Franklin Church

A spirit inhabits Heather in order to have a child since hers passed away with her.

       It was a warm fall day as the line of cars snaked along the country highway.  They turned, one by one, down Franklin Church Road.  The cars rose and fell with the gentle hills, passing under the many red, orange and brown colored trees.  Lisa watched the scenery pass by, wondering just how far the church was.  They’d already been driving for twenty minutes before they even turned down Franklin Church Road.  It felt like another long twenty minutes before her friend Amber parked in the gravel parking lot with the other cars in the funeral procession.

      There was a brief ceremony graveside for the young Helena and her son Peace.  Lisa and Amber trotted the soft ground to the graveyard behind the old church to join the other mourners.  Paul, Jason, John and Liam were the pallbears.  They carried the casket from the hearse to the freshly dug grave.  Lisa watched as they set it down under the tent and stepped back.

     The Pastor, Steve Franklin, began the service. “We are gathered here today to celebrate the life of young Helena and her son Peace, whose lives were cut tragically short.  Though she will never see her son grow into an adult, Helena will not be forgotten.”

     As Pastor Steve continued to quote the bible and reassure her family, Lisa found herself wishing that he’d address the truth.  And the truth was that a drunk driver had run a stop sign in town at an estimated 55 miles an hour in 35 mile an hour zone.  He plowed right over the top the car Helena was driving, crushing her death.  Though the paramedics arrived on the scene fairly quickly, it took a great deal of time to use the jaws of life to pry her out.  By the time they yanked her lifeless body from the mangled wreckage not only was Helena dead, but so was her unborn son. 

     Lisa had met Liam and Helena nearly a year ago. Helena had dropped out of school and gotten married the day she turned 18 years old.  Liam rented a trailer on the edge of town. It wasn’t much, but they were in the process of trying to fix it up and make it home.  A few months after they were married, Helena had become pregnant.  Liam had a daughter from a previous relationship already, but was very excited to see their new family growing. 

     Amber was unusual in that she was the only female welder in the area.  She worked at a body shop in Jefferson, which is where she met Liam.  Liam had chatted her up and made friends with her.  Soon after, he invited Amber and Lisa to their trailer for dinner.  Amber had accepted and drug Lisa along on this couple’s dinner, albeit reluctantly.  Lisa didn’t think she’d have anything in common with Amber’s new friends.  She was pagan and they were Christian. Not to mention the fact that Lisa didn’t share her girlfriend’s interest in cars or welding, so didn’t think she’d have much to talk about with Liam. 

    Surprisingly, Helena welcomed her into their home warmly.  She was eager to play hostess and shared her love children and animals while they were there.  Her cat had just had kittens and she had to show them off. Then Helena talked insensately about her cousins that she often watched.  Despite their differences, Lisa couldn’t help but like Helena.  Liam and Amber talked about work, cars and welding while Lisa and Helena got to know each other.

     Over the summer Amber and Liam drug Lisa and Helena to various car shows and races.  When Amber bought a motorcycle, they set up rides together with Liam and Helena.  After Helena found out she was pregnant, Lisa and Amber saw less and less of her.  They visited her once at her Mom’s house and observed her growing belly, but they were not really apart her life. 

     Then Amber called Lisa from work one day to give her the sad news.  A drunk driver had hit and killed Helena. Liam had left work to deal with devastating event and Amber even felt a little shaken. It just didn’t seem real.  After all, Helena was only 18 years old. She had her whole life ahead of her. And the child inside her would never draw his first breath; never get a chance to even be born. It was all so shocking and so utterly unfair.

     Lisa reached for Amber’s hand as she fought the tears.  Though she was not close to Helena, her heart ached all the same.  Tears slid down her cheeks as Helena’s mother and sisters began sobbing and holding each other. 

 

     About a month later Rob and Heather arrived at Franklin Church. It was a cold, dark November night and they were seeking shelter.  Rob was a drifter and gypsy of sorts, while Heather was the daughter of a prominent Franklin Church family.  They’d met at a party just a few weeks before and hooked up the very same night.  Since then, they were having fun sneaking around and seeing each other whenever they good. Heather’s family only met Rob once, but they took a disliking to him immediately.  He didn’t have a home and was nothing but trouble Heather’s father had pointed out.  But Heather liked that about him.

