Tears Of A Painting

Julie lay on the bed staring at the painting on the wall that always intrigued her. Max walked in to see his wife lying on the bed in deep thought.

“What are you thinking about, babe?” Max asked as he settled down next to her.

“Oh, I am just looking at Gram’s painting. I used to stare at this painting all the time as a child. Gram used to have it hanging in her bedroom.”

“It’s a beautiful painting.”

“Yeah. Look at the little girl, so sweet and innocent. I always wished I had blonde hair like that and a pretty pink dress with the same ribbons."

"She's adorable." Max snuggled up against his wife.

"I used to sit and wonder what she was thinking about, and I still do.”

“It looks like to me that she has finished picking the flowers and is looking toward the sun. Maybe she is thinking it’s time to go home.” Max leaned over and kissed Julie softly.

Julie returned the kiss. “I love the way the artist shows the rays of light and not the sun. The barn she is standing in reminds me of the barn that I used to play in.”

Max eyed the painting. “It is such a peaceful looking place. An old barn, a field full of wildflowers. Heck, I would love to be there.”

“As a child, I used to be there. I think so anyways,” Julie sighed. “Well, we have Gram’s place now. We need to go back down there and finish cleaning out Gram’s stuff.”

“Oh honey, I am so sorry about Gram. Are you sure you are okay?”

“I’ll be fine. It was just hard watching the cancer take her away from me,” she whispered.

“I know. It was hard for me, too.”

“I know. Maybe we can go down to Gram’s house tomorrow.”

“Okay, but I need to go to dad’s house and help him finish fixing the kitchen sink today,” Max said as he stood up.

“You would be better off to call a plumber,” Julie laughed.

“I know, but you know my father.” He winked before walking out of the room.

Julie back over on the bed, gazing at the painting again. So peaceful looking but yet disturbing, she thought.

“What are you thinking about little girl?” she whispered to herself.

Julie stared at the painting, letting her thoughts flow, imagining what could have this little girl’s attention. Julie slowly drifted of into a daydream.

Julie walks in the field with wildflowers up to her waist. She sees an old barn up ahead and starts toward it, stopping here and there to pick a flower. She finally sees the entrance to the barn. There is a little girl leaning against the doorway. She is wearing a pale pink dress with a bright pink sash. Her blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail, is tied with a bright pink ribbon. She is staring at Julie and Julie smiles at her. The girl does not return the smile, but instead she turns to look down a dirt path leading from the barn. Julie reaches the little girl and puts the wildflowers she picked into the girl’s basket with all of the other wildflowers. The little girl looks at Julie but does not speak.
Julie kneels down in front of her.

“Hello. My name is Julie.”

“I'm Sarah,” the little girl replies.

“Sarah. What a beautiful name. That was my Gram’s name.”

Sarah clutches the handle on her basket tightly.

“What are you doing out here, Sarah?”

“Picking flowers for momma.”

“That’s nice,” Julie says still smiling.

Sarah slowly turns and looks down the path. Julie turns and looks down the dirt path also.

“Are you waiting on someone, Sarah?”

Sarah turns and looks at Julie.

“Who are you waiting for?” Julie has an eerie feeling.

“No one,” Sarah whispers. “You shouldn’t be here.”

“What’s wrong?” Julie feels panicky.

Sarah starts walking down the dirt path. Julie follows behind her. They walk past a large oak tree that grabs Julie’s attention. Julie continues to follow Sarah but is still staring at the tree.

“Did this tree have a tire swing at one time?” Julie asks as she continues to walk.

