Wisdom Through a Mirror, Ch. 1B

The following morning, Alfred woke Deidre at six o’clock in the morning. Deidre didn’t want to wake up. She covered her head with the blanket hoping Alfred would disappear.

“I was instructed by your father to wake you now. If you are not downstairs within an hour, there will be consequences.” Alfred closed the door.

Deidre went back to sleep though not believing what Alfred said. Sure enough an hour later,

Driscoll literally rolled Deidre out of bed.“I left specific instructions young lady,” Driscoll said.

Deidre opened her eyes to see her father within a hairsbreadth of her face. She sat on the floor waiting for her father to finish talking.
“I already called Brad to cancel his services. You will not need him. I expect you downstairs in thirty minutes.” Driscoll stood looking at Deidre. He took two steps back as an indication for Deidre to get up. Deidre still sat there. “Would you like me to put you in the shower?” Driscoll approached Deidre. She quickly stood up and ran to the bathroom.

Deidre entered daddy’s office exactly thirty minutes later. “All right I’m here. What do you want?”

“Do not take that tone with me. I am your father. I have deleted all of your outside contacts from your Blackberry. The only contact you have on the Blackberry is me. I have downloaded the map into its memory and these are keys to the lakeside house. I made a copy of the keys for my use only. It will take you exactly forty minutes to get there. I will call you in exactly forty-five minutes. Do you understand?” When Driscoll didn’t receive an immediate answer, he tried again. “Remember daughter, I see everything you do, hear everything you say, and know every call you make.”

“Yes Daddy.” It’s not hard to re-enter the information. Daddy says I can’t though. Not knowing what else to say or do, she turned and slammed the door behind her. She climbed into her gold convertible Jaguar and drove off. She needed music for the long drive and attempted to find her CD case. She couldn’t find it. She pulled over to search under the seat, in the seat, in the trunk, and as a last thought the glove box. Inside the glove box, she found a note in her father’s writing stating that she didn’t need her CDs. The radio would do.

She got in her car and continued her journey. Forty minutes later, she arrived. The lakeside house was small compared to the master estate. There was a brief description of the house included with the deed. It was only thirty-five hundred square feet of living space. It didn’t even have a garage, just a rough drive way.
She got out of her car not seeing anyone to assist her. Attempting to avoid the rocks and the holes along the path, without success, she climbed the steps that led to a wrap around deck.

“I guess this is the front door. Where is Alfred?” she asked standing outside.

“Alfred!” Deidre looked around. Nobody was there. The house was clean but there were no servants.
She looked inside the kitchen cupboards to see dinnerware, pots and pans, cooking utensils, and the food. She found that the house was well stocked and ready to live in but no servants.
Her Blackberry rang; it was Beethoven’s Fifth.
The phone was put on speaker. “Remember the terms of your trust so now would be a good time to learn how to do things yourself,” her father said.

“You mean I have to learn how to cook and clean? But how Daddy?”

“You will be doing that from now on. I have instructed Alfred not to follow your orders. Anything coming from you must have my approval. You mother will not have any say in this. Good-bye Deidre. You’re on your own.”

She found the largest room in the house, which was small compared to her suite at the master estate. It was only able to fit a queen size bed, one armoire, and one nightstand. No chaize lounge, no Jacuzzi tub. . . nothing. “Well this simply will not do. I must have my custom-made bed, my four dressers, my changing room, my Jacuzzi tub, and my balcony over looking our fifty thousand acre estate. This room has nothing.” After thinking for a couple of minutes, “I know I’ll call daddy.” After dialing the number, “Daddy, I demand you tear down this house immediately. . . What do you mean you won’t? I am. . . But daddy, this room is not of proper. . .” Dial tone “AAAAAAHHHHH!” She huffed and puffed. “That’s not fair. Daddy’s being really mean.”

She looked in the armoire and noticed price tags hanging from the clothes “Store bought clothes? I have off the rack store bought clothes? That’s absurd.” She expected to find the 600-thread count Egyptian cotton bed linens like she had at the master estate. Instead, there were common cotton sheets that she could see through on her bed, which further angered her.

