A Captivating Woman

 Here's a story from the paranormal for you.

     While spending the Summer with her aunt, a young English woman made the habit of going for an afternoon walk and stopping at a particular cafe for her tea. It was a quaint room filled with simple chairs and tables with white linen cloths, as one would expect. The walls were lined with shelves that held all sorts of bric-a-brac, again, as one might expect in such a place. This was a popular place with the villagers and so one might see just about anybody from bankers to nannies or ladies maids with the mid-week afternoon off.The oftener the young woman visited, the more familiar the faces of the other patrons became even though she had no idea who the people were.

     There was one woman who always sat in the corner near the window. She always read a newspaper and spoke to no one Even though the young woman thought she was quite beautiful, no one else in the place seemed to notice her. Not even the servers ever approached her or brought anything to her table. The woman was left quite on her own. The young woman thought this very odd and became curious. One day as the woman left, she smiled at the young woman as she passed her table. The young woman said good afternoon, but there was no reply.

     The following week, the young woman decided to follow the woman to see where she went when she left the cafe. Once again, the woman smiled at the young woman as she passed, but didn't speak. The young woman waited for a count of ten and then left to follow this mysterious woman.

     She spotted the woman heading north out of the village and hurried to catch up to her, but at a distance. The woman seemed to realize she was being followed and slowed her pace so the young woman could keep up. When they reached a ridge overlooking the town the woman sat down on a bench that was there. She extended a hand for the young woman to sit with her.

   From a vantage of several yards away, a young man who was smitten with the young woman looked on. Even though it was a very picturesque spot, he wondered why the two women had walked so far from the village.

     The young woman in the meantime had read the inscription on the large monument stone in front of their bench. It was inscribed with her name, but wind and rain had apparently erased anything else that might have been written on it. A single tear trailed down her cheek. The other woman then spoke. "It's time, you know." The young woman nodded in agreement.

   As the hopeful suitor watched on, the two women suddenly disappeared in a mist. Just as suddenly, the young man sat up in his bed.