Date: Mon, 3 Oct 2011 14:10:48 -0400 (EDT)
From: Bwstories8@aol.com
Subject: From Behond the Grave

From Beyond the Grave - by BW
Copyright 2011 by Billwstories

At fifteen, Mikey was a little old for trick-or-treating, but
he wasn't too old to go out on Halloween and raise a little
hell with his friends.  No, he didn't do anything malicious,
but he wasn't above toilet papering a few trees and shrubs,
having shaving cream fights with his friends or pulling a
few other harmless pranks.  After all, it was fun and Mikey
got to have a great time with his buddies.  He had just
spent a wonderful and raucous evening enjoying those
simple pleasures and was still dizzy from all the fun he'd
shared with his pals when he realized it was time for him
to head home.  He thought back to what his father had
told him before he left.

"Don't forget Michelangelo, it's a school night and you're
to be home by eleven."

His dad always called him that when they were alone.
Although his given name was Michael, he had given Mikey
that nickname because of his artwork.  You see, Mikey was
not only a budding artist, but he was also gay.  His father
knew it and accepted him for the way he was and went out
of his way to explain to his son that he thought the
nickname was fitting.  He had given it to him after he first
saw some of Mikey's very realistic sketches of his male
friends.

Mikey's dad told him that his talent of drawing the male
form could only be rivaled by Michelangelo's ability to
capture the beauty and grace of the male body.  His father
also explained that the artist Michelangelo had been gay
too, so maybe that's why Mikey and his namesake had the
rare and unique ability to capture the true essence and
nature of maleness.  Afterward, whenever he heard his
father call him this, it always made Mikey feel warm all
over, because he knew his father was not only proud of his
ability, but he was also willing to accept him for who he
was.

Although Mikey could never explain why he did so, that
evening he decided to take a seldom-used path home.
Although it was shorter, the primary reason he didn't use
this route more often was because he had to climb over a
couple of stone walls along the way.  These barriers
weren't that tall or difficult to navigate, but in order to
use this path to get to his house, he did have to travel
through the small cemetery those walls enclosed.

Tonight he wasn't concerned with it being shorter or
where it would take him, he only knew that he had to get
home quickly and this was the quickest way he knew.
However, as he approached the tiny graveyard, he began
to have second thoughts.  Although he was normally a
pretty brave guy, he was a little nervous about entering
the area tonight, especially considering it was Halloween.
As he jumped over the first of the walls, he almost crapped
his pants when he heard someone called out to him.

"Are you Michelangelo?" a small, high-pitched voice
asked.

Mikey's jumped in the air, as his heart leaped into his
throat and began to beat wildly, since he was totally
unprepared for anything like this to happen.  Who would
be hanging out in a cemetery on a night like tonight?
Besides, he couldn't believe what the person had asked
him.  No one else called him by his nickname, only his
father used for him, so why would anyone address him
that way now?  Mikey didn't even think anyone else knew
his father called him this, so what was going on here?
Suddenly, the hairs on the back of Mikey's neck and along
his arms began to stand on end.  Something was very
strange about this.

Slowly, Mikey turned around.  He had to find out who was
there and how this person knew so much about him.
Much to his surprise, he discovered it was another boy,
but he couldn't tell much about him.  The kid was masked
by the shadows, as he lay curled up in the corner of the
wall.  It appeared that he might be trying to keep warm
and fighting to stay awake, by why would he be camping
out here?

"Uh, who are you?" Mikey stammered, a little unnerved by
this encounter.

"Ah. I'm Gary," the boy explained.

The boy suddenly began to wonder if it had be wise, or
even safe, for him to confront someone he didn't really
know like this.  Sucking up his courage, he continued.

"My mother told me to wait here until Michelangelo came
to get me," the smaller boy choked out, showing as much
bravado as he could muster.  "Are you Michelangelo?"

Mikey looked perplexed.  He wasn't sure how he should
respond to this boy, but he had the feeling it would
probably be best to tell him the truth.

"Yeah, that's my nickname," he stated a little nervously,
but quickly he went on to clarify his statement.  "Only my
dad calls me that though, so how'd your mom know about
it?"

