Hello All:
"This is a very, special week at The Literary World of Tom Raimbault; for this is Halloween week! And like we do every year, new stories written just for the holiday are featured throughout the week. This year we roll out a new novella titled The Dead Forest. Be sure to visit Monday through Friday of this week as well as next Monday (Halloween) for each new installment.
As a side-note: the novella has yet to be properly divided into chapters. I simply counted the amount of pages in the manuscript and then divided by six to feature throughout this week and next Monday (Halloween). Being the case, I will sometimes leave the reader with unfinished sentences to be completed the following day. Sorry for any inconvenience.”
By Friday night of that week,
the Moon had reached the waning gibbous stage meaning that it was beginning to
reduce back to a crescent before disappearing from the sky. And there is
something else about the Moon in this stage; it rises late in the evening so
that by morning it can be seen in western sky. This provides illumination to
the ground in the midnight hours and throughout predawn.
By the time Stan drove into
Donna's subdivision, the Moon was well into the sky which, again, caused him
concern that maybe he would be detected by neighbors or Donna's parents. Stan
parked four houses away and softly pushed the driver side door shut before
walking across the grass in the parkways. When reaching Donna's house, he was
about to walk around the side and into the backyard.
But what was this?
Donna stood at the side of the
house in a coat. She smiled when initially seeing Stan and then raised her
index finger to her lips.
Stan knew what she was doing.
Without saying a word, he led her out onto the sidewalk where they quickly
crossed the parkways of the four houses until reaching the car. When finally
inside Stan asked, "What are you doing? Where are we going?" He
started the car and then idled some distance past Donna's house before driving
off.
"My Mother heard us last
week." explained Donna. "She doesn't want you coming back."
"Really...? Wow!" exclaimed
Stan. He never would have expected Donna to resort to this. "So where do
you want to go?" he asked.
"Where do you think?"
answered Donna. "I want to see the tree."
And so Stan drove through town
that Friday night which was mostly void of motorists and pedestrians. You see,
it was after midnight which meant that most of the world had gone to sleep. And
by the time they reached the Berry Bush Forest Preserve, there were no cars
parked in spots with kids necking. It was probably best that no one was around
to take notice of Stan and Donna (who was supposed to be faithful to her
Fredrick while he was away at war) enter the woods late at night. Such a thing
would surely appear suspicious.
Donna shivered while walking the
trail next to Stan. "It's so cold..."
"Well you have a long coat
on." pointed Stan.
"I know... but
still..."
Stan seized the much-wished-for
opportunity to put his arm around Donna's shoulders and pull her close.
"There, there... I'll keep you warm." Her long, raven-black hair
smelled so good. And funny thing; Donna really didn't mind being close to Stan.
She didn't mind the subtle move made on her. It felt good.
Stan rubbed the side of Donna's
shoulder in an attempt to provide heat. "We just walk a ways down the
path, and we'll be able to see the actual tree." he explained.
"I can't wait."
answered Donna.
About seven minutes later, Stan
and Donna finally reached the location where it was possible to deviate off the
main path. It would only be necessary to do some bushwhacking and climb down
the somewhat steep ravine until reaching the valley. For now, from a distance,
the old tree could be seen bathing in the moonlight.
"There it is."
announced Stan.
"Oh, it's beautiful."
exclaimed Donna. "I've never been to the woods at night, and I have to
admit that at first I thought you were a little crazy for doing this. But I can
see everything down below. You are right. It looks so magickal." There was
silence for the next ten seconds before Donna asked, “But how does the tree
remind you of me?"
"We would have to get
closer to the tree." answered Stan. "You probably don't want to go
down there because..."
Donna cut him off. "Oh yes
I do! Stan, I want to go down there!" It was almost as-if Donna were
suddenly possessed by some unseen force.
"Are you sure?"
checked Stan. "Are you serious?"
"Absolutely!" affirmed
Donna.
And so the two deviated off the
main trail and followed a bit of unpleasant bushwhacking, and then somewhat of
a steep descent down the ravine. A couple of time Donna almost lost her
balance. But that was okay. She was bound and determined to reach the valley
which—unbeknown to her—was the magickal valley of her spirit mother. When
finally there, she nearly pulled Stan over to the tree.
"Oh, it's so
beautiful." declared Donna. They were some twenty feet away and marveled
as the branches and the colored leaves of autumn softly glowed in the
moonlight. "This tree must be many years old."
