In the previous chapter Peter and Inge had moved into their starter house after they had it cleaned by a Cleaning Service Agency. They found a basement in the garden, and right down there Peter stumbled upon an old diary. While her husband had already gone to bed, Inge had started to read that diary.

The dairy belonged to a woman, called Melissa Newman who had written about a drama that happened to her and her husband John. Inge’s eyes ran over the text and now and again she had to stop reading to dry her eyes.

It was quite an exhausting read. Reading this diary gave her the creeps. She felt she couldn’t breathe well…, as if she had been locked up in that basement herself.

Her eyes started to ache, and she decided to put the diary away. She would continue later, probably tomorrow.

Before she went to bed, she programmed the coffee machine. Her husband would only have to push the ‘brew’ button when he got up.

When she cuddled up to her husband she let out a blissful sigh… His warm body was always soothing. With him she didn’t need an electric blanket, or hot water bottle to warm her cold feet.

Without waking up, Peter felt his wife’s presence. He turned around and put his hand on her belly.
In that same position he woke up the next morning. Feeling her soft skin and hearing her regular breath, he moved his hand softly over her body. Even asleep, she started purring like a kitten. He felt the urge to wake her… but then, with one eye on the clock, he decided he really had to get up now. He would be late for work and being it his first day at the Hidden Springs Military Base, that would certainly not look good.

He got up and found the coffee brewer prepared to switch on. He smiled while he waited for the cup to fill up. He walked to the living room, sipping on his coffee. He had to hurry. He put down his cup on the bathroom sink and slipped into the shower. The quick shower was refreshing. Time to go…; he finished his coffee and got dressed.

Before leaving the house he had a last look at his sleeping wife and he promised himself something….

When Inge woke up, she had to suppress her wish to continue reading the diary. She knew that if she would sit down and start reading, nothing useful would come out of her hands. So she tried to be a good homemaker and started by making the bed.

She took the empty coffee cup her husband left in the bathroom and put his dirty underwear in the hamper. No…, not enough yet to put into the washing machine. Wait…! WASHING MACHINE…! They didn’t have a washing machine! Was she supposed to wash the laundry by hand? She swallowed air and coughed. O heavens! She would have to talk about it with Peter as soon as possible.

When she wanted to sit down and take the book, she remembered that Peter had told her that he chosen for a warm lunch instead of a warm dinner. There was no way she could take that diary now but then she received a phone call from her husband.
His voice sounded sad when he told her that he had to accompany this General on a trip abroad to write a resume of all the events the General in question had to attend.

– “I’m so sorry honey…; I’d like to be there with you but I cannot refuse this. Remember that I’m new here and I still have to proof myself.”
– “Aren’t you coming home if only to get some more clothes? *—–* “Oh… I see, they provide you with a uniform! Well then…, I suppose that you can buy underwear in the place where you’re going to¡. Of course, I will miss you as well but, don’t worry about me…, I will try and find some other distraction!”

– “What? What kind of distraction do you mean? Honey..., if you really need me by your side, I will tell them ‘no’!”
– “Oh Peter…, stop it! I was just joking!” She sighed. She had noticed before that he still didn’t recognize her sense of humor. – “Peter, when you come back we will have to buy a washing machine and, if possible a dryer! Now…, take care honey and come home soon!”

‘So, it seems that I have an improvised holiday…‘ , she thought.

She made herself a coffee, took the diary and sat down to continue reading.

The sun had set already when she finished it. The diary seemed unconcluded…, being the last unfinished sentence ‘I really don’t know how long we can continue like this but…. OHHH!’

What had happened? You would say that it was something from a horror movie and hard to believe. But… what about the tombstones she wrote about? The ones they found here…? If I want to find out for sure, I should do some researching. According to the diary there must be a cemetery nearby.

The woman, who wrote the diary, Melissa Newman, must have had a terrible time down there. If she was to believe everything she wrote in that diary there had been two dramas that took place in this house and garden.
She decided to have a look at the cemetery. It would be easy to find the graves of the Tumbeldors. Inge wasn’t a coward and she wanted to know what had happened here.

Of course, she wasn’t as foolish as to go to the cemetery at night but she would go there the next morning.

When she got ready for her night rest, she noticed that she hadn’t eaten all day. Canned soup would do fine. With a warm belly she fell asleep.

To be continued…