Chapter Three; Shocking Revelations

A few hours later, Kristyn pulled her seven-year-old Mazda into the church’s parking lot.  She had changed her jeans for a light blue suit with white sling-back white heels.  Nathan wore dress trousers, a vest and a white shirt with a bow tie.

“Is this the church, Mama?” asked Nathan from the back seat.

“Yes, Nate, this is it.  This is where I went to church when I was a little girl.”  Before getting out of the car, she surveyed the church grounds.  Not too much had changed since she attended.  This church was located out on old 264, just off of the well-traveled highway.  The church dated back to 1848, and there had been renovations over the years but the church retained it conservative façade.  It had been modernized as much as possible, with electricity and insulation plus central air and heating.

When the church was first constructed, it had only been the large one room sanctuary which received its warmth by way of wood burning stoves situated at both  ends of the church  Two large restrooms were added and the outhouse at the back was long gone.

Also added were several sections that now were the location of the Sabbath school classrooms and a Fellowship Hall.  She had wanted to be married here but it just didn’t happen that way.  There had been no time or funds for a large ceremony and so she and Nathan Lance had eloped to South Carolina.

The church retained its historical façade.  But now the structure sported white aluminum siding, which was added as an upgrade from the clapboard that was originally used, although the appearance was the same, that had not changed.  On both sides of the double doors were two stained glass windows and Kristyn recalled that five more stained glass windows lined each side of the church for a total of twelve, a symbolic number.  They also had been part of the renovations of the church, replacing the older glass panes.

Concrete steps replaced the original wooden ones; Kristyn knew there were twenty-four of them because she had counted them as part of a game she played with the other children.  Solid white double doors opened into the narrow receiving hall while another aperture, without doors, just a graceful arch, opened into the sanctuary.  The one wide aisle had pews on either side, twenty each.

The steeple had the bell tower located within it and even now tolled the call to worship.

Kristyn had given her life to God when she was twelve and had been baptized in the church’s new baptismal vat a few weeks later.

For a long moment, she felt grief at the fact that she had not attended church on a regular basis since leaving home at eighteen.  But she had placed Nathan in a Christian daycare where he had learned his Bible stories and how to pray.  This they did every night.  It was the simple child’s prayer of Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep and it ended with special blessings and small requests.  There was always a request for a pet but he had only been allowed stuff animals in their apartment.  The apartment she had shared with her husband and continued to habituate after he had left for duty.  Even after Nathan’s birth, she had remained in the one bedroom apartment, her last link with Nathan Lance.

Kristyn knew but was unable to see from her present location that there was a cemetery located behind of the church a ways.  It was actually older than the church by several years and at one time had been a private centenary.  It was considered an historical landmark and funded for upkeep by the United Daughters of the Confederacy, because many a young rebel solider was lain to rest there as were her parents, her beloved grandparents and her only love, Nathan L.  She hadn’t visited the graves as often as she would have liked but living in Rocky Mount made her a good hour away from this part of the state, which was east and south from her apartment.

The cemetery was fenced in by a high black wrought iron fence with front double free-swinging gates.  There were intricate lattice and scrolled works in the gate and was generally padlock during the week to keep out vandals.  It had a schedule for viewing by tourists that were interested in the history that were entombed there.  There were varieties of burial methods, from graves with head stones to mausoleums.  It was unlocked on the weekends, on Wednesdays and by appointment for schools and other organizations.  The caretaker lived on the grounds of the church, and he pretty well knew all there was to know about the cemetery, often acting as a tour guide for visitors who requested his services.

More and more vehicles were pulling into the parking lot, with the parishioners headed for the church.  Kristyn glanced at her watch and saw that it was nine thirty eight; they needed to head inside too.  As they made their way across the parking lot, she was greeted and welcome to the church.  Some were old friends from her childhood and they were glad that she had returned.

She followed the crowd, which she saw were heading for the back of the church for Sabbath school.  With help, she found her class but declined taking Nathan to his class; since this was his first time here, she did not want to leave him alone.  The class more than made her feel welcomed and before the study of God’s word began, she was told all the local gossip about people she knew, where they were and what they were doing.

After the Sabbath school class, she followed them to the primary Sanctuary; she could hear the organ pumping the deep tones of an unknown hymn long before reaching it.  She wondered if Miss Applegate still furnished the music, as she entered she saw that she indeed did.

