History of the Forgotten

Chapter 1

Annabel Stewart pushed her natural red wavy hair out of her green eyes as she looked upon the boarded up mansion in front of her with excitement. She had gotten her dream job after years of hard work proving her worth as a female historian. Now she was standing at the door to her new life in Mississippi. As she pushed open the front doors she felt a slight chill come from inside.

"Must be a draft," She mumbled to herself as she walked into the foyer and did a small circle trying to take everything in.

"I see you have found the place," a woman's voice said from the doorway.

Annabel turned and nodded, "Yes, it is so lovely."

"And tragic," The woman sighed shaking her head sadly. She cleared her throat and said, "Now do you understand your job and the requirements?"

"Yes Ma'am," Annabel nodded, "I am to restore the mansion to what it was in the 70's, anything original that I can find I must use. The first and second floors will be for the museum and the third floor will be my living quarters. I am to live here while I restore the mansion, and then once the museum opens I will continue living on the third floor as the curator of the museum. I will display any personal belongings I find or that are donated to honor the Blackbourne Toma family and all their work they contributed to the civil rights movements."

"Okay," The woman clapped her hands and said, "Your funding has already been deposited into the account and your paycheck will be deposited weekly. Send me weekly reports including pictures and videos. The electricity and water has been turned on. We will take care of the bills so you only have to worry about groceries. I think that is all, if there is anything else just call or text. I will be leaving, this place gives me the creeps."

"I'm sorry you feel that way," Annabel said looking around again, "I think this place is beautiful."

"You do know what happened here right?" The woman asked and Annabel nodded.

"Yes, but this place can still be beautiful even with having a tragic past. That's part of what continues to make it beautiful, one can't appreciate the good in something without understanding sorrow or pain."

"If you say so," The woman muttered. "Anyway, I am excited to see what you do with the place. Enjoy and welcome to Mississippi."

"Thank you," Annabel said as she closes the door behind the woman. She turned, leaned against the door facing into the foyer and sighed. "Well, I guess I better get to learn the layout of my new home." A chilly breeze swept over her and she shivered, "One of the first things on the to-do list will be to find that draft and close it up," She muttered to herself as she pushed off the door and pulled her hair up into a pony tail.

The dust danced in the light coming from the window above the door. As she removed the covers from the furniture, she noticed the intricate designs on them. It seemed like many things in the home were hand crafted and must have been very expensive. "Some of these designs look like Native American," She murmured to herself as she barely grazed the walnut wood. "But these designs look more Greek and this is Japanese," She said running her fingers over the designs, "and this is French, how complex and different and yet it works so well together, absolutely amazing."

She finished removing the covers in the living room and placed them in the hallway so once the washer and dryer arrived she would be able to wash them then pack them away.

"I guess I better create a list of cleaning supplies I will need so I can get started and also check when the furniture and appliances will arrive," She said to herself as she pulled out her phone. "I will definitely some wood oil," She trailed off as she typed away.

After a few moments she slipped her phone into her purse and grabbed her keys. She looked around the room and smiled, "It's already so breathtaking but it's going to be so much more once I get it all cleaned up." She headed out the door, locked it, then headed to her car.

Just as it was getting dark, she pulled into the driveway and parked the car, the porch lights were on and she knew they were off when she left since it was the afternoon. "Strange," She muttered as she walked into the house and set the bags of cleaning supplies down. "The light switch is off and yet the lights are off," She muttered to herself as she looked at the switch then the porch. "Will make a note to call the electrician in the morning," She says as she types away on her phone.

Just as she sets out all the various cleaning supplies there is a knock on the door. She tenses for a second then opens the door and smiles when she sees that it is the appliance people and furniture people. She spends the next hour instructing them on where everything goes and then once they leave she orders pizza for herself and turns the music on her phone so she can listen to something while she polishes all the furniture in the living room.