     Heather was just 21 years old and in the middle of a bitter, messy divorce.  She fell in love with Doug in High School. He was a football player with a future career at the local Ford Motors Plant. He was set to follow in his father’s footsteps and make descent money.  Heather and Doug married when they were just 19 years old.  Everything was falling into place and looked to be set up for a lifetime of happiness.

     But then Doug cheated on her with Tiffany, the head cheer leader at Franklin High.  She’d been blind to the fact that Doug and Tiffany had been an item since Senior year and continued to see each other in secret whenever they could. Only, it was such a secret. Eventually everyone in Franklin High knew Doug and Tiffany were an item except for her.  When she caught them having sex in his old room at his parent’s house one afternoon, she could no longer deny what was common knowledge to everyone else.

     Heather fled Doug’s parent’s house and drove along the country roads in tears for hours.  When she finally arrived back at her parents house, she told them what had happened and asked if she could move back home.  Her mother, Deb, embraced her and told her of course she could move back home. 

     Though her parents tried to get her to work things out with Doug, she insisted on filing for divorce.  Reluctantly, her father contacted his lawyer and set the divorce in motion.  It was only a couple weeks after moving back home that her friend Shari invited her to the party where she met Rob.

     What she didn’t tell Rob though, was that Doug had called her and begged for forgiveness recently.  In a moment of weakness, she met him at The Hub, a local bar and grill.  After a few free drinks from the bartender who just happened to be Rob’s best friend’s older brother, Heather found herself making out with Doug. One think led to another and they had sex in the cramped cab of his Ford F150.  He drove her home afterward, promising to call the next day.

     When Heather awoke the next morning with a hangover, she immediately regretted sleeping with her ex.  What the hell was she thinking? This was the man who’d made her the laughing stock of Franklin High, hell all of Franklin Church, wasn’t someone she wanted to be with.  So what did Heather do? She went out and looked for someone to seduce, someone she could get back at Doug with.  She dressed up and went out with Shari to a club in a nearby city. There she met and had sex with Doug’s brother Dave. 

     She had nearly forgotten about Rob and their quasi-relationship until he showed up her door a few days later with a bag of weed and a need for some loving.  She grabbed her coat and the drove awhile. She wasn’t sure what led her to the church.  It was just first place she saw that she knew they could go and be alone together. 

     The parked in the lot and got out.  The sky was overcast and the temperature dropping. The kissed inside the car and outside the car a bit before Rob suggested they go inside. They tried the doors and they were unlocked.  Together, they strolled into the church and sat down in the old wooden pews.  Heather looked around as Rob rolled a joint.  The church had been built in the late 1800s and had become the reason the tiny town was founded. The farmers and local merchants decided to build a church. Then soon the church became the center of all local activities. 

     Heather sighed remembering her marriage to Doug in the very same church.  She could almost see all her friends and family sitting the pews watching her as she walked down the aisle. She was so filled with love and hope that day. Now all she felt was anger, anger at her family for encouraging her to be with Doug despite his reputation.  Anger at herself for being so blind. But most of all anger at Doug for shattering her dream.  She was young and divorced and childless. What had she accomplished? What she had done with her life? She was the exact same person she was when graduated, only older.  Three years wasted. 

     Rob lit up the joint and inhaled deeply.  He held it out to her as he held in his breath.  She drew on the joint, sucking as much as she could into her lungs. She hoped and prayed that it would quiet the demon that was awaking in her.  But it didn’t.  That angry energy caught the attention of a restless spirit.  Helena heard Heather’s silent screams and knew that she could take possession of her body and express herself at long last. 

    The second time that Heather took a hit from the joint she inhaled the spirit of Helena and the grief and rage could no longer be contained.  Heather jumped up let out a primal scream.  “I was married here!” she cried tearing a book from the back of the pew. She began ripping pages from hymnal.  “And I’ll probably die here!” 

     Rob watched her as she ran up to the front and began knocking over chairs and just totally trashing the placed.  Feeling like her rampage was giving permission to get in touch with his own rage, Rob joined in the destruction.  By the time they’d finished it looked like a tornado had blown threw.  Rob looked at their handy work and suddenly felt a wave of panic.  What if someone came to the church tomorrow and saw? Could they possibly pin it on Heather and him?  They couldn’t stay in town after what they’d done. Not that he wanted to stay in town anyway.  This could be the perfect opportunity to split.

