Rainy Nights, Page 2

  THE END

  THE SUNSET

  PART ONE

  World War two caused many tragedies. Among these were cities being destroyed, loss of innocent life, and a fiery hatred between nations that has lasted until the present. Another tragedy was that loved ones were separated. Husbands from wives, parents from children. It also separated those that were on the dawn of a new love. All love is beautiful but there is no other quite like new love. During this time you are discovering, the one you love, and are experiencing a mélange of different emotions unlike any you have ever felt. I haven’t felt that in a long time, I’m an old man now. Oh, I do apologize, sometimes I ramble on and on and forget what I wanted to talk about. I wanted to tell you a story. This is the story of someone I hold very dear to my heart.

  PART TWO

  Emily Hilton was nineteen years old when her family moved to Seacrest, Rhode Island. Roger, her father, had gained his father’s inheritance so over the course of a week they became wealthy. They lived in Texas and hadn’t had much materially because Rogers father hadn’t helped them. Luckily though He left his son his oil company and all the money that came along with it. Roger sold the company and wanted to get out of Texas. The year was 1940 when they moved. Wanting a change of scenery, Roger, Bethany, his wife, Emily and their cat, Roosevelt, in honor of the current president, moved to the small town in Rhode Island. They had not been wealthy long, “new money”, you could call it, so they didn’t act like rich Texas snobs. They bought a nice two-story house overlooking the ocean. It was set on a huge sea cliff that had a white and red lighthouse set off to the right.

  World War two was in full force in Europe. “Hitler and his nazi thugs” as President Roosevelt called them, were trying to take over that continent in their attempt to rule the world. However the United States still refused to fight.

  Emily was a strong willed person and sometimes she was down right stubborn. But she was a caring and loving person at heart. She hadn’t wanted to leave Texas, she even threatened that she wouldn’t ever speak to her parents again if they made her move, but that didn’t last long. She loved writing and reading poetry, it was her passion. Emily never showed any of her work to anyone, she kept it all to herself. Her room had a view of the ocean so she set her writing desk up at the window so she could write and gaze peacefully out at the sea. Most of the friends that she had left back in Texas were either in love or already engaged. Emily on the other hand had no one. She wondered if there was anybody out there for her. Emily pondered this sometimes while staring starry eyed out the window at the water below.

  The Hiltons had moved to Seacrest in the fall of 1940. Being from Texas, they had not known to prepare for the cold, icy winter that would follow the beautiful autumn. After the first snowfall they ended up needing a few things from the local grocery store. To get there, it was about a ten-minute drive through a hilly, windy section of the road and then a short, straight stretch into town. Roger decided he would be able to maneuver across the icy road so he got in his car and left.

  “Be careful, honey,” Bethany called out to her husband from the doorway.

  “You know I will be,” Roger assured her. “I’ll be back within an hour.”

  “Okay. Bye-bye.”

  Roger started the car and slowly pulled out of the driveway and out of sight. After ten minutes of driving, he was coming down the last hill and could see the town. Suddenly his back tire hit an icy patch in the road and he totally lost control of his vehicle. He fishtailed back and forth trying to regain control of the wild tin death trap his car had become. The back of the car finally slid all the way around, twirling him right off the road and into a huge tree.

  Bethany became concerned after an hour and a half had passed. After another half-hour she was beside herself with worry. Then came a knock at the front door. She opened it to find a young, handsome man in his early twenties carrying Roger in his arms.

  “Come in! Come in! What on earth happened?” Bethany cried.

  “I found him a few minutes ago,” the young man said. “He had crashed into a tree just outside of town. He’s unconscious and I think his leg is broken but I think he’ll be okay.”

  As he said that, Emily came down the stairs. Their eyes met and something inside her head told her that he was the one. She thought that was stupid since she had never seen him before and so tried to shrug it off. Then she saw her father lying there and she rushed to his side.

  “What happened?” she cried.

  “Your father ran off the road and hit a tree. This young man helped him and brought him home,” Bethany answered.

  Roger came to as Bethany was telling the story.

  “What’s going on? Why am I on the couch?” Roger inquired. “Ouch! My leg!”

  “Don’t try to move it sir. I Think it’s broken,” said the young man.

  “Who are you? What are you doing here?”

  “My name is Aaron Parker. I pulled you out of your car and brought you here.”

  “You were going in and out of consciousness. When I asked where you live, you gave me this address.”

  “I guess that makes you my hero. Honey, let’s treat my new hero to dinner.”

  “Of course dear, but what about your leg?”

  “We’ll have to wait for the roads to clear to get to a doctor.”

  As Bethany prepared dinner, the other three sat around the fireplace conversing. Emily and Aaron were both strongly attracted to each other. Neither one of them had ever felt that pull to a member of the opposite sex before. If you don’t believe in ‘love at first sight’ this story will make you a believer.

  Aaron Parker was not wealthy. He lived with his father, Sam, in a small house right outside of town. Aaron was 21 and worked with his father at the Seacrest Steele Mill. He was a mannerly and gentle young man and was well respected by those in town who knew him. His mother had run out on him and his father when he was six because she was not content with what Sam had to offer. Aaron hadn’t had any kind of woman in his life since then. He wanted somebody to love and to be loved. He and Emily were perfect for each other.

