CHAPTER 1
“Watch out! The dragon is right behind
me! I can feel his breath on my neck. Run for your lives before he destroys us
all.”
Nathan was just a young boy who had not
seen much of the world outside the small town of Fairhaven, and yet, he was
wise beyond his 11 years. He spent a lot of time on his own these days. His
mother was often too busy to pay attention to him. Nathan didn't mind though. He
used his imagination to stay occupied. Right now there was a fire-breathing
dragon lurking at the edge of the woods. If he kept low to the ground, perhaps
he’d be invisible to the monster’s yellow eyes. He hid for what seemed like
forever, until the sky was clear with only a few motionless clouds drifting
above him.
Cautiously, he left his hiding place
and walked along the banks of the Black River. The trees were amber and gold
today, much brighter than they had appeared yesterday. The wind sent a chill
through him. Kicking at the leaves, he picked up a stick that could have easily
passed as an ancient sword of a warrior who walked this same path centuries ago
along the old Black River. Nathan paused to think how the river had been there
since he could remember. He thought of it more as a trusted friend than just
simply a river. No matter what happened, he could always come there and find
the comfort and warmth that was missing at home.
The sun was radiant today. So he
took advantage of it and used his powerful sword to ward off evil and invisible
enemies. He felt strong with the sun shining on his back. It was different from
the night, when everything was colorless and cold. He turned quickly to make
sure no one had followed him with a surprise attack from behind.
Nathan jumped and rolled in the
crisp leaves on the soft ground. What a day! No mere human could make a day
like this, even if they tried. He leaned up against a tree and listened for a
while. The birds were rehearsing a new symphony that would be debuted tomorrow
morning for lucky early risers. They didn't seem to mind him eavesdropping. As
a matter of fact, they seemed to sing even louder now. Nathan closed his eyes
and he could almost hear a piano and a distant flute. His imagination was
perfect today. He paused a little longer, and then, as if something or someone
had called him, he took off running down the edge of the river's bank, skipping
and dragging his sword closely by his side. "Wait, was that the dreaded
dragon hiding behind that tree?" he wondered to himself. Even a dragon
couldn't conquer the magical sword he possessed. He posed himself like a brave
knight about to do battle with his worst enemy.
“This will surely make me famous,” he thought. “Why, I bet there
hasn't been a dragon slain in these parts in hundreds of years.” The dragon was
breathing heavily now. Nathan could see smoke rising from his nostrils. “Be
brave,” he whispered to himself. “You have your sword. Nothing can harm you as
long as you swing it with all your might.” He steadied his hand and placed one
arm behind his back. He ran at the tree with the sword outstretched and leapt
on the other side to greet his opponent with surprise.
The fire-breathing dragon had disappeared. Apparently, too
frightened to stay and fight. But something had been left behind. As Nathan
bent to push some of the leaves away for a better view, he saw what looked like
a human hand. He fell backwards, landing awkwardly on his sword. Could it be?
Should he look again? He was trembling inside and suddenly felt afraid. But his
curiosity was greater than his fear. He stepped closer and bent down again to
search for what he thought he had seen. Yes, there it was, a small pale hand,
like that of a child. He carefully removed more of the leaves until he could
clearly see that it was a child, a boy, with dark hair and smooth skin. The small
body was motionless and cold and his lips were a bluish color. Off in the
distance, he heard someone calling his name.
“Nathan, where are you? Are you playing out there? Nathan, answer
me!”
He quickly covered the body with leaves again and ran toward the
voice. He thought it was the voice of his mother, calling him for dinner, but
as he ran, it grew more faint. “Wait,” he yelled back. “I'm coming.” He ran as
fast as he could. “Please, wait Mom, I'm here,” he gasped, as he continued to
run. Suddenly, he didn't know where he was. The woods had turned dark and
confusing. Yet, he continued to run, listening for the voice in the distance to
guide him.
The voice called him again, "Nathan! I'm here. Nathan, over
here."
He stopped and listened. Was that his mother?
"Nathan, where you going?"
