SHEILA ..... I stopped and looked about a bit at the gate and the surroundings and said again how strange that the sign should be in such good shape while everything else was falling apart. It was a little unsettling.......actually a lot unsettling......to think that the buildings were probably in the same condition. I tried to reassure myself that we were operating on faith and after checking to make sure the car was locked, scrambled past the falling down gate and we picked our way along the overgrown path. The shrubs and small trees had almost overgrown the drive and I could see that we would be doing a bit of work to get the car in here.
     There were birds amongst the bushes singing and flitting about. I stopped several times to have a closer look at some plants. Some of them had lovely flowers that I was not familiar with at all. Of course I couldn't help thinking that I might be able to transplant them to a new garden at the house. I would have to get out my plant book the next time we came and identify some of them. We seemed to have been walking for some time and had rounded several bends in the path. I looked at my watch and was surprised to note that only about a half hour had passed. I wondered how much longer the path was and around the next bend it ended at the edge of the clearing where the house was.
     And what a house!!! It was built of unpainted cedar that had weathered to a lovely silver grey. The windows seemed larger than ordinary and that made me happy for I love large windows that let in lots of sun. And best of all was a porch that seemed to go all the way around the house. It was more than a porch.....it was an honest to goodness verandah. I could just picture our chairs there and boxes of flowers and our cats lazing around. I knew I must have a silly grin on my face and looked at Jill and she had one too.

SHEILA ..... I looked about at the rest and saw that the barn wasn't much more than a very large, two storied shed. It would make an excellent garage and place to store things, providing it was not leaking. The lawn in front of the house looked as though it had been cut recently. Very strange, given that no one was supposed to have been here in ages. The drive ran up and circled around in front of the verandah. The whole place was a contrast between falling apart and well kept.
     I wanted to have a closer look at the house and started in that direction, and together we slowly walked towards to the wonderful thing we had bought. I wanted to put off going inside a bit longer and started around the side of the house. The verandah did, in fact, go all the way around. Lovely!!! Another surprise waited at the back. Cutting across a corner of the back yard, which was neatly fenced, was a small stream that could be crossed by a little, arched bridge. On the other side, in its own tiny lawn, backed by a very overgrown flowerbed, was what looked like the basin of a fountain. It looked as though it needed a good cleaning, and that corner was such a contrast from the neatly trimmed lawn, that I just stood and gazed at it. I wondered if it would work if it was cleaned up. A pair of goldfinches flew up and perched on the edge of the shell shaped bowl . They peered at us with their beady little eyes and gave a few chirps as though to tell us to get a move on and give them a place to bathe. I just couldn't imagine anything more perfect than this place. It was as though all our dreams had been taken and used as a building plan. It seemed too perfect and I wondered if there was a catch.
     I turned to Jill..... "Wow.......this is incredible!!! It's sure weird, though, the way some things are good and others wrecked. Look at the beds.....all the flowers from the road in are here already. The whole thing just needs to be weeded out. Do you suppose the fountain works? I'm just going to go over and have a quick look and then do you want to have a look at the house or the barn first?"
     I walked over to the little bridge and tentatively put a foot onto the first of the boards. They seemed solid enough,though the railing was pretty shakey, and I went across to the fountain. The bowl, sitting on a fluted pedestal, was the shape of a large, shallow shell.....not white as I first thought, but a very pale pink. Was it actually marble??? I couldn't quite tell with all the dirt and crusted leaves and I couldn't tell where the water should come from. There was no figurine or spouting fish. I retreived a stout stick from the garden behind the fountain and stirred the accumulated leaves about. The stick jagged against something solid in the bottom of the shell and I started shovelling leaves out onto the ground. In the bottom of the basin was a round bit with circles of holes.....presumably this is where the water fountained from. The holes were plugged with debris, and finding a smaller stick I set about poking the holes clear. As I finished the last one, I heard a gurgle and stepped back just as a small gyser of water shot skywards. Very quickly, the basin began filling with water, and I rubbed it about a bit trying to get most of the dirt free. The thing really did look like the most beautiful pink marble. I wondered, belatedly, where the water came from as there didn't seem to be a pump of any sort, nor could I hear one.
     The water continued to fill the basin and I realized that I was putting off going to look at the house. Houses had never meant as much to me as gardens, but this was being a bit silly. The whole thing so far seemed too perfect, and maybe I was afraid that if we went into the house, reality would come down with a crashing blow.

