vsolt21
03-16-2004, 06:38 PM
Here's the complete set of short stories that I wrote, I would really apperciate any feedback(negative or postive) on them.
The winds of change
It was a day just like any other day, as Jon Stevens slowly crawled out of his bed. He was in good spirits as he combed his hair and brushed his teeth. Today was his 24th birthday. He had a date tonight with his longtime girlfriend, Sara. He was getting ready for work, when his three year old daughter walked into the room. She asked him if he was going to see the pretty lady tonight. Jon nodded his head in agreement. The little girl became excited and said I'm going with you tonight when you see the pretty lady. I really like her.
With that being said, Jon got her ready to go to the babysitter. He rushed out the door and sped down the road. He dropped her off and sped to work. It was another dull day at work, waiting, almost begging for the phone to ring. It never did, a he put his coat on to leave, the computer started making a noise, but it wasn't the normal computer noise, rather almost like a voice. He ignored it at first, but the noise kept getting louder and clearer. It was saying “the winds of changes are blowing in your direction, seize the moment, do the right thing, you know what that is.” Jon stood half in shock and half in bewilderment at what he had heard. He rushed out of the office and drove home.
As he arrived home, Jon helped his daughter to the house, all the while thinking about what happened to him just a few moments ago in his office. He took a shower and got dressed for his date than he went to help his daughter pick a dress to wear. He picked a pretty dress with flowers and butterflies, she put it on and he fixed her hair. Jon looked at her and told her that she looked just like her mother and that she would be very proud of her. She asked him if he missed her, and he said “yes, I do.” Angela was hurrying out the door and she grabbed Jon's hand and pulled him along, saying “I don't want to be late for the pretty lady.” He drove to the place where he and Sara were having dinner; they waited for Sara to arrive. Sara came in about 2 minutes later, wrapping her arms around Jon and giving him a kiss. She picked up Angela and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Angela looked at her and said hello, lady. “My name is Sara”, she quickly told her. They went and sat down, enjoying conversation and a perfectly prepared dinner. Angela suddenly asked when Jon was going to marry Sara. Jon looked at her and thought why she asked that question. Sara chimed in and asked the question herself. Jon felt like he was backed into a corner with no means of escape. The dinner ended and Jon and Angela went back home. Jon carried Angela into the house and got her ready for bed. He kissed her goodnight and told her that he loved her. Angela barely opened her eyes to say, “I love you too, Daddy.”
Jon walked into the bathroom and splashed water on his face, and thought about what a day he had. He finally reflected back on the incident at work He remembered the voice and thought he had heard that voice before. Finally Jon realized that the voice that he heard was the voice of his deceased wife Lindsey, who was killed in an auto accident two years before. He wondered why she would try to contact him and if this was her way of telling him that he should marry Sara. He shook his head and came back to reality and got ready for bed. He climbed into his bed, but the thoughts of Lindsey and the incident at work flooded his mind, making sleep impossible. He just laid there for a while, and then he got up to take a sleeping pill. Taking sleeping pills had become commonplace since Lindsey's death, as it seemed to be the only way Jon was able to sleep. Without these pills, he would be a wreck, and not able to work or have the relationship he had with his daughter or Sara. He went back to bed and fell asleep. At 5:00 am, the alarm went off, but it wasn't the siren that came with the clock, but it was the voice again, coming over his alarm clock speakers. All the voice said was,” marry her, Jon marry her soon.” Jon set up in his bed and listened to the voice. Jon checked the clock and the alarm. Jon had never set the alarm on the clock before, but somehow the alarm was set and went off at 5:00 am. Jon couldn't go back to sleep, for fear that the voice would return and visit him again.
Jon laid there in fear at what might happen next. He had never experienced anything like this before, and wondered what the meaning was. He decided that he would get up and get ready for work. He thought to himself, “thank goodness it was Friday, the last day of the work week.” Fridays at the office were the worst; everyone was trying to get as much work done as possible before the weekend.
He was no different. His early week procrastination always caught up with him on Fridays. Jon feverishly ran to his desk to get started. He was hard at work when the desk started to shake, Jon jumped back from his desk, and watched as the computer's monitor flashed on and off, and then it started to flash messages across the screen. The message said,”Marry her, Jon.” Hurry, Jon. The monitor flashed one more time before it displayed a poem that Lindsey wrote for Jon a couple of years before. Jon hurried to copy down the words that were on display. The computer shut down and restarted, like nothing had happened. Jon slowly went back to his desk to start work again. He stopped shortly after noon, He had a hour for lunch, but usually Jon only took 15 minutes, long enough to go down the street to the deli to order a ham and cheese sub. He finished his sandwich and drink, and walked back to work.
He went to his desk to continue his work. He finished about 10 minutes early, so he decided to go home, out of work and fearing what might happen next. He picked up Angela at the babysitter and took her out to eat at her favorite fast food place. Even though Angela was only 3 yrs old, she was smart enough to tell that something was wrong. She looked at him and asked, “Daddy is everything ok?” Jon said,” everything is fine.” They got home and Jon dressed Angela for bed and they set there until it was Angela's bedtime. Jon took a shower and went to bed after taking the prescribed pills. Something in the back of Jon's mind wouldn't let him sleep. He finally got up and fixed a strong drink then shortly after, fell asleep.
Jon was awakened early in the morning by Angela's jumping on the bed. "Daddy, wake up!" she screamed. Jon quickly set up in his bed, hoping that it was just Angela's eagerness to get the day started, rather than another one of the signs that had become part of everyday life. Jon fixed breakfast and they watched cartoons. He fell asleep as Angela played with her toys. Angela climbed up on Jon and fell asleep. Jon awoke about noon to the flashing TV screen. The voice of Lindsey rang thru the speakers and said, “Marry her, Jon. Marry her now.” Jon began to shake as he stared at the TV. All of a sudden, the screen of the TV shattered into thousands of pieces. Jon stood there, frozen in his tracks. After the shock had worn off, he called Sara and asked her to come over. She arrived an hour later, and she could see that something was wrong. She looked at Jon. His skin was pale, white as a ghost, and she asked him what was wrong. He walked her into the living room and showed her the remnants of the TV. Jon told her they needed to talk. Jon asked her if she would marry him, Sara was excited and said,” Yes.” The excitement woke up Angela, and she asked what was going on. Sara told her about her and her dad getting married. Angela got to her feet and wrapped her arms around Sara's waist and began to jump up and down in excitement. Jon walked into the kitchen to make dinner for his family.