That wasn't his mother's voice, but who was calling him? He decided
to run in the opposite direction, back to where he started. But an old man with
thin white hair appeared right behind him, blocking his escape. His eyes were
bright and open wide. He wore a white shirt and what looked like a wide blue
sash running from shoulder to waist, almost like some kind of angel. His face
seemed strangely hidden.
"Nathan, where you going?" the old man asked in an odd
broken English. "Why you running away?"
Nathan was
too terrified to answer, so he just stood and stared. The old man reached out
to touch Nathan’s hair.
“You young,”
he said softly. “You strong, but you look scared,” the old man said calmly.
Nathan wasn't sure if he was afraid, or just numb. “Who are you?” He
asked in a quivering voice.
“Friend, Nathan,” he answered.
Nathan couldn't believe what he was hearing. “My friend?”
“Yes,” the old man spoke as though he knew him well.
Nathan backed away, “I've got to go home. My mom will be looking for
me.”
“Okay,” said the old man. “I wait for you here, okay? Then we play.”
Nathan turned and ran until he reached home. Too afraid to stop, he
slammed the door and ran past his mother as she stood in the front room.
“Where have you been, Nathan? I can't hold dinner for you forever
you know. I have to be at work at seven tonight.”
He raced up the stairs and slammed the door behind him with his
mother still yelling up to him.
“Nathan, get down here and eat your supper so I can go to work
without feeling guilty that you haven't eaten.”
Nathan lay frozen on his bed. Dare he tell his mother what he had
seen? Would she ever believe him? What if the old man he saw in the woods
killed the young boy he found in the leaves? Maybe he would be next. He should
tell someone.
His mother stormed up the stairs. “Nathan, are you deaf? I said your
supper is getting cold. Why are you lying there like a mummy? Get moving.”
He slowly made his way past his mother, but he didn't utter a sound.
She would never understand. She always said his imagination ran wild. This was
a story he would have to keep to himself. Maybe it was his imagination. After
all, the woods had always been full of games and wonders for him. His
imagination, yeah, that's all it was.
That night in bed he was tired, but he was too afraid to close his
eyes. He stared up at the ceiling counting the cracks that ran through the
paint. The house was old, but it was the only thing his father had left him and
his mother. His father died in an accident on a construction job. He could
still remember his mother crying when he walked into the house from school that
day. He could barely understand her through the sobbing, but he knew his father
had died. Three men from the job site brought the news and they were still
standing in the front room. They had those “we’re-sorry,
but-what-do-we-do-now?” looks on their faces. They stood shifting awkwardly
from one foot to the other until his mother told them it was all right for them
to leave. He remembered his grandmother coming to stay with them that night.
Both his mother and grandmother had cried way into the night, but for some
reason, he couldn't cry. Nathan loved his father, but he still couldn't bring
himself to cry. Maybe it would come later. As he studied the cracks in the
paint, there seemed to be more than before, or was it just that he hadn't
counted them in a long time?
A howling wind woke him at 3:15 in the morning. The window shade was
flapping loudly against the woodwork. As he turned to face the other way, he
thought he caught a glimpse of a face in the window. He turned to look again,
but there was no one there. As he turned over, he heard a child’s voice calling
his name.
“Nathan,” it called softly. “Come play with me.”
Nathan sat up in bed. Did he hear his name?
“Nathan, please come play with me,” the voice called again. “I've
got nobody to play with me. The woods are great at night. The moon is shining
full. Can’t you come out?”
He slipped out of bed and cautiously walked toward the window. He
couldn't see a thing. Was it the wind? Was it his imagination again?
“Nathan,” the child called again. He seemed farther away this time.
Yes, he clearly heard someone calling his name.
Nathan pulled on his coat and slippers and grabbed his flashlight
from a drawer, testing it against the bedroom wall. Climbing carefully out of
the window, he dropped quietly down to the ground and followed the voice toward
the woods. The trees always drew him to the woods in the daytime, but at night
they seemed scary and threatening. Everything seems different at night.
The child's voice was laughing now. “Nathan, I'm over here. Hurry,
up!”
He walked quickly now to catch up to the voice. The wind seemed to
blow him in the direction of the child's constant calling. He found himself at
the river's edge, but he couldn’t see anyone there.
