the room at the top of the stairs....a short story

the room at the top of the stairs
Mama always told us growing up about a place our family owned
down in west virginia. She said it was a really big place
and the family used it for reunions, retirements and vacations
....basicly a get away type of place. But I was 21 now and had
never been there. She told me she was going there for awhile
and not to worry ....that when the time came i would be there.
I paid no serious attention to her i figured she just needed
some time alone.. You see my father had left her for another
woman and she had been in a severe state of depression since then.
I hugged my mother at the airport 2 weeks later as she boarded
her plane to "home". She held me longer than usual and
whispered softly to me that she would always be where she
could watch me.....i now was scared. My mother had never
spoken so softly or sincerely to me and she was leaving me.
I turned and returned to my car and drove home to my small
apartment not really knowing what to make of what was going on.
For the next 2 weeks I slowly let myself forget my mother soft
words to me....i had let myself think she was spending time with
family and healing. I was wrong.
Exactly 2 weeks from her departure i recieved an urgent
letter via registered mail...
" dearest vanessa...please forgive me for not telling you
what all has happened to me since your father left.....
i am not the woman i thought i was ...all i ever knew was being his wife
and your mother....now i am finally free to be me...
.i love you , have always loved you and will always love you
... remember me as i was before....come to the house
i will wait for you there....in the room at the top of the stairs
....mother"
I panicked, i cried and i left without even packing a bag...
.my mother needed me and i had to be there.....
I arrived at the "home" 36 hours after leavingmy apt...
i had not slept i had not eaten ...the only things i did were cry and drive.
I found a key in the mailbox and entered a house i had never seen...
it was gorgeous....there was ornate woodwork throughout the foyer,
a crystal chandalier which must have had a thousand pieces of glass,
wallpaper with the most ornate red velvet pattern i had seen.....
to the left of the door was an armoir style chest where i laid my keys
...to the right was an old mahogony table holding a silver candleabra
and a book of matches...i assumed this was how i was to find my way thru
the house. I lit the candles and lighted the stairway that lay directly
in front of me...i slowly ascended the beautifully ornate spiral staircase
.....i passed the second floor and went on to the third...
it housed only one room...one door...the room at the top of the
stairs...
I opened the door to find an ominant looking room that was lit by a glow
i could not explain...even now 16 years later.....the walls were covered
with murals...gorgeous murals of places only found in the imagnation...
fountains with unicorns....woods with fairies....
mountains with brightly coloured birds flying around dazzling
golden waterfalls...i collapsed in the middle of the room in awe
Mixed in with these remarkable imaginary creatures i could see faces
and bodies of family that had passed away...
all with smiles and enjoying the creatures within the mural...
.they all looked so real to me....i almost imagined them all moving and
waving at me from beyond the walls.....
why had my mother told me to meet her here and she was not there.....
I found a ltter in a golden envelope on a small table in the center
of the room...it was from my mother
" vanessa...please dont be sad...i am here...i am all around you right now...
i am with my family and we are all watching you even now as you read this...
the murals my darling daughter is each of ours legacy to the ones we leave behind....
if you look you will find me here.....there will be no funeral...no long good byes....
just you here with us and discovering our family secret
we love you and you are welcome here whenever you need us...
and when the time comes you too will know what to do
mother"
I found my mother quickly after reading the letter...
far back in the far corner of the room there was a log cabin
with a porch that faced west toward the sunset,
my mother always loved the sunset....and there in a rocker,
painting was my mother...it seemed as if she could see me
and as i drew closer i could see she was painting me...
...she was painting me ...in the room at the top of the stairs.