dream. Could have been the same one as yours. I think it was your mother trying to show us what actually happened. She knew we were agonizing over it. You know, loved ones who have passed on have different ways of communicating with us. One way is through dreams. It is their way of helping us deal with our grief.”

Elizabeth just looked at her grandmother in disbelief.

“It’s true, dear. If you can resist becoming frightened when these things happen, they can be quite comforting.”

Elizabeth went back to the images on the rocks in her dream. What an awful way to die…so the newspaper clippings she had dug out of the old desk in Cecelia’s room were about her parents. But one of the articles had a headline about three people being swept off the rocks, not two.

Amelia continued. “At first, we thought all three of you had perished off the breakwater. You evidently were a little dazed after the incident, but somehow found your way back up to the inn. You slipped through the lobby unnoticed by anyone and went and hid in a closet in the rooms you shared with your parents. It took a while before anyone found you, so they were originally searching for three people. Someone from housekeeping finally opened the closet door and found you all bloody from your head lacerations and in a bit of shock.” As an aside she added, “We never did figure out why you hid in the closet so often.”

Elizabeth was staring forward, looking like she was in a trance. “Aunt Cecelia.”

“What?” She wasn’t sure she had heard correctly.

“Aunt Cecelia.” She turned her head and looked directly into her grandmother’s face. Suddenly, her eyes filled with anger that had built up over the years. Her voice became firm and loud. “I hid in there because I felt safe… safe from Aunt Cecelia. She was always yelling at me when I was little. I hated it. I tried to stay away from her, but she always seemed to find me. The closet was my refuge from her.”

Amelia was stunned. She wasn’t sure how to respond. “Lizzi…Cecelia is dead…She died before you were born.”

Elizabeth eyes grew wide as she tried to understand what her grandmother was saying. “W-what?”

“Cecelia died a long time ago. She wasn’t a very happy person to begin with, very bitter at the world, very self-conscious, suspicious of other people. She never married. She got sick one winter and she got really ornery. Her body never recovered. She was gone before spring. It was probably pneumonia. We didn’t really have all the medical resources back then like we do now. That was back in 1969.”

This just wasn’t making any sense to Elizabeth. “How can this be?”

“Well…I have heard that some of the guests over the years have reported seeing a ghostly figure of a woman from time to time. I thought perhaps that it was the young girl who died at the school. I suppose it could have been Cecelia.”

Elizabeth’s mind was reeling. She was having trouble grasping everything her grandmother was sharing with her. She took a deep breath. Her great aunt was just a ghost? Her parents had died on the very rocks she had crossed so many times as a child and, yet, she had somehow survived?
It didn’t seem fair. But then again, so many things in life weren’t.

“Elizabeth, I am so sorry. I know this must be so hard to hear. I never knew when the right time would be to tell you so I kept postponing it. I’m sorry.” She gazed at her beautiful granddaughter whom she had raised from an adorable preschooler to a beautiful, young woman. She was as proud of her as if she were her own daughter. She just wished she wasn’t racked with guilt over Lizzi’s less than joyful childhood and the years it took her to tell her the truth. At least, now, it was out in the open and she would just have to try to help her accept it.

Elizabeth was finally able to speak. “Nana, I love you so much. I know that it was hard for you to tell me.” She swallowed hard, almost choking on her emotions. “It was a bit of a shock to hear.” She took hold of both of her grandmother’s hands and looked deeply into her eyes. Her face looked drawn and worried.

The strength of the wind was picking up again. It was time to brace for the other half of the hurricane.

“Thanks for telling me, Nana.” She hugged her grandmother like she had never hugged her before. Amelia needed that.

Then Elizabeth had a thought. “Nana…why did you come down to the lighthouse instead of going to the shelter?”

“Oh, Lizzi. You were supposed to go off to the shelter and not worry about me.” She looked sideways at her granddaughter. “I couldn’t imagine leaving the inn even if a hurricane was coming. I thought I would stay with the ship, like your grandfather had done, and go down with it, if necessary. I had never left it before. I’ve seen this place through good times and bad. And there have been a lot of bad. I told Kurt and Rashelle that I would get a ride from you—”

“And you told me that you were going with them.” She was starting to get annoyed with her grandmother.

“Precisely.” She wasn’t going to let her Lizzi give her a hard time. This was her decision. “I realized that the safest place for me to ride it out would be here. So I managed to get down here before it got too rough.” She thought for a moment and then admitted, “It was a bit scary until you showed up!”

Elizabeth couldn’t believe her grandmother was willing to die with the inn. Of course, that thought made her feel hypocritical. Thank God she had been there. It would have been certain death for her if her grandmother hadn’t been at the lighthouse to open the door for her.

Elizabeth and her grandmother settled in again to weather the tail of the storm.