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Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781524617486 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | AuthorHouse |
| Publication date: | 08/11/2016 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 460 |
| File size: | 541 KB |
Read an Excerpt
Wings of a Fallen Star
So Far Away
By Freddy Santaven
AuthorHouse
Copyright © 2016 Freddy SantavenAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-5246-1749-3
CHAPTER 1
~ Spirit Song and Being ~
The morning sun peering through the living room blinds created an interesting illusion as the scattered broken lines of light passed over the large peace lily plants and reflected off the glass of the oak bookcase onto various points of the room in an almost three dimensional fashion. It then proceeded to fill the room with an ambience of the radiating warmth from outside. It was the dawning of a beautiful autumn day in Harrisburg, and Kathleen Morrey was just waking. She instinctively slapped the snooze button to lye back down momentarily only to quickly pick her head up and stare around the room. It was only a dream she thought to herself, but it seemed so strange and so realistic to her that she ended up dwelling about it for much longer than anticipated as the alarm sounded again.
She was fully awakened this time as she began to ponder excitedly about her work for today. She was looking forward to the annual harvest festival at the community park. It was going to be one of her easier work assignments. She would only need to snap a few photos here and there and then capture some 'magic moments' as she called them. She would then have plenty of time to enjoy the festival while meandering around with her family and friends.
As one of the area's finest photographers, Kathleen is proud of the work she has done for the local newspaper over the past twelve years and there are several awards hanging on her wall that evidently display her talents. Glancing back down at the alarm clock she began to calculate a plan for this morning and was slightly distracted when she heard her son doting away loudly to himself from the living room as he eagerly practiced his guitar. "Come on Billy, you can do it! Get it right!"
He was a bit frustrated as he sat there at the end of the sofa scuffing the guitar pick in a back and forth like motion over both sides of his fair skinned face. His dark brown hair flopped forward slightly as he reached toward the lamp table for the remote to review the video and try to figure out how to play part of a song. When he simultaneously dropped his pick and the remote on the floor he cussed a bit loudly as he struggled to pick them up. "Why am I so damn tired? Come on, Concentrate Billy!"
He stubbornly grabbed his pick, restarted the video and tossed the remote back onto the end table in one continuous motion as he continued to practice with this devious smile etched on his face, as if he had just overcome the toughest feat of his lifetime, or maybe it was because he really had. All of the dreadful thoughts from not too long ago were still clearly embedded in his mind but he would naturally close them out by concentrating on a positive quest, like playing his guitar, for example.
With all of the pain and treatments he had been through for over a year, he found the greatest feeling of all the day that his Leukemia went into remission. Now as he gets better he is waiting for a chance to return to a normal life and throughout the whole ordeal he impressed his family and friends with a straight and positive attitude to which he attributed to his father who was a strong and true inspiration. The song he was playing was an old hit by JJ Roberts, the well known rock artist whose style and greatness inspired Billy's dad to play the guitar, who in turn, taught Billy how to play at an early age. By now he could play the instrument fairly well, but not quite well enough to daydream about being a star, although he often did. However, all of his friends back at the medical center where he receives his treatments look forward to hear him play as he is their star, but he was indeed this superstar in his own mind and that was all that really mattered to this intelligent fourteen year old.
Listening to the song, he held on firmly while softly strumming that old Fender guitar that belonged to his father. It had a classic mellow tone but could also get that really gutsy kind of sound with the special vintage pickups that his dad had just installed a few years before he passed away unfortunately, and untimely.
Billy, who had been very close to his father, carried inside the fond memories of the good times that they shared together and would often reflect on the conversations and words that his father had spoken to him. He would like to one day be successful with his music not only for his dad, but for his own personal satisfaction. However, when he found himself getting frustrated when things were harder to play like today for example, he would end up practicing his patience and persistence instead, in order to obtain some self satisfaction.
This 'Patience and Persistence' kind of attitude came from his father, the late Mr. Paul Morrey who would always have a lecture for him, but with a fun and educational twist ...