"Hundreds." added Stan.
Donna approached the tree until
she was close enough to touch it.
"Can you finally see why
the tree reminds me of you?" asked Stan.
Donna turned to face Stan. In
doing so, she rested her back against the large trunk. She smiled, somewhat
mischievously and answered, "You'll have to explain that to me."
"Well..." began Stan
while carefully approaching. "It really reminded me of you because it’s so
beautiful… like you."
Donna could feel herself
blushing and hoped that the partial darkness would cover it.
Stan continued, "But now
that you are here with it, the tree looks all the more beautiful." Stan
was now a foot away from Donna's face. He took a chance, and leaned in for a
kiss.
Donna softly moaned a cry. This
was not supposed to happen. She never intended to allow Stan to take their
friendship to this sort of level. Perhaps this is what Mother meant by
insisting that a friendship with a boy could lead to anything. Too bad Donna
didn't heed the warning, for Stan continued to kiss her with her back up against
the tree. It was un-ladylike in those days for a woman to fight, squirm and
resist. Aside from that, Donna was all alone in the forest with him. All she
could do was allow Stan to have his way and kiss her more and more. He really
liked her; Donna could feel this. It was as-if Stan were in love with Donna.
And then the magick happened.
Donna felt deeply rooted in that place with the tree where Stan nearly
worshipped and adored her. Donna suddenly felt like a goddess who graced an
Earthly mortal with the ability to kiss her lips. On this magickal autumn night
of her valley engulfed by the moonlight, she opened herself up and allowed Stan
the simple and long-awaited pleasure of kissing her.
The two stayed for nearly three
hours just making out against the old tree. As Donna's spirit mother promised,
Donna would completely surrender to Stan and belong to him. On that fateful
night it finally happened.
"I really need to get
home." Donna finally said. "Remember I sneaked out of the window to
be with you? I don't want to get in trouble."
"Oh, that's right."
acknowledged Stan. "Yes, we better get you home."
Now so much in love with one
another, Stan and Donna hiked arm-in-arm back to the car. Not much was said on
the ride home. But unlike the last time Stan drove Donna home, the two kissed
before Donna exited the vehicle.
"Next week?—Friday?"
suggested Stan.
Donna turned and smiled,
"I'll be waiting in the same place for you."
"Just after midnight."
instructed Stan.
You see, plans needed to be made
right then and there. Stan would have never been able to call Donna's house and
ask for her. Surely it would have been Mother or Father who answered. And in
those days if a boy called for a girl, he had to identify himself and state his
intentions. Stan didn't want to alarm Donna's parents of their new
relationship.
***
After that fateful night in the
valley of Donna's spirit mother, the weather had turned so that it was too cold
to go walking in the woods at night. The weekend that followed would have been
Halloween—a Saturday. The night before Halloween—which was a Friday—there was a
strong wind that brought with it a wintery chill. Would Donna really be waiting
for Stan on the side of her house as promised?
"I don't know..."
cried out Stan with a sigh. "She's not going to be there. It's too
cold." The windows of Stan's car were rolled up and the heat was on. He
wore a winter coat and drove through Donna's subdivision. Like the previous
times, Stan parked four houses down and observed the usual procedure of softly
closing the door and walking on the grass of the parkways to avoid the sound of
shoes against the sidewalk. But with the howling wind, who would have heard?
Stan could hardly believe it as
he made his way around the side of Donna's house. There, bundled up in a heavy
coat, scarf and woman's hat; Donna huddled near the brick to avoid as much wind
as possible.
Stan waved Donna over.
"Come-on, let's get back to the car. I have heat." he urged. The two
ran down the street until reaching the car. And even though Stan was anxious to
get in himself, he was sure to be a gentleman and open the door for Donna.
Moments later, the two drove through town with the heat on while listening to
late night music.
"I don't think you want to
go back to the tree." cited Stan.
"It's too cold."
confirmed Donna.
"There's not much to do in
this town." said Stan. "Everything closes after eleven o'clock. I
guess we could park at the Berry Bush Forest Preserve and just hang out. All
the kids should be home because it's past curfew."
Just to make sure that his Donna
wouldn't start to think that he only went out with her on Friday nights to neck,
he instructed Donna, "Hey, go in the glove compartment. I've got something
for you."