      He suggested that they steal some money and leave town that night.  Heather agreed.  As Rob wandered through the church, looking for the office, Heather found a can of spray paint that some teens had left behind during a craft festival.  She spray painted on the wall. “I am dead.”  Beneath that she sprayed, “You are dead.” And lastly, on another wall, she scrawled, “God is dead.”  Heather didn’t know why she sprayed that message, but Helena did.  Helena was trying to communicate to the world that she was gone, as was her son.  And as for eternal peace? Well, she was yet to find any.  In her grief and despair, she found herself cursed to haunt the church, though she didn’t know why.  All she knew was that God seemed nowhere to be found, not even in church.  How would Helena ever be reunited with her son if there was no God and no heaven?  That is why she had the urge to be human again, to find her son. 

     When Rob returned, Helena seized the chance to find a way to her son.  She suggested that she and Rob make love.  Rob looked around at the decimated church and sighed.  Heather suggested they go out into the graveyard and Rob liked the macabre idea.  So, they walked out the back door and wandered among the headstone.  In front of Helena and Peace’s grave site, Heather sank to the ground. She pulled Rob down on top of her. 

     It didn’t take long for Rob to pull down her pants and his pants and find his way inside of her.  They rocked rhythmically in the cold night under the full moon, which glowed brightly down upon them.  Rob shivered and shuttered and then came inside of Heather, who was still possessed by Helena.  Helena’s spirit moaned and lay still afterward, wondering if they conceived that night as she desired.  Rob rolled off of her and pulled up his pants.  He drew in a deep breath and suggested that they get a move on. 

    That night Heather drove them back to her parent’s house, where she gathered a suitcase full of her belongings and met Rob back out in the barn.  From the phone inside the barn they made a couple of calls and then took off in Heather’s car for Kentucky.  They drove most of the night, stopping only for a couple of hours at a rest stop to sleep inside the car. 

    Morning came and they pulled into the parking lot of a Denny’s to eat.  Heather didn’t want to eat there, but Rob did.  They began bickering through breakfast.  By the time they’d finished their meal, Heather had had it with Rob.  She decided that she didn’t want to leave Ohio and Franklin Church after all.  She desire what Helena did, to find Liam, get married and have a baby.  She didn’t want to live a life on the run. And she didn’t want a life with Rob. 

    Angrily, Rob said fine and took his money and left.  He walked until he found a bus station and then took the bus down into Kentucky.  Heather sat in Denny’s unsure of her next move.  After sitting alone and silent in her booth all day, one of the waitresses directed her cop boyfriend over to Heather.  Officer Mike Gentry sat down beside her and asked her what was wrong and if he could do anything to help.  Heather burst into tears and spilled the whole story. Gentry comforted her and then took her to the station.  There he called her parents and alerted the police in Greenville that a wanted fugitive was on the loose. 

    By the end of the day Rob had been picked up and brought back to Ohio. He was thrown in jail.  Heather was picked up by her parents and given a court date to decide her fate.  The court date was set for three weeks from that day.  When the court date arrived, Heather attended a conference with her parents, her lawyer and the judge as well as Pastor Steve Franklin. Heather claimed it was all Rob’s idea and she just went along with it.  On top of all this, she was pregnant.  Helena had gotten her wish and Heather wasn’t all that upset about her pregnancy either.  Pastor Steve agreed to let her do community service as punishment and was okay with keeping her out of jail.

    No one came to bail Rob out of jail and so he sat and waited the three weeks until he was tried.  He was tried later that day, separately from Heather. The attorney he had was appointed to him by the state and managed to get him sent to a halfway house halfway between where he was apprehended and Franklin Church.  He found out about Heather’s pregnancy in court, but was unable to talk to her about it.  The lawyer for Heather and her family spoke to him briefly, letting him know that when he got out of the halfway house he was, in no uncertain terms, allowed to contact Heather or her child.  If he did, then he’d be thrown back in jail for violating his restraining order. 

     Feeling sad and defeated, Rob was carted off by bus to his new home.  Heather, meanwhile, began her search for Liam.  While pregnant, she secured a job at KFC. Her parents insisted she learn some responsibility.  It was there that Liam found her.  Though Heather had had no luck leafing through the telephone book and yearbook, she recognized him when he walked through the door.  She took his order and flirted shamelessly with him.  He thought she was cute and asked her out when she handed him his bucket of chicken and sides of beans and a macaroni and cheese.  Heather accepted and they agreed to go see a movie on her next day off, which was Thursday. 