“Little boy,” Nathan called out. “Where are you? Why do you keep
calling me?” There was no answer.
Nathan shined his flashlight toward the water, running the light up and down
the Black River. At night the rocks looked like backs of crocodiles resting in
the water. He stood very still, listening to the sound of the river rushing by
him.
“Nathan!”
He turned his light in the direction of the voice. There he was, a
young boy, maybe Nathan’s age, with dark hair. He stood in the middle of the
river, perched on one of the crocodile backs, or rocks or whatever they were.
Suddenly, the boy started jumping from rock to rock. “Nathan, can
you do this?”
“Of course I can,” he answered, “but it's the middle of the night.”
The child seemed weightless and unafraid of the dangers of the river. “Hey,
what's your name?” Nathan asked.
“Robert,” the child answered.
Then just as quickly as the child had appeared, he was gone. Nathan
stood alone in the night with just his flashlight shining on the rock where
Robert had been standing. “Where'd he go?” Robert was gone with no trace.
The woods were quiet. Nathan backed away, and then walked back
toward home. He kept looking over his shoulder to see if Robert was behind him,
but there was no one there. It was as though he had just vanished. Nathan began
to wonder if he had just imagined him again. What was happening to him? He had
a strong urge to look back once more as he was walking. As he slowly turned
around once again, there, at the edge of the woods, stood an old man with white
hair, waving at Nathan.
“Goodnight,” the strange man said in a low raspy voice. “Goodnight,
Nathan.”
CHAPTER 2
Nathan pushed
the memories of Robert deep inside him and they weren't recalled again.
However, he vividly remembered the dark, rich river that flowed near his home
when he was a boy. He'd often sit in a trance thinking about that place. His
Mother was gone now and he was a grown man. He had become a successful writer,
having left the small quaint town of Fairhaven behind. He had outgrown a lot of
his awkwardness, but not his ever-changing imagination. Inside, he still felt
like the same young boy running along the Black River. Sometimes his writing
would be interrupted by long pauses as his mind wandered back over that period
of time again and again.
For now, he
had decided it was time for a break from his busy life. He was heading back to
Fairhaven for a return visit. He didn't know for sure exactly what was drawing
him back home since his family was all gone now, but there were thousands of
memories in that old town that somehow made him relax and feel at peace with
himself. He decided he would just take some time off, do some fishing, see old
friends again, and see whether there might even be some new stories there worth
writing.
Driving back
home, he stopped along the way to pause at a stream that emptied into the Black
River. It wound its way through the woods, like a snake twists and turns over
everything in its pathway. “Funny,” he thought. “Everything seems to change
except this old river. It seems determined to rush past, no matter what's going
on around it. Nothing can stop it.” Just hearing the rushing sounds of the
water moving over the rocks and fallen tree branches made him feel at home. He
felt as though he could stand and listen with his eyes closed for the remainder
of his time off, but he finally tore himself away and drove on to town. The
river paid no attention.
When he
reached town, he took a room in one of the beautiful bed and breakfasts
available, The Raven Inn, which was run by an old friend of Nathan's mother,
Maggie Sanding, and her daughter, Marcie. It was as beautiful as ever, like an
old friend welcoming him home.
“Nathan,
Nathan, get yourself over here and give me a hug.”
Nathan turned
to see Maggie walking as quickly as she could at her age with arms open wide
and a big grin on her face.
“Maggie, how
are you doing old girl?”
“Well, as
good as a person my age can, I expect,” she said. “Where's your wife?” she
asked, trying to see around behind him.
“My wife?
Maggie, I'm not married. You know that. Don't you think I would have invited
you to my wedding if I were getting married?” Nathan asked looking puzzled.
“Well, I
guess you are going to die single, Nathan. I declare you ought to be married
with nine children all around you by now.”
“Speaking of
married, where's that daughter of yours, Marcie?” Nathan asked anxiously. “I
heard a rumor she took the plunge herself.”
Maggie leaned
closer to Nathan, “Well now, aren't we behind the times. That wedding knot
never did get tied, honey. I reckon at the last minute Marcie panicked. If you
ask me, she's still carrying something warm in her heart for you.”
Nathan looked
down at the ground silently celebrating that Marcie hadn't married after all.
