"487 West Maple Street" by Desiree Pelletier, sr.
“Look who moved in next door”, a neighborhood boy said. “Don’t they know what’s wrong with that house?” the other replied. Nathaniel “Nate” Ingram had just moved in. He was irate at his family for making him move away from all his friends and school. His father Paul had received a job offer that would profit the family because their eldest daughter was now departing off to college. Tomorrow was the first day of school for all the Springfield Middle School students. Beth was Nate’s compassionate mother who felt terribly about the move. She urged him to go have fun and make friends so he would be acquainted with children at school. He refused and stayed in his room on the gorgeous summer afternoon playing video games, beating fifteen levels. The next morning came swiftly and Nate unenthusiastically dressed for school. He ate breakfast and waited for the bus. Around the bend came a yellow rocket that slowed and flashed its lights. He boarded and went all the way to the back, ignoring all the whispers and stares. He sat down, took out his iPod and blasted music; he closed his eyes to conceal the looks he received. Nate suffered through his English, Math, History, Reading, and Science classes thankful when the bell finally rang. Again, he boarded the bus went to the rear seat and blasted his iPod. He continued on like this until Friday the bell rang, he went to his locker to deposit his books and there was a note. “487 West Maple holds a lot of secrets, a lot of people think it’s haunted and leave. Look into it, explore”. Nate was taken aback. Did the whole town of Springfield know and that’s why nobody talked to or smiled at him? Nate hurried to the bus not realizing he had stood there for three minutes and the hallway was vacant. He boarded the bus and instead of his usual he observed from the back of the bus. He caught kids peeking their heads over the seats and turning around. What happened in their family’s house and who left this note? The note, where was the note? Nate looked at his left hand that was clenched and within was the note. Fifteen minutes of torture finally lead to his stop, he left the bus. It was 3:15; his parents got home at five, and if he hurried he might be able to discover some things before they arrived home and were suspicious. He hastily ran up the attic steps. It was void of any of their family’s stuff they had moved from a big apartment and upgraded to a grand three story house so they had no extra belongings to store. There were old boxes with seemingly centuries of dust caked on them. He scanned the large space and spotted carvings on the walls, he walked over to them. Roughly printed were three names: Anna, Mary, and Sarah and above all of the names was a star. Confused Nate decided to open one of the boxes and see what he could find. He walked toward the old cherry chest first. Each mark in the wood chest unique and beautiful; the chest was very old but as he opened it could still smell the scent of fresh cut lumber. Inside the chest contained handwritten documents about the house, a map, and a deed to the original owner’s children. He removed the paper to find a quilt. Slam! Nate’s parents had arrived home. He flew down the steps and shut the door. Beth was already half way up the steps he hid behind the attic door and waited for her to go to her room. He heard the door close and bolted across the hallway to his room. While sitting in his room catching his breath he noticed a little door behind where his dresser was. He never noticed this before. Quietly he sauntered past his door to the other section of his bedroom. He delicately pushed against his dresser to make minimal sound. Nate found it best that he wait until after dinner to explore to lessen the chance of his mother intruding. Opening his laptop he began his search of the town. It was established as a trade town in the 18th century due to the numerous channels of water. Specifically searching for his house nothing appeared. In his rush down the attic steps he had forgotten to grab the documents and quilt he found to search them as well. All he could do now was waiting until after dinner. The minutes ticked by slowly but finally Beth appeared at his doorway telling him to wash up for supper. As the Ingram’s always sat down and had a conversation at dinner Nate hurried things along by saying he must finish his math homework and he was going to bed because he was feeling ill not questioning his parents wished him well and said goodnight. At last, he let out one nervous sigh and grabbed the worn latch and opened the door. It was free of any objects besides cobwebs. Was this just a hideout for small kids? Disappointed he got on his laptop and searched hoofing use construction in the 1800s. Surfing the net for hours he finally discovered a site that talked about history. Hidden rooms and doors held a purpose for many homeowners of this time period. Continuing to investigate, the website revealed that many homes in that era had the function of the secret doors and rooms to hide fugitives. Opening another tab led him to a site explaining that a fugitive is a slave that had escaped. The Underground Railroad was a mysterious