Sitting down on the wooden floor, she realized she was hungry. However, without anyone there to cook for her and not knowing how to cook, she was left without any choice but to go out to eat.
About an hour later, she arrived at an exclusive restaurant. There was a back entrance, which she always used to avoid the paparazzi. They turned her away stating that it was an exclusive restaurant, not for the everyday crowd. Sticking her nose in the air, she went to the next restaurant, not her favorite but in a pinch it would do. The check arrived. They returned her credit card stating that the credit card company didn’t accept it. “What do you mean they didn’t accept my card? They have to accept my card.” The waiter apologized and suggested using cash instead. “I never carry cash with me.” The waiter left to talk to the manager. In the meanwhile, “Daddy, they didn’t accept my credit card. I demand you speak to them immediately do you hear me? . . You canceled it? But daddy, how am I supposed to pay for my everyday life. Oh wait a minute. The manager is here, it’s a woman though.” After a few minutes on the telephone with her father, the manager excused Deidre with a warning to bring cash next time.

Deidre made it home to find the path hard to navigate because she didn’t turn on the outside lights. After locking up the house, she threw her shoes off, as she always did, stripped her clothes off as she walked down the hall, as she always did, and entered her room.

Expecting to find her forty-two inch state of the art television, she searched for the remote. She found a remote and pushed the power button. Instead of the state of the art television, there was instead a twenty-four inch regular screen television, with an antenna. She immediately turned it off; having only three working stations, all of them with infomercials. Her classic library filled with first edition classics was gone, replaced by Harlequin romance novels. She gave up finding nothing else to do.
She opened the armoire in search of her fine silk negligee, finding only a cotton nightshirt. She angrily plopped on the bed with her arms folded. Remembering everything that happened that day she screamed. Tossing and turning for most of the night, she attempted to sleep under the covers. That didn’t work; it was too uncomfortable but she didn’t have a choice. She woke up the following morning expecting to smell food cooking and find her mess cleaned up. The food wasn’t cooking and everything was still where she left it.

I couldn’t take a proper bath this morning. Instead I had to use the simpleton’s shower without any steam jets. I was cold when I got out, she thought. Shrugging her shoulders at the clothes selection, she reached her arm in without looking and pulled out a dress. Ready to start her morning, she walked into the kitchen thinking, I’ll just make my tea. It can’t be hard if Chef Pierre is able to make it. Finding the tea harder to make than she realized, not knowing how to use any of the appliances, she went in search of her usual breakfast. It consisted of one-quarter cup of fine cottage cheese and one cup of fruit, both organic of course and came from the farms owned by them. She found the cottage cheese, store label not organic, and the fruit in the refrigerator all right but something was wrong. The fruit she wanted wasn’t cut up. How was she supposed to eat if there wasn’t anyone there to prepare it for her? I hate this house, I hate this woman, and I hate Daddy, she screamed in her mind standing in front of the refrigerator.

What are those things on the floor? She thought as she saw the mail being pushed through the mail slot on the door. Well, I’ll just take these to our family accountant. David will sort these out. My Jag is low on fuel as well. Alfred will gas it up, she thought as she got ready to leave the house.

Deidre was happy beyond words that she was finally home. Laundry in hand she entered the house. She dropped off the laundry in the laundry room, then went to her suite to retrieve her clothes finding it locked. Laughing while getting the keys, thinking that she got one over on daddy, she unlocked her door. . . at least attempted to. She stomped her foot having been unsuccessful at unlocking her door. She turned around, ran downstairs, and slammed door on the way out. So much for being happy to be home.

She got into her car, not paying attention to the gas meter thinking that Alfred had taken care of it. She left in the direction of the family accountant to drop off her bills. When she returned to the lake house, she still had a quarter tank of gas left.

When she opened her door, daddy stood in the middle of the living room. “You will do your own laundry.” The laundry was dropped on the floor. “You will do your own bills.” The bills were placed on the living room table. “You will gas your own car and you do not have access to your prior possessions.”

I hate you Daddy. Princesses don’t do their own laundry or pay their own bills. That’s why we have servants and a family accountant, she thought, but instead she said, “Yes Daddy. You taught me how to be a trophy wife Daddy, but you didn’t teach me how to do any of this.”

“I am doing to you what my father did to me. When I was twenty-one, just beginning my adulthood he left me on my own to learn how to be a proud member of the O’Callaghan clan. He did not help me in the slightest bit and I love him because of that. My father was a brilliant man that commanded thousands of people a day. I am proud to be his son.”

Deidre would have lowered her head in resignation if her father wasn’t there to see it, but here he is watching and telling her what to do. Was there any other way to do this?

“This is your checking account. You have five hundred dollars to start with. You will use this to pay your bills. As for your laundry, follow the instructions on the tag. Your car is your responsibility. I will be out of town for two weeks. I will know what you are doing Deidre, so don’t try anything. We will talk when I return.” Driscoll left the house with an angry and shocked daughter still inside, staring at the clothes on the floor.