  After dinner Aaron got ready to leave. “That was a delicious supper Mrs. Hilton. I thank you all for your hospitality.”

  “Our hospitality!” Roger said. “Boy, you saved my life. Feeding you dinner was the least thing we could do.”

  “Well I better get going. My father is probably wondering where I am. Thanks again. Goodbye.”

  “Goodbye,” Mr. and Mrs. Hilton said in unison.

  “Goodbye, Aaron,” said Emily.

  “Goodbye, Emily,” Aaron replied with a half smile.

  Out walked Aaron, the man of her dreams—out the door and out of her life—so she thought.

  The next day about mid morning there was a low knock at the front door. Bethany answered and was surprised to find Aaron standing there. When Emily heard who it was she came running down the stairs so fast she almost tripped over her own two feet and then tried to play it cool when she got to the door.

  “Aaron, what are you doing here?” she asked.

  “I came to check on your father…….and to give you these,” he said as he handed her a bouquet of flowers.

  “Oh my, they’re gorgeous! Thank you so much,” she exclaimed.

  “They were just so beautiful and I thought of you.”

  “Oh Aaron,” she blushed.

  This went on every day until her father got better. They spent each day together. In six months they knew each other inside and out. They were definitely perfect for each other. Everything was perfect and then in May of 1941, Aaron dropped a bomb on their relationship. They had had lunch that Thursday and then spent the rest of the day together. At sunset he took her out to the little bench at the lighthouse overlooking the sea.

  “Emily, I love you but there’s something I have to tell you.”

  “Okay, What is it babe?”

  “Before I met you I had no one. I signed up for the Navy thinking it would be
good for me. Things got delayed and I never heard from them. Two days ago I got a phone call and I’m being sent to Hawaii in one week. I’m going to Pearl Harbor.”

  Emily started to cry, “But….but…what about us? I can’t be with anybody else but you.”

  “You don’t have to be. It’s only a one year term. May 1942 will roll around and I’ll be back and everything will be perfect.” As he dropped to one knee, he asked, “Emily, will you marry me?”

  “I….um….”

  “Promise me under this beautiful sunset that you will be here when I get back and you’ll marry me.”

  “Okay. I promise.”

  And then they kissed as the sun went down.

  One week later he left for Pearl Harbor. The wrote to each other everyday and despite the distance they became closer and closer and longed for each other even more. Then , on December 7, the day she hoped would never come—came. Pearl Harbor was attacked and Aaron Parker was right in the middle of it. Three days after the attack Sam Parker was informed that his son had died. Emily was devastated. For the next week she didn’t even come out of her room. Her mother just sat food outside her door. She just couldn’t take the pain and loneliness.

  After the first week, she sneaked out of the house and went down to the lighthouse and the little bench where Aaron had proposed. She sat there for hours and cried. Finally, she made up her mind and walked to the edge of the cliff. She looked down at the waves crashing against the jagged rocks below and then…..she stepped off the edge.

  The next morning Bethany decided that it was time for Emily to come out of her room. She walked upstairs and knocked on Emily’s door. When there was no answer she tried the knob. Every other morning it had been locked but this morning it wasn’t. She walked into the perfectly clean room only to find it empty. She found two envelopes on the bed. One said ‘Mom and Dad’ and the other said ‘Aaron’. Bethany went back down stairs and read the letter with Roger.

  Dear Mom and Dad,

  I know this is not how you wanted me to

  die but we cannot always have what we

  want. All I wanted was Aaron and that was

  taken away. I can’t be with him in this life so

  I leave and hope to find him in the next. I

  love you both.

  Your daughter,

  Emily

  Roger and Bethany were devastated. They had lost their little girl.

  Four days after Emily’s death there was a knock on Sam Parker’s door. When he answered it, it was Aaron!

  “My boy!” Sam shouted. “But you’re dead.”

  “No Dad. The navy must have got the names switched. I’m here—home,” he said with a smile.

  “Then where have you been?”

  “I banged my head in the attack and have been in a coma. I couldn’t contact you.”

  “Son it’s so good to have you back.”

  “Dad, I have to go see Emily.”

  Starting to tear up Sam Said, “Oh Aaron, I’ve got bad news. She couldn’t take not having you…son…she killed herself.”

  Aaron broke down. He knew that life would never be the same without Emily. He also knew she felt the same.

  After a while he decided he would call Emily’s parents. They could not believe it. They all agreed it would be too painful to see each other. The Hiltons told him about the envelope Emily had left him. Aaron said to leave it on the little bench at the lighthouse. And he would get it.

  That evening he went out to the cliff and found the envelope with his name on it. He opened it. His did not contain a letter like Emily’s parents’. Inside was her last work of poetry. Aaron sat on the bench and read it over and over again.

  The Sunset

  My true love has been taken from me,

  If I stay in this place the two of us can never be.

  So as I plunge into the depths,

  I hope to find my true love’s caress.

  But even after death

  The one thing I will never forget—

  This sunset.