Sarah turns her head slightly, but never utters a word. They continue to walk and approach an old wrought iron fence. Julie realizes that they are going to a cemetery. Sarah walks through the gate and Julie continues right behind her. Sarah walks toward the far end of the cemetery. Julie follows, looking around at the grave markers. Some markers have inscriptions while some are plain with only a date. Julie notices that a few appear to be only rocks with nothing on them. Sarah kneels in front of a fresh dug grave. She is slowly picking out flowers in her basket. Julie kneels beside her as Sarah continues with her task. The smell of the earthy mound fills Julie’s nostrils. Julie looks at the stone marker. It is hand carved bearing the name ‘Abby Taylor’. Julie shudders and feels knots tying her in stomach. She looks at Sarah, who gives Julie a slight glance.

“My Gram’s name was Sarah Taylor,” Julie manages to muster as she stares at the little girl.

“That is my name.” Sarah continues arranging the flowers on the grave.

Chills spread all over Julie’s body and tears start to flow down her cheek.

“What happened to your momma?” Julie whispered.

“She died.” Sarah states in a matter of fact tone.

“How did she die?”

“She tried to stop him.”

“Stop who?”

Sarah turns to look at her. Julie can see the emptiness in her eyes.


The telephone rang, and Julie sat straight up in bed. Sweat rolled off her body as she reached over to the nightstand to answer the phone.

“Honey, I’m going to be late. Dad has flooded the whole house,” Max said in a voice full of grief.

“What! You have got to be kidding?”

“No. He started way before I got here. He couldn’t wait.”

“Are you going to call the plumber now?”

“Who knows. I’ll call you later. I love you.”

“I love you, too.” Julie scooted to the edge of the bed to hang the phone up. She shook her head in dismay over her father-in-law's stubborness.

Julie stood up, and turned to look at the painting, still puzzled over her thoughts. The flowers in the painting swayed as if they danced in the wind. Julie rubbed her eyes. The little girl in the painting turned to look at her.

“Please help them,” the girl pleaded.

Julie covered her eyes with her hands, peeking through her fingers. The painting no longer showed any movement. "I've gone crazy.”

Julie headed to the kitchen for a cup of coffee. She poured herself a cup and sat down at the table puzzled over the events.

"Gram. I miss you so much, I'm driving myself plum nuts wishing to be with you."

Julie sipped her coffee letting her mind drift to her fond childhood memories, spending time with Gram. The two were very close, but Julie recalled that Gram never spoke much of the past or of her own mother. Julie remembered Grams talking about Momma Abby living a hard life. Julie wondered why Gram never talked about the past and then she realized that she, herself had never asked.

“Oh, Gram. I wish I had asked you so many questions. I took it for granted that you would always be here for me.” Julie sobbed.

Gram took care of Julie after her parents were killed in an automobile accident. Julie's parents had left her with Gram, on their way to Charlton to look at a house. It had been a rainy day and they had been gone for several hours when the phone rang. Gram's face had a tint of gray when she spoke on the phone, and her voice quivered, gripping the phone. Julie had watched her, wondering who Gram was talking, too. The words expressed to inform Julie that her parent were gone were lost somewhere within her memories. Julie sat remembering how Gram just held her tight, rocking her back and forth as she cried.

Gram was so full of love, and not a day went by that Julie didn’t know just how much Gram loved her. The last couple years of Gram’s life were hard. The cancer had spread from her lungs and slowly took her mind. Julie would never forget how Gram would talk to her, like she was five years old again. Gram would also speak of Janice, Julie’s mother, as if she were still alive. These were trying times. The painful memories flooded Julie's mind as she continued to cry.

~ ~ ~

Max finally arrived home late in the evening with a hilarious tale of helping his father.

“That is so funny.” Julie laughed at him.

“You should have seen it! He was sloshing through the water cussing and blaming mom for him breaking the pipes.”

Julie chuckled. "Oh well. Will you be ready to get out of town tomorrow.”

“Uh. I don’t think I can go tomorrow. We still have a few things to clean up.”

“Oh!” Julie slouched her shoulders, showing her disappointment.

“Can you wait another day or two?”

“That’s okay, honey. I can drive down by myself. It’s only an hour drive."

"No, baby. I want to go with you."

"Seriously, I can go by myself. Plus it may be good for me.”