They finished lunch and Sara got a page on her beeper, and she had to leave. Sara was on call at the hospital on the weekend. Jon decided that he would drive into the next town to buy a new TV. He loaded Angela in the car, and drove into town. He stopped at the gas station to fill up and get himself a drink. He bought Angela a cherry lollipop, because it was her favorite. He handed Angela the lollipop, and watched as she hurriedly tore through the packaging and stuck it into her mouth without a word. Jon just smiled at her and got into the car. Jon drove to the store and began looking through the selection of televisions, until he found the perfect one. As he went to the salesman, the telephone rang and the salesman asked him if his name was Jon, and he handed him the phone. Jon put the receiver to his ear and Lindsey voice rang through "ring, ring, ring, hurry Jon, get a ring quick." Jon slammed the receiver down and the salesman gave him a strange look. Jon asked what the price of the TV was and bought it. Jon put the TV box into the car and drove home. He carried the box into the house and began to hook it up. Angela played out in the backyard. Jon got the TV all hooked up and called Angela into the house to watch some TV. Jon and Angela sat down on the couch and started to watch TV. Although Jon was the man of the house, Angela was the queen of the TV. Jon let her watch the cartoon network. He had grown used to watching Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and all of the other cartoon characters. He was reminded of his childhood and watching the same cartoons himself. He used the time spent watching TV with Angela as quality time with his daughter. Jon fixed dinner and got Angela ready for bed. Angela told him right before she went to sleep that Sara would be a great mommy. Jon had to agree. He thought Sara would be perfect as a mother. He kissed her daughter good night and went to bed.
Sunday morning came and Jon and Angela went to Church. They had lunch at the fast food joint near the Church. When they got back home, Jon called Sara and asked her to come over because they needed to discuss the wedding. They decided that the wedding would be on July 5, a mere six months away. They talked all day until all the plans were made. They had dinner and Sara went home and Jon and Angela went to bed.
Six months had passed without a visit from Lindsey's voice. Today was the day of the wedding and Jon got up and ready. The wedding was at 10 O'clock, and he still had to get Angela ready. Angela was really excited because she was the flower girl, a task that she loved doing, because she loved to be the center of attention. They arrived at the Church and were surprised at the turnout. It looked like the whole town was there. The ceremony went without an incident, and Jon thought to himself that the nightmare that haunted his family was over. The next few days were pretty tough, because they had to move all of Sara's belongings into Jon's place. They got settled in comfortably after the first week. It was Monday, Jon got up early to take a shower and get some breakfast, Sara got up and helped get Angela dressed. Jon was in the shower, listening to the radio, when out of nowhere, the voice returned coming over the stereo's speaker “That was just the beginning, there is a whole lot more to do, a lot more”. Jon stood there shaking in fear. He hurried out of the shower. He ran into the kitchen, where Sara was fixing breakfast. He looked at her and said,” its back, honey its back.” Sara asked him what the voice had said, word for word. She wrapped her arms around him until his shaking stopped.
Jon went to work and Sara stayed home with Angela. Sara’s job had gotten easier, allowing her to stay at home with Angela. Angela had grown a lot in the passing months and she had turned four. Sara looked like she was falling right into the role of mother. Angela was looking forward to next year, when she would start kindergarten. Sara worked with her on her alphabet and numbers, Angela was a very gifted little girl. They spent most of the time singing nursery rhymes. Angela had a beautiful voice, and Sara looked like an angel playing the piano. Jon had begun writing poetry in the last couple months, and he and Sara would sing songs after they put Angela to bed. Jon would sing this lullaby to Angela right before she fell asleep.
“Little girl, time to go to sleep
My little darling, time to count the sheep
Close your eyes, don’t cry
As I sing this lullaby
You have nothing to fear
Cause I’ll always be here”
Jon got home from work and they had dinner and the three of them huddled together on the couch to watch TV. Angela fell asleep on Jon’s lap, and he quietly carried her to bed, then came back to the couch .Sara wrapped her arms around him and soon she was asleep. Just as soon as she was asleep, The Voice came over the speakers on the TV.” Jon, make your family grow, then more truths will be known.” Jon woke up Sara in time for her to hear the voice. Sara stared at Jon, looking concerned and asked what they should do now. “We ought to listen to it, I think” he answered. Sara just shook her head. They shut off the TV and went to the bedroom. Jon didn’t really want to start a family this early, but the voice changed his mind.
Jon and Sara tried to have a baby for a year, with no luck. Jon grew anxious as to what the voice would tell him to do next. Sara finally got pregnant and Jon seems to be at ease. Angela started kindergarten in the fall and she was one of the smartest children in her class. Her vocabulary had expanded greatly over the last year, and her little body was looking more and more like her mother every day. Sara got a new job, which involved a lot of extra hours of work. Jon got promoted at work, and was allowed to do his work at home. Jon was glad because that gave him a lot more time to spend with his family. One day he woke up and went to the microwave to heat some water. The display was flashing numbers across it, and the door was flapping back and forth. The voice said,” Teach her what I taught you.” Jon looked confused as to what the voice meant. “The gifts of word, Jon, Teach her the gift of words.” Everything was back to normal, and Jon understood what the voice meant. Jon knew that Angela was too young to learn the gift of words, but he knew he had to try. Jon went back to his office and returned to work. Later he told Sara about the events that happened that day.
Thanks goodness, it was the weekend; Weekends were quality time for Jon. He spent most of his time with his daughter, watching cartoons and falling asleep on the couch. Sara spent most of her time on the weekends, washing laundry and cleaning the house. Jon and Angela seem to grow closer and closer together as Sara’s pregnancy went along. Angela constantly wanted to be with her father. Jon couldn’t walk anywhere without Angela following behind him. She was like his little guardian angel, always watching over him and protecting him. Jon was taking everything in stride, to him; his life was perfect, a beautiful wife, a beautiful daughter, and another one on the way.