     The relationship blossomed quickly.  Even when she told Liam that she was already pregnant that didn’t scare him off.  He was happy to be there for her, to experience what he did with Helena before and guide her through the process.  He went to doctor’s appointments with her and helped her think of names.  They decided on Damien Liddell Robinson, or, if they got married Damien Liddell Dodgeson. 

     The day that little Damien was born, Rob was busy escaping the halfway house.  He cased the joint, made his observations and formed a plan.  It was midnight when he picked a lock and snuck outside. Then he hopped the fence in the back and disappeared into the night.  He slept on the street that night and pawned some items the next morning. Using the cash he’d made, he bought a bus ticket to Barberton and left. 

      For several weeks he lived by his wits on the street, spending equal time in the library and Denny’s.  Eventually he got hired in at the Denny’s he hung out at and was able to piece together a new life for himself.  About two months after his daring prison break, he met Lisa Ann Proust. Lisa came in with a group of friends after a concert one night.  Rob struck up a conversation with her and the two quickly became friends.

     Lisa felt drawn to Rob, though she wasn’t sure why. She returned to Denny’s several times just to see him.  They talked for hours in person and then hours more on the phone.  Once he revealed that he was sleeping at a shelter, Lisa was quick to invite him to move in with and her girlfriend Amber.  Thus began one of the most interesting chapters of their lives. 

     During the course of many conversations, Rob told Lisa about what had happened at Franklin Church, saying that it was as if Heather had been possessed.  Lisa leaped up in excitement and asked if perhaps she had been possessed.  She’d been to that very same church before and had some mega-weird vibes while there.  Lisa decided to research Franklin Church in the hopes of finding a spell they could use to find out what happened.  Lisa, after all, was a witch. 

     Rob had never messed with magic much before, but Lisa had taught him a few simple spells and they talked about nature and the goddess together frequently. Though raised Christian, Rob had never felt much attachment to his religion.  For awhile he thought of himself as an atheist, but once he discovered Wicca, he realized it was what he’d believed all along.  So, Rob liked the idea of using magic to dig into his past, but for some reason, he was reluctant to return to Franklin Church with Lisa. He was afraid he’d be caught again or something, but Lisa assured him that wasn’t likely. She thought no one would think he’d dare return, which is exactly why he could and should return she argued. 

 

     It was a beautiful spring day when they drove over to Franklin Church.  The air smelled of flowers and freshly cut grass.  Bees buzzed and birds chirped. It felt like perfect day outside as they turned onto the old road.  They came in from the back and followed the winding road past several farms with broken down tractors in the fields.  Then the woods swallowed them up and they coasted down into valley.  Lisa stopped at a bridge to look at the gorgeous slate cliffs surrounding the creek that meandered underneath them. 

     There was definitely ancient energy stirring Lisa told Rob as they breathed in the fresh air and listened to the water babble over the rocks.  She closed her eyes and concentrated for awhile before saying that it was most mystical indeed.  When Rob asked if it was a good or evil energy, Lisa told him it was neither.  It was simply a place where the veil between worlds was thin.  Rather it was good or evil depended upon the person experiencing the energy or channeling it. 

      The hopped back in the car and continued following the road around several curves and then out into some low-lying fields.  The road continued up a ridge and around until they came upon the church at long last.  The last rays of the day were spreading across the pastures nearby.  Lisa suggested they park and watch the church for awhile until they were sure no one was around.

     Rob told her that they probably kept the doors locked after his escapade last fall.  She didn’t think that would be a problem though.  She assured him that they would find an alternate way in or just do the spell in the graveyard, where his son was conceived.  Slowly the darkness crept in and the light had completely faded from the day.  Lisa suggested they get out and walk, leaving the car parked on the side of the road instead of in the actual church parking lot. Rob agreed as he got out of the car.  The walked silently to the front of the church and found the doors locked. 

     Lisa led him around the edge of the church and to the back door. It too was locked, but Lisa wasn’t going to give up.  She suggested trying the basement window over on the other side of the tree.  Rob walked over to it, bent down and pushed on the ancient window.  It creaked open far enough for them to squeeze through.  Rob slithered and wriggled his way down feet first.  He let go and dropped a couple of feet to ground and then helped Lisa in as well. 