Max sighed, “Are you sure? I don’t like you going by yourself. It’s only been three days since Gram passed away.”

“I’ll be fine. I have a lot to do."

"Well, I need to be there to help you."

Julie gave him a soft smile. "I went ahead and took two weeks off from work so that I could spend a couple nights at Gram's."

"Julie, I...."

Julie interrupted, "When you get done helping your father, you can drive down.”

Max stared into her eyes, seeing her determination. “Okay, only if you are sure.”

“I’m sure," Julie yawned. "I think I am going to go to bed.”

Max watched her walked out of the living room. He wondered if she needed the time alone, or if she was shutting him out.

~ ~ ~

Max loaded the luggage in Julie's car, and returned to the bedroom to see Julie staring at the wall.

“Are you sure you are all right?” Max asked.

“You're going to think I am crazy, but I think
I will take the painting with me.”

“Um. Okay.” Max replied in a questionable tone.

“Well, it is the only thing I took from Gram’s after the funeral. I just want it there while I am cleaning out the rest of her stuff."

Max raised an eyebrow at her.

"I know it sounds crazy.”

“Whatever you want, honey.” Max took the painting down to load it in the car.

Julie gathered up the rest of her things and headed for the car.

“Don’t take too long, Max.”

“I won’t. You be careful.”

“I will. I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

~ ~ ~

Julie unpacked her things, and walked into the living room. She sat in Gram’s old rocking chair looking around the house. She wondered what to do with all of Gram’s stuff. Julie looked under the table beside her and smiled at the sight of Gram's Bible. She picked it up and started thumbing through the pages. Several passages were marked with a pencil, and many more circled with an ink pen. Julie found numerous newspaper clippings between the pages, and pictures scattered throughout the holy book.

“Well, this is one treasure that I will always have to keep. Hopefully, pass it on to my children some day.”

Julie decided to go upstairs to Gram’s bedroom and start with the items in the closet.

She began removing the dresses off their hangers, folding them so tenderly before stacking them in the cardboard box. Julie reached for another dress, but hesistated after seeing an old wooden box on the top shelf of the closet. She pulled the box down, and sat on the bed. She found it cram packed with papers. She dumped the entire contents on the bed, sorting through the paper mess.

“Oh, my gosh!” Julie is surprised with the document in her hands. “This is Abby’s marriage certificate.”

Julie continued going through the papers meticulously, reading and discovering things about her family. She learned that Abby had been previously married at the age of thirteen to a man named Jake Summers. Julie also found Gram’s birth certificate. She frowned reading the father's name, Jake Summers.

"This doesn't make any sense. Gram’s maiden name was Taylor."

Julie kept digging, reading each piece of paper with an uncontrollable desire to figure out the mystery of Gram's maiden name.

Hours quickly pass. Julie smiled, summing up her research. Abby’s first husband, Jake, was also very young when they were married and that Sarah was born shortly after. Jake had apparently died before Sarah was a year old from a high fever with an unknown illness listed. Abby remarried three years later. His name was Sam Taylor.

"Now that makes sense."

Julie felt disheartened when she learned that Abby had passed away six years after marrying Mr. Taylor, leaving Sarah in his care, Julie assumed. Julie moved a stack of papers out her lap, placing them carefully on the bed spread. She stretched her arms and back, looking to the wall. The outline of where the painting had hung caught her attention. The wall all around it was dimly colored. Julie felt a saddness creep over her. She decided that she would hang it back up while she was there. It would definitely feel more like home.

With the painting hanging in its rightful place, Julie felt much better. She suddenly felt a strange presence in the room, but she couldn't see anyone. She glanced back at the painting. It occurred to her that her earlier thoughts coincided with the documents she has read.

Abby had died when Sarah was a young girl, just like the girl in the painting. Julie dismissed the notion that her daydream tried to tell her something or that Gram reached out to her.