Jon and Sara finally sat down, trying to figure out what they were going to name the new baby. Jon was leaning toward the name Tessa Nicole. He and Lindsey had almost named Angela that, but they settled for Angela Marie. Jon figured that he would name the baby Tessa Marie to make The Voice happy, so it would stop bothering him and his family. Sara was nine months pregnant now. Jon had taken the last week off to be with her. That night, Sara went into labor, and Jon rushed her to the hospital. The whole birthing process took 9 hours, and by the time it was done, Sara was exhausted. It was two days before Sara was able to return home. Jon took another week off to help with the baby. Angela loved having a baby sister, and she told everyone that she had a little sister. She also wanted to bring her little baby sister to Show and Tell at school. Six months after Tessa’s birth, everything was back to normal. Jon was working at home, so that he could take care of Tessa while Sara was at work. Angela was really enjoying school; she always came home and told Jon about all the new stuff that she had learned. Jon was amused at how long his daughter could talk about school. Jon was in charge of fixing dinners because Sara’s job made for some long days at the office. Sara was exhausted most of the time when she got home, so she ate supper and usually went to bed. Jon spent most of the night tending his daughters. Jon spent a lot of his time teaching Angela how to rhyme, the first step in the path of the gift of words.
It had been a year since The Voice tried to contact Jon and his family. Jon felt that he had done what the voice had wanted him to do, so that he felt that everything was alright. Tessa had just started walking, and she was into everything. She kept Jon very busy, keeping her out of trouble. Angela was doing great in first grade; she was the head of her class, and reminded Jon, more and more, of her mother. One night after Sara got home from work and Angela had gone to bed, Jon was awaked by Angela screaming. Jon ran into her room and asked her what was wrong. She told him that she had seen her mother. Angela also told Jon that she saw her in her sleep, walking into the house and that she tried to take Angela with her. Jon understood why his daughter had screamed. A sight like that would have made him scream too. Jon told her that everything was all right and that she was okay. She insisted that Jon stay with her, just in case her mother tried to come back and get her again. Jon stayed with her the rest of the night, and in the morning, Jon told Sara what happened. She asked him what he was going to do. Jon just shook his head. Jon didn’t know what he was going to do. Sara got Angela ready for school and headed off toward work. Jon sat down to his laptop to get started, and suddenly, a bolt of electricity shot out of the laptops’ screen, and struck Jon in the chest. The screen flashed a couple of times. Jon looked up, holding his chest, the screen read:” Jon, I’m coming for my daughter to take her back with me.” Jon struggled to his feet and yelled at the screen. The noise woke up Tessa and she started to cry. Jon went to her room and picked her up. He held her with all of his might, worried that The Voice or Lindsey herself would come after Tessa too. He comforted his little daughter and brought her into his office. He gave her some toys to play with, while he went back to work. He got up at noon to fix himself and Tessa a snack, and to watch some TV. Jon sat there, watching cartoons with his daughter, still worried about what The Voice had in store for his little daughter. Tessa climbed up on Jon, and they fell asleep. They woke up when Angela got home from school. Angela asked Jon why he was so tired. Jon didn’t know why he was so tired, he just was. He fixed dinner, while Angela did her homework and Tessa played with her toys and watched TV. Sara came home and they had dinner, and they all went to bed early. As Jon was getting ready for bed, Sara walked into the bathroom and saw the burn mark on Jon’s chest. She asked him how he got it, and Jon began to tell her the events that unfolded that day. Sara rubbed Jon’s back, and went back into the bedroom. Jon splashed water on his face and took his medicine and went into the bedroom. During the night, Angela woke up screaming again, Jon ran to his daughter, and asked her if she’d had another dream. She shook her head yes. Angel explained that in the dream, her mother came into the house and got her, and that she’d led her into the dark place with a big metal gate. Jon spent the night with his daughter, holding her and comforting her.
The rest of the week went on according to schedule; Jon was getting ready for the weekend. He had planned a picnic for his family. Sara packed all the food, while Jon dug out the coolers and blankets for the picnic. They went to the park and they all had a great time. They came home and finished the day with a little bit of family time around the TV. Angela and Tessa went to bed early, but Jon and Sara stayed up late to finish a movie they had started. The movie was about to end, when Jon heard crying coming from Angela’s room. Jon walked into her room, and went to hold his daughter. Angela started to scream, telling him to go away and not to touch her. Sara quickly ran into the room and watched as Jon slowly stepped away from his daughter, not sure what to do. They decided that there was nothing that they could do for Angela tonight. They went into their bedroom, and Jon told Sara that he was going to put an end to this whole thing. Sara was wondering how he was going to do this. Jon told her that he was going to go to Lindsey’s grave and confront her. Sara agreed that that might work. They went to sleep, and in the morning, Jon and Angela headed for the cemetery. They walked through the gates, holding hands, as they approached Lindsey’s grave. Jon told Angela to wait here, while he moved through the inner gate of the cemetery. Jon noticed the closer he got to Lindsey’s grave, there was electricity flowing through the outer gates of the cemetery. He stood near the tombstone, and he started talking to it, and the more he talked, the more electricity built up in the gates. All of a sudden, a huge bolt of electricity came from all four corners of the cemetery; the bolt struck Jon in the heart. His body started to jerk and contort, as the electricity burned through him. Suddenly, there was movement from the grave, the ground ripped open, and Lindsey’s body started to rise out of the ground. The body moved to Angela, and it embraced her. Lindsey took hold of Angela’s hand and led her toward the grave. They stepped down into the grave and the hole sealed around them. The groundskeeper found Jon’s body a few hours later, and he called Sara. Sara came to the cemetery to identify the body and she asked the groundskeeper if he saw a little girl around the cemetery. He said he hadn’t seen a little girl, but he found this piece of paper on the tombstone. Sara grabbed the paper and read it. It said bye, Sara. I’m going to stay with my mother now. Sara dropped to her knees and started to cry.
The End
The winds of change #2
Sara Richards and her daughter Tessa had just moved into their new house. It had been fifteen years since her husband Jon had died. Tessa was looking forward to the summer, because she loved to swim and their new house was by the beach. Sara had become head nurse on her shift. The hospital had been very busy the last couple of months, and Sara had been extremely busy training new nurses and caring for the intensive care patients.