“Where's she living nowadays anyway?”
Maggie
pointed in an upward general direction. “Oh they bought a nice house up on the
ridge there, thinking that's where they would live after the wedding. When they
parted ways, David, that's who she was marrying, David Moore, decided to let
her keep the house. I think he just wanted out as much as she did. It has more
room than she needs, but I think she loves that house so much she just had to
keep it. “Maggie looked past Nathan in the direction of the house up on the
ridge. “I just want her to be happy.” Maggie walked back inside and slowly sat
on the worn, antique couch in the living room. She looked tired, but peaceful.
“I'm sure
she's happy, Maggie,” said Nathan softly. “She's got a lot going for her,
always has. I've always been a little jealous of her myself,” he teased.
“Jealous?
Why, what on earth of?” Maggie asked.
“Well, for
one thing you're the best cook in the state and she gets to eat your cooking
every day,” Nathan laughed. “Speaking of food, when's dinner?”
“Oh, you
always did manage to change the subject to food when you were around me. Get up
to your room and clean up a bit before you eat. Dinner is at six o'clock sharp.
So don't be late.” Maggie started picking up and fluffing the pillows from the
chairs.
“I'll be
there,” said Nathan. He grabbed his bags and headed up the stairs, turning to
watch Maggie shuffle off toward the kitchen. He knew she would prepare
something special tonight.
That night,
after a wonderful dinner, Nathan decided to go for a walk to enjoy the evening
air. As he walked along an old dirt path that wound around the property of the
Raven Inn, he couldn't help staring up at the house where Marcie lived. Did he
really want to see her again after all this time? Deep down inside Nathan knew
that he did, but his head wouldn't allow his heart to even dream about being
with her again. She was so beautiful. He could remember her movements and her
soft dark hair that always hid a little bit of her face. How would it be if
they met again? Would it be like it was back then? Would he still feel at ease
with her like when he was younger? They used to talk forever until her mother
would start calling out her name in the quiet night. Nathan had left her and
this town to pursue an unknown future, not knowing where he would finally end
up. He only knew that it was something he had to do.
He stood in
the dark and thought about the night he said goodbye to her. She sobbed
quietly. The tears streamed down her cheeks as she looked deeply into his eyes.
She seemed to be looking for something that he wasn't telling her. He didn't
even understand at the time why he had to go away; just that he desperately
needed a change.
The world
always seems so much bigger when you're born and raised in a small town like
Fairhaven. It almost calls you away, beckoning you to explore the unknown. At
least, that's what he felt at the time, and so he left. But just as he had
heard something calling him away, he now felt called to return for a while and
he didn't know how he would even begin to explain that to Marcie. Would she
even let him explain? Maybe tomorrow he would see her and it would be like old
times again.
As he turned
to walk back to the house he heard someone walking around in the woods near
him. “Hello,” he called into the darkness. He continued to walk and again he
heard the noise in the woods. It sounded like the cracking of twigs under
someone’s feet. Nathan stood very still and listened, but he didn't hear
anything. “Probably a rabbit,” he thought. But just as he started walking
again, he heard the noise. This time it was going away from him and with quick
steps. Nathan’s curiosity got the best of him, so he walked toward the wooded
area and the footsteps. “Hello, is somebody there?” he shouted. But no answer
came.
It was pitch
black and Nathan couldn't see anything at all, so he decided to just give up
and head back to The Raven. It was too late to be chasing things through the
woods anyway. As he turned to head back, the noise started again, except this
time it seemed to be coming toward him. Nathan kept walking but turned to see
if he could see anything behind him, nothing but complete darkness. However,
the steps seemed faster now and even sounded as if something was running toward
him. He quickened his pace, but the steps sounded closer now and faster. Nathan
could hear heavy breathing now, almost directly behind him. He stopped and
turned to face his mystery stalker, but as he turned, the steps sounded as
though they were right behind him. The steps continued closer and closer until
suddenly, Nathan felt a heavy breath on his face and the steps seemed to run
right through him. He closed his eyes, shocked that it just ran past him, through
him or around him. He wasn't sure. His head bounced back and then forward as
though something had actually passed through him. Then, it was gone. Nathan was
gripped with overwhelming fear, making it impossible for him to move. He just
stood still while the steps and the panting breath rushed by him. And then it
was quiet again.