Hours later, Julie settled down in Gram’s bed for the night. She laid in the dark thinking of Gram and how much she missed her. Julie's mind began to drift.

Julie once again is walking in the field toward the barn. The little girl, Sarah, is there again. Leaning against the entrance. Julie walks towards her, picking wildflowers as she approaches Sarah. Sarah continues to stare at her. Julie feels peaceful with the scenery but Sarah’s stare scares her.

“Hello again,” Julie says as she places the wildflowers in Sarah’s basket.

“Hello,” Sarah replies softly. “I am glad you came back.”

“Are you picking more flowers for your momma?”

“No.” Sarah’s eyes are distant.

“Who are these flowers for?” Julie whispers.

Sarah does not answer, but slowly turns around and walks into the barn. Julie follows her. They walk through the barn to the rear door. Sarah stops at the door and turns to look at Julie.

“Thank you for the flowers.”

“You're welcome.”

Sarah continues to walk through the door. They are outside and Julie watches as Sarah kneels down in front of a fresh mound of dirt. Julie looks around the area and discovers there are four more mounds of dirt. These mounds have been here awhile.

“These are graves!”

Sarah starts dividing the flowers in five bundles.

“Whose graves are these, Sarah?”

“My sisters,” Sarah replies with no emotions.

“These graves are so tiny!”

“They were babies.” Sarah continues with her task.

“What happened to them? How did they die?”

“He didn’t love them.”

“Who didn’t love them?”

“Sarah! Sarah!” A male voice cries out in the distance.


Julie's body jerked as sweat poured from her body. She looked around to find the voice calling for Sarah. She turned to look at the painting on the wall. The wildflowers swayed in the wind. Sarah turned to look at her, but remained silent. A tear slowly rolled down the child’s cheek. Julie leaps from the bed to the painting. She reached up and wiped the tear away. She stared in astonishment at her wet finger. She jerked her head back to the painting, but nothing moved.

“My God. Why is my imagination running wild?”

Julie sat on the bed staring at the painting. All of these years, she never knew that the girl in the painting was Gram. Why had she not known this? She kept staring, waiting for something to happen, anything, just some type of animation. The more she stared, the more she noticed the frame. The same frame she remembered as a child but something drew her attention to it. As she stepped toward it, she recalled long ago Gram taking a picture off of the wall. Gram had sold several of the cows from the herd and put the money in the back of the picture frame. Julie had asked her why she had done that and Gram told her to keep it safe. Julie laid the painting down on the bed, scanning over its backing. Just as she suspected, something appeared to be hidden there. Her fingers work frantically but cautiously to avoid damaging the painting. She pulled several papers from the back of the painting. She analyzed each of them, realizing they were some sort of records of birth, not certificates. She found five records. Each record contained the last name of 'Taylor' and all of them girl’s names; Ester, Katherine, Alicia, Julia and May. Julie’s heart pounded and she felt nauseated. Gram didn’t have any sisters, none she ever recalled meeting.

Julie decided a trip to the courthouse to search through records would answer several of her questions.

~ ~ ~

Julie returned to Gram's house tired and with a throbbing headache. The search at the courthouse had been a waste of time. She hated sitting in that awful basement going through all of those disorganized records. The basement was like a dungeon. No natural light, dust and lots of webs. The smell had been foul and everything she touched left her hands coated with a filthy film. The boxes were piled high and lined the walls. It was like searching for a needle in a hay stack. No one even offered their assistance nor did they know anything. Julie was so angry at how records were archived. Just thrown in boxes with no regard to date or type of document. She had been furious after going through four unmarked boxes that contained over one hundred different types of documents. Such a waste she thought. She couldn’t wait for Max to arrive. She took a couple of aspirins and went to sit outside on the porch.

The late afternoon brought a slight breeze. Julie lounged outside in a wicker chair. She looked out in the fields watching the high grass dance with the wind.

