"NIGHT OF A THOUSAND DREAMS" (Chapter One)

         
Chapter 1.....Cody

There is a place.....a secret place......Where I go to find me.... And all the people I used to be and all the people I have yet to become.........A pond of water hidden  deep in the middle of a black forest....A magic place I stumbled across that no one else knows about......One day while walking I got lost in  the middle of the forest.......And fell into a hole in the ground that was 6 feet deep or so.......At the bottom of this hole was a small tunnel that lead to another dimension......As I entered into this magic place there in front of me was a pond......I was thirsty and reached down  and I took a drink of the water........Then when I looked at the reflection staring back at me it was me.... but not as a 54 year old man .....It was me... but from another lifetime... it was me... but as a boy around the age of 11.......suddenly I felt dizzy and sat there on the edge of the pond and feel asleep and began to dream.....I dreamt of being in this same  place but as a child and me running all through this forest....Feeling afraid.... Hearing voices of small children .......Seeing a glimpse of them here and there.......Finally I caught up to one of them....It was a small boy around the age of 5... I grabbed him by the arm and said why are you running? Why are you crying? Why are you so afraid? What is your name?....My name is Cody replied the small boy.......I came to this place to hide......It was a safe place.....But then he came here.....He found me.....so I run from him.......I ask him who?......Who are you running from??The boy replied my father......This use to be a safe place for all of us to come and hide and be with each other but somehow they found us.... Who are they I ask?.....All of the father's he replied.......They try to catch us and take us to the circle......What circle I ask?....The circle of the evil tree's he replied......Stay with me I told him... Hold my hand I will protect you.....and I hugged him.....But when I did he cried in pain......And then I noticed marks and scars that covered his back.....What is your name he ask?...I said my name is Daniel.....Please Daniel Don't leave.... Stay with me.....I said I will stay with you Cody.....And then all of a sudden something started to pull me away and Cody cried and said please stay but I could not stop this force pulling me and then all of a sudden I was back at the edge of the pond and I had awaken from my dream.........I felt over whelmed with what I had just dreamt about......And could not stop thinking about it......I made my way back through the small tunnel and climbed from the hole and headed back home but I marked my way as I left so that I would be able to find the hole again......As I got back home and entered my house my wife said to me where have you been??...You have been gone a long time and I was becoming worried about you.......I told her I took a long walk in the woods but I did not mention the hole or the tunnel or the dream to her.......As I lay in bed that night I could not stop thinking about that magic place...The pond ......And most of all about meeting Cody and thinking about how he is alone once more running through that place.....Or did his father catch him and take him to the circle of the evil tree's? I again began to dream.....But I was not there at that magic place... This dream was of when I was young and I was Cody's age ......I could see the time and the era but it was the early 1800'S and was not this century that I was born in....I dreamt of oil lantern's.....cobble stone street's......I dreamt of horse's  pulling buggie's in those street's and the click clacking of there holves and how it echoed through that town.......I remember a shop there and a pot belly stove that I would sit near playing with a kitten and listening to all the people in this shop talking and laughing....... I remember a man.....A tall man....A dirty man covered in black soot I think he may have been a chimney sweep......I remember feeling safe in this place....sitting there with that kitten on my lap.......But when that man looked into my eye's an overwhelming fear came over me and I felt afraid and alone........I remember this man grabbing my hand and telling me to put the kitten down it's time to go......As he pulled me towards the door of that shop.... It's That point in my dream that I awoke to my alarm clock going off.......It was Monday morning and time for work........As I made my way to the bathroom to shower and get ready for work I thought about the dream that I just had and I compared it to the dream I had of Cody at that Magic Place.....And one thing that struck me strange was that in the dream of Cody I could not see his face..It was blurred...And also in the dream I had of myself I could not see my own face the only face I seen was that of the dirty scary man that grabbed my hand...... As I drove myself to work I thought about going back to the magic place but I would not be able to do that until Sunday.....I also thought of why at this point in my life is this happening to me? When I got to work I decided that I would start a journal of everything that has happened so far so that I don't forget any of it.....So at lunchtime I wrote down all the events that had happened so far.....And I would record any other dream I may have.......My day was a normal day at work I became very busy and the thoughts of the dreams left me for awhile....As it approached quitting time and I finished up some last minute things.....I again began thinking of my two dreams.....I got in my car and was driving home and I got stuck in rush hour traffic....So I started listening to some music to kill the time.....Right in the middle of one of my favorite songs the music stopped.....All of a sudden I heard a voice calling my name......"Daniel please help me".....It was Cody's voice.....It came across my radio but only for that short sentence that he had spoken......It gave me chills....I thought I was hearing things and I brushed it off as thinking to much about the dreams......Traffic finally started to move at a better pace and soon I was pulling into my driveway.....Just as I hit my garage door opener I heard his voice once more....."Daniel please help me"........I pulled my car into the garage and