JILL ..... We walked cautiously around the house, and at the back and to one side was a very small barn. It wasn't anything like the barns we'd grown up with, but some might call it it such. I thought that a city person must have written out the real estate ad and thought that the addition of a so-called barn in print might bring out more interest. Well, I didn't imagine having anything much to put in it anyway, unless one or other of our vehicles could squeeze in, but we could certainly use it as a large potting shed, and a place for the garden implements. Who knew what had taken up residence in there in the meanwhile but I thought that only raccoons if anything at all. The long windows on each side running about a foot under the eaves of the shed were unbroken and looking back, I could see that the windows in the house were also in good condition. The shutters hanging at each side of the windows somehow served to make it look more lived in. Not a blank staring wall with empty windows for eyes.
     Sheila had continued on and was looking towards the back of the property, fenced with worn but sturdy looking pickets of cedar, and seemed taken with what was there. I walked over to her and could see that a small stream cut one corner of the yard, and over it stretched a very small but servicable bridge. It was decorative only perhaps, as the stream looked hardly wide enough to keep one from stepping over it at any point, but the bridge was an invitation to visit the vastly overgrown garden on the other side. It must have been splendid at one time, but now weeds were spilling over the edges and I could not really make out what plants had survived. Gardening was more a passion of Sheila's than of mine, so knew that this would be of particular interest to her. It wouldn't be long before she was exploring the ground there.
     In the midst of the garden was a fountain shaped like a large shell with scalloped edges, and two birds perched on the rim. Waiting for water or welcoming us? I wondered how water was pumped to the fountain from the little stream as I could not immediately see any plumbing . I'd leave that 'til later or until Sheila had explored it and filled me in.
     I called to Sheila and headed back towards the house. There was a door leading from the back of the house out onto the verandah and steps from there down to the lawn. Porch pillars supported the roof, and as I watched, the door seemed to swing slightly on its hinges and a cat appeared around the edge. I must have gasped in surprise as Sheila turned to look .
     "What's up?" she asked and I could hear her come up behind me.
     "A cat. There in the doorway. It just came out of the house." The cat was an orange tabby and very well marked, and was standing about a foot away from the pillars. It suddenly swayed ever so slightly toward the pillar on the left brought it's tail up and around something that wasn't there. At least nothing that I could see. It held that position for two, maybe three seconds, then stepped away and down the stairs to the lawn. It looked back toward the house, and I looked over at Sheila.

SHEILA ..... I started back across the little bridge. Jill was headed for the verandah at the back of the house when she suddenly stopped and looked hard at the door.
     "What's up?" I asked, and she said that a cat had just come out of the house. I looked where she was pointing but couldn't see anything. "Has it run off, or is it hiding behind the posts?" I looked at the house, but none of the doors or windows were open. "Did you say it just came out? There's nothing open. Maybe it has a cat door there. The poor thing must be starving, and here we are with nothing for it. I suppose it can find mice and things in the woods, though. Let's go in and see what we have here. I hope it's as wonderful as the garden."
     We stepped onto the verandah and I was pleased to find that it was solid underfoot. I wondered if we should look in the windows but Jill was already pushing open the door and I thought I must have looked away for a second for I am sure I hadn't seen her use her key in the lock. We entered a large and airy kitchen and I looked around, surprised to find that it was a lot more modern than I had thought it would be. There was a fireplace in one corner that would be cozy on winter mornings and the floors were made up of some kind of ceramic tiles with flowers on them. I wasn't crazy about the tiles since I am a bit of a clutz when it comes to dropping things, but had to admit that they were very pretty. There were lots of big cupboards, thank goodness so we would have lots of storage space. There was plenty of room for a table and chairs before the fireplace and the sink was in front of the window so we could look out into the yard while cleaning up. The taps both worked and the drain didn't seem to be clogged. So far so good.
     There were two arched doorways from the kitchen. One led down a hallway, and the other to the diningroom which also had windows overlooking the back yard and the woods. The windowsills were all nice and wide.......great for holding pots of plants or snoozing cats. There was another arched doorway from the dining room to the livingroom and this room also had a fireplace and another door leading to the same hall that I had seen from the kitchen. From the front door, there was a magnificent staircase leading to the second floor and together we went up. Jill seemed a little preoccupied and kept looking behind her as we went through the rooms.
     "What's wrong?" I asked. "Are you nervous to be in here?"
     "Not at all." she said. "But that cat I saw outside is following us."
     I looked about but couldn't see him and assumed that he had gone into one of the other rooms. Well it was strange that I hadn't seen him because we both had a fondness for cats, but I was more interested in what the rooms looked like than finding the cat at the moment. I guess if he could get in, he also knew the way out, though, I have to admit that I hadn't noticed a cat door.
     Several doors opened from the upstairs hallway and we discovered three bedrooms and a big bathroom that also had working taps and toilet. It occurred to me that everything was very clean for not having had people here for some time. No sign of spiders or the usual flies dead on the sills, and the windows were all sparkly clean. There didn't seem to be any dust anywhere either. The walls of all the rooms were covered with really nice wallpaper and even that was in fine shape. Not much to do here but move our furniture in. What a relief. I had had visions of having to clean for weeks just to get the place sorted enough to move in to.
     "This is great Jill. Which of the bedrooms do you want for yours? I can't believe everything is in such good shape.That's a big relief for sure. Well,I guess there's nothing left to check out but the shed."