The summer was going full speed when Sara started to have problems sleeping. She thought that her inability to sleep was just due to the stress of her job, and everything would be alright when all the training was over and business slowed down. Tessa had been enjoying the summer, swimming and hanging out with her friends on the weekends. Sara spent time with Tessa when they went to the mall to shop for clothes. Tessa picked out outfits for school. When they carried all the packages into the house, they always realized that they had spent too much and told themselves that they would never spend that much again.
The beginning of school was fast approaching, Tessa had already gotten all of the things that she needed for school. Sara had been getting more irritable as her sleeping problems increased. She finally gave in, and went to her doctor. The doctor prescribed some sleeping pills and told her to avoid as much stress as she could. She told him that she would try, but that stress was hard to avoid in her line of work.
Later that night, Sara and Tessa sat down and watched TV and had dinner. Tessa went to bed early, tomorrow was the first day of school, and she wanted to look the best she could. Sara stayed up to watch a movie. The movie finished around midnight, and Sara started to walk to her bedroom, when she was hit with a blinding pain in her head. She fell to her knees and put her hands on the sides of her head. Visions in her mind started to flash before her eyes. The vision was of her deceased husband Jon’s grave. The vision slowly moved through Sara’s mind and the last thing she saw was Jon climbing out of the grave, after digging his way out of the ground. Sara passed out and she finally regained consciousness a few hours later, and she got up and went to lie down on her bed.
In the morning, Tessa walked into her mother’s room and woke her up. Sara slowly woke up and got ready to go to work. Tessa went into her room to get ready for school. Tessa returned to her mother’s room to check on her mother. Sara was almost ready, but she wasn’t her normal self. They finished getting ready, and Sara drove Tessa to school and went to work. At work, Sara had another spell, but the visions were different. The visions showed Jon walking down the road toward their house and he stopped at the mailbox.
Sara woke up on a gurney. The doctor told her that she had fainted. Sara knew that she had more than a fainting problem. She didn’t want to tell anyone what she was seeing during these spells, because she could hardly believe it herself. She finished the rest of the shift and picked up her daughter at school and got dinner at the fast food place near their house. Sara lay down after she ate dinner. She was exhausted. The spells were taking their toll on her, and she knew that she would have to talk to someone about her spells. Later that night, she called one of her friends and asked if she knew a good shrink. She referred her to Dr. Edwards. She went to sleep a little later on that night. She woke up early in the morning, and called Dr. Edwards office to set up an appointment. She got an appointment for the next day. Sara and Tessa got ready to leave for school and work. After the day was over, they both came home and went to bed.
Sara got up in the morning and went to the doctor. The doctor couldn’t figure out what was wrong with her. Sara left the doctor’s office and went back to her house. She went to her mailbox and opened it. Inside the mailbox, she found an envelope with only her name on it. She opened the letter and she found a letter from Jon. She was afraid to read it at first, but she finally broke down and read it. The letter told her that he was coming back to take Tessa with him, and that she better not get in the way. Sara tore the letter into pieces and threw it on the ground. She went inside the house to do some cleaning and relax before Tessa got home from school. Tessa arrived home a few hours later, and Sara took her aside to explain to her what was going on. Tessa wasn’t sure that she believed what her mother was saying. She told her that she understood and she told her mother not to worry about her and that she wasn’t going anywhere.
Sara went into the kitchen to fix dinner for her and Tessa. Later that night, as Sara was walking toward her room, she had another spell. The vision that flashed in her mind was of Jon as he walked into the house and into Tessa’s room. The next vision was Jon as he walked out of Tessa’s room, with Tessa, holding his hand. Jon looked back at Sara’s room and waved goodbye as he continued out the door. Sara woke up in her bedroom, and Tessa was there, standing over her. Tessa told her that she found her in the hall, and she carried her into the room. Tessa was worried about her mother’s condition and she asked if she was alright. Sara answered that she was fine, not wanting her daughter to worry about her.
Today was Saturday, and Tessa went back into her room to get some sleep. Sara lay there on her bed, not sure what she was going to happen next. She knew that if she wanted to keep her daughter, she would have to fight Jon. She wasn’t sure that she would be able to beat him, but she had to do her best to prevent her daughter from being taken away from her. This whole fight with Jon reminded Sara so much of the fight that Jon had with her deceased wife Lindsey. That was the reason that Jon was dead and her step daughter Angela was taken from her. She got up a few hours later to fix breakfast and discuss plans that Tessa and she had for the day. Tessa and her friends were going to the mall to do some shopping and later they were going to walk through the park. Sara had work at home to do. They ate breakfast and went to do their own thing. After they were finished, they meet for dinner. They went home and they went to bed. That night, Sara had another vision which showed Jon walking to the grave, holding Tessa’s hand, and him lowering her into the grave and him following her down. Sara woke up in the morning and went into Tessa’s room and told her that her fainting spells were going to end today. Tessa wasn’t sure what her mother meant by what she had said. Sara told her all about her visions that she had and how she was going to confront Jon in the graveyard. Tessa tried to talk her mother out of it, but Sara’s mind was already made up. Sara told Tessa that she was going with her to the graveyard, so that they could finish this. They both got ready, and Sara drove toward the graveyard. They arrived about a half hour later, and Sara and Tessa slowly open the metal gates leading to the graveyard. They moved toward the headstone where Jon was buried, the headstone started to glow. The grave opened up, and Jon stood in front of them and started to laugh. He told Sara that it was a stupid decision to come here, and he also told her that she would die if she didn’t just hand Tessa over to him. She told him that she wasn’t going to just hand over her daughter to him. Jon laughed and waved his hand through the air, and Sara flew backwards because of the blow. Jon looked at her and smiled. He extended his hand toward Tessa. Tessa was hypnotized by Jon and reached for his hand. Their hands meet; a shockwave went through the graveyard. Sara was knocked backwards again, but she struggled to her feet. She charged toward Jon, and he quickly turned around and extended his hand toward her. The force of his hand threw Sara’s body against the fence surrounding the cemetery, killing her instantly. Jon just laughed and he continued down into the grave, after putting Tessa in the grave. After he descended into the grave, the grave sealed up and it began to rain.