went into the house.....I said hello to my wife.....And she looked at me and said what's wrong?....You look like you just seen a ghost.......I told her I was thinking of a dream I had on the way home and thought I heard a voice of the person that was in my dream.....She looked at me with a odd expression on her face and jokingly said to me....Did you stop at the bar on the way home???? I looked at her and said very funny and we both laughed and then we started to make dinner.......As my wife and I finished making dinner my daughter Jessica came home from work….we have two children both grown our Daniel lives in Texas and him and his wife are expecting their first child in about 6 months or so. My daughter is just out of college and still living with us at home she is an elementary school teacher and teaches 1^st grade. As we three sat down to eat we talked about each other’s day and when we got to mine my wife joked with Jesse about the voice I thought I heard. I told her very few details about my dream but I did mention the name Cody and she told me that’s real funny dad because I just got a new student today in my class named Cody…She told me she felt sorry for him because he seemed afraid and shy and withdrawn and didn’t talk much. After dinner my wife and daughter decided to go shopping for awhile so I decided to sit in my chair and take it easy for awhile and finish up a little bit of paper work I had left to do from my day at work. I needed to find some old documents I had to finish my work which I knew I had stored in the attic. I went up to the attic to look for the papers I needed and while going through a box or two I happened to notice and old trunk that I had forgotten about that was in my Mother’s house when she passed away. I never really had the time to go through that old trunk so I decided to open it and take a look. When I was small around 4 years old my mom and dad got a divorce because my dad was very abusive to my mom and me. I remember him hitting me and my mother when he was in one of his drunken rages and I thought maybe this is why I had that dream about me and the scary man from the early 1800’s because I was thinking about Cody and the cuts and scars on his back and how I had that on my mind. As I started to go through that old trunk I found some real old black and white photographs of people that I never knew. And when I looked at one of the pictures it made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. It was the very same shop that I dreamt about. I seen the pot belly stove and I seen people gathered around something and I realized that it was not a shop at all but a saloon or bar. But I also seen other children sitting around that pot belly stove playing and the thing that struck me the most was a boy sitting there with a kitten on his lap. The very kitten that I seen in my dream. I looked at some other photographs my mom had placed in that trunk and there was one of her and my father on their wedding day. They seemed so much in love in that photo it was hard to believe how someone that looked so happy could be so mean and abusive. As I was staring at the wedding photo all of a sudden the image of my dad turned into that dirty scary man in my dream. And then I heard a voice say “Stay out of this Daniel if you know what’s good for you”. And then the wedding photo felt like it was pulled from my hands back into that old trunk and then the lid of the trunk slammed shut. The next thing you know I heard the garage door opening and my wife and daughter was returning from their shopping trip. I found the paper’s I was looking for and came down from the attic with them. I went to my chair and was finishing the work I needed to do and my wife and daughter came into the room and ask me what I have been doing while they were gone? I told them I have been doing some work and didn’t mention anything else. When I married my wife we talked somewhat about the abuse that took place when I was a child and I told her I grew up without a father and if we would ever have children they would never live without a father or a father’s love. And I was true to my word and both my children grown up with love and I am very proud of both of them. And I have also been very protective of both of them. So I didn’t want my wife or daughter worrying about me or thinking I’m going crazy. So I finished my work and went upstairs to get ready for bed and the phone rang. It was my son Daniel and he sounded like he had been drinking and he seemed kind of stressed out and I ask him what was wrong. He told me things have been really hectic at work and his wife has been getting on his nerves and he needed to calm himself so he went to the bar after work. I told him to try and relax and not let things get to him so much and drinking is no solution it will only make things worse. We talked for awhile and I told him to get some rest and try to calm down. I told him I loved him and we would come and visit soon. After talking to Daniel I told my wife I was worried about him and I explained to her what we talked about. So now it was time for bed and I wondered if Monday night would be another night of dreaming. As I laid there in bed my mind was full of so many thoughts…I tossed and I turned and tried very hard to sleep but it was not coming right away. I thought about how I needed to write everything down in the journal I started at work the next day. Finally after several hours of just laying there I did fall asleep and I dreamt I was flying and I could see below me the small town I dreamt about the night before. I seen the roof tops of houses and buildings as I flew over them. I seen the people walking in the streets and as I flew over the saloon where me and the other children were in my dream there on the roof top was the dirty scary man cleaning out the chimney and as I flew above him he looked up at me and shook his broom at me. I began to descend closer to him and I could not stop myself he grabbed me by my hand like he did in the first dream and laughed at me with a evil grin but somehow I broke free. I then flew over the black forest where I fell in the hole. I looked down and I could see the hole that I had fallen into and I began to descend once more. I was now on the ground standing beside the hole I was just ready to jump down