She and Nathan took a seat on the fourth pew on the left side of the church.  Most parishioners left their children in the nursery or children’s church if they were nine and older.  Looking around, she saw that the church was integrated with African-Americans and Hispanic members.  She liked this idea a great deal, what did color of one’s skin has to do with anything.  Nothing and all were children of God.

There were singing of hymns, one known and two not and then a prayer and now Pastor Doyle made his way to the podium.  Before getting into his sermons, he took a moment to introduce Kristyn and Nathan to the congregation.  The pair stood as requested and wave as the parishioners acknowledge their present.

“Turn your Bible to Revelations chapter two …” instructed Pastor Doyle and the sermon began.  At the end of the sermon came the alter call, Kristyn decided she needed to renew her relationship with God and the church and during the song, ‘Just As I Am’, she took Nathan’s hand and they made the short trek down the aisle up to Pastor Doyle.

She said a prayer of repentant and made a request to renew her membership.  After the song ended, Pastor Doyle asked the congregation if they accepted the pair into the church and there was a resounding applause as the motion carried.

Now the parishioners lined up and each one personally welcomed her into the church with many inviting them to their homes for a meal.  Nathan was a little overwhelmed by all these strangers and stayed close to his mother’s side with one arm about her knee.  Kristy felt his apprehension and was reassured by the warmth of his young body next to her, that she knew he was near and safe.

Long minutes later, on the outside, as she was heading for her car, Pastor Doyle called to her and she waited for him to catch up, “Mrs. Spencer I want you to meet someone.  Wait a moment he will be right here.”  Straining to see through the crowd, he saw the one he wanted and called to him, “Tyler, can you come over here?”

A young man of about thirty-two or three approached them.  Tyler was nicely dressed in a dark blue suit, with a pinkest shirt and a striped pink and shades of blue and grey tie, but it was his eyes that drew Kristyn attention and she felt her heart skipped a beat.  They were a cobalt blue, insightful and compassionate.

“Hello,” he said with a deep baritone voice and met her eyes with a piercing look that sent tingles down Kristyn’s spine.  He was deeply tan, with a strong jaw, a straight nose, narrow mouth and heavy brows.

‘Stop it!’ she silently scolded herself.  “Hello, Mr. …” she hesitated.

“Doyle,” he smiled, extending his hand to take hers in a warm and firm grip.  He looked deeply into her eyes and smiled, sending new chills down Kristyn spine, then glancing at the Pastor, said, “he’s my father.  Dad told me something about the situation with the barn when he returned home yesterday, I would be glad to get my crew and have checked it out and even clean it up for you.”

“That would be nice,” she replied still mesmerized by his gaze.  “But I wouldn’t want to impose upon your time.  I am sure I will get to it myself in the next few days, as soon as I find someone.”

“I think you have found someone,” said Pastor Doyle, giving her a knowing wink.

Kristyn smiled shyly and turning back to Tyler, said, “Any time is fine with me.  I am home all day right now.  But I do admit I must be making plans to return to work.”

“Did you get the broken pot cleared away, okay?” asked Pastor Doyle.

“I just went ahead and did it myself,” replied Kristyn.

“Now, I would have done it if I had known you weren’t getting help,” smiled Pastor Doyle.

“It was rather strange when I went to clean up the mess.”

To which the pastor raised his eyebrows, and asked, “Strange?  How so?”

“Well, the window was broken.  It was broken from the inside, but how could the pot have broken it by just dropping from the ceiling?”

“That is odd,” said Tyler after silently listening to the conversation for a bit.  “Was the pot hanging within the window frame?”

“No, I made a point of hanging it from the ceiling; I didn’t want water or dirt to splatter onto the glass when I watered the plants, so it was at least a foot and a half from the window.  Also, it was like a freezer when I went back upstairs, right after Pastor Doyle left.  Now that is just wrong, I mean it was ninety-five degrees outside.  I have an AC window unit in two of the bedrooms but they aren’t powerful enough to bring a chill such as that out into the hall.”

“Cold?” inquired Pastor Doyle.  “Cold like cooler or freezing like winter?”

“Like winter,” she emphasized.  “You could see our breath, that’s how cold it was.”

“That’s not so unusual if it’s cold enough but the question is, what made it that cold?”

“It wasn’t the AC,” declared Kristyn.  “It felt like thirty-two degrees or colder, cold enough that Nathan was shivering!”

“That odd for this time of year!” said Tyler.  “I have a thought on that but we’ll wait on that for now.”