Donna did as instructed. Inside
was a bag from Dog-n-Suds. "Is this for me?" she asked.
"Yes it is." affirmed
Stan. "I got us a couple of hot dogs and some fries. I figured it would be
nice to have some sort of dinner together. I would have gotten a root beer in a
frosty mug, but that would have been hard to drive around with. Instead, I have
a couple of bottles of soda in the backseat."
"Oh Stan, that's so nice of
you." exclaimed Donna. As the car pulled into the parking lot of Berry
Bush Forest Preserve, Donna opened the bag and reached for a couple of French
fries. "No wonder the car smelled like food." she commented.
Stan put the transmission in
park and turned off the lights. "I suppose we should leave the engine
running for heat. I filled the tank before the gas station closed, so we should
have plenty of gas. I'll keep an eye on the needle."
Donna and Stan unwrapped their
hot dogs. Stan reached in the backseat for the two glass bottles of root beer.
"I've got a church key." he announced. Back in those days, a church
key was a bottle opener that one conveniently kept on the key ring if ever
needing to open a beer or soda. He used this to remove the tops from both bottles.
While the two enjoyed their late
night dinner, Stan used the opportunity to bring out into the open a couple of
issues with his new relationship with Donna. "So I was thinking."
began Stan. "I know we have to keep everything a secret from everyone. I
know your parents wouldn't be happy knowing that I'm taking you out late at
night. I know that we can't let too many people out here see me with you
because anyone might tell Fredrick. I guess we just have to think of clever
ways to do things together... you know... like go out on dates and enjoy our
time together without anyone seeing? You like being with me, don't you?"
"Of course I do."
reassured Donna. "You're a very nice guy, and very interesting. I don't
know anyone who would have ever taken me to the middle of the woods late at
night and make it seem so beautiful. And it shouldn't be too difficult to go
out. We could always plan dates where you meet Barbara and me at the movie
theater and stuff. Just make it look like an accident. I trust Barbara. And
besides, I think she's onto us. But don’t worry. She won't tell Fredrick or
anyone."
***
So throughout the late autumn
and winter months, Stan and Donna improvised ways of being together to enjoy
one another's company. Many Friday and Saturday nights they simply parked at
the Berry Bush Forest Preserve (when it wasn't snowing) and sat in the car with
the heat running; enjoying a meal of hamburgers, pizza, or hotdogs that had
been packed up in the glove compartment. Afterwards, the two would just talk—sometimes
for a few hours—followed by some necking that often ended up in the backseat.
Of course some nights the two didn't feel like overdoing it with the making
out. They simply laid in the backseat, Donna resting against Stan, while
listening to late night radio and sometimes dozing off. A couple of times a
patrolling officer who spotted the car in the parking lot tapped on the back
window and ordered Stan to roll down the window. The officer was only concerned
that maybe Stan and Donna were a couple of kids who were out past curfew. When
realizing that they were young adults and over the age of eighteen, he was
confused as to why they would prefer to sit in a car late at night in the
forest preserve.
"Listen, I really wish you
wouldn't sit here late at night." urged the officer. "You're not
breaking any laws, and I can't make you leave. But it might not be too safe out
here late at night."
"We were just getting ready
to leave, officer." reassured Stan. And that was the end of the date for
that particular night. But then Stan and Donna would return some nights later
for some more time together.
As suggested by Donna, there
were a few occasions in which Stan "accidentally" encountered her and
Barbara at the movie theater on a Friday night. Since Stan knew Donna and
Barbara, it wasn't too unreasonable for him to sit with the young women in the
movie theater. Stan was a nice guy and he would treat them both to popcorn and
soda. And what was so wrong with enjoying a late night meal at the local
Dog-n-Suds before everyone went home for the night?
There were a couple of other
occasions when Stan "accidentally" encountered Donna and Barbara at a
late night coffee house where local jazz musicians performed and beatniks were
known to recite poetry in front of the audience. By then, Barbara had received
her driver's license and would pick Donna up at her house on Friday and
Saturday nights. How long would this arrangement last before Barbara would find
a young man who courted her and no longer had time to hang out with Donna and
her secret boyfriend?
And speaking of secrets; despite
how Stan and Donna tried to keep their relationship a secret, people who knew
them eventually figured out that the "accidental" encounters in
public weren't so accidental. There was definitely something funny going on
between Stan and Donna. And of course, the rumors began to fly throughout town.