into the hole and my alarm went off and it was Tuesday morning. As I got up and got ready for work I tried to remember all of the events I needed to remember to write in the journal at work. I thought it might be much easier to bring the journal home each day but I didn’t want my wife or daughter seeing it and think I completely lost my mind. I decided to call my son before I left for work because he is usually up by now and I was worried about him. I called his cell phone but he didn’t answer so I left him a message to call me when he got a chance. I said goodbye to my wife and daughter and headed out to my car. Again I thought about the dream I had and the scary dirty man grabbing my hand and seeing him in the wedding picture. As I drove along to work I tried to focus on my day and what I needed to accomplish that day at work. I work for an aerospace company that makes parts for commercial and military planes and helicopters. I am the tooling manager there and my job consists of buying machine tools for making those parts. It was the time of year when I was becoming very busy at my job and when I was there my focus needed to be there. So all this craziness that has been going on lately had to be put aside for now. I got to work and I took the first 15 minutes of my day to write all the things down in that journal before I had forgotten them. So I did that and then I began my day. The morning was very busy for me making phone calls and doing cost control reports. I looked at the clock and the next thing you know it was 11:50. So I finished up what I was doing and got ready to eat my lunch I figured at lunch time I would go over what I had written in my journal so far and see if I missed anything or maybe needed to add something. I knew after lunch would be busy also because there was a goals and objectives meeting scheduled for all department heads at 1:00 pm. I ate my lunch and reread all my journal entries and added a few things and the next thing you know it was time for my meeting and lunch was over. As we all gathered in the conference room for our meeting I noticed one the department heads whose name is Emily having a hard time breathing. She was pregnant and pretty well along but still had a few months before she was to due to have her baby. I ask her if she was ok and she said she thinks so. She also told me that she went out for lunch to a local fast food restaurant in the area and when she was done eating and walking back to her car she happened to look in the car parked beside her and she saw a small boy huddled up in the back seat crying. She was just about to say something to the child when she heard a man’s voice yell hey what are you doing looking in my car? And it startled her. She replied to the man who she described as being very dirty and scary looking that the child was crying and I wanted to see if I could help him. The man replied back to her that he is just a whiny brat who always cries. I see you’re going to have one soon. See what you have to look forward to. And she said he laughed this evil kind of laugh and all his teeth were rotten and he got into his car and started to drive off and she said the little boy stared at her as the car drove away with his hands on the window and his face against the glass as if to say help me please take me away from him. Emily said that it upset her so badly that now she is not feeling well. We all agreed that Emily should go to the emergency room so we called an ambulance to take her there. I agreed to sit with Emily in another room while we waited for the ambulance to come so that the rest of the department heads could continue their meeting and I told them I would catch up later. As I sat there with Emily we talked a little more and she told me she would never forget that little boy staring at her as that car drove off I wanted to tell her so badly about my dream and the scary man and about Cody but I didn’t want to upset her anymore then she already was. Then she said something to me that was just unbelievable. She told me there was a small kitten in the back seat with the little boy and he was holding it while he was crying. My face must have lost all expression because she said to me what’s wrong Dan? Are you ok? You look like you have just seen a ghost. Just before I had to try and explain to Emily why I looked that way I glanced out the window and the ambulance was pulling into the parking lot. As I got Emily out the door and into the ambulance her cell phone rang and it was her husband returning her call. She let him know she was on her way to the hospital. I returned to what was left of our meeting and tried to catch up on what I had missed. Soon the meeting was over and I returned to my office. And again I wrote in my journal how what happened to Emily seemed to coincide with what has been going on in my life. I finished up my work day and was driving home once more traffic was light for a Tuesday and I made it home quicker than the day before. I beat my wife and daughter home so I decided to start dinner. As they arrived home that evening I was just finishing up cooking. We sat down to dinner once more and talked about our days. My wife told me about her day and then it was my daughter’s turn she told me of a new lesson plan that they had to implement for her students regarding math and in the middle of telling me she stopped and said oh by the way Dad that little Cody boy never showed up for school today. It was his second day of a new school and he missed already. As she finished talking about her day it was my turn. I told them the whole story about Emily and the little boy and how it upset her to the point of making her go to the hospital. My daughter said to me I wonder why that little boy was not in school today? Maybe that was Cody. I never even gave that a thought. But the way things have been happening I wouldn’t doubt if that was him. Then my wife began telling me about a patient she had at work today and this lady was 93 and was telling her all the stories about when she was young. My wife is a nurse at our local hospital and she works in a department that gets people ready for surgeries. She was telling my daughter and I about this lady telling her a story of how her grandmother would sit her on her lap and tell her stories of a town that used to be near