"If things get difficult son, remember, Patience, Persistence and Pizza!"
"Pizza, Dad?" Billy was dazed and puzzled as he took the bait that day.
"Yes Billy. If patience and persistence doesn't work for you, take a pizza break and get back to work when you are ready, but remember,
you will want to succeed sooner than later or get as fat as a cow!"
He finished seriously but in a teasing fashion. Paul was just that kind of person, a great husband and father known by many as the man with a heart of gold through his compassionate and giving ways. When he first met his bride to be, Kathleen was still a teenager running free while living as independently as she possibly could be. That was just her way and with her camera always at her side there wasn't much activity she would miss. All of her friends enjoyed her company and would often compliment her warm and sweet personality.
They had a very good relationship but her spontaneous quips were first taken as competitive with Paul, who was quite an attention grabber himself. It took Kathleen quite a while to accept all of his crazy antics and somehow polite kind of arrogance. With his gentler tone he simply had ways to get his point across firmly, but fairly. So, before long they learned to accept the envy of each other in such a way that they just couldn't live apart. So after months of accumulation, their routine of teasing one another finally abated and they quickly fell deeper into the well of their relationship that was bonded together with the strength of friendship, endurance and love.
Their children, Allison and Billy, were born three years apart. T hey lived an ordinary middle class lifestyle, raising their children well while teaching them their good manners and common sense with the respect of others as a guideline. Paul understood that good communication with his children was very important and he spent a lot of time with each child in their early school years discussing their teachers, classmates, homework, and to Kathleen's surprise, peer pressure and lectures on how important it is to be yourself and not let others try to change you.
Early one evening they were all sitting in the living room, and Paul was giving one of those all important lectures to the children. Suddenly Kathleen interrupted and tried to challenge him,
"My God Paul, they are so young, and you are worrying too much!" she stated firmly, to his sullen reply.
"Would you rather I let them learn it for themselves later with all of the consequences, or teach them now so they will be ready with their future decisions?"
Without missing a beat, nine year old Allison pleaded, "Teach us now Daddy, please?"
Then as six year old Billy looked on attentively, Kathleen knew that this case was closed because Paul would normally always win.
Except for that fateful winter morning five and a half years ago ...
Kathleen paused for a moment while staring at the alarm clock, 8:40 am. It was around that same time the day she received the tragic phone call that would forever change this family's life. Paul had been working since early that morning on a construction project inside an apartment complex when some faulty wires started a fire which quickly spread. They were on the third floor and the fire started below them. They could hear some of the workers yelling from the floor below and Paul, who was the supervisor of his crew, went out to check on the situation.
Running quickly down the stairs in a panic he could smell the smoke as it was getting stronger each step of the way. When he had reached the bottom of the stairs, the last crew member was hustling out of the burning blaze and after seeing Paul he pointed through the rising smoke to the flight of stairs across the hallway leading down to the ground floor and shouted, "This is the way out, down the stairs to the first floor lobby!"
Although he knew, Paul thanked him and immediately ran back up the stairs to evacuate his crew of four. He was just stepping back inside when part of the floor collapsed, inviting the flames from below to immediately engulf the room. Everything had just happened so quickly as he frantically searched and scanned the area and then finally saw two of his crewmen coming toward him, both managing their way around the burning hell from below, dodging most of the flames as they spewed upon them. One of the men recklessly caught his clothes on fire and had to drop and roll, luckily finding a clear spot to extinguish the flames. He managed to get back up on his own and suffered only minor injuries. The other guys had fallen to the floor below.
Paul ordered both of them to get out of the building and immediately ran back down to help the others. He tried and succeeded getting inside as the flames were moving toward the other side of the room by now, but were out of control and spreading rapidly. It was extremely hot and smoky inside the room and it was getting harder for him to breathe each moment. He could not keep his eyes open for more than a few seconds at a time, the smoke was overpowering him.
