You were soaked by the time you got to the porch. It was covered but that didn't make much difference as the wind was driving the rain onto it. "Where did this damn storm come from?" you asked yourself as you looked for the doorbell. You spot an old style bell pull and with no other option you pull it a few times. As you stand there waiting you mutter, "It was suppose to be clear for the next two days."
Suddenly the door opened just as lighting flashed causing you to leap back in fright. Once your heart stopped trying to escape your chest you noticed the woman standing at the door. She had long curly red hair and green eyes. She was wearing an old fashioned dress and she looked to be around your own age of thirty-six. She was carrying a lantern and you could see that there were no lights on inside the house. "Oh my you're soaked," the woman said. "Come in out of the rain before you catch your death."
"Thank you," you said stepping inside. "Do you have a phone I could use?"
"I'm afraid the storm has knocked out the phone as well as the power," the woman said. "Oh where are my manners? I'm Madam Morphia."
"I'm Rick Plunkett," you said with a smile. You sighed and continued, "My car broke down and I was hoping to use your phone to let people know I'm ok. But I can't do that with this storm. It's funny how it just suddenly came up."
"It happens at times," Madam Morphia said. "I don't see the storm blowing over anytime before tomorrow. You'll have to stay here tonight."
"I couldn't impose," you said with a smile. "I'll just go back to my car and wait there. Hopefully I'll be able get a signal during a lull in the storm and let people know what happened."
"Nonsense," Madam Morphia said sternly. "I insist that you stay. You'll have a nice warm bed instead of a car seat and cold wet clothes. We have plenty of room and I would feel awful if something happened to you on your way back to your car."
You looked back out into the storm and suddenly had a vision of a tree falling on your car killing you. That wasn't a happy thought and you had to admit that you didn't want to spend the night in wet clothes. Looking back at Madam Morphia you smiled and said, "Thank you for the offer. It's very generous of you."
"Think nothing of it," Madam Morphia said waving it off. "I like to help people when I can."
A girl of about thirteen came through a door also carrying a lantern. By it's light you could see that she had red curly hair and green eyes. She was wearing an old fashioned dress like Madam Morphia. "Everyone has finished dinner Mother," the girl said.
"Ah good you're here," Madam Morphia said. "I need to introduce you to a new guest. This is Rick Plunkett. Rick, this is my daughter Mary. Mary, take Rick up to the yellow room. I'll have some dinner and clothes sent up for him."
"Yes Mother," Mary said curtsying. Turning to you she said, "Follow me please and stay close. It's easy to get lost if you don't know your way."
You followed Mary up two flights of stairs and down several corridors. With all the twists and turns you could see that it would be easy to get lost. Finally Mary stopped outside a room and opened the door. She lit a few candles around the room and some in the bathroom. "I'm afraid that you won't be able to take a bath with the power out," she said. "You'll only be able to flush the toilet once also so don't until you need to."
"Alright," you said with a smile.
"I'll be leaving now so you can get out of your wet clothes," Mary said looking down. "Use the bathroom to do that and by the time you come out some dry clothes and food should be here. I'll come get you for breakfast in the morning."
"Thank you," you said. "Tell your mother that I'm grateful for her hospitality."
"I will," Mary said before leaving the room.
You went into the bathroom shutting the door and started to strip. It was so much better having your wet clothes off and finding a towel you dry yourself off. Wrapping it around your waist you head back out into the bedroom. There you saw a pile of folded clothes on the bed and a tray of food on a desk. Figuring you should eat first you went over and sat at the desk. Lifting the cover you find that it's spaghetti and meatballs with garlic bread and a small salad. There was a glass of water to drink. You quickly dug in and soon you had finished. Wiping your mouth on the napkin you got up and went over to the bed to see what clothes Madam Morphia had brought up for you. To you're surprise there were only two pieces. Picking them up you saw that they were a pair of panties and an old fashioned nightgown. "Am I suppose to wear these?" you asked yourself. "They don't look like they'd even fit me." Looking around you don't see any way of calling someone to tell them of the mistake. Looking back at them you try to decide if you should just sleep naked or put the clothes on.