     When they were both inside, they took a look around.  Rob pulled out his flashlight and flooded the darkness with his single beam.  It illuminated a musty smelling storage room that Rob had not noticed last time he’d visited.  Shovels, planters and rusted tools were among the items that looked like they’d long since been forgotten over the years.

     They stepped forward and Lisa came face to face with a string dangling down in front of her eyes. She reached up and yanked it.  The bare light bulb flickered on.  It was not much more light than the flashlight, but it showed them a door in front of them and a trap door above them.  Reasoning it would be easier or more interesting to explore the cellar further, they chose to push open the wooden door.  Behind it was a set of steps leading further down into the ground.

    Rob led the way down the steps and into what looked to be a crypt.  There was no light switch inside, so his flashlight had to suffice.  As he flashed the light up, down, left and right, he saw hollowed out niches along the walls that held stone boxes.  Lisa looked at Rob with a wicked smile.  She knew that there was something all too-gothic about the place.  She took off her back pack and unzipped it.  She took out her black candles and lit them with her lighter.  Then she drew a pentagram in the dirt with her dagger and stepped inside of it. Rob stepped inside too when he remembered it was for protection not cursing.  Defunctos ploro, vivos voco, fulmina frango Lisa repeated several times. Haec tibi scribo sperans venire ad te cit. dixitque Dominus facies mea praecedet te et requiem dabo tib. Defunctos ploro, vivos voco, fulmina frango.

     There was a sudden chill in the air and gust of wind. The candles guttered, went out and then relit as if by magic.  From the darkest shadows a ghostly figure appeared before.  She cast her glance at those who dared disturb her and asked what they wanted. 

     “To know if your spirit or another spirit has entered the body of Heather Robinson.”

     “Tis not my spirit, but yes, my child Helena has entered the body of Heather and escaped this place.”

      “Who are you?” Lisa asked. 

      “I am Rowena Robinson, the first lady of Franklin Church. I came here from Sweden in the 1700s and settled with my family.  A slave woman by the name Chloe cursed me and my whole family.  My father killed her father and she was hurt and angry.”

      “I thought Ohio was part of the Underground Railroad and was against slavery,” Rob replied.

      “That came much later,” Rowena yawned. “But enough history. What is it you summoned me for?”

       “We wish to free Heather from the spirit that dwells within,” Rob said.

       “I suppose I could summon Helena back.”

       “Helena. Helena. Was it Helena Harbinger? The young woman who was killed by a drunk driver last year.”

       “I know not how they arrive here; only that certain spirits remain bound to the earth as I am.  We are each other’s only company and frankly, most of them are complete bores, going on and on about how much they miss their lives,” Rowena explained.  “Their lives are over. They are dead. End of story.”

       “But Helena found a way to continue her life didn’t she?” Rob asked.

       “Yes. The night you two fornicated and frolicked above us here she was summoned. It was her chance to bear a child to make up for the one she lost.”

       “Yes, Helena was pregnant with her son when she was killed. So she wanted another child and she used Rob here to do it?” Lisa wanted to know.

       “More or less.”

       “Does Heather know that Helena is with her?” Rob asked.

       “No, nor will she ever most likely. Once Helena is made to leave, Heather will only have a vague memory of the past year or so.  She will not know why she acted as she did. Her motivations will feel strange to her and it will be as if she has awoken from a deep sleep.”

      “Then lets get he to leave,” Rob urged.

      “Her child may be the reincarnation of her unborn son and that bond will not be easy to break. She may not want to leave.”

     “Will it harm her son if Helena leaves Heather?”

     “Most likely not�"physically anyway.  He may notice a difference in personality or feel detached from Heather,” Rowena replied.

      “Have you ever possessed anyone?” Rob asked curiously.

      “Yes, I possessed a young girl named Emily around 1900 or so, when this church was built. She was the pastor’s daughter.  But the priest soon realized that she was possessed and had me cast out and confined to this crypt,” Rowena replied.

      “Was the crypt here before the church?” Lisa wanted to know.

      “Yes, indeed.”

       “That explains a great deal I think,” Lisa replied.  “So how do we go about getting Helena back here?”

        “You will need go to her grave outside and perform the same spell you summoned me with.  I will call her from the other side as well.  Hopefully she won’t be strong enough to resist,” Rowena replied. 

