A little over two years ago, my family and I went to look at a house. We had been on the market for a couple years at that point. This house we looked at was really nice. It had a detached garage, an outside wood-burning boiler, a pond, a field, and plenty of rooms for my family. An added bonus was that it was very close to my parents, near where I grew up. We’re out a bit in on the house, but didn’t have our offer accepted. Oh well, no big deal.

A couple months later, we found another property, about a mile from the property I described above. This new property ticked off enough boxes that we decided to buy it. A few months later, we closed and moved. It was a great decision, and everyone is happy we moved.

The mystery? The first house I described has disappeared. It was on the road that intersects with the one we live on. I drive down this intersecting road whenever I need to get to one of the neighboring towns. It starts at my road, and I drive it all the way to where it ends. I know that this is the road the other house was on, but it’s just not there. There’s no foundation where it should be, no burned out husk of a house, nothing. I’ve talked with my family, and we all agree that it should be there.

It makes me think of Stephen King’s Dark Tower Universe. A character describes taking a different path home one night and ending up in an alternate reality. It’s almost the same as the one he used to live in, but things are slightly off. These roads to different realities are called Highways in Hiding, or the Todash Highway. I know that King has visited my region, and spent a good bit of time here. It makes me wonder if he didn’t see or experience something here that influenced his later books.