Nathan opened
his eyes, but there was nothing to see. Only darkness surrounded him in the
woods. Finally, he got the courage to look around him, but again, there was
nothing there. Nathan backed out of the woods and out into the open. There was
nothing as far as he could see. “Was it an animal just running scared? It must
have been,” he reassured himself. “What else could it be?”
Nathan made
his way back to his room still shaken. As he crawled back into his bed and
closed his eyes he thought, “This is great. You get scared the first night back
by some animal in the woods.” As he dismissed the whole thing and tried to put
it out of his mind, he started to drift off to sleep. There was something very
strange, but at the same time, very familiar about what had happened to him
tonight. He didn't understand it, and he was too tired to try to figure it out
now. He reached for the light by his bed and turned it off. Everything felt
familiar to him here.
CHAPTER 3
The next
morning Maggie treated Nathan to a big country breakfast like he hadn't tasted
since he left home. It was a beautiful day and he was eager to go check out the
town and see what changes had taken place.
“Maggie, that
was the best meal I've had in ages. You’re still the best cook around,” he
bragged loudly.
“Oh, hush.
It's been so long since you had a good home-cooked meal you're just bound to
compliment my cooking,” Maggie said in a modest tone.
“Well, I
still know a good meal when I eat one. Sorry to eat and run,” he said standing
up from the table. “But, I really want to go exploring today.”
“Not too much
has changed around here since you left us. Maybe a new store or two and a few
different folks living here, but not much else.”
“Well, I
still want to see—” Nathan was interrupted by a call from the hallway.
“Mom, could
you please give me a hand? I've brought you some things from the store and I
need some help carrying them in,” a familiar voice called from out front.
Just then
Nathan looked up to see Marcie standing in the doorway. At first they just
stared at one another without saying a word.
“I'm a little
tied up, but I'm sure Nathan here will be glad to give you a hand with the
things. Right Nathan?” Maggie teased, as she waited for Marcie's reaction.
“Nathan, it's
you. I can't believe it,” Marcie said looking shocked. “When did you get into
town?”
“Yesterday.
You look absolutely, good. I mean, great. You look great.” Again there was
silence.
“Of course,
if you’re not going to help her I could carry in the things myself, even though
I'm just an old woman with small, thin arms,” Maggie said in an amused tone.
“No, no I've
got it,” Nathan replied, his eyes still fixed on Marcie.
“This way,”
Marcie said pointing to the car outside, never taking her eyes off of him.
They both
walked outside without speaking, totally unprepared for this moment.
“Well, I hear
you almost got married.” Nathan didn't know how to even begin a conversation
with Marcie. Already, he wished he hadn't mentioned her failed attempt to
marry.
“Yeah,
almost. I guess it was for the best that it didn't work out though. He was a
busy man, always on the go. He didn't really know anything else except his
work.” Marcie paused. “Well, look at me. We see each other after all these
years and within moments I'm sharing my personal life with you.”
“Sorry, I
didn't mean to pry. I was just trying to think of something to say to you after
all this time. I picked the wrong subject.”
“Never mind,
it's all right. It was over before it started. I think Mom's glad it never
happened. She never cared for him much. Maybe she was right. Maybe it's best
that the marriage didn't work out.” Marcie looked down at the ground and Nathan
could see that it was a hard subject for her to discuss.
“Come on,
let's get these things in the house before Maggie comes out here and starts
carrying them in herself.” Nathan grabbed the bags and started toward the
house.
Marcie
lingered at the car a few moments to collect herself. Then she grabbed the last
couple of bags and followed him inside.
“Nathan was
just about to go into town, Marcie,” Maggie said, as she began browsing through
the bags. “Why don't you go along and show him the changes around here?”
“Oh, where
are you off to?” Marcie asked.
“I just
wanted to take a drive around the town and maybe drop in and say hello to a few
folks. But if you're busy—”
“Well, I was
going to help Mom put these things away.” Marcie started to quickly go through
the bags and sort out everything.