"I don't know," Gary admitted, "but she made me promise
I'd wait here until you came to get me."

The boy was still scrunched up in the corner of the stone
wall, but he was making no effort to move or sit up.

"How did she know I'd even come this way?" Mikey asked,
even more confused.  "I hardly ever go through here to get
home and I didn't even know I was going to come this way
tonight, at least not until a few minutes ago."

The boys stared at each other, as each tried to
comprehend what was really going on.

"I'm not sure," Gary replied, while avoiding eye contact
with the other boy, "but that's what she told me."

"But why did she tell you to wait for me?" Mikey followed,
trying to make sense out of what he was being told.

"She just said you'd take me home with you," Gary
explained, while looking a little nervous.

Gary seemed to understand how strange this must sound,
so he couldn't bring himself to look at Mikey while
answering his questions.  He wanted to see how Mikey was
reacting, but he chose to stare at the ground instead.

"She said what?" Mikey gasped, unable to believe his ears.
"She told you I'm supposed to take you home with me?
But I don't even know you or your mother, and I'm pretty
sure you don't know me or my dad.  Why would your mom
tell you to do this then?"

Mikey was eyeing this stranger thoroughly, while trying to
make heads or tails of his story.  He didn't see the boy as
a threat, but he was ready to fight or flee, if it came to
that.

"I don't know why she told me that, but it is what she
said," Gary reiterated; although he was becoming
embarrassed by the fact that he couldn't tell Mikey more.

"Well, if that's what she told you, then you'd better follow
me," Mikey informed him, although he still wasn't entirely
convinced this was the right thing to do.  "Hopefully, my
dad may know more about this.  I'm hoping he knows your
mom and she said something to him about this."

Gary started to relax a little, hearing the other boy's
reasoning and acceptance of what he told him.

"So, uh. what's your name?"  Mikey asked, as he held out
his hand to help the boy up.

"Gary," the boy answered, simply.

He willingly took Mikey's outstretched arm and pulled
himself up and off of the damp, chilly ground.  As he stood
up, the bigger boy spoke to him.

"You can call me Mikey or Mike, but we'd better get
going," he told him.

Mikey did take a moment to check the other kid out a
little more thoroughly, so he could now tell Gary was
probably a little younger than himself.  Gary also wasn't
quite as tall, but he was definitely cute.  At least that's
what Mikey thought, as he eyed the boy in the soft
moonlight.

Gary was a little uncomfortable with the way Mikey was
looking at him, but he didn't complain or argue with his
request.  As his new friend turned and began to head off,
Gary trailed obediently behind him.

When they reached the house, Mikey led him inside and
then called out to his father.  He not only wanted to let
him know he was home, but he also wanted to see if his
dad knew anything about this other kid.  As his father
walked into the room to speak with him, he quickly
noticed his son had someone with him.

"Who's your friend, Mikey?" he asked.

"This is Gary," Mikey responded, while looking at his dad
as if he expected him to know this fact already.  "He said
his mother told him that I was supposed to bring him
home with me.  Didn't you talk this over with his mother
earlier?"

Mikey and his father looked at each other, obviously very
confused.

"No, I haven't spoken to anyone about anything like that,"
he father explained.

At this point, he began to look the new boy over, to see if
he might recognize him.  When he realized he'd never seen
this kid before, he decided to see if he might be able to get
to the bottom of this by asking him a few questions.

"Gary, do I know your mother?" he asked, skeptically.

"She said you did," the nervous boy answered, while
looking even more uncomfortable by the second.  "She
also said it was a few years ago, but you'd still remember
her."

"Oh, and when did she supposedly talk to me then?"
Mikey's dad asked, even more puzzled by this revelation.

"I'm not sure," Gary explained, "but she did tell me I was
to wait for Michelangelo and then go home with him."

Mikey's father's mouth dropped open at the use of the
nickname.  Only he and his son knew he called Mikey that
and he'd only been doing it for the past year or so, since
he learned his son was gay and discovered his artistic
talent.

"Uh, what's your mother's name then?" Mikey's dad
finally managed to ask, once he'd regained his composure.

"Sarah," Gary told him, simply, while still avoiding eye
contact with the man.

