A Woman from the future

When am I?

Still at the same position and now with empty arms (the box still mysteriously missing) I tried to curl up myself more, I don't know what to expect but it definitely wasn't what I sensed.

I felt I was on my feet, just seconds ago, I was sitting in my car, which was hitted repeatedly, the least I expected was to be on the floor, but now..... now

as if taking getting my eardrums restored, all of a sudden I started hearing external sounds, people, maybe a horse or two and tyres, iron clad tyres, what in Washington was going on.

I started to open my eyes, though I wasn't certain that is the best option, just then a man's voice intruded my calm.

"oy, oy.... whot're ye doing here" he sounded a bit aggressive.

I completely opened my eyes and turned to face the man standing at my back.

the scenery was something else, muddy Road, horse pulled carts, carriages and dressing of the ancient time, I turned around once more and saw a " O' callaghan inn".

"I'm talking to ye, whot do ye want here?" the man asked again

"what is this place" was what came out of my mouth

"this place is London, whot is it ye want" he has no idea the predicament I was in

the London I know is nothing like this," modern" seems to be the right word but this.... I gulped for air, the air was humid and pungent, I almost choked on that "when are we?" I asked the man again

"look miss, I dunno whot you mean by when but..." suddenly I heard a voice sweet and welcoming at the same time

"oh, leave the little miss Joe" I'm no little miss, I mumbled to my self, ignorant to my rebuttal she continued "she is new to the city, might as well be why she hanged out here" that seems to do the trick with Joe cause he left immediately

"see you at night Mrs O' callaghan " he said turning his back on us, to retreat down the road

"you have a productive day Joe" he half waved

the woman turned to face me " now let's have your clothes changed, you need to be in the proper attire for work"

what am I even wearing, I looked down to inspect what I had on, it was a faded blue dress, simple and long, where did this even come from.

wait a minute what?, what work, you've got to be kidding me, the woman pulled my hand, halting my inward protest, at least I could ask her what work it is I'd be doing, or should I tell her its a case of mistaken identity

"what's your name miss" she interrupted my thoughts once more

"Eliza" she stopped to look at me, the moment was awkward, I don't even know what she's aiming at

"The next time you are asked for your name, you give the two, yours and your father's" oh now I get it

"Eliza Smith"

"well that is one rare name you have there, have you ever worked as an inn keeper" she questioned

"never in my life" she halted again to give me yet again another measured look

"funny, James told me you have a year experience" I should probably tell her now, what if the right person shows up later on, I'd be thrown out of here

"but that's fine, nothing some weeks of training cannot fix... you can start with the inn's laundry, I'll show you around"

laundry, did she just say laundry?, I never did my own laundry, this is gonna be hard, but first I have to fill my curiosity

"what year is it Ma'am" she looked at me like I was beginning to loose my tree's

"are you alright, will you need to see a physician?"

"No, I'm fine, I....I just don't have a calendar is all" I blurted out

"okay, it's 1853" she continued walking

mentally I freaked out, 1853, how in hell did I end up here, then suddenly it dawned on me it was the box, the damned box, the time activator brought me here, but why couldn't it take me to the morning before the accident and how, how did it teleport me here when it's component are not even complete

and the accident, who could've hit me, am I even here in the flesh, I pinched myself "ouch"

"what wrong" Mrs O'callaghan remarked

"uh...uh, its my ankle, nothing to worry about, I'm good"

finally we've entered into the Inn I was lead to a corner office, where a graying man sat with loads of paper work, looks to me like he is making accounts of the inn's expenditure.

"Ed, she's here" Mrs O'callaghan called out

the man looked up and smiled "help yourself to a sit, you are here a little earlier than expected though, but that is fine, it show your diligence and that's good, right Christine" he looked in Mrs O'Callaghan's direction

"yes it is, but I wonder why James didn't bring her here himself, the poor thing was lost out on the street"

"now that's wrong on James part, but it's a good thing she got here safely"

this is another chance to come out clean, so I took it "I actually.... I'm" but Ed didn't let me finish

"it's okay, you don't have to be worried, should we discuss your pay now?"