Deidre turned around and walked in the direction of her room. She dropped on her bed and cried. She cried for any and all reasons. It had been building up since she received the envelope. Nothing else to do, she found the envelope in her nightstand and opened it. She shook it upside down, watching everything drop on the bed. She took time to reread the letter and the articles and looked at the pictures. It was the last line that repeated itself in her head. Nobody did anything for her. She always demanded. This strange woman, Annora, bought a lakeside house for a granddaughter she didn’t even know. Still looking at the letter, she thought, maybe there is hope. Maybe Daddy isn’t always right?

Deidre got up to further inspect the house that was given to her. She started with the living room, looking at the texture of the walls seeing how much the paneling looked like wood. The color was a sort of orangish brown, not quite orange not quite brown, somewhere in between. The floor was the same color as the walls, as if they were cut from the same tree. The stucco texture of the fireplace was a contrast to the smooth wood. The color wasn’t a bright white but a soft cream instead. The upholstered furniture matched the color of the fireplace. The sofa looked like it could sit two people comfortably. A table where the bills were laid was wood as well, but it was a very deep burgundy color, with a shiny smooth finish. The front door was made out of wood as well. There was a peephole in the door. Deidre could see through the hole without standing on her tip toes. A small table sat by the door. There was a sliding glass door directly across from the front door. There was a lush forest that could be seen through the glass. She passed the kitchen.

She opened another door and saw a stacked washer and dryer. She knew her room. There was another door, though, that she hadn’t entered yet. The doorknob was difficult to turn. As she opened the door, it made an awful creaky sound. Deidre patted the wall for a light switch. Finding something that felt like one, she pushed it up. The light was bright. “What’s this? Did grandmother Annora leave this for me?” She closed the door. “What are those things on the wall that’s covered? The only way I’ll find out is if I uncover them.” Hacking because of the churned dust from uncovering the items on the wall, she thought, there are seven mirrors on the wall. Each of them is different. Why would they be here? It doesn’t look like the room would be used for anything. Deidre closely inspected each of the mirrors, the size, the color of the glass, the frame. She bumped into one of the mirrors when she turned around to leave the room. A piece of paper fell to the floor. The paper was old with strange writing. Studying the paper, she thought, I studied Spanish, Greek, French, and Italian. This writing is nothing like anything I have studied. The family has museums. Dr. Seymour Geoffrey owes me a favor. I’ll start there to find out what this writing means, she thought.
I need to eat something, Deidre thought. She opened the refrigerator to find the cottage cheese, bread, and fruit that didn’t require cutting. She remembered watching Chef Pierre wash fruits and vegetables. Doing what he did, she washed her fruits for the first time. She sat on the sofa feeling pleased with herself for accomplishing that much.

It was still sunny outside. Seeing that gave her encouragement to look around her property. Not knowing when sunset was, she turned on the outside lights to prevent further accidents. She stood on the deck and saw a wooden structure going out to the middle of the lake. It was covered with lanterns on both sides lighting the way in the dark. As she walked on the structure, she noticed that all of the lanterns were lit. Where the light came from or how they became lit she didn’t know. She kept walking until she reached the end. No one was on the shore, no one was on the water, and no one was in the water. She was all by herself. She continued to look around and didn’t see any animals either. Happy? Worried? Scared? How should I feel?, she thought staring at the lake.

Taking off her shoes, she sat down on the wooden deck and put her feet in the water. This feels good. What’s that tickling my feet? The irritation broke her thought. She immediately pulled up her feet because the tickling became more intense. Feeling like she had enough, she went back inside her house.

Later that night, she decided she needed to get some sleep, since not sleeping well the previous night. She was thinking, well, the nightshirt isn’t that bad. Maybe, who was it again, Kit something isn’t that bad of a writer. I’ll read one of those books. Three pages into the story she fell asleep. Brain barely functioning, she thought, uhhh, ohhh, what time is it? According to the obnoxious clock, it’s seven thirty three in the morning. Maybe I should get up. I have to try the shower again.

It’s not original, but I don’t have a choice. These dresses have to be taken to someone who would better appreciate them. I need to find more money though. That’s the first thing I have to do, pay the bills, was her line of thought as she prepared herself in the morning. Part of Deidre’s education included money management and accounting. Using that, she was able to pay her bills, leaving a total of two hundred two dollars without change. A light snack later, she left the house.

