A Timeless Place Ch. 20

In utter shame and self-loathing, he hung his head and wept silently. But, he did so with the freedom of knowing that Jonathan had finally learned the truth about his parents, at least the part of the truth that he wanted Jonathan to know. And with that he slipped away unnoticed by any of those in the room.

In the weeks that followed, Jonathan did mourn. A memorial service was planned for him to be able to find closure, if that were at all possible. It had turned cold; the murky skies threatened to unleash a terrible storm that would leave the ground white. The trees, or what little there was of vegetation, had all long become barren of greenery. And as the service came to a close, large flakes began to drift slowly to the ground.

Jonathan looked on with tearful eyes, his heart allowed to release what he felt inside. Yet, as he stood looking on at the two slabs and headstone before him, he knew in the back of his mind there was nothing beneath them. His parents were out there – somewhere – rotted, cold, and lost to him forever. He had often rambled about searching for his parent's remains, until Peter made a statement that silenced those.

"Time has passed, Jonathan. Their bodies have long decayed. There is nothing left of them but bones that rest where they are. Not even their souls can be found there. They have long gone to whatever eternal-resting place they have gone to. Let them rest. It would change nothing for you to become obsessed with finding them, except that you might breech the boundaries of madness."

In the same moment, north of Phoenix, the storm had unleashed its fury. Ice covered everything from trees to power lines, homes, roads, nothing was left uncovered in its wake. A few miles north of flagstaff a round concrete slab was covered with several feet of soil and sod the grass had died back because of the cold. The large tree that stood not far away was heavily sheathed with ice, the limbs bowing from its weight.

Creaking and snapping a laden branch gave way falling heavily to the ground atop the old abandoned and covered well that once flourished with water. The covering gave way with a loud reverberating sound that alerted the owner of the land right away. Carefully, he stepped from his back porch to survey the damage when he noticed the small opening beneath the fallen limb. Going back inside, he returned a few minutes later with a flashlight in his hand. On his hands and knees, he peered into the dark hole, his expression suddenly changing from curiosity to horror. Reaching instantly for his cell, he dialed 911.

In the distance, he stood looking on, a gentle smile gracing his otherwise stoical face. His work was now finished. The journey he had set upon was complete. Now, he could rest wherever the powers that be would decide and no matter where that be, he had made up his mind to accept regardless of what he had begun to feel inside. Much had changed about him since he had passed from life into a timeless place of a vastly different existence. So many of his deeds he had come to know where nothing more than madness and unresolved hurts, pain and just plain evil.

But, now he could smile again. He could laugh again and feel the freedom he had always been searching for in life. It seemed strangely odd to him that after he had let go of so much, it was then that he was free to experience the things he had always longed for.

It would be a few days before the identities of the remains at the bottom of the well would be confirmed. That would be about the time that Peter would be raising his right hand to swear an oath for his naturalization as an U.S. citizen. A twinge of excitement filled him and he so wanted to witness that moment. With an even broader smile, he faded into his surroundings.

Excitement was high as Peter stood among so many that had joined him in agreement to become citizens of the United States of America. He felt so proud to be counted as one of them as he looked over to his friends who stood off in the distance beaming as broadly as he had all that day.

Finally the moment had come as the director of the ceremony stepped to the microphone and asked them all to raise their right hands and repeat after him.

"I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state or sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the armed forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God."

The cheers that went up afterward were almost deafening. It seemed to Peter that many more, other than himself, had possibly suffered through the wait alone with him. In his reflective way, he hung his head thankful that they all could be there to accomplish the goal that had been set forth. Before he realized it, his family had gathered around him, who hugged him in turn.

"Let's celebrate, y'all!" Bruce announced excitedly.

"Yes, let's do celebrate," Peter agreed.

"I know the perfect place for it, too," Tony piped then, chuckling as he spoke.

"Yeah!" Jonathan leaned on him his legs getting tired from standing for so long.

They all meandered outside of the capital building to the limo that waited for them at the curb. Each one got in bubbling with the exhilaration of that moment. The window that separated the driver from the riders came down and the chauffeur eyed Bruce with a strangle look in his eyes.

"What is it, Max?" Bruce asked curiously.

"I need to speak to you, sir," the man stated feeling the news shouldn't be told openly, especially by him.

"Ok, meet me outside," Bruce got up working his way out of the car, as the driver stepped out also. The man in uniform came around the car and shut the door for privacy relaying the message in secret to Bruce that he had gotten only moments ago.

"Are you sure?" Bruce whispered to the man who was staring down at the sidewalk that was peppered with fresh snow.

"That's what the man told me, sir," he relayed to him glancing up momentarily.

With a sigh Bruce thought for a long moment. He didn't want to dampen the spirits of his friends who did need the outing most profoundly. And yet, he knew that Jonathan would want to know his parent's remains had been finally found.

"Sir, nothing can be done about it until tomorrow morning. It can wait until then, I'm sure," the driver spoke softly.

Bruce nodded, having been thinking the same thing and with the confirmation of his thoughts that is what he decided. It could wait until the morning, a new day would begin a new chain of events that would prove to help Jonathan's healing even further.

With another sigh he opened the door of the limo and slipped back in silently. As he sat, he put on a broad smile and clasped his hands together encouragingly. "Let's party, y'all," he stated in finality and a chuckle.

The driver grinned broadly as he closed the door and rushed carefully to the driver's side getting in. Just a moment of so later they were all on their way to the club to have a little fun for a change.

This may very well be my last submission to Literotica.com. I want to thank all of you for your continued support of my work. You've all been wonderful and offered me so much in learning, help and feedback of my work. I have and will leave all of my contact information on my bio along with the link to my webpage and future publishing company. Please feel free to email me at any time. I love to hear from all of you and enjoy answering your emails.

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Again, I thank all of you so very much. I don't believe I could've done this without you and your support.

Your friend always,

Billy (WindStormy™)