to here and the name of that that town was “Circletree” and how it burnt down many years ago and how many children lost their lives in that fire. My wife said she commented the old lady how sad that was that so many children had lost their lives and she said the seemed like a funny name for a town “Circletree”. The old lady said the town got its name because it was surrounded by a big circle of trees. As we cleaned up the dinner dishes I thought a lot about that town and wondered with everything else seeming so odd if that could be the town I dreamt about. I had so many things going through my mind this day between what happened a work with Emily and what she seen and all the dreams I have been having I began to get a headache and just needed to relax for awhile. I sat in my chair after dinner and closed my eyes and fell asleep. I did have a dream but this dream was of my children when they were young and my boy was playing little league baseball and I coached his team my daughter was maybe 3 years old and my wife use to dress her in a little cheerleader outfit and they would come to the game and watch Daniel play. It was good dream and a welcome break from what I had been dreaming. I remember in the dream all of us going for ice cream after the game and smiling and laughing and having a good time. I woke up around 7:00pm so my nap lasted about an hour and it felt good to forget about all the things that have been on my mind. I spent the rest of the evening going over what I had missed in that meeting we had today at work and I decided to call it a night around 10:00 pm. As I got in bed that evening I ask my wife if she had talked to Daniel today? She said no I haven’t why do you ask? I told her I called and left a message on his cell phone but he never returned my call. I didn’t want to call him now because it was getting late and I didn’t want to bother him. My wife told me not to worry he probably had a busy day and just didn’t have time or forgot to call. I’m sure he will call soon she said. I told her your probably right and we turned the light out and went to sleep. I was in a deep sleep and not dreaming at all tonight then all of a sudden the phone rang. I immediately looked at the clock by my bed and it 3:45 am the phone was on my wife’s side of the bed so she picked it up. It was my son’s wife Pam calling from Texas. My wife put the phone on speaker so I could hear also. Pam said that Daniel was in a accident on the way home from work and she said don’t worry he is ok we have been sitting in the emergency room most of the night waiting for him to be seen by a doctor he finally just got taken in to see one and I thought I would call and let you guys know she said. He didn’t want me to call because he didn’t want to worry you but I thought I would call while they are checking him out. I ask her how the accident happened and if anyone else was hurt. She said there was no one else involved. She said Daniel told her he was driving home and it was dark and he was on an old country road returning from a customer he was seeing when all of a sudden a man jumped into the center of the road. Daniel said he was really creepy looking and had what he thought was a witch’s type broom in his hand. Daniel said he swerved to miss him and went off the road into a ditch and nearly hit a big rock but was able to stop his truck before he did. Daniel said he bumped his head on the steering wheel and it knocked him out for a minute or two. He said when he finally got out of the truck he looked around to see if he hit that man and he said all he could see was the outline of a person running into the tall grass laughing. Pam said she better get back there and see how he is but she wanted to let us know that he was ok. We thanked Pam for telling us and she hung up. And then my wife and I talked for awhile about it and then we tried to go back to sleep. Just as I began to fall asleep I heard a voice yell “Daniel stay out of this if you know what’s good for you” It made me jump and my wife said are you ok what’s wrong? I said did you hear that? She said I heard a dog barking that’s all I heard. You must have been dreaming she replied. Again I looked at my alarm and it was 4:45 am I had to get up in 15 minutes so instead of laying there I told my wife I’m going to go ahead and get up and start my day. So I turned the alarm off and went into the bathroom and jumped in the shower. I took a long hot shower this morning and tried to get my thoughts together it was Wednesday and I knew it would be another bust day at work. As I drove into work that morning I thought since I got a head start on my day I would stop and get some donuts for the people in the office. As I pulled into the parking lot of the donut shop I was thinking about my son and how he was feeling. I was thinking about calling him but I thought he might not have gotten a lot of sleep and may not have even went to work today. Just then my cell phone rang and it was him calling. I said hello son how are you this morning? He said good morning dad I just wanted to tell you I was in a accident last night on the way home from work but I’m ok I acted like this was the first I heard of this and I ask him about it so that he wouldn’t think Pam had already talked to us about it. He proceeded to tell me that he was driving home it was kind of late and he was leaving one of his customer’s warehouse’s and he was on a old country road that was very dark. And what he told me next I could hardly believe. He said as he was driving along he was thinking about when he was young and he was playing baseball and how I coached his team and he thought about the times of going for ice cream after the games. He said then all of a sudden out of nowhere this creepy looking dude as he called him was standing in the middle of the road with a witches broom in his hand. He said dad it really freaked me out so I swerved to miss him and wound up in a ditch and I bumped my head. I messed my truck up pretty bad and my company is giving me another one until mine is fixed. He told me he didn’t go to work today and he’s going to take it easy and rest I told him that was a good idea and I will keep in touch. We said our goodbyes and I went into the donut shop to get those donuts I wanted to bring to work. As I arrived at work I took