Thanks for reading my post
Till next time,
Von Soltwedel
The winds of change
It was a day just like any other day, as Jon Stevens slowly crawled out of his bed. He was in good spirits as he combed his hair and brushed his teeth. Today was his 24th birthday. He had a date tonight with his longtime girlfriend, Sara. He was getting ready for work, when his three year old daughter walked into the room. She asked him if he was going to see the pretty lady tonight. Jon nodded his head in agreement. The little girl became excited and said I'm going with you tonight when you see the pretty lady. I really like her.
With that being said, Jon got her ready to go to the babysitter. He rushed out the door and sped down the road. He dropped her off and sped to work. It was another dull day at work, waiting, almost begging for the phone to ring. It never did, a he put his coat on to leave, the computer started making a noise, but it wasn't the normal computer noise, rather almost like a voice. He ignored it at first, but the noise kept getting louder and clearer. It was saying “the winds of changes are blowing in your direction, seize the moment, do the right thing, you know what that is.” Jon stood half in shock and half in bewilderment at what he had heard. He rushed out of the office and drove home.
As he arrived home, Jon helped his daughter to the house, all the while thinking about what happened to him just a few moments ago in his office. He took a shower and got dressed for his date than he went to help his daughter pick a dress to wear. He picked a pretty dress with flowers and butterflies, she put it on and he fixed her hair. Jon looked at her and told her that she looked just like her mother and that she would be very proud of her. She asked him if he missed her, and he said “yes, I do.” Angela was hurrying out the door and she grabbed Jon's hand and pulled him along, saying “I don't want to be late for the pretty lady.” He drove to the place where he and Sara were having dinner; they waited for Sara to arrive. Sara came in about 2 minutes later, wrapping her arms around Jon and giving him a kiss. She picked up Angela and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Angela looked at her and said hello, lady. “My name is Sara”, she quickly told her. They went and sat down, enjoying conversation and a perfectly prepared dinner. Angela suddenly asked when Jon was going to marry Sara. Jon looked at her and thought why she asked that question. Sara chimed in and asked the question herself. Jon felt like he was backed into a corner with no means of escape. The dinner ended and Jon and Angela went back home. Jon carried Angela into the house and got her ready for bed. He kissed her goodnight and told her that he loved her. Angela barely opened her eyes to say, “I love you too, Daddy.”
Jon walked into the bathroom and splashed water on his face, and thought about what a day he had. He finally reflected back on the incident at work He remembered the voice and thought he had heard that voice before. Finally Jon realized that the voice that he heard was the voice of his deceased wife Lindsey, who was killed in an auto accident two years before. He wondered why she would try to contact him and if this was her way of telling him that he should marry Sara. He shook his head and came back to reality and got ready for bed. He climbed into his bed, but the thoughts of Lindsey and the incident at work flooded his mind, making sleep impossible. He just laid there for a while, and then he got up to take a sleeping pill. Taking sleeping pills had become commonplace since Lindsey's death, as it seemed to be the only way Jon was able to sleep. Without these pills, he would be a wreck, and not able to work or have the relationship he had with his daughter or Sara. He went back to bed and fell asleep. At 5:00 am, the alarm went off, but it wasn't the siren that came with the clock, but it was the voice again, coming over his alarm clock speakers. All the voice said was,” marry her, Jon marry her soon.” Jon set up in his bed and listened to the voice. Jon checked the clock and the alarm. Jon had never set the alarm on the clock before, but somehow the alarm was set and went off at 5:00 am. Jon couldn't go back to sleep, for fear that the voice would return and visit him again.
Jon laid there in fear at what might happen next. He had never experienced anything like this before, and wondered what the meaning was. He decided that he would get up and get ready for work. He thought to himself, “thank goodness it was Friday, the last day of the work week.” Fridays at the office were the worst; everyone was trying to get as much work done as possible before the weekend.
He was no different. His early week procrastination always caught up with him on Fridays. Jon feverishly ran to his desk to get started. He was hard at work when the desk started to shake, Jon jumped back from his desk, and watched as the computer's monitor flashed on and off, and then it started to flash messages across the screen. The message said,”Marry her, Jon.” Hurry, Jon. The monitor flashed one more time before it displayed a poem that Lindsey wrote for Jon a couple of years before. Jon hurried to copy down the words that were on display. The computer shut down and restarted, like nothing had happened. Jon slowly went back to his desk to start work again. He stopped shortly after noon, He had a hour for lunch, but usually Jon only took 15 minutes, long enough to go down the street to the deli to order a ham and cheese sub. He finished his sandwich and drink, and walked back to work.
He went to his desk to continue his work. He finished about 10 minutes early, so he decided to go home, out of work and fearing what might happen next. He picked up Angela at the babysitter and took her out to eat at her favorite fast food place. Even though Angela was only 3 yrs old, she was smart enough to tell that something was wrong. She looked at him and asked, “Daddy is everything ok?” Jon said,” everything is fine.” They got home and Jon dressed Angela for bed and they set there until it was Angela's bedtime. Jon took a shower and went to bed after taking the prescribed pills. Something in the back of Jon's mind wouldn't let him sleep. He finally got up and fixed a strong drink then shortly after, fell asleep.
Jon was awakened early in the morning by Angela's jumping on the bed. "Daddy, wake up!" she screamed. Jon quickly set up in his bed, hoping that it was just Angela's eagerness to get the day started, rather than another one of the signs that had become part of everyday life. Jon fixed breakfast and they watched cartoons. He fell asleep as Angela played with her toys. Angela climbed up on Jon and fell asleep. Jon awoke about noon to the flashing TV screen. The voice of Lindsey rang thru the speakers and said, “Marry her, Jon. Marry her now.” Jon began to shake as he stared at the TV. All of a sudden, the screen of the TV shattered into thousands of pieces. Jon stood there, frozen in his tracks. After the shock had worn off, he called Sara and asked her to come over. She arrived an hour later, and she could see that something was wrong. She looked at Jon. His skin was pale, white as a ghost, and she asked him what was wrong. He walked her into the living room and showed her the remnants of the TV. Jon told her they needed to talk. Jon asked her if she would marry him, Sara was excited and said,” Yes.” The excitement woke up Angela, and she asked what was going on. Sara told her about her and her dad getting married. Angela got to her feet and wrapped her arms around Sara's waist and began to jump up and down in excitement. Jon walked into the kitchen to make dinner for his family.
