Free A Tale from the Hills by Terry Hayden

happened, other than carelessness because the man had worked there for twenty years. Alan wanted to talk about how much he liked the boss’s daughter, but he was too bashful in front of his brothers. Tom asked William how his day had been, but William seemed too distracted to even hear his daddy’s question. When asked again, he answered that his day had been fine. He did not want his family to think that anything was wrong or that he was planning anything.
    After the social time was over, they all went to bed. Since the older brothers were all working, they were able to buy some furniture for the house. The two younger brothers still shared a bed, and Tom still slept on the tiny cot next to the kitchen stove.
    William waited until he was sure that everyone in the house was asleep before he set his plan into motion. He eased the old patchwork quilt off of the bed, and left Alan snoring loudly. He roughly folded the quilt and tucked it under his arm. He walked slowly toward the door, being careful not to make a sound. Even though he was afraid to go outside after dark, he knew that he would have to toughen up and face his fears. He slowly stepped down the rickety steps and into the darkness. Before closing the door behind him, he looked at his brothers who were all peacefully asleep. He longed for the security of the bed but he knew what he had to do.
    He walked over to the stump of the old oak tree. He looked around to make sure that he was as close to his mother’s grave as he could be. He spread out the old patchwork quilt beside of the spot where his mother’s head should be resting, and he settled down to go to sleep. The old quilt reminded him of his sister because they shared it all of their time together. It had protected them from the cold, and he felt secure and close to little Alice when he lay on top of it.
    Hopefully he would go to sleep soon. He did not want to lie there and think about what he had to do. He just wanted to sleep and get on with his plans. Mercifully, the sleep came quickly.
    His plan was simple but well thought out in his eleven year old mind. Since the dream was always the same, he was going to manipulate his will to make himself closer to Alice on the tracks. When she got to the footbridge, he was going to be beside of her, or at least close enough to grab her hand before she disappeared into the inky liquid. He would be with her as she raced down the churning torrent to her mysterious grave. He would know exactly where her body was, and when he woke back up, all that he had to do was to go and get her. He would bring her home to rest beside of their mother.
    The cool night air and the sounds of crickets lulled William into a relaxing sleep. He began to dream but it was a different dream this time. He was alone and walking on the tracks in a place that was unfamiliar to him. Everything looked out of place, distorted in color and sound. He thought that it was not the dream that he wanted to be in. Why was he in a different place? As if by magic a figure appeared on the tracks walking toward him. It looked like an old man, a stranger that he had never seen before. As the stranger got closer, William could see that his clothes were torn and dirty. His hair was matted together and full of twigs, and pieces of tree bark, and moss. The old man must have come from out of the forest or out from under the ground. Fear breathed down the back of William’s neck.
    Just as they met on the track the old man turned to William and said, “I’ve been expecting you son. What took you so long?”
    William wanted to run but it seemed like his feet were glued to the tracks. Fear had paralyzed his body, but his mind was racing away.
    The old man repeated himself.
    “What took you so long William? I know where you want to go and I know who you want to find. But you cannot take her from the place where she belongs unless you are ready to take her place.”
    William was terrified and suddenly very cold. He