LEFT OF SINISTER

LEFT OF SINISTER CHPT. ONE

                                                            (Nevermore)

                                                       A Ghost Story

   "A wise man's heart is at his right hand; but a fool's heart at his left."

                                                                                                        Ecclesiastes 10:2

                                                      PART ONE:

The whole way from the funeral ceremony Earl drove somewhat slowly convinced that dropping his brother off and simply leaving him alone was a mistake, but that was what he said he wanted this morning upon his arrival and so he saw no point in debating the issue. After all he was a grown man 65 years old and that was what he wanted. Arguing with anyone over the age of 60 was pretty much tilting at windmills anyway, certainly a futile endeavor, so why bother? There was nothing he could do in the face of such obstinacy. He supposed he should have perhaps made it clear this was his intent before arriving this morning to pick him up instead of allowing him to come alone as his brother had assumed would be the case.

And even after he showed up his brother had been adamant insisting on driving himself to the event, but Earl somehow, despite his intransigence, managed to convince him that he should do otherwise and ride with him, that he shouldn't be alone while making the rather lengthy journey to such a somber occasion.

He had Maggie his wife and their two daughters Loni and Wanda who had followed him and Maggie down to the coast in Wanda's car to go back to his youngest brother Steve's home in Leland across the Cape Fear river in Brunswick County and wait for his return. While Steve and his wife Windy entertained them he would take his grieving brother back to his now empty large home some thirty miles away in Penlock County saying afterward he would decide whether to immediately return to Steve's to go back to their home in Greener's Leaf later that afternoon or wait until in the morning should it seem necessary to stay and monitor his brother's progress in coping with the situation.

The weather report had predicted a storm coming in later and likely would delay their departure anyway if it proved to be as bad a storm as the prognosticators were indicating. In that case in all probability that was what they would do and he could perhaps check on Candy in the morning and be assured he wouldn't do anything stupid.

That was what he had done on two occasions in the midst of a traumatic situations Earl was aware of. Long ago in 1978 when he'd lost his job and was having to suffer the shame and indignity of having to move back in with his parents because of it and the difficulty he knew he would have in pursuing another job had driven him to desperation and he aimlessly walked and hitchhiked until arriving in Kingston and hiding under a bridge where he slashed his right wrist with a broken soda bottle.

But Candy had apparently, in the stupor of all the blood loss, given in to the survival instinct, which in the moment of one's impending demise is impossible to surmount, and found his way from under the bridge and subsequently received help.

Another Vietnam veteran, a homeless man as well, had discovered him there nearby the bridge and alerted a passing motorist, a young man in his brand new GMC pickup truck who then drove like a mad man through the downtown district of Kingston with Candy bleeding all over his seat cover and floor board en-route to Pittland County Hospital.

Ironically several days afterward another derelict was found under the same bridge hidden by some cardboard who had also slashed his wrist with a broken soda bottle. It was at first ruled a suicide with little notice given to the fact that Candy had more than likely been under there with him at the same time considering the amount of time the derelict had been dead. Had they made a pact?