It had been a long time since she played in the fields. Gram wasn’t much on the up keep of the farm after granddaddy had passed away. She usually hired some of the local boys to do a few chores around the farm.

Julie searched for the barn that once stood and remembered the day a tornado had demolished it. Gram had been very upset. She had the site cleared but the barn was never re-built. Julie vaguely remembered, but thought she could find where the barn once stood.

Julie walked in the field as the warm breeze caressed her body. She smiled, relishing the moment. She aimless walked until she came to a large patch of wildflowers. Her heart skipped beats. She headed for the corner of the field, where the barn should have been standing, the place where Sarah would be with her little basket of flowers. Julie reached the spot and was disappointed with her observations. With the overgrowth, Julie found it difficult to tell where the old barn once stood. She kept wandering around the site until she suddenly stepped in a hole. She trampled the grass down all around the void, revealing a sunken spot in the earth. Julie became excited and started trampling the grass down all around the entire area. She realized she found the five little graves and worked feverishly for hours clearing patch of ground.

Finished with the vast chore, she picked a large bouquet of wildflowers. She divided the bunch of flowers among the five tiny unmarked graves. She knelt down in front of them as sadness engulfed her. With a prayer said, Julie vowed to find out what happened to them. Julie stood up, brushing the dirt off her jeans. She noticed a small overgrown trail.

"To the cemetery," she whispered.

With a bundle of wildflowers in her hand, she started toward the cemetery. She passed the large oak tree and made a mental note that evidence of an old tire swing remained.

She reached the cemetery and instinctively walked straight to Abby Taylor’s grave. The marker looked more worn and age than she imagine. She could barely read the name and date. She knelt down and arranged the flowers. With the flowers in a beautiful arrangement, she bowed her head in prayer.

A noise behind her interrupted her words to God. She sprung to her feet, facing the noise. She caught a glimpse of something white behind a tree. She nervously walked toward it, hoping it might be Sarah watching her. She reached the tree but found nothing. She trambled through the weeds all around, and found another unmarked grave a few yards from the tree. She stares at the unmarked grave, puzzled that it is not in the cemetery, but just in the outskirts hidden in the brush. It would never been seen by anyone standing in the cemetery. The shadows began creeping around her, signaling darkness was settling in. Julie began walking off, but turned to glance at the unanonymous grave. She had a strange feeling that something tragic occured to this unknown deceased soul.

~ ~ ~

Julie settled in for the night. She stared at the ceiling, letting her mind and imagination take over. No visions or thoughts of Sarah came. Julie slowly fell into a slumber.

~ ~ ~

Julie awoke the next morning trying to recall any thoughts or conversations with Sarah. She didn't even remember turning the bedside lamp off before going to sleep.

"Sarah, talk to me." Julie stared at the painting, waiting.

"Please, Sarah."

"Shit," she mumbled. "What am I doing?"


Julie showered and dressed for the day. She began packing Gram's things away again. She sighed knowing she was no where near finished. She pulled a trashcan up to Gram's antique roll top desk. She read letters and carefully studied bills, throwing unimportant items in the trash. Opening a large envelope, Julie smiled realizing it was a Get Well card from Ms. Sally. Julie placed it in 'save' pile. She found many more cards from Ms. Sally, most of them wishing Gram well, and a few birthday cards.

"Ms. Sally!" Julie sprung from her seat remembering Ms. Sally lives just a little ways down the road.

~ ~ ~

“She must be in her upper nineties,” Julie uttered as she walked down the dirt road.

A vision of Gram and Ms. Sally sitting on the porch quilting for hours flashed through Julie's mind. She remembered sensing that the two women had known each other for a very long time, and she recalled Ms. Sally being a kind old woman.

Julie strolled down the driveway, kicking the remainder of creek gravel. She saw an old woman sitting in a rocking chair on the front porch. The woman looked so frail and her silver hair was pulled back in a familiar bun.

“Ms. Sally?”

“Why, hello my dear, Julie.”

“You remember me?”