"Sarah what?" the father pressed.  "What's her last
name?"

"Sarah Kopcik," Gary informed him.

Upon hearing this name, Mikey's father seemed to lose his
balance and looked as if he was about to fall over.  He
recognized the name at once, but he hadn't heard it for
years.

'Could it be?' the man thought.  'It isn't a common name,
so it has to be the same person I remember.'

"She used to be my next door neighbor," he finally told
the boys, who were now looking at him oddly.

They were extremely confused by his reaction, but they
were equally bewildered by the strange expression
plastered across his face.

"I haven't seen her in years, nor have I heard from her or
even rumors about her in over a dozen years.  The last I
knew, she got mugged in the park one night several years
ago."

He stopped abruptly and didn't continue the story,
because then he'd have to admit she didn't get mugged,
but was raped that evening.  Momentarily, he found his
mind drifting back to that time, while he considered how
long ago it had been since that had taken place.  That's
when he began staring at Gary again, which made the boy
feel even more uncomfortable than he had been up to that
point.  Suddenly, everything began to come together and
the truth suddenly dawned on him.  Gary was the result of
that rape.  Once he got over the shock, he decided to ask
his next question and attempt to regain control of the
situation.

"What's she doing now?"

"Nothing.  She died," Gary announced dryly, almost
matter-of-factly, and this caused the other two to react in
shock and disbelief.

"I'm so sorry to hear that," Mikey's father offered, with
the deepest respect and sympathy in his voice.

Although both he and his son were growing even more
confused with every passing second, they weren't sure
what they should do next.  Thinking quickly, Mikey
figured it might be best if he tried to empathize with the
poor kid.

"My mother died too, when I was little," Mikey told him,
while trying to put him more at ease.

Mikey could only imagine how much it was hurting Gary
to talk about this, so he was hoping this might make it a
little less painful for him.  However, Mikey's dad was
almost oblivious to his son's effort and proceeded with his
own line of questioning.

"Gary, when did your mother pass away?" he pressed.

"When I was ten," Gary replied, shocking the duo even
more.  "She had cancer."

"And how old are you now?" Mikey's father followed, more
perplexed than before.

"Fourteen," Gary told him.  Both Mikey and his father's
mouths dropped open again.  Nothing was adding up.

"But you told me your mother said you were to wait for
me," Mikey protested, unable to keep from blurting this
out.

"She did," Gary confirmed, unable to comprehend why
Mikey was questioning him about that again.

"When did she tell you this?" Mikey's dad asked, while
trying to understand how any of this was possible.

"Earlier tonight," Gary confirmed, although not plausibly.

"But if she's been dead." Mikey began, but then his voice
trailed off.

"I know, it sounds really weird," Gary admitted, "but
that's how it happened.  You see, I was coming out of my
foster parents' house when this lady came up to me.  She
was dressed like an angel and at first I didn't realize what
she was up to, and then she began to talk to me.  She
started telling me all this stuff, but when she called me
'pumpkin,' I knew it was a message from my mom.  She
always called me pumpkin when I was little, so I was
certain this had to be my mom coming back to save me.
Either that or it was someone she sent to do it for her.

"It's funny, but I wasn't scared or anything," Gary
continued.  "I guess I probably should have been, seeing
my mom's been dead for so long, but I just wasn't.  I
somehow knew everything was going to be all right.  I
talked to the lady for a little while longer and that's when
I began to understand this really was my mom.  She told
me everything was going to get better and I wouldn't have
to live in my foster home any more.  She knew I hated it
there and that they were mean to me.  She also told me
she understood I was gay and that was okay with her too.
She promised me I'd be happy now and in a place where
I'd be loved and accepted for the way I am, because I was
coming to live with you."

Both Mikey and his father were left temporarily speechless
by this pronouncement, but finally Mikey's dad found his
tongue again.

"I'm not sure what this is all about," he began, while
trying not to upset the boy, "but there's no way I can
arrange for you to live here legally.  You're obviously in
the foster care system, so that makes you a ward of the
state.  That means I can't just have you move in with us,
without getting into trouble."