network of stations which were actually homes that housed the slaves until the next station. This process continued on until finally they reached Canada to freedom. As he progressed in research he came to a page that had a quilt similar to the one in the chest in the attic. The quilts were a sign to slaves that the houses were stations and they had code words they used to ensure they were not mistaken. If this house was just a station on the Underground Railroad why would so many think it’s haunted? Nothing has happened to make him draw this conclusion so far. Yawning, he looked at the clock it was midnight he logged off his laptop and got dressed for bed. There has to be more going on here than just this house having a lot of history. The clock read 4:30 and he could not sleep anymore. The Ingram house was silent. Nate jumped out of bed and flipped on his bedroom light making sure his door was closed tightly first. He dug through his dresser for a flashlight. At last on the third drawer down all the way on the bottom he recovered it. After pushing the power button he was relieved when a bright illumination spewed from the device. He turned his room light off and peered out his door into the dormant hallway. Moving quickly he passed his parents room and opened the attic door. Creek! Heart thumping Nate paused listening for any evidence he had woken his parents. As his breathing slowed he felt all was still. Slinking up the dark abyss was terrifying as he reached the summit he was relieved when the illumination beamed from the flashlight. Immediately Nate headed for the chest. He looked at the quilt. Spreading the quilt out, Nate recognized the familiar pattern from the web site from hours prior. Under the quilt he retrieved a file folder as well as the handwritten papers about the house, a map, and the deed. He felt satisfied that he had enough information and made the descent down the stairs. At the bottom of the steps he turned the flashlight off. He jolted across the hallway past his parent’s hushed room and into his own. Nate carefully closed the door and turned on the light. He examined the papers in the folder. Reading through the papers he discovered that this house was owned by a Quaker family. They left the house to their children. Unfolding a paperclip full of letters he began to read. All of the pieces started to come together. The family was a station and housed fugitives in the secret room and also in the attic which explained the carvings in the attic wall. Navigation in the dark relied on a good sense of direction and the North Star. The family helped dozens of families become closer to their dream of freedom. When his parents woke hours later he couldn’t wait to tell them how much history was inside their new home. Nate prepared pancakes for the family to eat while he showed them all of the evidence. As he returned to his room to relax he saw a large envelope lying on his floor. The contents were from the Springfield Historical Society. It was addressed to the previous owners of the house saying that the home was of great historical importance. They also stated that they were willing to pay far more than the home was worth because of this said reason. Nate was confused. Why is the house haunted? If the society wanted the house so bad how did his family purchase it? There was something very strange going on and he didn’t know what he would do next. Exhausted, Nate drifted into a slumber. In his dream he was visited by two African American women and the Quaker family that build the home. “Fight for us” the women chanted. “We saved dozens of lives; do not let our efforts go in vain.” The Quaker man replied. They joined together holding hands and chanted “Fight for us, protect our home!” As they chanted more and more African Americans appeared and begin to chant louder and get closer and closer. “Fight for us, protect our home!” “Fight for us, protect our home!” “Fight for us, protect our home!” “Fight for us, protect our home!” “Nate!” Beth screamed. She had run in his room when she heard him yelling. Rapidly he came back to reality and realized it was just a dream but it contained a deep message he must convey. Nate explained to his mother that he needed to speak to her and his father over breakfast. Beth rapidly began to prepare a meal anxious of the news. Between mouthfuls of scrambled eggs and toast he told them about what discovered in the attic. Nate also explained that he researched online to understand more about the Underground Railroad and he shared his findings also. Nate removed the Springfield Historical Society letter from his pocket and waited while each parent read it. Finally, he explained his all too real dream. His parents explained that this house is very important to the Quaker family and the lives they saved. They fear that the Historical Society is going to try to make a profit out of it. It is still their home and the home of all the fugitives that took shelter here. That heroic family deserves to have their home lived in by another family to have memories and to grow in just as they did. We are not moving or selling the house no matter what the Historical Society wants. Nate smiled, proud to share his home with heroes.