the donuts into the lunchroom and set them on the table. I took a donut for myself and poured a cup of coffee and was just getting ready to walk to my office when one of the department heads whose name is Tom stopped me and said did you hear about Emily? I said no I haven’t heard anything since the ambulance took her to the hospital yesterday. Tom said Emily went into labor last night and they could not stop it and she had her baby 2 months early. It was in an incubator and it may not survive because they’re worried about its lungs not being fully developed. I told Tom if he heard any other news about her to please let me know. He told me he would. I headed to my office and got my journal out and wrote down all of the strange things that happened the night before and also what happen to Emily. Soon after I got settled in and started my day my boss came into my office and said there was a tool show going on the next two days in Dallas and he ask me if I could to fly down and check it out. I told him I didn’t see a problem with it and I would see if I could stay with my son while I was there. His home is just a half hour out of Dallas and it would give me time to see him. The show would be Thursday and Friday and I would have to leave this afternoon. He told me to head home around lunchtime and get packed and he would have someone pick me up at my house and take me to the airport. He said there is a flight out of Pittsburgh around 6:00 pm and he would make sure he got me on that flight. After my boss left I called my wife and told her about the show and that I was going to try and stay at Daniel and Pam’s house. I was going to call Daniel as soon as I hung up with her to see if that was possible. I told her I would let her know later what happens. I called Daniel and told him about the show and he said sure dad you can stay with us and he was excited that I was coming down. So I got my some things together I needed to take with me from work and was ready to head home but before I left I stopped by Tom’s office and told him to call my cell phone if he heard any more news about Emily. On my way home I was thinking about the journal. I packed it in my briefcase because I wanted to make sure if anything strange happened I would have it with me. But I wanted to make sure no one other than me seen it. So I tucked it back into the last compartment of my briefcase. When I arrived home I had some lunch and then headed upstairs to pack for my trip. After packing I decided to take a shower. When I finally made it back downstairs I still had sometime before my wife and daughter got home and before the car arrived to take me to the airport so I read about the tool show I was going to on my laptop. Soon my wife and daughter arrived home and I had about a half hour with them before the car would come to take me to the airport. I ask them how there day was and I told them about Emily. My wife said her day was pretty busy but it went pretty quickly. I ask my daughter about her day and she told me that it was ok and then she said oh yea dad I almost forgot that little Cody boy came to school today and I noticed some bruises on his arms I ask him how he got them and he told me he fell down at home when riding his bike. I went and talked to a few other teachers and the principal about it. We all agreed that maybe we could get one of his parents to come in so that I could talk to them and maybe they could explain these bruises. So I called his home and the principal and I are going to meet with his father tomorrow after school. I said to Jessica be careful how you handle that situation and make sure you don’t accuse anyone of anything without proof. She said don’t worry dad I will handle it the right way. I also ask her to let me know how that goes I will call from Texas tomorrow evening and we can talk about it. After we finished talking I heard a horn blowing and it was my ride to the airport. I kissed my wife and daughter goodbye and grabbed my bag and laptop and headed out the door. I put bags in the trunk of the car and got in and it was Pete a young guy that works at the plant where I work. I said hi Pete how are you? I haven’t seen you in awhile. He said hello Dan I’m doing well I’ve been working the afternoon shift for awhile that’s why I haven’t seen you much. As we drove to the airport I ask Pete about his wife and I knew he had a son around the age of two or so. He replied that his wife is doing well and he told me there is never a dull moment with my son. He keeps me on my toes. I told him I could believe that I remember Daniel and Jessica at that age and you have to keep your eye on them every minute. He laughed and said you got that right. We talked a little more about work and how busy it was getting there I told him I was going to a tool show for a couple of days and he said wow that sounds interesting. Soon we arrived at the airport I grabbed my stuff and told Pete to take it easy and maybe some time will have a beer and talk awhile. He told me that sounds like a plan. After checking my bag and going through security I sat in the gate area waiting to board my plane. I started talking to an older gentlemen I introduced myself I said hi my name is Daniel he said it’s a pleasure meeting you Daniel my name is Samuel. It just so happened Samuel grew up near me. I ask him if he ever head of a town called Circletree? He said it’s funny you should ask question I’ve done a lot of research on that town. I said wow I would love to hear about it. Just then it was time to board the plane and as luck would have it I looked at Samuels boarding pass and he was in the seat next to me on the plane. It turns out Samuel is a retired school teacher and local historian. He was heading to Texas to visit his grandson who lives in Dallas. After we were settled on the plane and we were airborne Samuel started telling me about Circletree. It was a small town in the 1800’s that was founded by a group of people who came to Pennsylvania from the south trying to find a better life and they  became coal miners and farmers. They worked very hard on their small town and paved the mud streets with cobblestones and they all worked together to build a nice town with a general store, a bank, a nice gathering place it was a bar but it was more like a community center where