a sweet reprise........(III)

Chapter 12

After prayer, Father Michael took them on a tour of the church and described of one Mr. Stevenson and his family who were great donors to the church trust. It was a great loss when his family was lost to the floods about 33 odd years ago! Only a few people of the village had escaped the floods including Father Michael as they were not in the village at the time of the floods. Stevenson's family was very famous at that time, and their mansion was the most beautiful one in the vicinity. Now, it had become old and inhabitable though it was inhabited by the old gardener who was with the Stevenson family back then, who was also among the few lucky villagers who had escaped the great floods for at that time he had been out to visit his parents about an hour from the village.

Chapter 13

After that, Father Michael showed them the park that was donated by the Stevensons family. When they entered the park, which was not so well kept and looked antique, out of the blue Seline had an intense pain in the chest, and she almost fainted. After taking some rest, she felt okay though!

Then, Father Michael took them to Mr. Stevenson's mansion. When they were nearing the mansion, they saw a Porsche stop by. After some time, an young woman of about 30's was showing an young man of about 30's, the interior of the mansion, and he was nodding in agreement.

After a tour of the mansion themselves, they were ready to leave, when the gardener saw Seline and started crying. "Mrs. Stevenson, you are alive!" Father Michael though could not see that well due to old age consoled the gardener that he was mistaken and convinced him that the Stevenson family no longer existed and they were lost to the great floods 33 years ago! The gardener still kept looking at her in disbelief, which puzzled Seline a bit!

Chapter 14

On hearing some commotion, Steve paused the tour and came to the place of commotion! He saw that the gardener was in tears. When he asked the lady about that, she explained that he was the gardener to the Stevensons and he cried whenever he saw someone resembling one of them. "There, there, Stuart, Mrs. Stevenson is dead, and take a grip of yourselves." When she saw the young lady, Stuart was referring to, she began to realize the fact that indeed this time he was perfectly right, the young lady indeed resembled the great Mrs. Stevenson!

Now, she also became aware of another obvious resemblance! Though she herself thought that Steve looked like the great Mr. Stevenson, she had not given much thought to that fact for she was more intent in selling the house for no one was interested in buying a ruin and try to renovate it in vain! Steve had the same thoughts running in his mind but he was looking for a summer retreat, and this place seemed to fit in perfectly with the surrounding greenery, waterfall, river, and other natural beauties to induce him, and there seemed to be no other mansion suitable to take in the village except this one, may be it would cost him a little more to renovate and all. On the other hand, it would really save him a lot of money needed to build a mansion its size in limited time, for it was in good condition except for the exterior which looked kind of worn out, which could be corrected if he got the right people!

Chapter 15

The gardener started all over again. "Excuse me, young man, but the young lady here and you look exactly like Mrs. and Mr. Stevenson! If you don't mind, I would be really glad if you came with me for a few minutes! I would like to show you both something really wonderful!" Steve nodded in agreement and looked at the young lady the gardener was referring to! To his surprise, it was his dear wife Seline! When he saw his kids there, he became playful with them! He had kept all this visit a secret for he wanted to surprise all of them, but now it seemed like the secret was out after all, and now Seline understood the reason he could not come with them for this visit!

Chapter 16

The lady was a distant relative to the Stevensons, and she was very young to know them in person. She had no real idea of how the Stevensons looked like except in old photographs. Since she was not doing so well financially, she tried to sell the property for there was no one else related to the family left after the floods excepting her, for her parents had left her with her grandmother for some days before the flood, and after her grandmother she was the only heir left to the Stevensons' property!

So, guided by the gardener, the visiting party followed him to the attic where he had preserved the photographs and other family belongings. There, he dusted a photograph and showed it to them. Everybody was shocked to see it! It was a picture of Steve and Seline and three small children seated in a park bench though dressed in an old fashioned way! It was the same park where Seline had fainted! The others were looking at Seline and Steve in awe! Now, they understood why the gardener was behaving bizarrely! Father Michael though could not see that well, took his glasses and saw the picture himself, and he too was convinced of the fact! It was indeed a great resemblance to ignore!

Chapter 17

Steve was shocked beyond belief! He asked Stuart to show him the other photographs! Seeing that her client was intent in the history of the house, the young lady, Grace, asked the visiting party to assemble in the hall and then asked Stuart to comply with Steve's request. Also, she ordered for some refreshment for them to have in the meantime. Father Michael had to leave for the church, so he took leave from the visiting party, wished them well, and moved ahead.

Stuart complied to the request with a long-forgotten enthusiasm as if his own masters themselves were back in their house after a long time! Steve was looking at a photograph in which Mr. Stevenson was on a classic silver and black motorbike just like the one he had been riding back during college days! He was astonished beyond wonder! Later seeing the other photographs, Steve found that not only did Steve resemble Mr. Stevenson exactly but also had similar tastes in many things!

Chapter 18

Stuart then narrated some happy events that had happened in the Stevensons' mansion when his masters were alive! It was a happy evening listening to all the stories while looking at the photographs and having refreshments all at the same time!

Steve when listening intently to the events narrated by Stuart happened to notice Seline and his kids watching a photograph in wonder!

Even the slightest hesitation on his part in buying the house vanished in thin air! He was surely going to buy it, there was no doubt about it. He made sure to put barricades to avoid floods in the Stevensons' mansion which was renovated to its past glory now and ready for their retreat the coming summer! Also next to the Stevensons' photographs, his family photographs were hung on the wall in the grand hall!

Steve though had no belief in rebirths and stuffs earlier, now hesitated a little when someone mentioned about it though he had a very little understanding of it even after it had a profound effect in his life!

-the end-