“Yes, dear. Ms. Sarah always talked about you and showed me pictures whenever we got together."

"Really?"

"Oh, yes. But, that that was far and few times because of our age.”

“Oh. Well, Ms. Sally, you’re not that old.”

“My dear, I am eighty-nine years old. I would say that is pretty old.”

Julie smiled.

“I am so sorry to hear about Ms. Sarah. I wanted to come to the funeral but my boys were out of town so I had no way.”

“That’s okay,” Julie replied in a sorrowful tone. “You two were friends for a long time.”

“Yes."

Julie gazed into a field of corn.

"What is bothering you, Julie?”

“Ms. Sally, I'm losing my mind."

"Sweetie, it's hard losing someone you love."

"It's more than that. I've been having these weird thoughts, or something."

"Whatcha mean?"

"I don't know. But, I found some disturbing things in Gram’s things.”

“I see,” Ms. Sally replied.

“Did my Gram have any sisters?” Julie blurted out.

“Oh. I think I understand now. That was a long time ago my dear.”

“Tell me. Please!”

“Well, have a seat right here beside me, Julie, I think I can answer most of your questions.

Julie sat down in a rocking chair beside the old woman.

“Let me start by telling you a little about your Gram. Your Gram’s momma, Ms. Abby, married a man when they both were very young.

“Yes, I know that, Ms. Sally.”

“Well, your Gram never knew him because he died when she was very young."

Julie fumbled with the arm rest.

"Ms. Abby was so heart broken and it was hard times for everyone. Ms. Abby had a hard time raising Sarah."

"I can only imagine."

"That was until she met Mr. Taylor. Sarah’s name was changed to Taylor soon after they were married."

"Why did they change her name?"

"It was just better that way. A sign of the times, I suppose."

"I think I understand," Julie responded.

Ms. Sally continued, "Mr. Taylor was a handsome young man and a very hard worker, too. Everyone in town respected Mr. Taylor. Sarah and I became friends just around that time, I think. Anyways. Ms. Abby got pregnant and Sarah was very happy. She had always wanted a little brother or sister," Ms. Sally rattled on. "I remember when that baby girl was born, Sarah and Ms. Abby were so thrilled. She was a beautiful little thing. I believe her name was Katherine.”

“What happened to Katherine?” Julie anxiously asked.

“Slow down, dear. I am going to get to that.” Ms. Sally sighed as Julie gazed to the sky.

“I remember being down there and it seemed like Mr. Taylor was not too happy with the women folk in the house, including the baby. I didn’t know why at the time but it didn’t matter to me because Ms. Abby and Sarah were very happy. I had a lot of fun helping with the baby. I would go over every day so I could just help out. One day I stopped by. Ms. Abby and Sarah were crying something fierce."

"Why?"

"Hush, child. I'm telling my story."

Julie bowed her head, feeling a little embarrassed.

"That’s when I found out that little Katherine had passed away. Crib death is what Mr. Taylor told my folks."

"Crib death? You mean SIDS?"

Ms. Sally ignored her, "It was a terrible thing. Mr. Taylor buried the baby behind the barn and it was a very private affair. Just Ms. Abby, Mr. Taylor and Sarah were allowed there. My mother said that Mr. Taylor didn’t even get a preacher to give that baby a proper burial.”

“Why would he not get a preacher?”

“I never knew. And, it was something you didn’t talk about back then, if though it was highly unusual."

Julie rocked a little faster.

"Some time had passed before Ms. Abby had another baby girl and it, too, died of crib death.”

“Two babies?”

“Yes, two," Ms. Sally sighed. "Rumor had started around town that Ms. Abby had gone crazy. Ms. Abby was telling folks that her babies were murdered.”

“Murdered?" Julie sat up straight in the rocker. "Did anyone check it out?”

Ms. Sally sadly shook her head. “I’m afraid not.”

“Why not?” Stammered Julie.