He miraculously managed to grab a hold of one of the men who was hurt badly from the fall and struggled to pull him out to safety. As he sat down briefly to catch a breath of fresh air, he could hear the fire trucks approaching and feel the intensity of their shrieking sirens as they edged their way closer. He momentarily lost himself as he stared deeply into the vacuum of the entrancing red lights that were getting brighter and closer every second of their way, but as often as you hear these stories over and over again, he couldn't stop thinking about the man still trapped inside. And so selflessly giving all that he could, all that he had left of himself, he ran back into the building to save his last crew member, but somehow Kathleen understood this, she could feel it. Paul was no doubt always thinking about her and his children with all of the love he had for them. As he fled back inside he thought about the firemen who would be there in a minute, just one little minute. They would save him if he failed and so then being the person he was, he remained dedicated to saving his coworker.
They were both pulled out within minutes and the paramedics worked frantically to save Paul. The other worker did not make it out alive. Paul was overcome by excessive smoke inhalation, and died several moments later.
Through this horribly sad tragedy and intensive grieving throughout the sleepless nights there was this timeless shock that would never seem to end, and through all of the pain in grieving over and over again every time somebody would mention his name, Kathleen found a slight moment of peace, for just a brief moment, Paul was there. It was at the funeral less than one week later. One of the firemen who were at the scene when Paul died came to pay his respects and before he left, he mentioned it. He said it was probably nothing, but Paul had muttered the words "luv you babe" his last words, the three simple words that will forever reign in her heart exactly the way he had said it to her so many times before. That fireman probably thought it was in appreciation for all of his effort to save him but Kathleen knew what it was as she could feel her husband near her in those words, for in that very brief moment which she will now cherish the rest of her life, he was very much alive.
As she gazed into the mirror to brush her hair, she could almost see him and feel him running his fingers through her wavy and long brown hair, messing it up with that smile on his face that would often curl her hair, or so she wished.
"There honey, see? You don't have to spend all of that money on your hair. It has a naturally curly look to it now!"
He teased her that day with a wink in his eye and a grin of satisfaction proudly displayed on his face, but she answered him back fearlessly.
"Would you like some chocolate mousse tonight dear?"
Chocolate Mousse happened to be Paul's favorite dessert and she would occasionally humor him, referring to the hair styling mousse. She started to reminisce about that one particular weekend, drawing a smile to her face. Temptation had overtaken her that night after his ribbing on and on about her hair and of all those times that she had threatened him, she would finally win.
So, running her fingers through his hair as he fell fast asleep she lightly rubbed the mousse in his hair, effectively pulling upwards and away as far and gently as she could without waking him. By morning it was a bit messed up, but such an unusual and ridiculously funny sight that she could not contain herself. As he got out of bed she lost her self control and started laughing hysterically at him, drawing attention to Billy and Allison who curiously barged into their room, as young children always seem to do so well. With the three of them drenching in tears from laughing so hard, Paul just knew it as he so slowly, so dramatically reached to scratch his head. Then, shrugging his shoulders, he cried out.
"You're all nuts! Just crazy!"
He took a few steps into the bathroom and tried to act as surprised as he could in order to put the full show on for the kids. He hollered loudly, "Oh, My Hair! Somebody Help Me, Please!" Then quietly added, "Hmm, tastes like chocolate, Mmm ... never mind!"
Not exactly, but the kids laughed for days ...
As Kathleen's mind wandered from the past to the present, she glanced into the mirror and stared deeply into her own blue eyes. She thought of all the days that had gone by without him, some happy, mostly sad, and all of the pain and love she endured within those years. Billy had his father's hazel eyes and her medium brown hair. She would often be reminiscent of her times together with Paul through her son's eyes and for that she was very grateful.
As she slipped out of this daydream of her own making, she slowly looked around and her smile broke away completely. Regaining a serious stature, she refocused on her plans for the day. After quickly grabbing her camera and purse, she strutted down the hallway toward the living room and nearly tripped as she dodged her daughter who had suddenly darted out in front of her as she ran out of her room.