everyone would meet and relax. I stopped Samuel right there before he continued on with his story. I ask him if he had any pictures of this town or of this gathering place. He told me yes I have several pictures of Circletree before and after the fire. I ask him if he had a picture of the inside of the community centre or bar as he described it and if he could tell me what it looked like inside. He started describing the potbelly stove and how the children would gather around it to keep warm and play games. He also described the bar to me and he also told me of a piano and a table where the men would gather to play cards. I told Samuel I think I have a picture of Circletree and I will have to show it to him sometime. I didn’t tell him of my dreams or of Cody. He said I would love to see that picture sometime. He proceeded to tell me more about the town and the people who lived there. He spoke of a troubled man a chimney sweep by trade who was a heavy drinker and a child abuser and a wife beater his name was Nathaniel. He had two children a son and a daughter he would leave the wife and daughter at home to clean the house and do the chores and he would take the small boy with him to the bar while he would drink. He would leave the boy with the other children and let him play until it was time to go home. The story goes that Nathaniel would get really mean when he drank people back then would see things but they would turn their heads and pretty much keep to themselves. It is said that when Nathaniel would leave the bar he would take a bottle of liquor with him and on their walk home he would take his small son to a grove of trees near the edge of town and he beat him and take his daily aggressions out on this small boy. This part of Samuels’s story made me cringe because it took me back to my own abusive father and how he would hit my mother and me. Nathaniel was a big man. A strong man. And a very mean man. And most of the town’s people were afraid of him. Nathaniel would stumble home most nights after beating his small son he would either pass out in bed or take more of his aggressions out on his wife and daughter. There was one person who was not afraid of Nathaniel and that was a fellow by the name of Cody Smith. You can only imagine my surprise when I heard the name Cody but I let Samuel continue on with his story and did not make an issue out of it. Samuel said Cody was big man a lumber jack. He came to Circletree from North Dakota after the town was established. He settled on a farm near Circletree and he worked for a lumber company in the area. It is said that one day Nathaniel came to town with his wife and his son and daughter. Nathaniel was drinking heavily that day. He began beating his wife and children near the general store where Cody was buying supplies that day. Cody seen Nathaniel was beating his wife and he seen Nathaniel’s son trying to help his mother. Nathaniel hit the small boy and threw him in a ditch. The boy was bloody and crying and then Nathaniel picked a cobblestone from the street and was about to hit his wife with it. Cody was shocked and surprised that no one tried to help so he dropped his supplies and ran over to Nathaniel and grabbed his hand just before he hit his wife with that cobblestone. Nathaniel then turned his drunken anger and rage to Cody. He and Cody began fighting. Two very strong men in a fierce battle of good and evil. At one point in their fight Nathaniel managed to grab that cobblestone again and he hit Cody on the side of the face with it and knocked him to the ground. He jumped on Cody and began hitting him in the face with his fists. In Cody’s whole life he could never remember ever being this angry at someone and something snapped inside of Cody and he somehow managed to pull Nathaniel off of him. Cody hit Nathaniel with a crushing blow and now Nathaniel laid there on the ground motionless. Cody kept hitting him in an angry rage but somehow managed to control his anger before he ended up killing Nathaniel. Cody ran over to Nathaniel’s wife and son to see if they were ok and what he could do to help them. After that day Nathaniel left Circletree and Cody fell in love with Nathaniel’s wife whose name was Elizabeth. Everything was going well in Circletree after Nathaniel left it seemed like the whole town felt more at ease and life was good for everyone. Cody and Elizabeth decided to get married and they also decided to change the name of their son whose name was Nathaniel to Cody their daughter’s name was Emily. Again when Samuel mentioned the name Emily I was surprised at how much of my life today was involved in this story from another time. Samuel said many months had passed since Nathaniel left Circletree and one day in late fall of the year 1821 the town folk gathered for the annual harvest celebration in the community center for food and fun. The community center was packed that night and everyone was having a good time. Elizabeth and the two children were there but Cody was not there yet. He had some last minute things to do at the farm before he could come so he sent Elizabeth and the children into town before him. Some of the town folk decided to build a fire in the potbelly stove that evening because it was getting chilly that time of year. There also was a big fireplace in the community center which they also started a fire in. Just as everything started to warm up smoke began to fill the room and a great down draft in that fire place blew the fire and hot coals out onto the wooden floor of the community center. Everyone headed for the door but someone had jammed it shut from the outside and they could not get it open. There was one other door towards the back of the building that was also jammed shut from the outside. The fire started spreading quickly and the smoke became unbearable. There was one window in the community center and some of the people busted it out and began to get out of the building. The children were near the potbelly stove and the fire had lined itself up and became a wall between the adults and the children. The fire was overtaking the whole building and only about 10 adults made it out of the building through the window. There were terrible screams of the children coming from inside but no one could help them. The adults that did make it out looked around