The Parents

The Parents Part III

As directed by Mary, the Henleys made their way towards Walter's workplace. Mary offered to watch their luggage in case they did not want to carry all that weight along. Mrs. Henley thought that would be the smart thing to do, "besides, Mrs. Winslow seems like a trustworthy lady!" - she said too. Mary WInslow had been living on the first floor of the house since 10-15 years now. Nobody knows if she has or ever had a husband. Nobody hears much of her children either. She swiftly alters the conversation when anyone asks of her. Mary Winslow lives her life in extreme privacy. She is not much seen in public. Once in a while she walks out to get medicines and grocery. But out of habit, Mrs.Henley called Mary as Mrs.Winslow. As directed by Mary, the Henleys walked 2 blocks and then boarded a cab to reach Walter's factory. After speaking to a few other employees, they figured out how to reach the manager. Upon talking to the manager about Walter and the reason of their concern, the manager looked up a few files. "We never sacked or suspended him. Walter was a good employee. He quit himself and said that he had found a better job somewhere else." "Does this 'somewhere else' have a name we can use?" inquired Mr.Henley. "I'm sorry. You might wanna ask a few other employees." "Thank you very much Sir, we will do so." - said Mrs. Henley. As soon as they walked out on the field, a few workers started whispering to each other something. Mr.Henley knew it had to be about them, because their eyes were fixed on them. Some kind of conspiracy was going on it seemed. Something is definitely wrong. "Hey there sonny, you wouldn't happen to know my son Walter would you? Walter Henley? He's bout 6'1, 180 pounds, has brown hair." - Mr.Henley asked to one of the men involved in the gossip. "Walter Henley? He doesn't work here no more. He hasn't been working here for quite a while now, say about 5 or 6 months!" - replied the man. "Can you tell us of someone who might know his whereabouts? We're his parents. He hasn't written or called us in 6 months. We're really worried about his well being." - asked Mrs. Henley. "Can't think of anyone as such. When he was here, he used to hangout with us mostly and his room mate Jonathan. They were pretty introvert otherwise, they never really liked too many people." The disheartened Henleys came back to Mary Winslow's house. Mrs.Henley broke down into tears. "Oh God, what has happened to our Walter?" Mr.Henley rebuked her mildly and advised her to be a little more patient. "Let's not jump to any conclusions. Being presumptuous will be of no help." "Then what do you suppose we do? Nobody seems to know anything about our boy!" Mary suggested - "I suggest the two of you take some rest and wash up. You have had a longsome journey and you're obviously tired and weary. I'll make some hot water if you want. I plead you to rest now and start off afresh tomorrow. You'll definitely find something." "That is so kind of you Mary, but where would we stay the night? We couldn't find a hotel and now it's dark. We expected to find Walter." - said Mrs.Henley. "You can stay with me for a few days if you want. I really would appreciate your company till you find your son. I tend to get lonely once in a while." - said Mary with a compassionate smile. Mary went in to make some hot water and coffee. Mrs.Henley had become quite fond of Mary and praised her intemperately. She could not be gracious enough to the humble and sympathetic Mary.

