Stone Glass Window

The building stood alone, out of the way from everything else. It was this building that drew Cassie off her usual journey to work that day. She could not quite put her finger on why she looked up at that particular moment, as the sun shone down on the magnificent stone glass window. From the front the building looked like a church but on closer inspection this building was definitely no church.
The steps were wide and painted green. Apart from the stone glass window set in the front, there were no discerning features to show what this building was used for. Cassie was still staring up at the stone glass window. Not even the glaring sun could make her avert her eyes. A car horn cut through Cassie’s trance and she was brought back to reality. She looked down at her watch and saw that she had to be at work in twenty minutes. If she did not hurry, Cassie would be late and that would not do.
Making the decision that work was priority at that moment in time, Cassie started to walk forward at a fast pace. At the same time a gust of wind whipped up a pile of leaves which twisted into Cassie’s hair. Annoyed at the further delay to her journey, she started to pull the leaves from her hair. Some of the leaves broke up into tiny bits which threatened to cling to her long brown now tangled mess of hair. All of a sudden Cassie whipped round to face down the street, towards the building. She could have sworn she’d heard her name being called. For a split second Cassie listened out for the voice calling again, but to no avail. Thinking this delusion to be a trick of the wind, Cassie continued another attempt at the clump of leaves. Still no luck. At this rate lateness to work would be the only option. On a second thought, maybe taking a day off from work would not be such a bad idea. She could ring in sick. Her boss considered her record of attendance as good, compared to other members of the call centre. This current job Cassie was “employed” in, was a mind numbing and boring position. Day in and day out, Cassie took calls from customers about their kitchen appliances. Whether they could not work their cookers or a genuine fault had occurred.
The leaves were not budging. An idea was starting to form in Cassie’s mind. Reaching for her phone in her pocket, she began to ring work. Her boss answered the phone. This was going to be easy. Faking illness, Cassie was able to get the day off. That little job done, the tangle of leaves in the hair was next to be sorted. A mirror would help. Turning around, Cassie could not see any cafes or even a pub which would have a toilet. The only possible building which could help was the building with the stone glass window. Staring up again, the sun still shining, Cassie could feel the same effect as before descending upon her. Cassie shook her head and started to walk back down the street towards this mesmerising building.

Stepping through the large red wooden door felt like walking into a different era. Beyond the front door was a large room, which did resemble the interior of a church but at the same time, this building was no church. For one there was no altar. There were benches, which could resemble church pews. The benches looked worn and old. They did not look like they had been used in a long time as Cassie discovered by running her finger through the dust settled on the back of the end row of benches. Cassie’s voice wobbled as she called out to see if anyone was there. No answer. Venturing further into the room. There was no answer. Deciding to not look for a mirror, Cassie felt there was no need to stay any longer. Turning around towards the front door she noticed that where she had left the front door ajar, the opening was no longer there. The door was shut. Cassie thought how strange. She had not heard the door close. Calling out again for anyone who was there. Surely someone had to have closed the door but then there still would have been a noise. Cassie stood still for a few minutes, listening for any movement. All she could hear though was her own breathing. This was getting her no where. Looking to the end of the room, Cassie could see another door. Moving forward, past the rows of benches, eventually reaching this door. Taking a deep breath before reaching out for the handle, Cassie felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise. Something did not feel right. What the hell, what was the worst that could happen, being caught for trespassing whilst looking for a mirror?
The handle did not resist any movement. The door opened with no squeak of a hinge. So far so good. This door opened into a small office with a desk and a chair. There was a single filing cabinet in one corner. These items were also covered in dust like the benches. Cassie walked to the desk. There were drawers in the desk. Cassie started to check to see if any of the drawers would open, but to no avail. A sound from the main room startled Cassie and she stopped her investigation. Standing still and looking round for somewhere to hide, Cassie suddenly realised how ridiculous the idea of hiding would be. It was not as of she was doing anything wrong. Surely her appearance would help someone deduce that she needed assistance.