and the whole town was on fire. They seen the image of a man running from building to building with a broom that was on fire and he was setting them on fire. Cody had just left the farm and was riding in his horse drawn wagon. He seen a big orange glow ahead of him and he knew the town was on fire. He raced there as fast as he could and just before he got to town he saw the shadow of a man in the road ahead of him with a burning broom. It started Cody’s horse and the wagon ran off of the mud road into the ditch and Cody bumped his head as he was thrown from the wagon. When Cody managed to get to his feet he seen that man running into a field laughing and he heard him say you should have minded your own business Cody. As Cody got to town everything there was gone. Many lives were lost including his wife and two children. Legend has it that Cody left Circletree that next day and vowed to find Nathaniel and make him pay for what he done. Just as Samuel finished telling me this the pilot of the plane said we will be landing in Dallas/Fort Worth airport in ten minutes. I told Samuel thanks for telling me this story and I hope to see him when I got back home. We exchanged phone numbers and prepared to land and exit the plane. After the plane had landed and we were starting to get up and exit the plane Samuel grabbed me by the arm and said to me. Are you ok? I saw that a couple of times during the story I was telling you that you seemed upset. I hope I didn’t upset you. I told Samuel oh no it’s ok I’m glad you told me that story it’s just that I was abused as a child and some of that story hit home with me. I didn’t want to mention about the dreams or the magic place to him but he felt like someone who would understand about all that for some reason. I told him I looked forward to calling him soon and getting together so I could show him the pictures I had and he could show me his pictures of Circletree. I told Samuel to have a great time visiting his grandson and he told me the same. We exited the plane and said our goodbyes. I called Daniel and told him I getting my luggage and was picking up my rent a car at the airport and I would be at his house in about an hour or so. He ask me if I had eaten anything and I told him I thought about grabbing something on the way. He told me not to do that because Pam made dinner they had already eaten but Pam had a plate of food for me that she would heat up when I got there. I told him that sounds great see you in about an hour if traffic is good. When I was done talking to Daniel I called home to let my wife and daughter know I had landed and was picking up my rent a car and heading to Daniel’s. I told them I loved them and would see them late Friday night. I got my rent a car put my bags in the trunk and started driving to Daniel’s house. As I drove along I started thinking a lot about the story Samuel had told me about Circletree. It made my heartbreak to think of all the lives that were lost their especially all the children. I arrived at Daniel and Pam’s around 8:45 that evening. Daniel greeted me at the door with a big smile and a hug. He took my bag and laptop up to the spare bedroom and while he was doing that I went into the kitchen to see Pam. I gave her a hug and ask her how she was feeling because she looked kind of tired. She said she has not been getting much sleep lately but other than that she was fine. She told me to sit down and she made me a plate of food and gave me a cold beer to go with it. As I was eating Daniel came into the kitchen and ask me how I was and how things have been going. I told him we are starting to get busy at work and things are starting to get a little hectic there at times. I ask him how things were going with his job and he told me he was also getting very busy. As I finished up my meal I went into the living room with Daniel we had another beer together and he ask me how mom and Jessica were doing and I told him they were doing well and everything was good at home. He told me about the accident he had and he said they are coming to pick his truck up tomorrow for repairs. He took me out into his garage and showed me the damage. I told him he was very lucky he did not get hurt any worse then what he did. After that we went back into the house and I told him if he doesn’t mind I’m going to call it a night it’s been a long day and I have to get up early get a shower and head to the tool show. I gave him and Pam a hug and headed up to my room. I unpacked my bag and got my clothes ready for the morning brushed my teeth and headed to bed. As I climbed into bed I heard Daniel and Pam arguing downstairs I could not make out what they were arguing about but they were getting louder. Then I heard Pam say to him be quit your dad will hear us. Then the arguing stopped. It seemed kind of strange to me because Daniel and Pam always got along so well together. Maybe it was the stress he has been under lately and the accident. I was very tired and feel to sleep soon after the stopped. I began to dream. I dreamt of my daughter Jessica when she was small about 3 or 4 years old and she was standing on a small bench singing a song and all of a sudden the bench just gave out and she fell to the floor and broke her arm. I remember that day so well because it scared me to death. We took her to the hospital and they set her arm and cast it. Nothing was unusual about that part of my dream because that’s something the really did happen. But then as we were leaving the hospital in my dream her life fast forwarded to her getting in her car after school and starting to drive home. I could see her driving along and all of a sudden the wheel on her car fell off as she rounded a bend. Her car went over an embankment rolled over several times and she was trapped in her car. And she was yelling for me to come and help her. Then I felt like I was her trying to free herself but could not. Then I seen Nathaniel look into the window of her car and laugh and he said to her. You and your dad need to mind your own business and stay out of mine. Then he laughed again and walked away without helping her. I started screaming I’m coming Jesse just hold on. I’m coming. Just then Daniel came into my room and woke me. He said dad you must be having a bad dream you’re screaming in your sleep. I looked at