Read Online A Tale from the Hills by Terry Hayden - Free Book Online
Authors: Terry Hayden
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had crashed, she was very concerned about her father. His banking business was closely correlated to the market, and his losses were great. Bad news came from April’s mother about a week after the crash. Mr. Coalson suffered a stroke probably as a result of stress. He was paralyzed on one side of his body, and the only thing that he was able to say was his daughter’s name. The doctors did not know how permanent the condition was, but April should come home as soon as possible.
April quickly packed her bag and arranged for a bus ticket to Richmond. Her resignation from Mountain School was one of the saddest days of her life. Her eyes were red and swollen when she explained the circumstances of her decision to leave to Mrs. Boatwright. Mrs. Boatwright understood and as much as she would miss April, secretly she would enjoy taking over her class until a replacement was found.
April Coalson left Abingdon Bus Station that same day, bound for Richmond. Her father was so glad to see her that half of his face smiled brightly. His condition was much worse than anyone realized, and a week after his daughter returned home, he died in his sleep. After his funeral April decided to stay in Richmond to be with her mother.
**********
The circumstances leading up to William’s return to the real world were almost as bizarre as the circumstances which caused his departure. After the severe Winter of 1930, Spring weather came into full bloom by early May. Along with the birds and flowers and green grass, came severe thunderstorms with powerful lightning and earthshaking thunder. Old timers claimed that the lightning was the worst that they had ever seen. The mighty oak tree whose shade cooled the Hill’s tiny house every Summer was struck. It was the same tree that Mary Hill loved to sit under at night. It was the same tree that Tom chose to be her headstone after she died. The giant tree could have fallen into their house but it fell across the railroad track. It took two days for railroad employees to finally clear enough of the tree for the train to pass. The Hills had enough firewood for two Winters from that singletree.
William had trouble sleeping at night because of the storms. He tossed and turned until the storms passed. His expressionless face seemed to be changing from day to day and storm to storm, to a look of concern and dread. The person who saw him the most, his father, had a feeling that William was about to reach a plateau in his life. Always in the back of his mind was the suggestion from the county nurse that William should be placed in the mental hospital in Marion. Tom swore to himself that William would never be placed in that horrible place as long as there was a breath left in his body.
As the Summer progressed the storms became worse and William became more and more upset. Finally in late August William made a breakthrough. He was in a peaceful sleep, dreaming about an outing with Alice. They were playing among a group of trees when a storm came up. The wind blew hard and lightning danced all around them. Alice was startled by the lightning and began to cry. William tried to comfort her but she kept on sobbing harder and harder. She did not want William to see her crying, so she turned her back to him and began walking toward the railroad tracks. William shouted through the wind and rain for her to come back, but she kept on walking. When she reached the footbridge, she stopped. She seemed to be waiting for him to come to her. When he finally got to her, she stopped crying.
She turned to him and said in a soft voice, “It’s time to wake up Will. The storm is almost over, and you need to wake up. I want to be with mother. She needs me and I need her. Help me find her Will.”
She walked across the footbridge and disappeared into the trees.
William screamed for her to stop.
“Don’t go! Don’t go! Don’t go!” he repeated over and over, out loud.
He awoke to see his father and brothers standing
April quickly packed her bag and arranged for a bus ticket to Richmond. Her resignation from Mountain School was one of the saddest days of her life. Her eyes were red and swollen when she explained the circumstances of her decision to leave to Mrs. Boatwright. Mrs. Boatwright understood and as much as she would miss April, secretly she would enjoy taking over her class until a replacement was found.
April Coalson left Abingdon Bus Station that same day, bound for Richmond. Her father was so glad to see her that half of his face smiled brightly. His condition was much worse than anyone realized, and a week after his daughter returned home, he died in his sleep. After his funeral April decided to stay in Richmond to be with her mother.
**********
The circumstances leading up to William’s return to the real world were almost as bizarre as the circumstances which caused his departure. After the severe Winter of 1930, Spring weather came into full bloom by early May. Along with the birds and flowers and green grass, came severe thunderstorms with powerful lightning and earthshaking thunder. Old timers claimed that the lightning was the worst that they had ever seen. The mighty oak tree whose shade cooled the Hill’s tiny house every Summer was struck. It was the same tree that Mary Hill loved to sit under at night. It was the same tree that Tom chose to be her headstone after she died. The giant tree could have fallen into their house but it fell across the railroad track. It took two days for railroad employees to finally clear enough of the tree for the train to pass. The Hills had enough firewood for two Winters from that singletree.
William had trouble sleeping at night because of the storms. He tossed and turned until the storms passed. His expressionless face seemed to be changing from day to day and storm to storm, to a look of concern and dread. The person who saw him the most, his father, had a feeling that William was about to reach a plateau in his life. Always in the back of his mind was the suggestion from the county nurse that William should be placed in the mental hospital in Marion. Tom swore to himself that William would never be placed in that horrible place as long as there was a breath left in his body.
As the Summer progressed the storms became worse and William became more and more upset. Finally in late August William made a breakthrough. He was in a peaceful sleep, dreaming about an outing with Alice. They were playing among a group of trees when a storm came up. The wind blew hard and lightning danced all around them. Alice was startled by the lightning and began to cry. William tried to comfort her but she kept on sobbing harder and harder. She did not want William to see her crying, so she turned her back to him and began walking toward the railroad tracks. William shouted through the wind and rain for her to come back, but she kept on walking. When she reached the footbridge, she stopped. She seemed to be waiting for him to come to her. When he finally got to her, she stopped crying.
She turned to him and said in a soft voice, “It’s time to wake up Will. The storm is almost over, and you need to wake up. I want to be with mother. She needs me and I need her. Help me find her Will.”
She walked across the footbridge and disappeared into the trees.
William screamed for her to stop.
“Don’t go! Don’t go! Don’t go!” he repeated over and over, out loud.
He awoke to see his father and brothers standing
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