Time Within Time

From an image born

Hello. I thought you might be my Pearl. I am surprised  that you see me, no one else does. No, do not be afraid. I beg you, I am no one to harm you. Please set, enjoy the view. My name? Hester. A ghost? I suppose I am. I have been sleeping for many years here above the township of Boston. Strange how time is nothing when you are a ghost sleeping. It seems to stand still, blend and just meld into one long day. You would like to know my story? If you have the time I will tell of it.

Long ago, though it seems only yesterday, as I said time seems to stand still. Yet things are so different when I look down at the harbor and see lights that never go out. I hear sounds I have not heard before so I know time has not stood still . When I was living I fell in love with a man that I did not and shall not name for fear of ruining his good name among the townspeople, all good Puritans they. I tried to resist the temptation but love has a mind of it's own . We fell in love. Out of this love I bore a child. A daughter. I named her Pearl as a rare jewel she was. Because I would not name the father and will not  I was forced to stand upon the towns scaffold holding my Pearl against my bosom. I was ridiculed, called many horrible names  that I shall not say as we are ladies . The final punishment for my sins against God and man is a letter. Such a beautiful color the letter was. It is still here , do you see it? Time has faded the letter I am sure yet it is still there. I can feel it there. It stays with me and is a part of me.

The letter? A- the letter A for adulteress. Emblazoned upon my bosom for all to see. Such a color this A. Scarlett as red as the hottest fires of hell. Blazing. It is embroidered with golden thread.

Were it not for the shame and stigma it carries it would be lovely to look upon. But there was and is the shame. I did not say that when I fell in love with the man I shall not name I was a married woman. My husband was to come, I did not wait.

The people forced my Pearl and I to live far from the township. We lived in a rickety cottage in the woods beyond Boston. We stayed to ourselves yet there were times when we had to go into the town. Those times were so hard to bear. As for me I could withstand the pointed fingers and names but my Pearl , an innocent was subjected to the pointing and name calling .. she paid for my sins and indiscretions . My sweet Pearl who once asked me when she would get the letter on her bodice. The poor child thought it was a sign of womanhood. I wonder where she could be? She always came.. The year is what? Two-thousand-ten? How can this be? If I have been sleeping for over three-hundred years, my Pearl sleeps too. My poor Pearl. I wonder where she sleeps? I wonder if I have grandchildren? No, please stay. I will tell you the rest of my story.

Pearl grew into a fine woman, a lady. Though she had no friends or beaus she seemed happy to share her days with only me. When Pearl was eighteen I became ill. She nursed me like a mother. She became my mother. Without medicines and doctors I fell to this illness and have been sleeping since. Pearl begged the townsmen and Pastor to let me be buried beside my parents in the town cemetery. They refused telling her I would not be allowed to taint the ground  of those many good men and women .

This is where they told her to bring me .. here atop this hill overlooking the Boston Harbor. She placed me inside the tower kissed me and closed the door. I could hear her. She said, 'Dear mother the sun never shone upon you. Here it shines bright and will shine down upon you each day'. She planted flowers. This did not set well with the townspeople.They said I deserved no beauty.  They ordered them removed and placed a fence around my tower. Pearl stopped coming. I didn't bother to wake.

I see you are looking at the two flowers outside the fence. They are beautiful. These flowers have survived all this time that has passed. The people did not see them as they were only seedlings when they pulled the others from the earth. She planted one for me and one for her. No red, she said only gold ... Gold like the sunshine shining down upon us at this moment. Gold like the love of a mother and a daughter.  Those are the last words I heard her speak.

You are leaving? Why are you crying? Please, don't shed any tears. I sleep well. The letter and the sins I committed  against man and God they are forgiven. No tears for me.
I am Hester Prynne and I sleep peacefully. I do wish I knew where my Pearl sleeps.
A mother worries. Please come back another time.
Goodbye.

Author's Note

Of course this is written from my imagination based on one of my favorite books.. The Scarlett Letter .. when i first looked at the image that book, story sprang into my mind .. gold flowers, not red, a tower.. a fence .. i waited to see if i felt anything else , didn't so i wrote this story of sorts. You will hear only one voice but I am sure you can imagine the other voice and questions and reactions ..Sorry it is longer than a poem .. also it isn't that good .. it is just what i was feeling

Reviews

[Truly Ross-Wisehart]

This is absolutely wonderful. I must agree with Dev in that I am glad that you kept the conversation one-sided. It gave the feeling that Hester was speaking directly to me.

The story itself has a haunting (pardon the pun) sadness. A woman harshly judged and made to pay for it all her life. The sad fact is that there were likely many more who had done as she had. They just had not been caught! Yet, I am sure, they pointed their fingers right along with the rest of the town. Sad.

I liked this very much. I am glad you shared it given your thoughts about it not being 'that good'. It is good, Ms. Chloe. Very good.

~True

[Fabian G. Franklin]

This was a cool ghost story, I enjoyed it. Love this line, "Strange how time is nothing when you are a ghost sleeping." Funny, I feel like a ghost sleeping sometimes and time just passing by out there...even though I'm living. I like this twist on The Scarlet Letter...read it many years ago.

[Chloe..Across the Unive..]

I miss True!

[Harley Ann]

i really, really like this. as in, that second really shoud be italicised. ive never read the book, but if these are your thoughts on it, and they were as intriguing as they are, then i guess i better find myself a copy of that book.

this was a beautiful write. i really enjoyed it.

[Pax Analog]

I could see this as an italicized intro to a longer work perhaps revisiting, reanimating, classic characters from world literature. Indeed, I feel a greater poignance arising from this lucid haunting piece: that of neglected literature itself. For all the runaway cleverer-than-thou momentum of communications technology (while the old-world economy breaks down), the great orphan of greatest, deepest, and most enduring subtlety is literature itself. Greater than cinema, song distribution, religion, politics, old and new media, is literature itself.

So your scarlet ghost can wear her stigmatic "A" as a badge of honor. As the highest grade in the class of history. As an imaginary woman who dared to risk all on red-blooded passion in the most repressive times. As a representative of the most haunting ghost of all: the full range of passionate integrity of LITERATURE ITSELF.

"Time Within Time" -- when education used to perhaps mean reading and writing were cherished.

[James Watts]

I liked it. You should delve into prose more often and see what else you can pen. This was an enjoyable read and flowed well. The voice was solid and heard throughout the piece.

[Coyote Poetry]

A very good story. I like stories with ghosts and great history. I like the characters and you weaved a story that was outstanding. Thank you for sharing. I do appreciate reading stories with strength.
Coyote

[Dutch Jr.]

Never read prose from you before... very nicely done. It does have that personal, conversational tone, too. I absolutely love the Scarlett Letter, as well as Young Goodman Brown. Hawthorne was a prolific intellectual writer. He told a touching story with The Scarlet Letter, and you reiterate it extremely well here. Great job.

[amiwritinggirl]

You have an amazing imagination!

[The Analog Kid]

Nice adaptation of The Scarlett Letter. I really liked the voice you created for Hester. Also, it reminds us of how far we've come. Sometimes, I think we came too far. Your story shows redemption.