Footsteps could now be heard outside the ajar door. The footsteps stopped and a hand appeared round the edge of the door. At the same time the hand was joined by an arm and then the rest of the body. The face that appeared was that of an older gentleman. He appeared smartly dressed. A little out of place for first thing in the morning. He had an expression of surprise at finding someone in the building.
“Oh, I was just looking for a key to a toilet with a mirror. I need to get these leaves out my hair”, Cassie gave her explanation as to why she was there.
“You are in a mess! Here, let me help you!” The gentleman produced an old looking key from his jacket inside pocket.
Cassie was relieved that she could stop trying the drawers. She stepped out of the office, the gentleman followed her. He still seemed puzzled to see her there. Cassie stopped as she realised she didn’t know where they were going. She turned around to face him. The gentleman looked at her. Without a word he smiled at her and walked past her with a hand gesture beckoning her to follow him. There was a door just off to the left of the main front door Cassie had walked through. Cassie felt like such an idiot in that moment as she realised she had missed that door when she had come in. If the door had even been there in the first place. After all Cassie had not heard the front door shut. Shaking her head at how stupid the thought of a door suddenly appearing as if by magic was. The gentleman stopped in front of this new door and put the key in the keyhole and unlocked the door. Once again he turned to Cassie and smiled indicating the toilet and mirror behind the door. Cassie thanked him and walked into the small room. The gentleman told her she could take all the time in the world to make herself pretty again. He then shut the door. There was a click as the key was turned in the lock. Cassie immediately whirled round at the sound and went to the door and started banging. No sound came from the other side. Panic started to rise from the pit of Cassie’s stomach all the way to her chest. Why would anyone do such a thing as to lock someone in a toilet? At least she now had access to a mirror and could see the mess the leaves had made of her hair.
Going to the mirror, Cassie thought there must be a perfect explanation for the gentleman locking her in the toilet. Maybe the sound of the click was not the key turned and a sound from else where. Without looking in the mirror Cassie went back to the door and tried the handle. No luck there, the door was definitely locked. Cassie went back to the mirror. Looking at herself, she could have sworn for a split second she saw the gentleman in the mirror. That was impossible as the door was locked and she would have heard and seen him come in before she had looked in the mirror. Cassie dismissed what she had seen as there had been nothing there. Pulling her fingers through her hair, she found that the bits of leaf fell out of her hair easily into the basin below. This little task did not take long. Cassie still felt angry at appearing to be locked in. Once her hair was back to itself, Cassie went back to banging on the door.
“That won’t work at all. I called to you and you came. We have not had many visitors for sometime. We are glad you could join us, Cassie”. The voice belonged to the gentleman.
Cassie turned round and could not believe her eyes. He was stood in front of her. At that moment he put his right index finger up to his lips to indicate she should say no word. Cassie sunk to the floor and sat with her back to the door, staring ahead at this apparition.
“The “we” I refer to are the spirits which reside in this place. I have been here since 1907. I’m sorry I had to lock you in here but it was the only way I could keep you to explain. We call out to lost souls. You, Cassie were lost but we have found you and can help. You are not for the world out there. You have another purpose. You belong with us the spirits which watch over lost souls. In a few moments your soul will be released from your body and your journey will begin…..”
In that instant Cassie’s breath slowed and she could feel her body stop. The blood pumping through her veins ceased to flow and her heart stopped. The last thought which went through Cassie’s mind was, is this peace?

* * *

By the end of the week, Cassie’s workplace had not heard from her since her phoning in sick. There was no reply by calling her. The police were contacted over her disappearance. Enquiries were made but no evidence was found for her disappearance. Over time Cassie just became a face on a photograph in a pile of missing persons.

One day a young boy was kicking his football down the street, when he looked up to see the sun shining through a stone glass window. In that second he could have sworn he saw a woman with long brown hair staring at him and beckoning to him with her finger. Shrugging his shoulders he continued along the pavement with his football. A slight breeze blew up and “You will come join us….” whispered in the wind down the street after the boy……