JILL ..... I looked back towards the cat, but it had disappeared. Now, I know what I saw, and there had been a cat there a moment ago. Perhaps when it heard me speak to Sheila, it had run back to the house or under the verandah. It was nowhere to be seen, and Sheila looked as if perhaps she thought I was dreaming. We walked up onto the verandah, and then into the house. Why this door should be unlocked was a bit of a mystery to me. We did have keys after all. Did it mean that someone else did too?
     The kitchen looked big enough to accommodate any cooking that I could possibly ever want to do, especially since cooking wasn't my forte. But I loved the luxury of a big kitchen. It usually turned into the room where everyone gathered during any get-togethers. The fireplace in one corner reminded me of the kitchens in books I read about old houses in England. I imagined us sitting there on a winter's night, in rocking chairs with cats sprawled everywhere, drinking hot chocolate or sipping on tea.
     The other rooms on the ground floor were equally spacious and from the front door we walked up a wide staircase to the second floor. I glanced behind me, and the cat I'd seen earlier was there, at the bottom, and as I stopped to watch, it started up behind us. It didn't seem afraid, and I kept on , looking back to see if it would follow along. It seemed quite at home, and not at all afraid. Sheila paused to ask me why I was so slow, and made no comment on the cat. I was looking from it to her, and it was as if a light went off in my head. She couldn't see this cat, because it wasn't there for her. Was this a figment of my own imagination then, and how long would this go on for? Yes, the cat was sitting there on the step below me and I turned, a small smile starting. This really was magic. A ghost cat. Or just a very strong presence.
     The cat passed me on the second floor landing, and headed into the second door on the left. Immediately I knew that I wanted that bedroom at the front of the house, looking out onto the driveway, and hoped that Sheila wouldn't have plans for it for herself. They were all a nice size, and all quite bare. Bare but not dusty or dirty at all, and that struck me as a bit odd. Maybe there was a sort of regular cleanup done in case it was shown to prospective buyers. 'My' room was as empty as all the others with the exception of the cat. It had gone to sit on the sill, and was looking out the window, quite unconcerned about my presence. I didn't feel at all strange. It just felt natural somehow and only when I thought of my own three cats, did a little niggle of concern arise. Well, if Sheila couldn't see it, maybe they wouldn't either. In fact, maybe I never would again either after to-day. Perhaps this was all just the result of an over-active imagination. I attempted to approach it where it sat but it jumped down and bounded back into the hall. I followed, but it wasn't in the hall . It didn't appear to be anywhere at all.

SHEILA ..... Jill showed me the room she liked best, and it was relief since I had been partial to one overlooking the back garden and the fountain. We went back downstairs, and Jill called to the cat who seemed to live here. I was disappointed that I had not seen him and hoped that when we moved in he would not feel as though he had to move out. Between us we has four of our own. My Sami who would not be happy to move and would take some time to become accustomed to new surroundings and Jill's three who would be much better with the change. I wondered how they would get along with the one here and hoped there would be no fights.
     Making sure the doors were locked again, we walked towards the shed. I had noticed on the way in, that it had a second floor with windows, but that was about all. Like the house, it was a weathered clapboard with big double doors in front and windows along the sides. I thought it might be big enough for both of our cars which would be lovely in the winter. The door was locked with a rather large ornate padlock, but one of the keys on the rings we'd been sent, fit and we had it open in a flash. The place was empty. No junk or crates of forgotten stuff. No bales of hay or piles of refuse. Nothing to have to truck away. The windows let in light and we could see a stair leading up to the second floor. If it was tidy, it just might make a good place for a crafts and sewing room. If it was the same size as the bottom, we might even be able to put in a guest room. That reminded us of the little room over the garage at our grandparents house that we stayed in when we were small. It had been such a privilege to be able to stay in that room and we used to fight to see who got the honors.
     As our heads cleared the floor boards of the loft room our eyes got big and our mouths dropped. There neatly stacked, were piles of furniture. Beautiful stuff. I could see the pillars of a four poster bed and the gleam from a mirror attached to a wonderful dressing table. There were trunks just begging to be sorted through and a dining table and matching chairs. There was a fancy hat stand just perfect for that corner in the hall. It had a mirror in the top of it and a place for umberellas. Jill was poking around in another corner and I wondered what she had found that was interesting. There was everything here that should have been in the house, and I wondered why it had all been moved out. Possibly, to save it from any intruders, though, I had a funny feeling that there was some sort of protection in place to guard against that. Nothing definite, just a feeling.