“Dear, you have to understand, back then folks just didn’t meddle in other folks business. Children being murdered was something you just didn’t hear about. It was unheard of."

"But, it could have happened!"

"Anyways, if anyone had suspected anything, they best keep their mouths shut."

"Why?"

"Because, Julie. Mr. Taylor was a respected man.”

“What about the sheriff? Didn’t anyone tell him?”

“Oh, yes. The Sheriff spoke to Ms. Abby and to Sarah. He believed something had happened but he had their word against Mr. Taylor. There was no proof back then. Rumor went around that there were more than two babies but no one knew for sure."

"I don't understand!" Julie protested.

"Everyone had their own lives to tend to. And, anyways, no one saw Ms. Abby much anymore. Sarah rarely came to town and when she did, she didn’t speak much."

"Grief stricken, probably." Julie rubbed her forehead.

"She and I had grown apart. I saw her one day before her mother passed away. She was beaten black and blue."

Julie rubbed her chest as if her heart ached.

"She wouldn’t tell me what happened, but I knew. I knew Mr. Taylor wasn’t a very nice man.”

“How did Ms. Abby pass away?”

“I was told she had caught pneumonia.”

“That is terrible. How old was Sarah?”

“Still pretty young. Several years had passed and I had seen Mr. Taylor heading to town. So I went by to see Sarah. She was tending to the livestock in the barn. We talked for a while. I felt so sorry for her. She told me things that day that I will never forget.”

“What?” Julie turned in the rocker to face Ms. Sally.

“She showed me five little graves that day. Said each one were her little sisters."

Julie gasped. "I knew it!"

"She explained to me that each had been born healthy but died for no reason. Sarah had told me that when the last child, Ester was born, her momma would not put the child down for any reason. Like she was afraid to let go of her."

Tears flooded Julie's eye's. "I can't even begin to imagine what Ms. Abby felt."

Ms. Sally cleared her throat. "Sarah said the night her momma died was also the night that baby Ester died. Sarah cried a lot that day. She said her momma was not sick when she passed away. She just got up the next morning and Mr. Taylor told her that her momma was gone and never mentioned Ester."

A sob escaped Julie's throat.

Ms. Sally continued, her voice quivering, "Ms. Abby was buried in the cemetery and nothing was ever mentioned about Ester. Sarah said she knew where Ester was and pointed to one of the graves. I told Sarah that I would tell my Pa because he was the sheriff and she pleaded with me not, too."

"Why?" Julie cried.

"She was so scared of Mr Taylor. She told me that he had beaten her badly when he caught her visiting the graves. She feared that soon he would end her life.”

“Did you tell anyone?”

“No." A tear fell from Ms. Sally's eye. "I was afraid for Sarah. Some time had passed and nobody could remember the last time that they had seen Mr. Taylor. Sometimes Sarah would come to town to the store, but very rarely."

Ms. Sally paused to wipe her nose with a handkerchief. "She eventually married and we never spoke about it until after you married and moved out.”

Julie began to softly cry. Ms. Sally reached over and took her hand.

“My dear, your Gram found so much joy when your mother was born and she was on top of the world when you came into this world.”

“What happened to the babies?” Julie stuttered, in between her sobs.

"After you married and moved away, Ms. Sarah and I finished one of our quilts and we talked about it. I felt like Ms. Sarah had to get it off her chest. She spoke of Mr. Taylor’s cruelty toward her momma and how he would whip her for no reason. He made her do all of the chores."

"He sounds mean."

"He was a very angry man. She told me that Mr. Taylor had murdered her sisters and she always believed that he murdered her mother.”

“Why would he murder his own daughters?” Julie questioned.

“Times were hard back then. I can only imagine that he didn’t want extra mouths to feed unless it was his son.”

“That is ridiculous!” Julie lashed out. “How could anyone do anything like that?”

Ms. Sally closed her eyes. “It is a horrible fate.”

“What happened to him? I don’t remember Gram ever mentioning him.”