***
One Saturday night, in
February—Ground Hog's Day—parked at the Berry Bush Forest Preserve, as Donna
lay her head on Stan's shoulder in the backseat of the car; the two engaged in
a most interesting conversation. Stan and Donna learned that night that they
shared a mutual fascination with the dead, and with life beyond the
grave—although the two of them might have had slightly different perceptions. Death
wasn't so morbid as the rest of the population might have believed. Stan and
Donna both believed that death and the world beyond the grave was a new
beginning. It was birthing into a new existence, a higher level of existence
that transcends the physical world. And maybe it was possible for those who
move on to return in a physical sense.
It was Donna who triggered the
conversation by initially talking about church. She originally intended on
gauging whether or not Stan believed in God, and was serious about his faith.
She did, after all, see Stan and his family on many occasions at mass.
"...I mean sometimes when I'm praying to Mary or the saints, I can feel
their presence. I feel like I can reach out and touch them; reach for their
hands. Many times I feel like there is some sort of invisible wall that can
easily be penetrated. If you can get past this wall, you can visit Heaven for a
short time."
"I think I know what you
mean." acknowledged Stan. "Did you ever look at a dead person in a
coffin? Did you ever wonder if it is truly the end for that person? What if
there were a way to simply touch that dead person and wake them up?"
"Nobody can do that."
rejected Donna. "The only person who was ever able to do that was Christ.
And it isn't the end for that dead person, either. They simply go to Heaven,
provided they lived a good life."
"Well what about doctors in
the emergency room who bring a dead patient back to life?" argued Stan.
"They've done it plenty of times. And some of those patients swear that they
spent a brief moment in Heaven. How do you explain that?"
"I've read about that
before." answered Donna. "That's always fascinated me."
Stan continued, "I guess my
point is: can a person be called back to their body after being dead for some
time?"
"That's a very difficult
question." pointed Donna. "As for that person who is brought back to
life, maybe their purpose wasn't fulfilled yet."
Stan introduced a new subject to
their conversation, “Hey, do you remember that girl in town who was killed in a
car crash? I still remember her name, Lisa. This would have been in '59."
"Oh yes, I remember
her." answered Donna. "We actually went to her funeral.—friend of the
family. It was so sad."
"Well the cemetery where
she's buried is actually right in my backyard." continued Stan. "Her
grave is right near the fence. I actually watched them lower her into the
ground. And then a day or so later I saw her picture in the newspaper. I'm sort
of embarrassed to admit, but I guess as a boy that age, I actually thought she
was pretty. I felt bad that a girl so pretty had to die. And that's when I got
the strange idea of visiting her grave at night. I simply hopped the fence over
and sat down near her gravestone to be with her. [Stan wouldn't dare confess to his defilement of Lisa's grave.] I
don't know what possessed me to do it. But I remember wondering if it were
possible to bring her back to life—you know, call her back to this world so she
could be alive again." At that point, Stan was conveniently re-inventing
the course of events from that night in 1959 at the cemetery. Interesting
thing: although Stan's intention as a young boy was simply to defile the grave
a fresh, young woman; his re-invention of the course of events from that night
reflected a subconscious purpose, one that Stan certainly wouldn't have been
able to understand as a young boy. So for all practical purposes, Stan wasn't
exactly lying to Donna in that moment. Rather, he was reaching a moment of
epiphany.
There were several seconds of
silence before Donna answered. "I don't think I've ever met someone who
did that. So you were so affected by the death of Lisa that you visited her
grave at night as a boy?"
"Yes..." admitted
Stan.
"That was so nice of
you." cited Donna. "I guess that's what makes you a nice guy. And you
wanted to bring her back to life?"
"Yes..." further
admitted Stan.
"Well maybe you can't bring
the dead back to life, but you can talk to the dead." pointed Donna.
"You can?" asked Stan.
"Yes; they listen to you
just like the saints, angels and Mary. And in a way, that's what you were doing
as a boy. You visited Lisa's grave and told her how sad you felt that she was
gone. It probably meant a lot to her that you thought she was pretty."
"I hope so..."
commented Stan while remembering the night of Lisa's defilement. As he
recalled, he saw in his imagination the young woman screaming out for help, but
was unable to make a sound because she was dead. There was someone definitely
there with Stan on that night in 1959, and he believed it was the tormented
soul of Lisa who had to endure the fantasy rape of her dead body.