"Whoa, take it easy Ally!" Allison was yelling simultaneously at her brother, and her flustering voice echoed throughout the hallway.
"It's too loud Billy, turn the damn guitar down, I'm trying to sleep!"
Kathleen became instantly annoyed and responded sternly to them both. "Ally, Stop! And Billy, please turn the guitar down!"
"You mean, turn the amp down!" Billy replied in a slightly sarcastic tone, "I can't turn a guitar down! Well I could, but it wouldn't make any sense. Because you wouldn't hear it at all, and you know I'm not deaf!"
"That doesn't make sense either Billy!" Ally stubbornly retorted, "If you were deaf you probably wouldn't be playing a guitar to begin with and you definitely wouldn't need your amp!"
After he finally turned the amplifier down, Kathleen calmly exhaled as Allison followed up with a polite and quiet, "Thank you."
"You're welcome!" He answered brightly before briefly cranking it up again for a second just to annoy her. She rushed back toward her room growling to herself and slammed the door behind.
Allison is seventeen years old and in junior high school. As an honor roll student she has hopes of going on to college soon after she graduates. Her long brown hair is a couple of shades darker than her mothers and she is blessed with the same pretty blue eyes.
Speaking through the door, Kathleen inquired politely. "Ally, will you be going to the festival today? I am taking Billy to Doctor Valero's but we will be going to the park afterwards."
"I'll be hanging out with Jessie, Mom, but when Christopher gets off from work, we will all be going together, so I guess I'll see you there!"
Jessie is Allison's best friend since her early childhood days and Christopher, her boyfriend for the past several months. He is tall, sports a clean cut dirty blond hairstyle and Kathleen adores him as he is genuinely polite and seems to have his life together. At age nineteen, he has a strong desire of owning his own business by the time he is twenty five, which is very impressive to her. Before walking away from the door she replied to Allison's comments.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Wings of a Fallen Star by Freddy Santaven. Copyright © 2016 Freddy Santaven. Excerpted by permission of AuthorHouse.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
Contents
Acknowledgements & Gratitude, vii,Prologue, ix,
Introduction, xiii,
Chapter 1 ~ Spirit Song and Being, 1,
Chapter 2 ~ Sweet and Bitter Business Affairs, 19,
Chapter 3 ~ Glad Times, Sad Times, 29,
Chapter 4 ~ Unexpected Sorrows, 47,
Chapter 5 ~ Searching for Truth, 69,
Chapter 6 ~ The Captures, 81,
Chapter 7 ~ Facing the Truth, 92,
Chapter 8 ~ Reasoning and Surprises, 106,
Chapter 9 ~ Contention and Harshness, 125,
Chapter 10 ~ Acquaintance and Euphoria, 137,
Chapter 11 ~ Friends and True Friends, 156,
Chapter 12 ~ The Showdown, 173,
Chapter 13 ~ The Final Showdown, 187,
Chapter 14 ~ Dreams and Troubles, 211,
Chapter 15 ~ Tragedy and Troubles, 219,
Chapter 16 ~ Breaking Down, 229,
Chapter 17 ~ Offerings of Comfort, 250,
Chapter 18 ~ Strife and Relaxation, 266,
Chapter 19 ~ The Solemn Promise, 280,
Chapter 20 ~ Coping with Change, 297,
Chapter 21 ~ The Solemn Mission, 311,
Chapter 22 ~ The Solemn Promise II, 324,
Chapter 23 ~ Spiritual Salvage, 352,
Chapter 24 ~ Tides of Change I, 359,
Chapter 25 ~ Tides of Change II, 370,
Chapter 26 ~ Tidings and Comforts, 382,
Chapter 27 ~ Secrecies Unfolded, 395,
Left Behind, 430,
Call it a Shame, 432,
Treasures in Your Heart, 433,
You Really Blow My Mind, 435,
So Far Away, 436,
Waiting For You, 438,
About the Author, 441,