I was startled by the sound of an old-fashioned alarm clock sitting on the bedside table beside me, “I guess it’s time to get up.” I pushed back the patchwork quilt as I stretched and allowed my eyes to fully wake. “Where am I?” I said aloud as I began to look around from the twin size bed I woke up from. I was in a rather quaint looking cabin. Sunlight streamed in through tiny windows around the room. Across from me were a rocking chair, a small desk with a lamp, and a slender bookshelf. I rose from the bed noticing the flannel gown I was wearing. I didn’t feel like it was something I would normally wear, but I wasn’t quite sure. I walked across the room to glance at the books on the bookshelf. Classics mostly, but quite a few seemed to be books children would use in school. I looked to the right and noticed a small bathroom. Hanging beside the mirror in the bathroom was an outfit and shoes with a note, “you will need these for today.” I thought that was quite strange but quickly dressed as I didn’t want to be in a flannel gown all day. I looked in the mirror to examine myself. I was a curvier girl so I was pleasantly surprised to see that the floral dress and black chunky belt hugged my curves perfectly. I noticed a toothbrush, hairbrush, and a little makeup beside the sink. I brushed my teeth, ran a brush through my wavy blonde hair, and put a tasteful amount of makeup on my eyes to make my blue eyes pop and threw a little lip gloss on my lips. As I was walking to the door I noticed a stack of papers with a letter on it. I opened the letter and it read, “Good Morning Maggie. Welcome to the town of Nowhere. We are so delighted to have you here as our new teacher. Your new pupils are excited to have you. Your lesson plans can be found in the desk at the schoolhouse. You are welcome to take them back to your cabin to study in the evenings, but make sure to have them with you during school hours. The school day starts promptly after breakfast. Please make sure you are ready to step out of your house before the bell rings. I hope you are able to find your place here. Sincerely, The Mayor of Nowhere.” “Well, that was a weird way to end a letter,” I mumbled setting the letter down. I glanced at the other papers and noticed the words, “the rules of nowhere” on the top and decided I would look at that later. “I guess I’m the new teacher,” I said as I jumped at the sound of a knock on my door. “Breakfast time dear,” said the voice of kind sounding older woman. I opened the door to find a thin, grey-haired woman of African-American descent with round, purple spectacles and olive colored eyes. “Hi, my name is Sue,” she smiled, “I made some grits. Would you like some? I made it myself.” “I love grits. At least I think I do,” I frowned unsure of my response. “Don’t worry. I know it’s a bit scary here at first,” she said gently touching my arm. “I’m your neighbor,” she said pointing to the cabin next door. “They always pair new residents with an elder. They think we will teach you how to behave properly,” she giggled putting her hand to her mouth as if to silence her laugh. She handed me the bowl of grits as we sat down in the wooden chairs on the front porch. I gobbled them down fast. “I didn’t realize how hungry I was,” I exclaimed. “That’s normal. We all are on the first day. I haven’t quite figured out why. My husband thinks it is from the journey it took to get here.”  I looked perplexed. “You don’t remember where you come from do you?”  She asked quietly. I shook my head no. “I will be right back,” she picked up our bowls and disappeared inside of her cabin and quickly reappeared with some knitting she was doing and a notepad and pen. “Take this,” she instructed me handing me the pen and paper, “Put it in your cabin now.” I obeyed quickly and came back outside to find her knitting in the chair. I sat down beside her as she began to speak, “You can’t tell a soul we had this conversation. My husband would tell me I’m risking my life by telling you this, but let me tell you they never pay attention to us elders,” she said looking around to see if anyone could hear her, “I don’t right remember how my husband or I came to be in the town of now here.” “Excuse me I thought it was pronounced like nowhere,” I asked. “It originally was, but all the residents here pronounce it now here, because we don’t remember our previous lives, but we just know we’re now here.” “Oh okay. I understand,” I said quietly hoping she would continue. “My last memory is of building sand castles near the ocean with my grandbabies. I can’t seem to remember how far that was from here as I don’t really know where we are. I used to be a school teacher so let me tell you I know geography….well at least I used to,” she frowned as she brushed a grey hair from her eyes. “How can you remember so much from your past? I’m having the hardest time remembering who I was. They called me Maggie in the letter, but it doesn’t feel right. I feel like I went by another name before here.” I asked. “Oh Honey. They named you Maggie because the Latin word for teacher is magister. You are the new teacher right?” I nodded.  She continued, “They call me Sue. Not really creative if you ask me. “She laughed. “Guess it’s as close as they could get for someone who sews. I remember my name used to be Ava.” As I stared at her I whispered, “Ava fits you better, but how do you know all this?” Ava quit talking but continued to knit as a group of people passed by. As soon as they were gone she motioned for me to come closer, “I’m an observer. I notice things. As I said no one pays attention to old ladies like me,” she laughed again before getting close to my ear and whispering, “Whatever is keeping our memories at bay during the day can’t seem to touch our dreams. Keep the notepad and pen I gave you beside your bed and write down everything you dream about. Make sure to do it before the bell rings in the morning. I hadn’t figured out why, but I can’t seem to remember anything from the night before after we eat breakfast and that bell rings. Second, bad things happen at night so stay inside and lock your door and windows. I would recommend keeping your curtains closed at night too. You stay saner here if you can’t see the things that lurk at night. And last, be careful who you trust.” She smiled as a group of children ran towards the school building. “Better get going. The bell is about to ring. “They” watch everything.” I nodded as I slowly rose from my chair, walked off the porch and turned left and headed slowly towards the schoolhouse. 

Children ran and played merrily around the front of the school. I...Continue Reading