him and said wow son sorry I was having a bad dream. Sorry for waking you. He told me it was ok and ask me if I was alright and I told him yes go back to bed. We both went back to sleep and I had no more dreams and I awoke to phone alarm. It was time to get up and get moving. I got up and jumped in the shower and let the hot water hit my face and I stood there for awhile thinking about the dream I had and I started to worry about Jessica and decided when I got out of the shower I would call her before she left for school that day. Once I got out of the shower I shaved and got dressed and before I went downstairs I called home and my wife answered. I ask her to let me talk to Jessica and she said she had to leave early and get prepared for that parent and teacher’s conference she had that day. I had completely forgot about that and told my wife to tell Jesse I would talk to her later after I got home from the tool show. My wife said to me tell Daniel and Pam I said hello and I told her I will. I said goodbye to her. I went downstairs and Pam had made some breakfast for me and told me Daniel had already left and said he would call you and maybe have lunch with you. He said that he will be near the tool show today. I ate the breakfast Pam had made me and headed out the door and to the tool show. As I arrived at the show there many booths set up of different cutting tool manufactures from all across the United States and everyone is trying to sell you there tool and tell you theirs is the best on the market. I looked around but ended up at the ones I trusted most and have used in the past. There is always something new and technology is improving all the time. I watched a few demos and soon it was lunch time. I called Daniel to see where he was at and if he could still meet me or if he would be tied up. Daniel said sure dad we can meet as long as you don’t mind one of my customer’s tagging along. I am doing a job for him and I wanted to buy him lunch. I told him sure no problem. He told me where he would be so I started over there. As I was walking out of the tool show I heard someone calling my name. I turned around and it was one of tool reps that I deal with all the time his name is Bob West and he ask me if he could buy me lunch? I told him I was meeting my son if he wanted to tag along he was more than welcome. He said sure it would be great to meet your son. I told Bob we will take my car and we got in it and drove over to a place called the “Texas Diner” it was a nice place and Daniel and his customer met us at the door. He introduced his customer to me and Bob he said dad I would like you to meet John Stevens. I shook his hand and introduced Bob to them and then we ask for a table for four. Having lunch with my son those guys was a welcome break and took my mind off of things for awhile. We all joked and laughed had a great lunch and drank a couple of beers and then Bob and I headed back to the tool show. And Daniel and John headed back to John’s place of business. Bob ask me on the way back what my plans were for the next day (Friday) and I told him I thought I would spend a half of day at the tool show and then I wasn’t real sure. He ask me if I might be interested in seeing a new manufacturing plant that his company had just opened that manufactures cutting tools near here. I told him that would be great and a welcome break from all those tool vendors. He laughed and said ok I will pick you up at your son’s house tomorrow. Give me his address so I can punch it into my GPS. We got back to the tool show and I talked to a few more vendors looked at a few more booths and then started back to Daniels house. As I drove back I looked at the time and I knew when I got back it would be around the time Jessica usually gets home from school. I thought about that dream again and I remembered Nathaniel saying you and your dad need to mind your own business. Then I got to thinking about the little boy and his name being Cody and the first thing that came to my mind was I wonder what his dad’s name is? When I got back to Daniel’s I did a few things and then called home. My wife answered the phone and I ask her if Jessica was home yet and she said no she isn’t. I’m starting to get worried because she is not answering her cell phone. I told my wife to let me know when she heard from her and she told me she would call when she heard something. I went up to my room and looked over some information I got from the tool show. Then I heard Daniel come in and I heard him arguing with Pam again. I decided to go downstairs and see what was going on. When I walked into the kitchen neither one of them seen me. Daniel was yelling at Pam and she was crying. She said to him I will just leave because I can’t take this anymore. Daniel grabbed her by the arm and pulled her towards him and he made a fist and I yelled hey what’s going on here son? Daniel immediately let go of Pam’s arm and looked at me and I think he was about to try and explain what was going here but just then my cell phone rang. It was my wife calling. I said hello and she was crying hysterically. I told her to calm down and tell me what was wrong. She told me Jessica was in a accident and her car went over an embankment and there rushing her to the hospital. I told my wife I would get the first available flight back home and to keep me posted. When I was done talking to her I told Daniel and Pam what had happened and I then went up to my room and looked online for the first flight that I could get back home. It turned if I could make it to the airport in an hour I could get a flight back. I booked that flight and packed and went downstairs. I hugged Daniel and Pam and told them I had to go and Daniel told me he would keep checking with mom and to let him know when I made it to the hospital. I told him I would and I also told him I’m not sure what I walked into there but I didn’t like it. And I want an explanation as some point soon. He looked at me and I could tell he was embarrassed by his actions. They both walked me out to my car I threw my bag in the trunk and headed for the airport. I ask Daniel if he could call Bob and tell him I won’t be here tomorrow and explain to him why. He told me he would do that for me. I said goodbye one more time and got in my car and started for the airport.