Seeing the gas meter dangerously low, she pulled into the first gas station she saw. It was a self-service gas station but how can you serve yourself if you don’t know how to serve yourself. She walked inside and asked the cashier for instructions, remembering words she never used before. . . please and thank you. Pride started building inside of Deidre as she completed each of these simple tasks she was challenged with.
Natural History Museum, was proclaimed on the front of the building. She parked in the empty parking lot. They didn’t open until ten o’clock. It was nine o’clock now, which gave her an hour to complete her business. Walking up the stone steps she met a guard. She talked the guard into letting her inside the museum. She needed to find Dr. Seymour Geoffrey. He specialized in ancient and forgotten languages. If there was a language out there that wasn’t documented or you had trouble deciphering, he was the man to ask.
Walking up and down the many hallways led her to an area not seen by the public. There was the storage room, some of the staff offices, and way in the back in an area that somebody would really need to look in to find it was an office. Dr. Seymour H. Geoffrey, read the gold label on the door. Everybody who knew Dr. Geoffrey knew that if you knocked and waited for him to say “come in” you would become a permanent member of the museum. Avoiding that, Deidre entered the office without knocking.

“Seymour, I have a task for you.”
An older man, with sparse gray hair and glasses hanging onto the nose for dear life, looked up.

“Oh, come in, come in. I was in the midst of translating an ancient text. I believe it’s a mixture of the Egyptian hieroglyphs and another ancient culture that may have come from what we know now as Africa. Fascinating work. . . just fascinating. What have you got for me?”

“I found this paper with writing that I don’t recognize. I would like you to translate this for me.”

“I’m very busy, very busy.”

“Well all right. . . but. . . I seem to remember somebody else wanting your position. I could talk to. . .”

“Let me see the text.” Seymour’s face for the most part was expressionless. Nobody knew if he was happy, sad, or what he was ever feeling. There were times, though, when he felt strong emotion, especially anger, that everybody knew. His normally pale face would turn tomato red and his lips would pucker up.

“If you had agreed to do this then I would not have to reconsider speaking to your boss. . . would I?”

“I suppose not no.”

“Then stop puckering, be happy, and see what you can find out about the writing on this paper.”

“Yes, yes, fascinating text, just fascinating. It will be some time before I have a full translation for you. I will call you.”

Deidre went back home having nothing else better to do. She changed clothes to resemble something that would be appropriate to take a walk around the lake. Walking around the lake, into the forest, up a hill, down a hill, on top of cliffs. . . she saw nothing. No wild animals, no insects, not even the pesty mosquitoes, no hikers, nobody and nothing were there. The area in front of her house was devoid of life. She ventured to the area in back of her house. She did see the odd squirrel; started feeling the bites of mosquitoes, but that was it. Nothing else in that area either. What happened? Was everything swallowed up by a black hole? The stories couldn’t be true. That would be impossible. There is always an explanation for everything that happens. There is no such thing as mysterious spirits and being swallowed up by fog.
Having given up looking around outside, not sure what to think about what she found or didn’t find, she started looking around her refrigerator. Noticing the fresh vegetables she was hit with inspiration. She thought while rubbing her head, ow, that hurt. They should make these things with shelves that will not hurt your head. I could make a salad. It doesn’t require cooking and I have made a few salads before.

Pleased with herself now that she was able to prepare something of a meal, her Blackberry rang. It was Dr. Geoffrey telling her the text has been translated. A quick shower and change of clothes later, she returned to the museum to meet Seymour.

Once inside his office, Seymour started talking “This text is very interesting. At first it resembled an ancient form of symbolism many examples of which we still see today in fact. If that were true, we would have nonsense sentences, the dog flew fish and such wasn’t right you see. So I looked. . .”

“Seymour, I’m sure the history and the research you did to decipher the writing is spellbinding. I would like to return home before your coworkers believe me to be another mummy.”

“Oh yes, oh yes, so sorry, so sorry.” Holding up a piece of paper, with his own writing, he announced, “This is the translated text.” RORRIM EHT MORF NOITISIUQER LUFSSECCUS

“That’s the translated text? It doesn’t say anything. Don’t be absurd Seymour.”

Seymour, with translated text in hand, stood up and walked into the bathroom attached to his office. There was a small mirror inside. Holding up the paper to the mirror, he said, “That’s because you were reading it in the wrong direction.”

“You mean in order for me to read the writing, on that piece of paper, I have to hold it up to a mirror?”

“It’s called mirror writing. Children use mirror writing for fun and people who write with their left hand write this way as well.”