They finished lunch and Sara got a page on her beeper, and she had to leave. Sara was on call at the hospital on the weekend. Jon decided that he would drive into the next town to buy a new TV. He loaded Angela in the car, and drove into town. He stopped at the gas station to fill up and get himself a drink. He bought Angela a cherry lollipop, because it was her favorite. He handed Angela the lollipop, and watched as she hurriedly tore through the packaging and stuck it into her mouth without a word. Jon just smiled at her and got into the car. Jon drove to the store and began looking through the selection of televisions, until he found the perfect one. As he went to the salesman, the telephone rang and the salesman asked him if his name was Jon, and he handed him the phone. Jon put the receiver to his ear and Lindsey voice rang through "ring, ring, ring, hurry Jon, get a ring quick." Jon slammed the receiver down and the salesman gave him a strange look. Jon asked what the price of the TV was and bought it. Jon put the TV box into the car and drove home. He carried the box into the house and began to hook it up. Angela played out in the backyard. Jon got the TV all hooked up and called Angela into the house to watch some TV. Jon and Angela sat down on the couch and started to watch TV. Although Jon was the man of the house, Angela was the queen of the TV. Jon let her watch the cartoon network. He had grown used to watching Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and all of the other cartoon characters. He was reminded of his childhood and watching the same cartoons himself. He used the time spent watching TV with Angela as quality time with his daughter. Jon fixed dinner and got Angela ready for bed. Angela told him right before she went to sleep that Sara would be a great mommy. Jon had to agree. He thought Sara would be perfect as a mother. He kissed her daughter good night and went to bed.
Sunday morning came and Jon and Angela went to Church. They had lunch at the fast food joint near the Church. When they got back home, Jon called Sara and asked her to come over because they needed to discuss the wedding. They decided that the wedding would be on July 5, a mere six months away. They talked all day until all the plans were made. They had dinner and Sara went home and Jon and Angela went to bed.
Six months had passed without a visit from Lindsey's voice. Today was the day of the wedding and Jon got up and ready. The wedding was at 10 O'clock, and he still had to get Angela ready. Angela was really excited because she was the flower girl, a task that she loved doing, because she loved to be the center of attention. They arrived at the Church and were surprised at the turnout. It looked like the whole town was there. The ceremony went without an incident, and Jon thought to himself that the nightmare that haunted his family was over. The next few days were pretty tough, because they had to move all of Sara's belongings into Jon's place. They got settled in comfortably after the first week. It was Monday, Jon got up early to take a shower and get some breakfast, Sara got up and helped get Angela dressed. Jon was in the shower, listening to the radio, when out of nowhere, the voice returned coming over the stereo's speaker “That was just the beginning, there is a whole lot more to do, a lot more”. Jon stood there shaking in fear. He hurried out of the shower. He ran into the kitchen, where Sara was fixing breakfast. He looked at her and said,” its back, honey its back.” Sara asked him what the voice had said, word for word. She wrapped her arms around him until his shaking stopped.
Jon went to work and Sara stayed home with Angela. Sara’s job had gotten easier, allowing her to stay at home with Angela. Angela had grown a lot in the passing months and she had turned four. Sara looked like she was falling right into the role of mother. Angela was looking forward to next year, when she would start kindergarten. Sara worked with her on her alphabet and numbers, Angela was a very gifted little girl. They spent most of the time singing nursery rhymes. Angela had a beautiful voice, and Sara looked like an angel playing the piano. Jon had begun writing poetry in the last couple months, and he and Sara would sing songs after they put Angela to bed. Jon would sing this lullaby to Angela right before she fell asleep.
“Little girl, time to go to sleep
My little darling, time to count the sheep
Close your eyes, don’t cry
As I sing this lullaby
You have nothing to fear
Cause I’ll always be here”
Jon got home from work and they had dinner and the three of them huddled together on the couch to watch TV. Angela fell asleep on Jon’s lap, and he quietly carried her to bed, then came back to the couch .Sara wrapped her arms around him and soon she was asleep. Just as soon as she was asleep, The Voice came over the speakers on the TV.” Jon, make your family grow, then more truths will be known.” Jon woke up Sara in time for her to hear the voice. Sara stared at Jon, looking concerned and asked what they should do now. “We ought to listen to it, I think” he answered. Sara just shook her head. They shut off the TV and went to the bedroom. Jon didn’t really want to start a family this early, but the voice changed his mind.
Jon and Sara tried to have a baby for a year, with no luck. Jon grew anxious as to what the voice would tell him to do next. Sara finally got pregnant and Jon seems to be at ease. Angela started kindergarten in the fall and she was one of the smartest children in her class. Her vocabulary had expanded greatly over the last year, and her little body was looking more and more like her mother every day. Sara got a new job, which involved a lot of extra hours of work. Jon got promoted at work, and was allowed to do his work at home. Jon was glad because that gave him a lot more time to spend with his family. One day he woke up and went to the microwave to heat some water. The display was flashing numbers across it, and the door was flapping back and forth. The voice said,” Teach her what I taught you.” Jon looked confused as to what the voice meant. “The gifts of word, Jon, Teach her the gift of words.” Everything was back to normal, and Jon understood what the voice meant. Jon knew that Angela was too young to learn the gift of words, but he knew he had to try. Jon went back to his office and returned to work. Later he told Sara about the events that happened that day.
Thanks goodness, it was the weekend; Weekends were quality time for Jon. He spent most of his time with his daughter, watching cartoons and falling asleep on the couch. Sara spent most of her time on the weekends, washing laundry and cleaning the house. Jon and Angela seem to grow closer and closer together as Sara’s pregnancy went along. Angela constantly wanted to be with her father. Jon couldn’t walk anywhere without Angela following behind him. She was like his little guardian angel, always watching over him and protecting him. Jon was taking everything in stride, to him; his life was perfect, a beautiful wife, a beautiful daughter, and another one on the way.
