It's a cold February day.....but the cold never kept Bill
Clawson from heading out to take some interesting photos.
Today though, might be more than he bargained for.
This is story number 26 in Tales Unleashed. It's a feel good
story, but it could also give you a chill.
There was nothing Bill Clawson loved more than to grab
his 35 mm on his time off and head to the outdoors. There
was such a plethora of scenes, people and animals to frame
in his old Konica…. and today he thought would be no
exception.
Living in the Finger Lakes of New York, Bill’s favorite spots
were old cemeteries. Walking among the weathered markers,
he loved pausing to read the inscriptions, and photographing an
occasional crow sitting on a headstone.
It was just after eight a.m. when Bill pulled into his favorite
spot. It was Hendricks cemetery, a place that had been the
final resting spot for scores of people who had passed on
since the mid 1800’s and some since. Climbing out of his
’87 Jeep, Bill grabbed his camera and headed up the dirt
road which led to the main entrance. There was no entrance
sign, or gate of any kind…..just a lonely hard- pack dirt road that
beckoned those to ‘come on in’ and rest a spell.
The snow which had started to fall overnight had accumulated
several inches, and was still coming down at a pretty good
pace as Bill made his way up the road, pausing just a few
moments to scan the entire scene in front of him.
Suddenly, Bill noticed that he was not alone. Ahead of him at
about fifty yards was a young gal, looking to be in her
early twenties. Long black hair descended to meet up with
a fur collared coat that was most appropriate for the snow
which continued to fall.
As Bill raised his right hand to give a wave and say hello, the
girl turned suddenly and gingerly ran away from him, and
within ten paces had dashed to the left, being swallowed
up within the tens of grave markers which stood guard.
Bill thought it was odd he would see someone else at this
hour, at this place, unless she too might be a photographer
herself. He had not noticed any other tracks leading into
the cemetery and he proceeded up the road to where he
had seen her disappear. When he reached the spot…..
he kept examining the ground… and finding no tracks
continued on and to the left.. the direction in which the
girl had fled.
At about twenty yards out Bill noticed a cemetery bench
that itself was not unusual, but rather unique in it’s
appearance in this snow fall. Examining the bench,
Bill saw it void of snow on much of it… looking like
someone had sat there and then departed a short
time ago.. and yet there were no tracks to substantiate
such an action.
Bill sat down and placed the camera next to him, pulling
his collar up against the snow which had now increased
in it’s intensity.
Reaching down, Bill re-tied one of his boot laces which had
come loose.. and as he sat up, his eyes scanned the marker
directly in front of the bench where he sat.
The stone read: Rose Melinda Bellamy
9-5-65 2-14-85
Bill was always moved when he read a stone that contained
the sad information about a young person passing away
at such an early age.
The more he looked at the stone, the more he realized that
today was indeed… February the 14th…. this was the day
indeed that young Rose had passed away. Bill thought
how ironic….this Rose, passing away on Valentines day.
Bill picked up his Konica and snapped a picture of the
stone and of the bench, then turned southward and
headed for his car.
Bill thought about the girl he had seen just a short time
ago. Could it have been Rose herself? Bill had a shudder
move up his back and the hair on his arms tingled as he
thought about the brief encounter.
But it would soon become more puzzling for Bill.
As he returned to his car and approached the front
bumper, he looked at his windshield which now had
accumulated a new inch of snow.
In the middle of the windshield, and in the new snow,
someone had drawn a most perfect heart.
Well, it was Valentines day….
Bill’s eyes welled up, as he considered all the possibilities.
As he got in his car, Bill looked out at the cemetery and
said softly, “I will be back again soon Rose. You won’t
be forgotten.”
Bill reached for the heater…and turned it on full- high…
it would take more than a few minutes to extinguish
the chill which had now engulfed him fully.
Bill turned the car around and headed for home.
Reaching up to adjust the rear view mirror…. he
decided against the action. ‘Better not’ he thought
to himself. Would she be back in the road to see
him leave? He pushed down on the accelerator.
Bill knew that he would eventually return to
Hendricks cemetery…but he would wait for warmer
weather…a time that would bring about maybe a
daffodil…and maybe even a Rose.
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