For a moment, Kristyn considered this remark and wondered what ‘that’ could be.  Deciding not to pursue it just now, she remembered the attic door being jammed and said, “And while you are there, maybe you can help me open the attic door, it is stuck!”

At that, Nathan joined into the conversation, “That’s where the light lives.”

“Light?” asked Kristyn looking down at her son.  “Whatever do you mean, Nathan?”

“The light!” he replied excitedly.  “’member, I told you, Mama.”

“I do not remember anything about a light.  Yes, it was dark in the stairwell because there isn’t a light in there.”

“The light lives there,” Nathan insisted.

By now, Pastor Doyle and Tyler had squatted down to Nathan’s level.  “What’s makes you think a light lives in the attic?” asked Pastor Doyle.

“I know!  ‘Cuz I saw it go under the door,” stated Nathan firmly as if a little irritated that no one believed him.  He poked out his bottom lip and crossed his arms in front of his chest.  “It wanted me to go in there too.”

“Is he given to flights of fantasy,” asked Pastor Doyle glancing up at Kristyn who stood close to her son with her arm about his shoulders.

“No more than any other five year old,” she replied.  “Nate,” she said now squatting down next to him, “darling, now is not the time for make-believe, what makes you think that the light wanted you to go into the attic?”

“It said so,” he replied.

Tyler took up the questions now, “What did the light say?”

“It woke me.  ‘Member, Mama, I was taking my nap?  It was a biiiggg light,” now Nathan unfolded his arms and stretched them wide.  “It covered the whole wall.  It said, ‘Come.’”

“Are you sure you heard the word ‘come’?”

Nathan nodded his head vigorously.  “‘Come, come, come, come’, is what it said.  Then it got real little,” said Nathan drawing out his last word while bringing his hands together in a cup.  “That little.”

By now, the adults are looking at each other and wondering how much Nathan is making up and if any of this is true.  Not wanting to make Nathan think they didn’t believe him, Kristyn said, “What did the light do then, Nate?”

“It went out into the hall and wanted me to go too.  It was sooo little that I had to bend over to see it.  It went down the hall!  It stopped at that door.”

“The attic door?” asked Tyler.

Nathan nodded.

“Then what,” continued Tyler.

“It went under the door,” inserted Nathan.  “It’s real little so it can do that but I’m too big.  I cain’t go under any door.  So I opened it.  It was real hard too.  But I pushed and I pulled and it opened really fast and made a loud bang when it hit the wall.  That’s what y’all heard, Mama.  But it was real dark in there and I was scared!  But I was going to go but Mama stopped me.”

The adults stood up and looked at each other with questioning expressions.  Kristyn spoke, “When I checked the door later, it was shut but I don’t remember closing it.  I tried to open it but it would not open.  I wanted to lock it but then it came to me that I had no key.  I don’t know where the key is.”

“Can you and Nathan sleep downstairs?” asked Tyler.

“Well, I guess, there’s a hide-a-bed in the den.  Why?  Is there something wrong upstairs?  Something you aren’t telling me!”

Father and son looked at each other and then Pastor Doyle said, “I am going to be honest with you, but first, do you mind if I call you Kristyn?”

“No, please do.  But you were about to say…”

“Something strange is going on here.  Not to frighten you but the church does believe in spiritual visitations.”

“Spiritual visitations?  What is that supposed to mean?”

“Visits from the spirit realm,” he said.

“You’re joking, right?  You don’t mean ghosts?”

“No, not ghosts, especially.  Not the way most people think of ghosts; no, there are other members of the spirit realm.  God and Jesus are part of the spirit realm as are angels and demons.”

“Okay…” Kristyn paused as this thought sank in.  This was a man of God telling her that spirits might be haunting their home.  “My house could be haunted?”

Nathan had listened to this dialog intently and he began jumping gleefully, “Oh boy, Casper!”

Now all of the adults looked at each other and burst out laughing.  Kristyn just shook her head in a way of apologizing and said, “Cartoons.”

A flash of lightning followed by a thunderclap alerted everyone that the storm, which had been anticipated, was upon them.

Tyler quickly escorted Kristyn and Nathan to her car and aided getting Nathan secured in the backseat, after which he told Kristyn, while leaning his hands against her door, “Don’t sleep upstairs tonight and I will see you tomorrow evening after I get off from work.”

Then the rain broke hard and furious, Tyler exclaimed, “Well, gotta run, see you tomorrow!”  He then made a mad dash to his truck.