After having coffee, they had dinner with Mary. The discussions went on about Walter, his whereabouts and his room mate Jonathan; while and well after dinner. Mary went to sleep in her bed after arranging beds for the Henleys in her guest room. The Henleys could not close their eyelids all night. They kept speculating what and why. Questions, questions - too many to sleep. What has happened to Walter? Why did he quit his job? Where has he relocated to? Why did he not inform them? Is he with Jonathan? Mrs.Henley had fell asleep in the early morning after being worried sick about Walter. Mr.Henley awoke her and said, "Come on Betty, we better get out and start asking around the neighborhood. We can't stay here forever!" Mrs.Henley arose quickly and put on her overcoat. They asked around the neighborhood till the afternoon. Not one house did they miss out which had an inhibitor. They spoke long and hard with all the neighbors and then they made their way towards the factory, which they had visited yerterday. They spoke to several employees till their shifts ended. But no clues whatsoever. Nobody seemed to know anything about Walter. "Well, he was kind of an outcast, he and his buddy Jonathan. People would have thought them queer." The last remark had really agitated Mr.Henley, he replied harshly, "my son is not a queer, queer you folks are for being so unhelpful to an old woman and an older man, who're looking for their only son in the harshest weather conditions possible. Good day to you Sirs. You might want to consider your remarks once in a while." "I suggest you stay here for a few days. Really it's no trouble at all. Mrs.Henley can help me with the cooking and dishes and maybe you can help me with a little grocery. If you stay a few days, I'm sure you'll hear some news about Walter. A tall handsome young man like Walter cannot just dissappear in thin air!" "What if he is no mo.." - Mrs.Henley was disrupted. "I told you to stop speculating Betty! We'll find out in due time. If I have been an honest man all my life and you a religious woman, God will let our son bury us. It's not gonna be the other way round!" "Mr and Mrs Henley please, let's not discuss this any further. The two of you have had a very exhausting day, please rest and recover your energy. You may have to repeat today's schedule tomorrow again. I suggest you get help from the law." For the next few days Mr and Mrs Henley went on around the town pursuing their own investigation. Finally their old bodies gave up and broke down. They couldn't do it anymore. So they sought help from the police. Mr.Henley wrote the missing report and Walter's photograph was provided too. That one photo was all the old couple had of their son. Two weeks had past since they had come to Memphil. The Henleys did not plan on staying this long, especially considering the weather and the fact that they were being sheltered by a stranger. This stranger, even though a very charitable lady, shouldn't be bothered for their troubles. Even if this was no trifle issue. Mr and Mrs Henley were broken. Both physically and mentally. Nobody seemed to have any news about Walter. As if he just disappeared! As if he hadn't been living in this small town for over a year. Nobody seemed to know much about him. After 6 days of filing the police report, a few officers showed up. It was the county sheriff. He came inside in his elegant yet dominating manner, took his hat off and said - "We're sorry to inform you that Walter is no more." The deputy introduced himself and reported - "We've found in our reports of a dead person who almost fits the description. We have reasons to believe and evidences to assume that he was killed by a mob a few months ago. Of course it was hard to identify him as he was lynched along with another man and then burned on a bundle of small twigs and branches of trees. We had also recovered some writings on the trees inside the woods where they were lynched and burned. What we had recovered fresh off the crime scene was that it was some religious killing. Some men claimed their lives for 'disobeying the will of God' apparently. There were also other written slang remarks like "burn faggots with fagots" etc. Accordingly the two men killed were believed to have been homosexual. And harmful for society." "You watch your mouth! Do not associate such derogatory remarks with my son. Come on Betty, we don't need to hear this." - fired Mr.Henley. "We're sorry." - said the Sheriff, the apology sounded heartfelt. Soon they left. Mrs.Henley could not stop the river of her eyes from flowing. She had not spoken a word in a few hours now.

"Betty recall the men carefully, they said he 'almost fits the description of our Walter. Almost, not definite. They also said that it was hard to identify the body as it was burnt. Why would anyone burn to death a good boy like Walter? He never did wrong to no one. He never bullied anyone. And he was definitely not queer! Betty wipe your tears woman! We shall not lose our hopes. I'm sure it wasn't our Walter they found dead." Mrs.Henley had lost herself. She did not speak, did not eat, did not move for hours. One couldn't tell if she was alive or dead. The next morning Mr.Henley found himself too broken. The world had come to an end it seemed. Mrs.Henley still wasn't talking. Mr.Henley gathered his remaining strength and somehow got out. He went back to police station and requested a re-investigation. The Sheriff Justin Dawson was a good man. He assured that he and his men will do everything they can to find him if he is alive. They even assured him that they will contact interstate police if necessary. Mr.Henley came back to the place they were staying at(Winslow's house)and with his trademark integrity asked the homeowner Mary if she would allow them to stay just a few more days. Mary agreed with tearful eyes. She drew inspiration from this old man's will and determination. "Even though his body is broken...he still is giving his best!" Over two months had past since they had got here in Memphil. Winter had left and Spring had set in with its dry desolate winds and fallen leaves flew sulkily. Mary Winslow said not a thing. The Henleys could not even afford to pay for their food, but she took care of it all from her limited income. She even broke her fixed deposit to support them in their endeavor to find Walter. Still no news of Walter and the Sheriff and his men could not find anything either. Missing posters were hung all around the town. But everybody just looked at Mr.Henley, sighed, lowered their heads and walked away when he asked them of the person in the poster. Mrs.Henley was still recovering from her coma like state. Mr.Henley broken and defeated, decided to go back home. "We cannot stay here and trouble you any further Mrs.Winslow. We have barely paid anything for our lodging and fooding. We should leave now. We would forever be grateful to you and if you ever come to our hometown in Aramville, please feel free to stay with us. For as long as we are living, we will be indebted to you. Blessings."