The Lilac Tunnel: My Journey with Samantha

I turn to Elsa and say I can do the wash. She grabs my elbow firmly and leads me across the yard into the house, Samantha trailing behind with a reassuring smile. In the warm kitchen, a white-haired woman stirs a pot on a bright blue stove, introduced by Elsa as Mrs. Hawkins the cook, smiling kindly in her starched apron and floor-length black dress. Looking around the spacious room slowly, something feels missing, no dishwasher humming anywhere, no microwave, not even a refrigerator in sight. Elsa tells me to follow. Mrs. Edwards is waiting in the parlor.

Down the hall, an elegant silver-haired woman sits writing a letter at a small desk, pen scratching steadily, surely Samantha’s grandmother. Elsa clears her throat softly, and steel-gray eyes flick from me back to her. The wash girl arrived early from the city, Elsa explains, there was a misunderstanding. Should she be sent back? Mrs. Edwards looks me over with open disapproval, and I wish the rose-patterned wallpaper would swallow me whole.

Samantha rescues me from the doorway, gently suggesting Ruby must be tired after such a long trip, and could she stay the night? Mrs. Edwards seems briefly surprised, but her eyes stay kind as she agrees, I can stay and help prepare for Piney Point tomorrow, joining the trip if things go well. Elsa should find me a suitable room and proper clothing.

Elsa’s face darkens as she starts to lead me away, but Mrs. Edwards stops her first to settle wages, a dollar a week, if that’s acceptable to my family. A dollar a week? My allowance back home is more than that for just a few chores.

Trying not to react, I notice the calendar hanging above the desk, showing the year 1904. I do a double take, but the numbers hold steady. Did opening that locket send me back over a hundred years? My head spins, and I grab the doorframe tightly to steady myself. When I don’t answer, Samantha leans in, asking if I’m truly on my own, and in that moment, I really do feel alone and confused.