         “And how do we get out to the graveyard?” Lisa asked. 

         Rowena pointed to a long hallway and said, “Beyond that turn lays a hidden trap door that will open beneath a shed in the back of the church.  You can get out through there. Or you may go back the way you came. Either one.  Now, I am going back to sleep. Good night,” she said as she drifted back into the shadows and disappeared.

       Lisa and Rob looked at each other and then Lisa collected her things. She shoved the back into her pack and they felt their way along the dark passage. After the turn it sloped upward and then they came to a dead end at a rickety old wooden ladder. Rob climbed first and pushed open the trap door when he reached it.  It took some banging and a lot of grunting and pushing to get it open, but finally a faint light filtered in from the cracks in the shed. 

      Rob led Lisa out of the shed and through the graveyard.  They strolled among the gravestones, looking for Helena’s grave site.  They started in the old section where the limestone headstones were barely readable and then moved toward the newer granite stones that started around the 1960s.  Eventually they came up on simple, but elegant headstone marked Helena Harbinger and her beloved son Peace Harbinger. 

     Lisa unzipped her bag and placed the candles on the headstone. She lit them and then began chanting. Defunctos ploro, vivos voco, fulmina frango. Haec tibi scribo sperans venire ad te cit. Dixitque Dominus facies mea praecedet te et requiem dabo tib. Defunctos ploro, vivos voco, fulmina frang.

      This time no ethereal body came toward them. Instead, they heard just a voice as soft as the wind, but clear as a bell.  “What? What on earth do you want? Can’t you just leave me alone?” The voice sounded tired and as if she was nearly in tears.

      Rob looked around, trying to find the source of the voice.  “We are here to summon you away from Heather and back your rightful place.”

     “My rightful place? MY RIGHTFUL PLACE?” she said softly and then yelled.  It were as if she were drifting from Lisa’s side to Rob’s side, but remaining very close to the two. “My rightful place was by Liam’s side with our son.  And I have that again. Why should I give that up?

     “Because Heather is not you and you are not Heather. She had a life of her own before you entered into it and made a mess out of it,” Rob called back over his shoulder.  He almost expected to see her standing there. 

     “Heather’s life was going nowhere fast and it wasn’t like you were improving it any,” Helena huffed. 

     “I never meant her any harm,” Rob said sadly. It was the first time he’d spoken those words, but he meant them from the core of his being. 

     “You got her pregnant and then left her,” Helena replied more softly.  “She didn’t deserve that.”

      “No, but it was your desire for a child that created our son.  And she grew angry with me and told me to leave. Or was that you who chased me away?” Rob replied.

      “I never liked you much.”

      Lisa shot him a look and Rob gave her a punch in the shoulder, and then replied.  “Well, I didn’t like you much either.  But you used me and you’re still using Heather.  It is time to let go now.”

     “No,” she pouted.

     “Please,” Lisa asked.  “You deserve to be reunited with your son in the afterlife. This life on earth isn’t for you any more. You don’t belong here.”

     “What business of it of yours where I belong?”

     “Because we care about Heather and you’re hurting her,” Rob said.

     “She doesn’t feel a thing.”

     “She has the right to make her own decision and live her own life and you are taking that away from her,” Lisa pointed out.

      The voice sighed.  “I suppose you have a point. But what’s in it for me?”

      “You can choose to leave and stop haunting this place,” Lisa said.

      “How do you know that? Maybe I’ll be stuck here like that old stick in the mud Rowena.”

      “Rowena thinks highly of you too,” Rob said.  “But I think now that you got a chance to experience birth and all of that, you will be free now.” 

       “You really think?”

       “Yes,” he said enthusiastically.

       “If you’re sure.”

       “Absolutely,” Lisa promised.

       Suddenly there was a gust of wind. The candles guttered and went out and then magically lit back up. Lisa watched as the corporeal form of Helena walked toward them from the parking lot.  She glided past them without a glance.  For a moment she stood over her own grave contemplating. And then the ghostly form spread her arms out and looked up to the sky. She finally met Lisa and Rob’s eyes before her image disappeared on the wind.  The leaves rustled wildly for a moment and there was a small whirlwind over the grave before silence descended upon them. 

     Rob sighed. “I think Heather and her son will be okay now.”

    “And to think she’ll never know what you did for her,” Lisa said as they started walking back to the car.

     “That’s okay. I’ll know.”