JILL ..... We walked outside, and I glanced to see if the cat had followed or for that matter, lead, but it was nowhere to be seen. As we approached the shed I couldn't help but wonder if perhaps the cat was already there, just waiting to show us the way, but we opened the door to silence. The ground floor was empty save for a few tools hanging along the walls, and we headed for the stairway that lead to the floor above.
     To our great surprise the entire floor was covered with furniture, all neatly stacked with some draped in old cloths and some just standing bare. There were all sorts of things and it appeared to be the entire inventory of furniture for the house. I wondered why here and not over where it belonged.
     Immediately we started poking around, calling out to each other when we found something in particular that struck our fancy. Perhaps we were hoping to uncover some long-buried treasure or something, and in a way we had, as the furniture looked to be of very good quality. I wondered why again about it's presence here, but knew that at some point the answer would probably be revealed. The dressers were of various sizes and a medium sized one caught my eye. It was of butternut, and reminded me of an old one that Mom had kept the linens in in the big bath-room at the farm. It had a feminine touch in the form of dainty wooden curlycues along the edges of the top drawer as well as around the perimeter of the mirror that hung above it at the back. There were little bits of the mirror that looked worn...desilvering I thought. The drawers opened easily, almost as if the runners had been recently waxed, and the joints were all neatly dove-tailed.
     What a pretty thing it was and I could almost picture a lady preening before it in another time. There were two little drawers sitting one on each side of the top, with little porcelaine handles, and I opened them both cautiously. The one on the left had a small picture taped to the bottom . It was of a lady perhaps sitting for a portrait. It looked quite formal, but the person looked very relaxed with a curious half-smile on her face. If I'd had to make a guess, I'd have said that she knew the photographer rather well. "Annie". Just like that, the name popped into my mind. This woman's name was Annie, I was sure of it, or the name figured strongly somewhere. It stuck, and I knew then that if I saw the cat again I would call it Annie. How odd. But it seemed right, and I didn't spend much time pondering the oddness.
     The drawer on the right was empty and I was almost disappointed. Perhaps I was hoping to find another picture there. I pushed them both closed, but the right one seemed to stop just short of a complete close and I jiggled it, thinking it perhaps stuck on something, but it stopped stubbornly. Not enough to cause an eyesore when looking at the dresser, but I could feel that it didn't close all the way and so pulled it out again. It came away altogether from the top, and banged slightly as it hit the dresser top. I felt behind it and touched a paper there along the back of the drawer itself. Upon turning it over, it appeared to be a very small envelope, folded over once. It had a lump in it and I knew instantly that it was a key. Sure enough, when I peeled the envelope away from the wood and unfolded it, a key slid out into my hand. It was quite dainty: silver, with a design worn with use along the stem. What on earth did it fit, I wondered, knowing that there were no locked drawers in this dresser. Perhaps it would open one of the other dressers in the room. I slipped it into my pocket, and looked to see if Sheila had discovered anything special during her inspection of the room and it's contents.

SHEILA .....I couldn't get over the quality of the furniture we were seeing here. Things that I had always dreamed of owning but could never have afforded to buy. It made the things I did have look incredibly shabby and with the exception of a very few things that had sentimental value, I know that I would not be bringing anything with me.
     "Jill" I called over to her.. "Do you realize that there is everything here we need for the house! Except for that dressing table of Gran's and the Jenny Lind bed, I don't think I am going to bother with any of the other stuff. Maybe I'll just call the Salvation Army and have them come and take the whole works. That's a nice little desk there. It would look nice in your room. What have you found?" Jill pulled her hand out of her pocket, and showed me a pretty little silver key that she had found in one of the desk drawers. We wondered what it would fit and hunted about for a key hole that was the right size, but found nothing.
     " You know," I said to her " it's still early and we could maybe move some of the light stuff back to the house. I can't understand why it's all over here anyway. What do you think? It would make it easier to see some of the things as well if they are in their proper places. Then we could also see if we really need to bring much of the stuff from home."