Jon and Sara finally sat down, trying to figure out what they were going to name the new baby. Jon was leaning toward the name Tessa Nicole. He and Lindsey had almost named Angela that, but they settled for Angela Marie. Jon figured that he would name the baby Tessa Marie to make The Voice happy, so it would stop bothering him and his family. Sara was nine months pregnant now. Jon had taken the last week off to be with her. That night, Sara went into labor, and Jon rushed her to the hospital. The whole birthing process took 9 hours, and by the time it was done, Sara was exhausted. It was two days before Sara was able to return home. Jon took another week off to help with the baby. Angela loved having a baby sister, and she told everyone that she had a little sister. She also wanted to bring her little baby sister to Show and Tell at school. Six months after Tessa’s birth, everything was back to normal. Jon was working at home, so that he could take care of Tessa while Sara was at work. Angela was really enjoying school; she always came home and told Jon about all the new stuff that she had learned. Jon was amused at how long his daughter could talk about school. Jon was in charge of fixing dinners because Sara’s job made for some long days at the office. Sara was exhausted most of the time when she got home, so she ate supper and usually went to bed. Jon spent most of the night tending his daughters. Jon spent a lot of his time teaching Angela how to rhyme, the first step in the path of the gift of words.
It had been a year since The Voice tried to contact Jon and his family. Jon felt that he had done what the voice had wanted him to do, so that he felt that everything was alright. Tessa had just started walking, and she was into everything. She kept Jon very busy, keeping her out of trouble. Angela was doing great in first grade; she was the head of her class, and reminded Jon, more and more, of her mother. One night after Sara got home from work and Angela had gone to bed, Jon was awaked by Angela screaming. Jon ran into her room and asked her what was wrong. She told him that she had seen her mother. Angela also told Jon that she saw her in her sleep, walking into the house and that she tried to take Angela with her. Jon understood why his daughter had screamed. A sight like that would have made him scream too. Jon told her that everything was all right and that she was okay. She insisted that Jon stay with her, just in case her mother tried to come back and get her again. Jon stayed with her the rest of the night, and in the morning, Jon told Sara what happened. She asked him what he was going to do. Jon just shook his head. Jon didn’t know what he was going to do. Sara got Angela ready for school and headed off toward work. Jon sat down to his laptop to get started, and suddenly, a bolt of electricity shot out of the laptops’ screen, and struck Jon in the chest. The screen flashed a couple of times. Jon looked up, holding his chest, the screen read:” Jon, I’m coming for my daughter to take her back with me.” Jon struggled to his feet and yelled at the screen. The noise woke up Tessa and she started to cry. Jon went to her room and picked her up. He held her with all of his might, worried that The Voice or Lindsey herself would come after Tessa too. He comforted his little daughter and brought her into his office. He gave her some toys to play with, while he went back to work. He got up at noon to fix himself and Tessa a snack, and to watch some TV. Jon sat there, watching cartoons with his daughter, still worried about what The Voice had in store for his little daughter. Tessa climbed up on Jon, and they fell asleep. They woke up when Angela got home from school. Angela asked Jon why he was so tired. Jon didn’t know why he was so tired, he just was. He fixed dinner, while Angela did her homework and Tessa played with her toys and watched TV. Sara came home and they had dinner, and they all went to bed early. As Jon was getting ready for bed, Sara walked into the bathroom and saw the burn mark on Jon’s chest. She asked him how he got it, and Jon began to tell her the events that unfolded that day. Sara rubbed Jon’s back, and went back into the bedroom. Jon splashed water on his face and took his medicine and went into the bedroom. During the night, Angela woke up screaming again, Jon ran to his daughter, and asked her if she’d had another dream. She shook her head yes. Angel explained that in the dream, her mother came into the house and got her, and that she’d led her into the dark place with a big metal gate. Jon spent the night with his daughter, holding her and comforting her.
The rest of the week went on according to schedule; Jon was getting ready for the weekend. He had planned a picnic for his family. Sara packed all the food, while Jon dug out the coolers and blankets for the picnic. They went to the park and they all had a great time. They came home and finished the day with a little bit of family time around the TV. Angela and Tessa went to bed early, but Jon and Sara stayed up late to finish a movie they had started. The movie was about to end, when Jon heard crying coming from Angela’s room. Jon walked into her room, and went to hold his daughter. Angela started to scream, telling him to go away and not to touch her. Sara quickly ran into the room and watched as Jon slowly stepped away from his daughter, not sure what to do. They decided that there was nothing that they could do for Angela tonight. They went into their bedroom, and Jon told Sara that he was going to put an end to this whole thing. Sara was wondering how he was going to do this. Jon told her that he was going to go to Lindsey’s grave and confront her. Sara agreed that that might work. They went to sleep, and in the morning, Jon and Angela headed for the cemetery. They walked through the gates, holding hands, as they approached Lindsey’s grave. Jon told Angela to wait here, while he moved through the inner gate of the cemetery. Jon noticed the closer he got to Lindsey’s grave, there was electricity flowing through the outer gates of the cemetery. He stood near the tombstone, and he started talking to it, and the more he talked, the more electricity built up in the gates. All of a sudden, a huge bolt of electricity came from all four corners of the cemetery; the bolt struck Jon in the heart. His body started to jerk and contort, as the electricity burned through him. Suddenly, there was movement from the grave, the ground ripped open, and Lindsey’s body started to rise out of the ground. The body moved to Angela, and it embraced her. Lindsey took hold of Angela’s hand and led her toward the grave. They stepped down into the grave and the hole sealed around them. The groundskeeper found Jon’s body a few hours later, and he called Sara. Sara came to the cemetery to identify the body and she asked the groundskeeper if he saw a little girl around the cemetery. He said he hadn’t seen a little girl, but he found this piece of paper on the tombstone. Sara grabbed the paper and read it. It said bye, Sara. I’m going to stay with my mother now. Sara dropped to her knees and started to cry.
The End
The winds of change #2
Sara Richards and her daughter Tessa had just moved into their new house. It had been fifteen years since her husband Jon had died. Tessa was looking forward to the summer, because she loved to swim and their new house was by the beach. Sara had become head nurse on her shift. The hospital had been very busy the last couple of months, and Sara had been extremely busy training new nurses and caring for the intensive care patients.
