Imogen's Window
an excerpt

This novel is based on the image 'The Third-Floor Bedroom Window' from the book "The Mysteries Of Harris Burdick" by Chris Van Allsburg

- Chapter One -

The House

If you happen to be walking down the right street in Arcadia you might just think you saw something impossible out of the corner of your eye. Of course when you turn to look there is just a large old house with beautiful front doors. But no matter how sure you are that you saw something move you’ll just keep walking. After all, doors don’t move on their own… Right?

The house is old, but time and care has obviously been given to it over the years. It’s covered in new vinyl siding that is just a shade off of the color beige. The real outside beauty however is the front doors. They are original to the home and are intricately hand carved mahogany. The oval windows in each of the two doors are beautiful blue and yellow tones of stained glass. If you take the time to look at them you can easily see an image resembling a mysterious starry night.

If you want to see the true nature of the house however, you would be required to go inside. And if you are lucky enough to be allowed inside you will learn quickly that there is far more to this house than just the eye can see, and even more to the people who live inside it.

Walking through the front doors at the right time of day is a real treat for visitors. The glass in the doors creates an interesting pattern on the sweet colored hardwood floors of the foyer and lights up the entire passageway.

The first doorway on the right leads you into the rather large and stately living room. It’s the kind of room you are almost afraid to wear shoes into or even more afraid to actually use. The same honey colored floor spans into this room as well, but much of it is covered by huge oriental rugs. The walls in this room contribute to a warm and inviting atmosphere. The tone of red used to cover them is that of an autumn maple leaf. The only break in the color is the shelves and shelves of books that line the perimeter of the room and the fireplace across the largest back wall. The fireplace has a dark black marble mantle and a smattering of old black and white photographs of the family that live in the home.

From the front living room you walk farther toward the back of the house until you get into the dinning room and kitchen. The dinning room is a formal one with a long dark wood table in the center of the room. A fireplace resides here too with the same mantle and similar photographs. There is a small arrangement of fresh flowers that always sits in the middle of this mantle as well. On the wall behind the flowers there is a large mirror that tilts ever so slightly forward at the top. That way anyone eating at the table can look up and see behind the people on the other side of the table. Years ago the mirror was perhaps placed there to cheat at cards but now it hangs there out of habit rather than anything else.

The kitchen itself is very small and quaint compared to the sheer majesty of the rest of the house. It’s perfect for baking and cooking for a small party but hardly to make a meal worthy of the table that inhabits the dinning room. The quandary of how a kitchen serves such a large table is certainly worthy of hours of consideration but unless you are meant to know you could never even begin to guess at how it occurred.

If you head back into the first passageway from the doorway in the dinning room you can cross the hall and head into the bathroom through the door that resides under the large main staircase. The bathroom is always kept in a spotless condition even though the sink, bath, and toilet are extremely aged. The fixtures were installed when the plumbing first came into the house and were still in great working condition. Even the tile on the floor was original to the home and very well maintained. Too keep something so pristine people think it would take magic. But magic doesn’t really exist… It takes hard work to maintain a home as old as this one.

From here the next place you are likely to explore is the upstairs. The staircase itself is a work of art. Each baluster is hand carved in an organic almost floral like shape. The entire staircase seems to vine to the upper floors. There is also rich red carpet in the same color as the living room walls molded to the stairs adding an extra air of wealth to the home. Very few people actually get the opportunity to walk up the stairs and pass the first floor in the home except for those who live in it. The second floor is where the home becomes more private and closed and a little less exuberant.

The wallpaper you find at the top of the stairs is very disconnected from the richness of the lower floor. The tones are in the scale of tans and aged newspapers and the pattern is muted even though it is created with large blooming flowers. The hardwood floors here are a little less well kept and you can see the signs of age clearly. However don’t mistake age for disrepair. The people living in this home prefer to look at it as comfort.

There are 4 doors on this second floor. All of them appear to be made from the same luxurious wood that was carved for the front doors however these doors are far more simplistic and average. All four of these doors remain closed most of the time. The secrets that lay beyond them are for anyone to guess.

Almost hidden on the far side of the second floor is another staircase. You can see that it was once as grand as the stairs in the front foyer but now was in need of cleaning and polishing. Approaching the staircase however will always provide you with a pleasant surprise. Bright seasonal sunshine seems to fill every corner above you as you climb the stairs. But the best surprise is the scents that constantly waft down from the nearly hidden third floor.

That third floor has the same flowered wallpaper that can be found on the floor below it but somehow it almost seems cheery. There are two windows on either side of the third floor that flood it with light and only two doors on this final floor to be the entrance to the sweet smells that seem to perforate every inch of your being.

The very first door hides a private bathroom. It is obviously used by a girl by looking around. The walls are painted lavender and there are flower arrangements wherever there is a flat surface available. It’s comfortable and fresh but not quite full of the rich scents you could smell going up the stairs.

The second door seems more likely to hold such delicious and comforting smells but behind the simple ordinary door is a simple ordinary room. Well perhaps ordinary isn’t the best way to describe it but simple is perfect. There is a bed up against the back wall that is embellished with white frilly iron that is chipped and scratched. It’s obviously well loved and probably very soft. On the hardwood floor next to it is a small purple rug to keep your feet warm when you step out of bed in the morning and a small bedside table with an antique alarm clock and a book that looks as if it’s been read 100 times. From the bed you can look down past the end and see a nicely polished and somewhat out of place chest of drawers. It looks newer than everything else in the room and a little bit too big.

Next to it on the left hand side of the room is an old heater below a window with sheer white curtains that are always open. The wallpaper on the walls is the strangest part of the room itself. From floor to ceiling light green vines on a dark jungle green backdrop reach up toward the top of the room. On top of those vines are white doves. The doves are a symbol of purity or peace. This room is certainly the perfect place to escape for some peaceful time to oneself.

And that’s why this room chose Imogen.