Chapter19 Katie Howard

"Are you nuts?" Martin looks out the bedroom window at the collapsed barn before turning to look at Beth; who's sitting on the bed with her arms in her lap and head down. "I don't get it; weren't you the one who wanted to leave this place before any of this even started? What was it you'd say…you didn't feel comfortable…that you had a bad feeling about this place? Now, we find out your feelings were right about this house all along, and, you don't want to leave; even after Trish told you about the missing families…offered us the money to leave? Beth; what's going on?" Beth sits motionless as Martin becomes angry with her for not answering. He goes to the bed, stands in front of her, and shouts, "Beth! What's going on?" Nothing. "Beth! Answer me damn it! What's going on?!" Still nothing. Martin loses his temper and slaps her across the face. "Answer me!" There's no reaction from her. She remains in that same position; silent. Martin…coming to his senses, and realizing what he's just done…drops to his knees in front of Beth and pleads, "Oh God, Beth, Baby, I'm so sorry …I didn't mean to… please, forgive me. I swear I…Oh God, Beth…" He places his head down and cries in her lap; still getting no reaction from Beth. A few minutes pass before Beth softly utters, "Katie Howard." Martin looks up, forces himself to stop crying while wiping the tears away with his shirt sleeve, and asks, "What?" She repeats, "Katie Howard." "Who's Katie Howard?" "She was my first best friend. We met in preschool when we were four; and, were best friends for three years until…" Beth becomes silent again. "Until what?" Martin gets up and sits next to Beth. Beth, still looking down, continues, "Until one summer, Katie and her family went away for vacation. Her father use to drink…a lot. They were on their way back, and her father was loaded as usual; so, I guess he never saw the flashing lights at the railroad crossing when he smashed through the bar and drove in front of an oncoming train. They were all killed that night. My best friend in the whole world was gone." Tears run down Beth's cheeks. She wipes them away while taking in a breath, and continues… "I remember it hurt so much. I cried for days; saying to myself over and over it wasn't fair. Why'd that have to happen? Why did I have to lose my best friend?" Beth starts to laugh a little, while crying at the same time, "God, it's amazing how selfish we can be when we're young; isn't it? I mean, my best friend and her family were just killed, and there I was wondering how such a thing could happen to me? Sure I lost a friend; but she lost her life. But I couldn't help it; I was so angry. So hurt." Beth wipes away more tears before continuing. "Then, my grandmother came over one day and told me that it was okay to feel sad; but, not to feel bad for Katie. She told me that even though it was a terrible thing that had happened to her; she was okay now. My grandmother told me that whenever a child dies, God will automatically take them up to be with Him in Heaven. And, for some reason, when she told me that; I remember starting to feel a little better. It took a while, of course, to be okay with the fact that I'd never see Katie again; but, it hurt less after hearing my grandmother tell me that she has gone to Heaven to be with God. And since then, I've always believed that in my heart; that when a child dies, they automatically go off to Heaven, regardless." Beth pauses. Then goes on… "Remember when Anna was a newborn, and she become real sick with pneumonia? For awhile we were worried that she wasn't going to pull through? You remember that, Martin?" Martin nods. "God that was so scary. I remember praying to God constantly, begging him, ‘Please don't let our baby die. Please don't take her away from us.' And after praying, I'd remember what my grandmother told me about how children would go right to Heaven to be with Him; and, for some brief momentary second, I would somehow feel a little comforted in that…even though I returned to being scared out of my mind after that. But, there was that small moment of comfort in that belief. Thank God Anna pulled through though. But, I've always kept what my grandmother told me in my heart." Beth stands up, walks over to the window, and stares outside. She continues… "Now we're here; and, we've got the spirits of three dead children stuck here. Why? I don't understand. Why haven't they gone to Heaven to be with God, Martin? Why hasn't He brought them to Him? It doesn't make any sense to me. I always believed what my grandmother told me that day; I've found comfort in my heart with that belief. And now, this situation goes against everything I believed to be true; and, I don't understand. I need to know why these children were left behind here."