Where We Never Existed

Where We Never Existed - A Short Story

The plan was to spend the holidays alone, in peace, catching up on the year behind and preparing for the one ahead. I guess I got what I wanted in a way I never could have predicted.

It was just after eleven at night in the dawn of 1986. I was alone in my cottage rental that sat snuggled into a picture perfect village, just outside of the city where I attended university in the UK. My flatmates had gone home to their respective families, but I chose not to make the flight across the pond to the United States, from which I hailed. I had decided to attend university in a foreign country to escape the midwestern bubble I was raised in, and I wanted to experience it for all it was worth. At just nineteen, I was naive and mousy, but a fresh start was doing me a world of good.

Never one for partying, I had holed up in the cottage, determined to finish sewing the flannel nightgown I had started back in October. But I had long tired of it and, after spending Christmas alone, found that I didn't want to do the same for New Years. Maybe a stiff drink and a few strangers to sing Auld Lang Syne with would scratch that itch.

Putting on my heavy, knee length jacket, gloves and a hat, I locked up the apartment tight and stepped outside and into the cold. The village's population was small, serving mostly as a place for university students who couldn't afford lodging in the city proper to live. I didn't expect to see a lot of people out tonight, as most students had made like my flatmates and skipped town, but I did look forward to the company of the ones I encountered.

The village was set up in a way as to separate the cottages from the high street. To get from the quaint, garden lined neighborhood and to the pubs, I would have to follow a cobblestone path out my front door and around the charming pond in the heart of the park, which served as the centerpiece for the village. Once on the other side of the pond, a treelined incline would direct you onto the high street. I'd always loved the walk, and it was especially magical with the moonlight twinkling off of the fresh fallen slow.

The journey was ever festive, with rows of colored lights strung to the wooden fence lining the cobblestone path. When I reached the pond, the strings of lights doubled. Lighted ornament shaped fixtures adorned the illuminated lamp posts surrounding it, while white string lights added some extra sparkle to the posts themselves.

The perfect combination of the lights, the moon, and the fresh white canvas of snow lit up the pond like a Christmas tree. The thick layer of crystal clear ice from the unprecedented cold we'd been having was perfect for ice skating, and I was sure tomorrow would bring plenty of people eager to ring in the New Year with such an activity.

For tonight, it was desolate, leaving me in solitude to enjoy the pristine, untouched way it glistened in the moonlight, a dusting of snow just beginning to accumulate on top of it. I could have delighted in the peacefulness of this moment and this place for ages, but the cold was nipping at my nose, and I needed to find shelter and companionship soon.

With a few last glances, I moved along and was soon in the village, preparing to take up solace in the closest pub. It was a small affair, known for its whiskey and merriment. It seemed just right for the occasion. As expected, only a few locals were milling about outside, but inside, through the Victorian pub windows, I could see a lively crowd having themselves a joyous night. It was exactly the kind of place I was looking to inhabit.

Nodding to the couple quietly talking amongst themselves in either a fight or an intense conversation - I couldn't tell which - outside of the pub, I opened the door, prepared to be greeted by the sounds of loud music and cheer that were wafting onto the streets.

Instead, I was met with silence. But that wasn't the only disturbing thing setting off alarm bells in my head. The place was dark, empty, so much so that it looked like someone had closed it down hours ago and left me wondering why they left the door unlocked.