  After reading the poem for the last time, Aaron walked to the edge of the cliff and looked down at the waves crashing against the jagged rocks below.

  PART THREE

  Now I know your probably wondering why I stopped the story there. When you start a story you obviously want to finish it but, to tell the truth, this story hasn’t ended yet. Please forgive me, I haven’t properly introduced myself. I thought it would have more of an effect if I waited for the opportune time. My name is Aaron Parker. Many years have passed since my Emily died that dark, cold morning in December. I’ve seen several other wars, presidents assassinated, the turn of a century, myself growing older and older. Nothing stays the same—everything changes in some form or fashion. But one thing in my life never changed. It always remained a constant in my everyday living—my love for Emily. I haven’t left the house in a while. There’s no need to really. Nowadays you can have just about anything you want delivered to you. My neighbors are nice enough to take care of me when I need something. I guess they feel sorry for an old man who had his heart broken so many years ago. I don’t feel sorry for myself though. I wouldn’t trade the time I had with Emily for anything this world could offer me. I treasured that time with a passion as furious as hurricane winds. Nobody can take those memories from me—they’re all I have left. Sometimes I cry—sometimes I laugh. But mostly I’m just content when I sit in my old wooden rocker and reminisce about the past. Not a day goes by that I don’t think about her and not a night passes me by without her entering my dreams. Every time I close my eyes I see her beautiful face, hair blowing in the breeze, set against that gorgeous sunset—the sunset.

  T H E E N D

  BACKWOODS

  CHAPTER 1

  At six a.m. on a cold November morning, it was breakfast time for most of the civilians living in the small southern town of Gadsden, Alabama. It was a Saturday, and all the football fans were anticipating either Alabama’s game against Mississippi, or Auburn’s game against LSU depending on which team you pulled for.

  Jeff and Mary Horn however were not football fans, but they were looking forward to something that they liked to do very much, jogging. They had started this two years ago when the doctor had told Jeff, at his regular checkup, that he needed to start exercising and watching what he eats because of his high cholesterol. So they decided to jog through the backwoods that were behind their house. And since that doctor’s visit they rarely ever missed a nice morning run through the backwoods.

  Jeff and Mary’s sixteen-year old daughter, Jessica liked to stay up late Friday night and sleep in on Saturday mornings. Her bedroom door made a loud squeak when you opened, so not wanting to wake her they just left it shut.

  “Sixteen-year old girls need their beauty sleep.” Jeff said, laughing.

  “That’s true,” Mary said, “I got as much as I could and look how good I turned out.”

  They both had a good laugh, and then headed to the kitchen to get their coffee. Jeff took cream and sugar in his, and Mary liked hers black. They sipped their coffee by the fireplace and by the time they were finished they were ready for their run. The woods had a small path cut through the trees. It circled all the way back around to their house. In all, the path equaled about a mile.

  The fog was kind of heavy that morning but they could still see pretty well. About ten minutes into their run they both spotted something red in a little clearing to the left. When they got to it they saw that it was a tent. A smothered campfire was still smoking a little.

  When Jeff and Mary looked just left of the tent they saw something very alarming. All they could see was a person’s hands bound with barbwire and fastened around the tree!

  The couple rushed to the other side of the tree and couldn’t believe what they saw. It was their daughter Jessica that was tied to the tree. She was dead. She had been stripped of her clothes and there were two incisions on her chest, they were in the shape of a cross.

&n
bsp; Mary burst into tears and almost fainted. Jeff grabbed her before she fell and held her for several minutes. He called the police just as soon as Mary could stand on her own.

  After calling, He broke down himself and Mary put her arms around him. Standing there in the fog, confused, upset, on the edge of hysteria, waiting for the police to arrive, were the most excruciatingly painful moments of their lives.

  CHAPTER 2

  Doug Ellis and Rick Daniels were the first two detectives on the Scene. They found Jeff and Mary Horn standing out in the woods with their arms around each other.

  “Sir, Ma’am, I’m Detective Ellis and this is my partner Detective Daniels.

  “How are y’all doing?” asked Detective Daniels.

  “How do you think?” Answered Jeff. “Our daughter is dead.”

  “We are very sorry for your loss.” Detective Ellis said.

  “That was obviously a very stupid question, I apologize, is there anything we can do for you?” asked Detective Daniels.

  “Yeah catch the horrible monster that did this to our baby” Mary said sobbing.

  “That’s what we’re here for ma’am. Detective Ellis said.

  By this time the sounds of sirens were getting closer. In less than two minutes cops and paramedics were all over the place. In ten minutes the whole area was secured by police tape and Jeff and Mary were being checked out by one of the paramedics.

  Detective Ellis and Daniels didn’t want the crime scene to get contaminated so they got to their examination of the body and the murder scene ASAP.

  Detective Doug Ellis, a forty-two year old veteran on the police force, had been teamed up with the rookie, Rick Daniels, a month ago. This was going to be the twenty-three year olds first real murder case and to be honest Doug was a little nervous about how the youngster was going to react when he saw the body. But so far he was doing fine, if he was nervous or the slightest bit uneasy he didn’t show it. Doug thought that that showed his experience even at his young age.