"about that, she mentioned she doesn't have any experience at inn keeping"

the man looked confused "but... but James said"

"I know what James said, but we can't wait out another month, we need the extra hand and we need it now, she can learn" would they stop talking about me as if I'm not here

"yes I agree, there isn't much to do anyways, she can start with the laundry" oh this darned laundry

"yes, the laundry will be fine for now, then she can take up some other task later on"

you've got to be kidding me, other task after laundry?, I better go in search of that God forsaken box, if I'm ever getting out of here alive, it has to be now, today.

"my only concern is why her hands are so soft and white" Christine pointed out "were you nobility before now"

"no.... not at all"

"good, we would not want any scandal hanging over our heads..... look Ed, I think you can explain how she will earn her keep later on, but now there's a lot to do, come with me" Christine stood up from beside me.

I fell behind her as she took me to a room, not much of a room actually, it held a bed, a pot of some sort, three dresses hanged on the wall,a pair of shoe, two plates and some silverware.

"this is your room, do not hesitate to ask me for anything you need" she stepped further into the room "we don't run the Inn on sabbath until evening, you can then wear a dress you like, but this uniforms get to serve you two days each"

"what's the pot for?" I should probably stop asking about everything, it's good she isn't seeing me as a lunatic yet

"the pot is for the usual thing, to clean yourself, are you okay?"

"yeah, I'm fine, I'm just so excited I got this job, thank you" I smiled, maybe a little too much

"okay, good, change your dress and meet me out back" with that she left the room.

to look on the bright side it's a good thing I didn't move far off from the Inn, I can easily. sneak out in the middle of the night and search for the time activator, and hopefully I'd get it to work, so i can get out of here soon.

I changed into the supplied dress and tied my hair into a bun, if I was to get into soap water at least I'll get into it prepared, I slipped my foot into the shoe, it's a little bit oversized but nothing I cannot manage

the Inn is quite big, as I had to take so many left and right turns before stepping out onto the backyard

"finally, but you would have to move a bit faster if you are going to keep up" I turned to my right to see her standing beside a tall pile of bedsheets, f**c my life

is this what she meant by laundry, this look more like suicide, how... just how am I supposed to do all this myself

"you don't have to feel like you've been passed a death sentence, I'd help too, for today"

"thanks Mrs O'callaghan" she smiled sweetly

"call me Christine" she tilted her head a little "now if you'd give me a hand with this, we can get out from under the sun early" she said pointing to the sky

"yes yes" we started working on the sheets till mid afternoon, but to be frank my dignity was the only thing that kept me from collapsing onto the floor here plus the mud too.

"you look like you can do better with shade and some food" Christine said, towering over me on where I sat "let's go in"

the rest of the day wasn't as tough as the laundromat moment, Christine was kind enough to help me with the dishes too, even though I know she is only going out of her way to do that.

I was introduced to Victoria, the inn's cook, a petite blonde, and I have to say, she is a great cook, I kept on looking around, taking mental notes, then Christine said something to me, I didn't catch the first part though

"...... coming tomorrow, she'd help here too, so it gets easy, you'd be sharing the same room with her"

"another lady, but... what about the bed, I only saw one and the shoe as well" I stared at her from across

"those are yours, she'd get her's tomorrow too, get me fresh bedsheets"

the store has been shown to me earlier so I had no problem locating it, I quickly grabbed a large bedsheet off the rack and returned to Christine

"we prepare every room in advance, you never can tell when a visitor will stop by"

"yes ma'am" truly so many people checked into the Inn, though the rooms weren't totally occupied, but we had to run around a lot

I visited the kitchen severally to pick food trays and tea cups, I really have to commend Christine, I wonder how she has been doing all this on her own.

it was way past midnight before the Inn visitors settled in to sleep, and I am so tired, I feel like a potato.

"you look quite bad, you should go to bed" Christine said while smiling

"how about you, you've done a lot"

"you too, you did well, go to rest.... I'd do the same, its been a long day, I'll come to wake you by 5" she loosened her apron and hanged it up

I followed her into the hall, she took a left turn, I presume that's where her room will be, I continued forward, the hallway was candle lit so I had no difficulty getting to my room.

I layed back a little, while listening to the Inn, when I was certain no one was still out, I stood up and tip toed to the window, I surveyed the compound.

no one was in my line of sight, i backed away from the window then gently opened my door, if i am to ever make it out of here, without affecting the time balance it is now, I took a deep breath and stepped onto the hallway.