“Oh my.” Deidre stood there staring at the mirror not sure what to think. “Thank you Seymour. This makes us even. Ta Ta.” Deidre took the paper from Dr. Geoffrey as she left his office. She exited the museum anticipating the results of the instruction that Seymour had translated.
Deidre did as Dr. Geoffrey did. She held the paper up to the mirror in the small room and followed the instructions. . . nothing happened. She talked to Dr. Geoffrey again to be sure he translated the text correctly. He verified his work and told Deidre to be sure to follow the instructions to the letter. Oh sun so bright, I speak with you this Sunday. . . He means I have to wait until tomorrow morning to do this ritual. She fluttered her lips in frustration as she further studied the mirrors. Each of the mirrors has a large globe on the bottom of the frame, each one is different. Would that correspond to the instructions? They have to. It wouldn’t make sense otherwise. So tomorrow morning, I have to stand in front of the globe of gold, because tomorrow is Sunday, and consult it on superior beings and great persons of the earth, she silently read.

The following morning, she followed the instructions as Dr. Geoffrey had translated them. Since it was Sunday, the designated mirror to stand in front of while doing this would be the one with the golden globe. She held up the note to the mirror and read the phrase, “Round and round, Oh sun so bright! I speak with you this Sunday to consult with you, superior beings and great persons of the earth.” The mirror seemed to come to life with an ethereal glow. Taking that as a good sign, she needed to find the mirror with the silver globe. That would be the mirror to consult on Monday. There were four more metals to identify. The golden globe was easy to find. Which one is silver?, she thought, I’ll figure that out tomorrow. What time is it? Only ten o’clock in the morning with nothing to do? Okay I’ll figure it out now. Silver tarnishes, so the silver globe would be the one next to it because that’s the one that’s tarnished. I’ll call the estate to see what they use to get the tarnish off of silver.

After buying the silver polish, she returned home to polish the silver globe. She placed the instructions between the globe and the mirror as a marker when she was finished. She left the room to find out more information about the other elements. There were other metals mentioned. Gold and copper would be the easiest to spot. That left tin, iron, lead, and silver. A trip to the library was necessary to gain more information. She found the public library all right, but they were closed on Sundays, so she would need to wait until tomorrow.

Monday morning she found the mirror and read the instructions. According to the instructions, she would need to wait until the moon was full and at the highest point in the sky. According to the calendar in the kitchen, tonight would be a full moon. When would the moon be high in the sky though? She spent the day in the library researching all of the elements mentioned in the set of instructions that she was given. She brought a notebook along to make notes of the necessary information. She returned home after a quick bite to eat, finding fast food not so favorable. I miss Chef Pierre’s grilled salmon salad, she thought.

“I think I’ll get a little bit of sleep now, and wake up at midnight to do the ritual, now that I know that’s when they’re talking about. This is the only time that I have to do this.” Her alarm clock woke her up five minutes before midnight. Here goes “Round and round, Oh moon so full, so high so bright! I speak with you this Monday to consult with you, my dreams and plans for this I thank you.” Two down, five more to go, I’m going back to bed.

The following morning, she thought as she walked around the lake, today is Tuesday and I am consulting about quarrels, lawsuits, and enmities. This is with the iron mirror talking to Mars. Wednesday it’s mercury for Mercury asking about money. That’s too funny. Thursday it’s tin consulting Jupiter about probability of success and the devotion of domestics. Friday it’s copper consulting Venus about love. That was hard to figure out. Saturday it’s lead consulting Saturn about secrets and lost articles. Then something should happen. I’ll get so angry if nothing happens. I didn’t go through all of this for nothing.

Each day she repeated the words replacing other words where necessary. On Saturday though, the lake began forming a mysterious mist. If she listened closely, she could hear a woman’s voice singing. There was no one out there. She looked but she couldn’t find anyone anywhere. Going back to the room, looking at all of the glowing mirrors, there was only one that was not glowing. It was hanging on a wall all by itself. She thought as looked at the mirror, the last one and then we’ll see what happens. I’ll finally be able to go back to the master estate. I hope. “Round and round, Oh Saturn so high. I speak with you this Saturday to consult with you my secrets and lost articles.” Nothing is happening. Well, isn’t that typical, she found she was too quick to think, because as Deidre tried to leave the room she couldn’t. Her feet were stuck. The mist grew and the song became stronger. The light from the mirrors intensified the wall vibrated causing the mirrors to shake. A beam of light was cast from each of the mirrors, enveloping Deidre. She rose off the floor, the light intensified, the mist enveloped the house, the song grew more intense and then. . .