Riddle me, Riddle me

Waiting alone in a sitting room that I had been ushered too by the butler, building the courage up to approach the man who was supposedly my father. It was 1820, a year of great change for many people and, well for me, it was about to change drastically.

He was a wealthy man highly respected in the community in which he resided. My mother is a poor widow who raised me in the country in a small town called Notell. I came from humble beginnings. My father, well, now that I am sitting in the overly large sitting quarters had come from an abundance of wealth.

Before I left my mother’s cottage, she had given me a little black book. In it, there are strange drawings, maps, and, journal entries. My father had given it to my mother before he embarked on a journey back to the city through the hill-side country. I clutched onto it in the sitting room noticing the intricate design of the room, every small detail had been thought out, from the layout of the furniture to the delicate details in the cornice everything was beautiful.

Fifteen minutes had passed, I was still waiting when I heard light footsteps approaching. My heart was in my throat, my pulse quickening as I waited for my father.

It was the butler "My apologies Miss Gretchen, Arthur is not able to see you, I will see you out". I intended to say "he's my father, I need to see him" but nothing came out before I knew I was led out of the large double doors and shoved onto the steps, "good day, Miss Gretchen".

Screaming wasn't an option, so I stumbled down the stairs to the street and decided to find a cheap Inn where I could rest and figure out my plans. A lady, really should not be wandering around the city alone, but I wasn't in the social circles to be noticed. My dress was made of cheap linen and my shoes had stitches that were unravelling at the seams. Of course, a man with a magnitude of wealth would not see or be seen with a woman who had been so poorly presented. Perhaps he thought that she had been there to beg.

Finding a cosy small inn on the outskirts of the city, cheap, dingy and damp. I made my way through the ill-lit hallway to the room, the room was small and had a stench of clothes that had not been dry before being pulled off the line. The mattress was worn and there was a rather scratchy blanket that had been left folded on the end of the bed.

I sighed as I put my belongings down and sat on the bed opening the book to a page that said: "Anastasia my love, riddle me, riddle me, tote, tote, tote, we little man in a red, red coat, staff in his hand, bone in his throat, riddle me, riddle me, tote, tote, tote. This is where the journey starts, all my love Arthur". How bizarre, what a strange random rambling that entry had been.

I turned the page to see if there had been an answer to the riddle and not to my surprise there wasn't one. Anastasia is my mother's name, had he been writing to her throughout this entire journal. The entry was one of the last in the journal. The next entry had a drawing of a trail map two towns away from Notell, leading through an orchard, over the Ridgedell River and, through the swamplands that stretched over toward Cornerstone, a delightful suburb near the sea. Then another riddle: "Riddle me, Riddle me, tote, tote, tote, before the wind blows, before your feet touch the sea, turn around and you'll know when you see, Riddle me, Riddle me, tote, tote, tote".

I flicked to the beginning of the book, Arthur had written tails of his travels not addressed to anyone, and there were maps to hills that he liked, there were sketches of social events, nothing really of interest.

I shut the book and then let out a sigh, I had 4 pounds left, it was enough to buy a fare home, to purchase a meal and a pair of new shoes. I had a two-night stay at the small Inn, so I ventured out to find a store that was cheap but perhaps would be enough to fool the butler into allowing me to meet Arthur.

After waiting in a dress shop for some time the woman came out with a dress, the stitching was loose and the bottom of the dress slightly frayed, although it was made of fine linen and was barely noticeable. The dressmaker gave it to me, perhaps out of pity and, said it was one of the first dresses she had made and she sold me a pair of barely socially acceptable shoes, but hardly noticeable.