“Well,” Ms. Sally hesitated. “Ms. Sarah told me that day we were quilting, she had cooked supper for him and poisoned him.”

“Oh my God!” Julie buried her head in her hands.

“She didn’t have a choice. She was afraid of him. So, she poisoned him and buried him."

"Where?"

"I never asked.”

“Why didn’t she ever tell me? I would have understood. I loved her.” Julie softly replied.

“Ms. Sarah was ashamed of what she had done. I was ashamed that I never told my Pa.”

“I can’t believe she lived with such a horrible secret all of her life. It hurts to think that she kept it bottled up and she couldn’t tell me about it.”

“My dear, she loved you so much. She felt so guilty for what she had done. It went against all of her beliefs.”

“Why am I having these images?”

“Maybe she is trying to put it to rest. I don’t know.”

Julie spent several more hours with Ms. Sally. She even ate supper with the elderly woman before returning to Gram's house. The walk back was long, and scary. The shadows in the roadway formed ominous shapes, and a screech owl caused her to jump once or twice.


Julie sat on the bed, pulling her shoes off. She felt so relaxed and relieved to back in the safety of Gram's home. She sighed wearily, thinking back over her long tough day. She closed her eyes, rolling her head in circles to easy the tension.


She is standing near the graves. She hears a voice behind her.

“You can help them.”

Julie turns around to see little Sarah standing there.

“Grams! Uh, Sarah, you startled me.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I know everything,” Julie whispers, leaning down.

“Do you hear their cries?”

Julie looks at the little girl. She can’t hold the tears back any longer. She just wants to hug Sarah and tell her everything is all right, but she doesn’t. Julie kneels down and listens. She can faintly hear the cries of the babies. She starts crying even harder.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Julie looks at Sarah.

“My sisters need to rest.”

“What can I do?”

Sarah turns and looks at the graves. “They need to rest.”

“What do you mean, Sarah?”

“I must go.” Sarah starts walking away.

“Wait!” Julie yells.


Julie opened her eyes hearing a loud knock on the door. She ran downstairs to open the door for a grinning Max. His boyish grin quickly fades seeing the disturbed look on her face. He immediately embraced her.

~ ~ ~

Early the next morning, Max and Julie walk the Sheriff out of the house to his car. Julie waved as he drove down the driveway. She felt so much better about everything.

“Julie, we are doing the right thing,” Max said, giving her a strong hug.

“I know. The preacher will be by this afternoon.”

“Well, it is the first step in giving those babies a decent burial.”

“Yes. They need to be near their mother.”

"Those precious babies will have a proper burial and may their little souls rest in peace.” Max gave her another squeeze.

“Amen,” she mumbled. It doesn’t change what happened to them.”

“No, but it will put them to rest, honey.”

“You’re right.”

“Julie, what are you going to do with the painting?”

“Hang it in our house. Gram’s had it painted to always remind her.”

Max pulled her closer. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah. It's the only connection I have left.”

“You know something, honey?”

Julie turned to look up at him as they walked back into the house.

“We don’t know where Mr. Taylor is buried.”

Julie looked off in the distance in the direction of the old barn. The sight of the unmarked grave came to her mind.

“Maybe that is a good thing, Max. I mean, would we be obligated to give a proper burial or would the authorities take it upon themselves to do so.”

“I don’t know. But, we know just about everything else except where his grave is.”

Julie pondered Max's comment as they went upstairs.

“Max, maybe an evil soul like that doesn’t deserve rest.”

I really don’t know.” Max sat on the bed, pulling her with him.

Julie closed her eyes. That evil man doesn’t deserve eternal rest. I hope he is burning in hell.

Julie opened her eyes and looked at the painting. The wildflowers flowed with the wind. Sarah turned toward Julie with a soft smile on her delicate face. Sarah looked so angelic and peaceful.

Julie smiled to herself. Rest in peace Gram’s. I love you.