Stan confessed some more,
"I used to come to these woods, a lot, and think about the dead."
With this statement he remembered the morbid game that he played with the
doll—unburying it from the ground where it was kept sealed in a metal toolbox.
"I guess in a way, these woods are somewhat special to me."
Donna smiled for she knew that
she was a part of Stan's "special" woods."
Stan continued "And then I
saw the tree out there in the valley that reminded me of you. That valley in
the forest is all the more special. It's alive. There's some sort of spirit in
that valley.
"Yes, I know what you
mean." agreed Donna. "I felt it there on the night that I was there
with you."
"I think it wants us to be
together." suggested Stan. "I think the spirit is trying to tell us
that you and I are meant to be."
Donna momentarily recalled the
night that she stood with her back against the tree while feeling like a
goddess who had materialized on Earth to grace a mortal the privilege of
kissing her. She wondered if this spirit had consumed her in those moments. It
was frightening to consider because such an occurrence could very well hint to
possession. But it was equally fascinating; so fascinating that she announced,
"I want to go back there, Stan.”
"I don't think we
can." answered Stan. "At least for tonight... at least until spring
when the snow melts. They plow the parking lot whenever it snows, but I doubt
they plow the trail."
"In the spring can we go
back?" nearly begged Donna.
"Yes, of course."
reassured Stan. "And when we get there, we should probably do something
special; some sort of tradition that would make it officially ours. Whenever we
go there, it would forever be considered our place."
Donna cuddled closer to Stan.
She couldn't wait to return to the valley.
***
Stan had a very cyclical nature
to him. In late summer and throughout autumn he would experience those morbid
fetishes which wouldn't subside until around late November. Then, come early spring,
he suffered from what modern day psychologists would identify as neurosis. This
is simply an unusual frequency of heavy emotions. For Stan these emotions
ranged anywhere from sadness to anger to jealousy to an unfounded mistrust of
people. In that particular spring of 1965, Stan was in his relationship with
Donna. It was his first love, and he wasn't exactly prepared for challenges.
"We've had a lot of melting
of snow this past week." said Stan to Donna on a late Saturday night after
picking her up under the usual protocol. "And I know you want to visit the
valley in the woods."
Donna shrugged her shoulders.
"Sure..."
Stan could sense that there was
something wrong, something troubling Donna.
"What's wrong?" probed
Stan.
"Oh nothing..."
answered Donna. Then she sighed.
Stan insisted, "Oh,
come-on. I know there is something bothering you."
"I got a letter from
Fredrick." finally answered Donna.
"Yeah? What did he
say?"
"Well, someone out there
must have noticed us together and put two and two together. I don't know who
did it, but someone wrote Fredrick a letter and told him that I might be
cheating on him with you."
"What???" exclaimed
Stan. "Do you have the letter? Can I see it?"
"No, I don't want to show
you." answered Donna. "He wrote some personal things in there. But
when talking about you and me, he said that he heard a crazy rumor that we were
together. He reassured me that he doesn't believe the rumor, but was a bit
bothered by it."
It was like glass shattering for
Stan. That's the only way to describe what he felt in that moment. Since
October—actually September—of last year he had fallen in love with Donna and
felt like they were meant to be. Stan truly believed that the feeling was
mutual between him and Donna, and that it would only be a matter of time before
she forgot about Fredrick. But now she was showing rekindled feelings for
Fredrick along with guilt for being unfaithful to him. Aside from that, Donna
clearly had more loyalty to Fredrick with her refusal to show Stan the letter.
Stan's voice turned low and almost lifeless at that moment. "Gee... I
don't know what to say..." He continued driving and made his way to the
Berry Bush Forest Preserve.
Now this particular night in
1965 was March 13th. The Moon was a waxing gibbous, and had set below the
western horizon by the time Stan and Donna reached the forest preserve.
Additionally, the sky was cloudy so that not even starlight could be seen. The
woods, obviously, were very dark that night. But that wasn't what caused Donna
to be initially resistant to exiting Stan's car. She sat there motionless in
the passenger seat after Stan had turned the engine off.
Stan stared at her for a few
seconds before asking, "Are we going?"
Donna hesitated. "I don't
know if I should."
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