The summer was going full speed when Sara started to have problems sleeping. She thought that her inability to sleep was just due to the stress of her job, and everything would be alright when all the training was over and business slowed down. Tessa had been enjoying the summer, swimming and hanging out with her friends on the weekends. Sara spent time with Tessa when they went to the mall to shop for clothes. Tessa picked out outfits for school. When they carried all the packages into the house, they always realized that they had spent too much and told themselves that they would never spend that much again.
The beginning of school was fast approaching, Tessa had already gotten all of the things that she needed for school. Sara had been getting more irritable as her sleeping problems increased. She finally gave in, and went to her doctor. The doctor prescribed some sleeping pills and told her to avoid as much stress as she could. She told him that she would try, but that stress was hard to avoid in her line of work.
Later that night, Sara and Tessa sat down and watched TV and had dinner. Tessa went to bed early, tomorrow was the first day of school, and she wanted to look the best she could. Sara stayed up to watch a movie. The movie finished around midnight, and Sara started to walk to her bedroom, when she was hit with a blinding pain in her head. She fell to her knees and put her hands on the sides of her head. Visions in her mind started to flash before her eyes. The vision was of her deceased husband Jon’s grave. The vision slowly moved through Sara’s mind and the last thing she saw was Jon climbing out of the grave, after digging his way out of the ground. Sara passed out and she finally regained consciousness a few hours later, and she got up and went to lie down on her bed.
In the morning, Tessa walked into her mother’s room and woke her up. Sara slowly woke up and got ready to go to work. Tessa went into her room to get ready for school. Tessa returned to her mother’s room to check on her mother. Sara was almost ready, but she wasn’t her normal self. They finished getting ready, and Sara drove Tessa to school and went to work. At work, Sara had another spell, but the visions were different. The visions showed Jon walking down the road toward their house and he stopped at the mailbox.
Sara woke up on a gurney. The doctor told her that she had fainted. Sara knew that she had more than a fainting problem. She didn’t want to tell anyone what she was seeing during these spells, because she could hardly believe it herself. She finished the rest of the shift and picked up her daughter at school and got dinner at the fast food place near their house. Sara lay down after she ate dinner. She was exhausted. The spells were taking their toll on her, and she knew that she would have to talk to someone about her spells. Later that night, she called one of her friends and asked if she knew a good shrink. She referred her to Dr. Edwards. She went to sleep a little later on that night. She woke up early in the morning, and called Dr. Edwards office to set up an appointment. She got an appointment for the next day. Sara and Tessa got ready to leave for school and work. After the day was over, they both came home and went to bed.
Sara got up in the morning and went to the doctor. The doctor couldn’t figure out what was wrong with her. Sara left the doctor’s office and went back to her house. She went to her mailbox and opened it. Inside the mailbox, she found an envelope with only her name on it. She opened the letter and she found a letter from Jon. She was afraid to read it at first, but she finally broke down and read it. The letter told her that he was coming back to take Tessa with him, and that she better not get in the way. Sara tore the letter into pieces and threw it on the ground. She went inside the house to do some cleaning and relax before Tessa got home from school. Tessa arrived home a few hours later, and Sara took her aside to explain to her what was going on. Tessa wasn’t sure that she believed what her mother was saying. She told her that she understood and she told her mother not to worry about her and that she wasn’t going anywhere.
Sara went into the kitchen to fix dinner for her and Tessa. Later that night, as Sara was walking toward her room, she had another spell. The vision that flashed in her mind was of Jon as he walked into the house and into Tessa’s room. The next vision was Jon as he walked out of Tessa’s room, with Tessa, holding his hand. Jon looked back at Sara’s room and waved goodbye as he continued out the door. Sara woke up in her bedroom, and Tessa was there, standing over her. Tessa told her that she found her in the hall, and she carried her into the room. Tessa was worried about her mother’s condition and she asked if she was alright. Sara answered that she was fine, not wanting her daughter to worry about her.
Today was Saturday, and Tessa went back into her room to get some sleep. Sara lay there on her bed, not sure what she was going to happen next. She knew that if she wanted to keep her daughter, she would have to fight Jon. She wasn’t sure that she would be able to beat him, but she had to do her best to prevent her daughter from being taken away from her. This whole fight with Jon reminded Sara so much of the fight that Jon had with her deceased wife Lindsey. That was the reason that Jon was dead and her step daughter Angela was taken from her. She got up a few hours later to fix breakfast and discuss plans that Tessa and she had for the day. Tessa and her friends were going to the mall to do some shopping and later they were going to walk through the park. Sara had work at home to do. They ate breakfast and went to do their own thing. After they were finished, they meet for dinner. They went home and they went to bed. That night, Sara had another vision which showed Jon walking to the grave, holding Tessa’s hand, and him lowering her into the grave and him following her down. Sara woke up in the morning and went into Tessa’s room and told her that her fainting spells were going to end today. Tessa wasn’t sure what her mother meant by what she had said. Sara told her all about her visions that she had and how she was going to confront Jon in the graveyard. Tessa tried to talk her mother out of it, but Sara’s mind was already made up. Sara told Tessa that she was going with her to the graveyard, so that they could finish this. They both got ready, and Sara drove toward the graveyard. They arrived about a half hour later, and Sara and Tessa slowly open the metal gates leading to the graveyard. They moved toward the headstone where Jon was buried, the headstone started to glow. The grave opened up, and Jon stood in front of them and started to laugh. He told Sara that it was a stupid decision to come here, and he also told her that she would die if she didn’t just hand Tessa over to him. She told him that she wasn’t going to just hand over her daughter to him. Jon laughed and waved his hand through the air, and Sara flew backwards because of the blow. Jon looked at her and smiled. He extended his hand toward Tessa. Tessa was hypnotized by Jon and reached for his hand. Their hands meet; a shockwave went through the graveyard. Sara was knocked backwards again, but she struggled to her feet. She charged toward Jon, and he quickly turned around and extended his hand toward her. The force of his hand threw Sara’s body against the fence surrounding the cemetery, killing her instantly. Jon just laughed and he continued down into the grave, after putting Tessa in the grave. After he descended into the grave, the grave sealed up and it began to rain.
Thanks for reading my post
Till next time,
Von Soltwedel