I made my way back through the bustling city which then led to the large home of my father Arthur. I rapped on the door and waited for the butler. He opened the door and much to my surprise it was a younger fellow, he had the same hazel eyes as myself, darkish brown hair and his skin was a bronze colour. He looked at me displeasing and said "ahh, hello, can I help you" he paused and stared at me for a long moment before standing to the side and allowing me to pass through the door. "My name is Annabel Gretchen, I would like to see Arthur," I said in my most confident voice. "That would be me, Arthur Mill's," he said with a curt short bow. I didn't know what to say my face flushed red and I couldn't meet his eyes. I finally said, "well you would know my mother quite well, Anastasia" he paled slightly, Arthur looked like he had aged 10 years at that moment. "Err, yes I do know Anastasia," he said hesitantly, I looked at him hoping he would see it in my eye's that I was his daughter. "Well, Anastasia is my mother and, I am" I trailed off and looked at the ground at my shoes before continuing "I'm here to enquire of your journal, my mother passed it onto me and, I am quite confused with the riddles you see" he watched as I pulled out his small black book and to my surprise snatched it from my hands. He looked like he had struck gold, he turned it over several times as if he was checking its authenticity and flicked his thumb over the pages. "What did your mother say about my journal," he asked quizzically. "She told me it belonged to my Father..." I said definitively. It was as if I had told him there was a ghost, he didn't look up from the book for several moments and was taking deep breaths, I wasn't sure if I should leave or possibly even run. "You are saying that Anastasia had my child, and never wrote me," he said looking at her as if searching her soul for the answer. My heart broke for the man, he sounded broken, my mother had not told him of his child and I had been the bearer of bad news. "Did you follow my trail maps?" he said finally his face relaxing. "No I haven't Mr Mill's, I was quite confused about the riddle," I said. There was a long pause "Did your mother follow my trail map?" he said in a tone that had hints of anger to it.

"I do not believe so Mr Mill's, she gave it to me when I was just a child, and reminded me to take it before I left," I said not being able to keep eye contact with him. He ushered me to the door and said "I cannot be part of your life, it's because of who I am, most people would be shunned for having a child out of wedlock but follow my trail map, you will be well looked after and please send Anastasia my love" he was closing the door and he added "please write me" and then that was it he shut the door, my father didn't want anything to do with me or couldn't have anything to do with me.

So I booked my fair home and made my way out of the city as I pondered what on earth the first riddle meant and where the trail began. Then as we were passing a large orchard of apples' it hit me "Apples" I screamed opening up the book, that's where the trail begins an apple orchard.

I arrived at my mother's home and, I ran up to the door nearly tripping up the steps, she must have been watching the window because before I could grab the door she had me in a bear hug. "Mother we have to go and follow the trail and, the riddle I know what it is," I said hastily, she grabbed my face and brushed her fingers on my cheeks. "What on earth are you talking about Anna," she said smiling as she looked at me as if a cherished prize had just been dropped at her doorstep. "His journal, I met him, he said to follow the trail and... well to send his love to you and that he couldn't see me again" I looked up at her as I fumbled for the book, her eyes somewhere else as she dazed at the overcast sky. "Mother, we must go please, can we go? Why didn't you go when he gave it to you?" I said hastily as I looked at her with pleading eyes, my mother let out a long sigh "I couldn't work out the first riddle and I thought if I couldn't work it out then it must not be fate" she said "it’s an apple, mother, an apple orchard, the largest one two towns away" I said enthusiastically. She glanced at me with surprise "did Arthur tell you?" she said "no he didn't, he didn't say much at all, can we go please mother?" she looked sheepish and, she laughed and nodded "okay Anna we will go and see where it leads".

We followed the trail map through the large apple orchard and crossed the Ridgedell River and then over through the swamp to Cornerstone by the sea. We looked around for any significant sign. My mother paused and said, "what did the last riddle say, Annabel?" I opened the book flitting through the pages "Riddle me, Riddle me, tote, tote, tote, before the wind blows, before your feet touch the sea, turn around and, you'll know when you see". My Mother glanced around and walked down the cliff to a secluded section of the beach, where the wind would not be stopped by the cliff edge. Then she stood on the shoreline turned around to see a small X nailed to a tree. She walked up to the tree and seen there was a small engraving that read A + A and a heart shape next to it. She glanced behind the tree and seen a small arrow on the next tree pointing to the ground. My mother fell to her knees and started to dig. I was shocked anyone would have thought she'd been mad. She pulled out a small wooden chest and in it was the deed to a cottage in Cornerstone and a sum of 20,000 pounds. My father had cared deeply for my mother, after all! He had provided a home for her and enough money for her to be comfortable for the rest of her years! My father became my mentor and, my rock through our long letters, I never laid eyes on him again but his image is burned into my memory and his kindness is in my heart.