“I've got
this darlin’,” Maggie said, grabbing the things out of her hands. “You two run
along. I can handle it from here.”
“Oh, all
right then.” Marcie picked up her purse. “Well, ready then?”
Nathan and
Marcie drove into town with only polite conversation between them. It was
really awkward being together after all these years with nothing to say to each
other.
“Any
particular place you wanted to go?” Marcie asked.
“How about a
walk through the park?” Nathan suggested. “It's a beautiful day and I used to
love going there as a kid.”
Walking along
the brick-paved paths in the park brought back a lot of memories for Nathan,
the smells, the sounds and the gorgeous gardens. He wanted very much to get to
know Marcie again. Why did it have to be so hard? “Uh, let's sit for a while,”
suggested Nathan.
Walking over
to a nearby bench, they took a seat underneath an old maple tree. Marcie looked
the same, just as Nathan had remembered her, with her hair hiding parts of her
lovely face and a smile that always put him at ease.
“Marcie,”
Nathan began.
“Nathan,
please. You don't owe me an explanation. You did what you felt you had to do. I
don't have any ill feelings about us, if that's what you're worried about. You
did what you thought you had to do at the time and that's it. Maybe it was the
right thing to happen for both of us. Anyway, look at you, a writer. Do you
think that would have ever come about if we had gotten married and tried to
raise a family? Would you have just gotten a job, any job, just to make ends
meet? Your writing would have never taken off.” Marcie softly touched Nathan’s
shoulder and smiled, “But I do hope we can be friends again.”
Nathan didn't
know what to feel at this point. He couldn't think of how to respond to her
right now. His world was turned upside down. Just looking at her took his
breath away, but he tried hard to disguise his true feelings.
“We can
always be friends, Marcie. I've known you since I was a boy. You and your
mother are like family to me.” Nathan gave a quick smile and looked away.
“Family,” he thought. He knew it was much more than a family feeling that made
his heart beat twice as fast each time they looked at each other. Maybe it was
best left alone. What if she was right? Nathan loved writing and he also liked
his life right now. Was there room in his life for anyone else?
They just sat
for a while saying nothing, stealing looks without the other noticing and then
staring down at their feet. “This visit was a big mistake,” Nathan thought.
Marcie took
Nathan around the town of Fairhaven and pointed out some of the changes that
had taken place. Old favorite stores had gone out of business and had been
replaced by more modern buildings. Some of the familiar faces were still
around, but working in different occupations now. Little by little Nathan
placed the names and faces together in his mind, drawing on his past memories.
Sometimes his memory failed him, but he still smiled as though he had known
them for years. He probably had, but he somehow misplaced more information than
he could remember. It was almost like he was coming out of amnesia. Different
faces jogged memory after memory, like various short frames of film running
through his mind, until he was able to find their proper place in his boyhood.
“What about
Mark?” Nathan asked. “I know he's bound to be still kicking around here
someplace. What's he doing nowadays?”
“You won't
believe this, but he's the sheriff now.” Marcie watched as Nathan's face
drained of color.
“Sheriff? He
stayed in more trouble with the police than anybody else in this town!” Nathan
laughed out loud. “This I've got to see. Where is he now?”
“Probably in
Jordan's Diner having lunch this time of day.”
“Jordan's,
man it's been ages since I was inside that place. You want to go and grab
something to eat? If I remember correctly, they had the best hamburgers I ever
tasted. Even since I moved away I haven't tasted any better.”
“You go
ahead,” Marcie replied. “I can't spend all day parading you around town. I have
to go and help Mom. We're running an inn you know. I'll catch up to you later.”
Marcie pointed the way to Jordan's for Nathan.
“Maybe we can
have dinner.” Nathan said as Marcie was walking away.
“I've got to
help Mom serve the evening meal.”
“That's
right, I forget you're a working girl. Tell Maggie to hold my table for dinner
tonight.”
Marcie
smiled, “Maybe we'll have dessert together.” She waved goodbye and headed back
to The Raven.
Nathan stood
for a moment and watched her walk away wondering how or if Marcie would ever
allow him back in her life again. He only knew one thing for sure. He had never
stopped loving her.
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