Only Fools Walk Free - Sandra R Neeley Page 0,13

to. “No. He’s not gone,” she said, lifting her hands palm up, her face filled with desperation. “But I’ve tried everything. I cannot release him,” ‘Vangeline said, weeping quietly. “I can’t find a way to free him. I’ve consulted everyone I know, offered rewards that I cannot even pay to anyone that can help me free my son. And I’ve had no one even come forth with a suggestion. I don’t know what to do next, but I refuse to give up!” she finished up on a cough so forcefully that she had to hold onto the gate to keep herself upright.

“It’s alright, Maman. It is what it is, and at least I can see you both, hear your voices. I’m not alone,” Samuel said, trying to comfort his mother.

“It is not alright, Samuel. I may not always be here. What will happen to you then? I need to find a way to release you from your bargain.” ‘Vangeline was wracked with a soul-shaking cough again. “There is always a way out, we just have to find it!” she insisted.

“Maman, you should not be here. Please, go home and take care of yourself. That cough sounds bad, Maman. I will still be here when you are better,” Samuel urged.

“What if I don’t make it back, Samuel. I need to free you soon,” ‘Vangeline lamented.

“’Vangeline, you are not well,” Clarice said quietly. She’d been watching ‘Vangeline speaking to Samuel. She couldn’t hear Samuel’s side, but she could guess the meaning of what he’d said from her responses. “You should go home and take care of yourself so that you will be able to free him as soon as we find the secret to releasing him.

“I know you are right, but I don’t want to leave here. What if…” ‘Vangeline said.

“You are so strong, ‘Vangeline. You can cure yourself. Take the time to rest and cure your cough. I’ll be here with Samuel every day, so you won’t have to worry about it. You take the time you need and we’ll find a way to release him when you are healthy again,” Clarice encouraged.

“Perhaps you’re right,” ‘Vangeline said. She reached through the rungs of the gate, extending her arms so that Samuel could touch her and she him. “I love you, Samuel. I will find a way.”

“I know, Maman. Go rest. Be well, then, I will see you again.”

~~~~~

Clarice kept her promise to visit Samuel every day for the first week or so, then gradually, he realized it had been a while since she’d been to see him. He’d learned how to count the days as they passed, though they no longer affected him one way or another, so it was easy for him to know if Clarice missed a day.

He was becoming worried. Neither Clarice nor his mother had come to see him in weeks. He paced his prison. He shouted his frustration. He stood on top of the crypt and screamed their names to the sky, but no one saw him, and no one heard him.

Then, finally, one day a crew of several men arrived. They unlocked the gate around his crypt, opened the sealed inner sanctum of the crypt and removed Clarice's father’s remains from it. Then they sealed it again. He was confused, wondering what had caused the man’s remains to be removed from his own crypt. He was glad the man’s body was gone, but left in a state of wondering.

Samuel spent much of that day confused and apprehensive. He knew something had changed, something was wrong. Later that afternoon, he saw a familiar figure making her way down the path to him. “Clarice!” he called out, jumping up from the ground where he leaned against the side of the crypt.

He watched her walking toward him, almost as though she didn’t want to arrive at his crypt. Her anxious behavior only made him more concerned. “Clarice,” he said softly. “Whatever it is, please, just hurry and tell me,” he begged.

But of course Clarice couldn’t hear him. She walked slowly, gathering her thoughts about her, hating the pain she was about to cause him. Bolstering her courage, she lifted her head the last few feet of the walk, and approached the gate that kept him in. “Are you here, my Samuel?” she asked softly.

She extended her hand through the gate and waited. When he stroked the skin of her arm, she smiled at the very slight, almost non-existent tingles she thought she felt. “There you are,” she whispered.