"NO! It will be all right," Gary told him, since he wasn't
willing to accept his response.  "Mom told me it would be
okay.  She also told me to give you this and it would take
care of everything."

Gary then grabbed the trick-or-treat bag he had been
carrying with him and began to dig inside.  Eventually, he
pulled out an envelope and handed it over to Mikey's dad.
Patiently, he waited for him to open it and look at what
was inside.  The man began to leaf through all the papers,
while continually glancing up at Gary and Mikey as he did
so.

"Did you already check these papers out and then put
them in a new envelope," he asked Gary, figuring a curious
teen would probably have investigated this on his own
first.

"Nope," Gary answered.  "Mom told me just to give it to
you and I didn't want to mess things up by opening it
first."

Gary appeared to be telling the truth, but Mikey's father
was totally baffled.

"I can't stand where I'm living and didn't want to take the
chance of having to stay there any longer because I'd
screwed up by opening that letter," he added, to explain it
better.

Mikey's dad wanted to accept Gary's explanation, but it
just wasn't making any sense.  Seeing his father's reaction
was only making Mikey more curious, so he could keep
quiet no longer.

"Why?  What is it, Dad?" Mikey asked, unwilling to be left
in the dark any longer.  "What are those papers?"

"Well, there's a note and all kinds of legal documents that
give me legal guardianship of Gary," he explained.

"Really?" both boys exclaimed, almost in unison.

"The confusing part is that the letter has a recent date on
it, but the other papers are all dated a little over four
years ago, just prior to his mother's death," Mikey's dad
explained.  "They seem to be in order and even have the
official state seal on them and all of the required
signatures.  The confusing part is the note and that the
envelope looks brand new, not four years old."

"What does the note say?" Mikey asked.

He wanted to know everything, but he ignored the
incongruities his father had mentioned.  His dad hesitated
before responding, because he wondered if he should
disclose the contents of the letter to the boys.  After all, it
had some pretty sensitive information in it.  After
thinking it over, though, he felt both of them deserved to
know what it said, seeing it did affect both of them.

"Well, let me read it to you," he told them.

"You may not remember me, but I used to live next door
to you," the note began.  "You might be able to recall what
happened to me in the park a long time ago, but I'll bet
you never knew what I was doing there that night.  Even
though you were almost thirty and I was only fifteen back
then, I had a big crush on you.  I knew you were married
and your wife had just had a baby, but I thought you were
soooo handsome and I was in love with you.  That's why I
was running behind you that night.  I'd been jogging
behind you for weeks and staying about ten or twenty
yards back, while pretending we were doing it together."

Mikey's dad stopped reading for a few seconds, since he
was still unable to believe his eyes.  His face had paled, his
breathing was erratic, and he kept swallowing over and
over again.  Finally, he went back to reading the note out
loud.

"We had been running for quite a few minutes when this
guy jumped out of the bushes and grabbed me.  I tried to
scream to you for help, but he'd put one of his hands over
my mouth and prevented me from doing so.  When we
crashed to the ground, it knocked the wind out of me and
I couldn't fight back.  After that, he did what he wanted to
me and then left.  I walked home and told my parents, but
I'm not sure they believed me, even though they did call
the police.  The man was never caught, but when my folks
found out that I was pregnant, they sent me away, to stay
with some distant relative.  I ended up having Gary all
alone.

"I'm sure you know my religion wouldn't allow me to have
an abortion," the note continued, "so I didn't have many
options, but once I saw him, I just couldn't give him up.
When I decided to keep Gary and raise him myself, my
family would have nothing more to do with me.  I've never
regretted that decision, because he's such a good boy, and
I know you'll grow to love him too, just like I know you
love your own son.  More importantly, I know the boys will
grow to love each other too.  I realize now that both boys
are gay and I want them to be together, so they can share
the type of love I could never share with you.  Maybe they
will only love each other as brothers, but possibly it may
develop into something more, but in time they'll be able
to determine that for themselves.  I want to thank you for
doing this for me and I just know you are all going to be
very happy with each other.  With all my love, Sarah
Kopcik."

After getting over his initial shock, Mikey looked at his
father and wondering how he was reacting to what was in
the note.  He immediately saw the tears streaking down
his father's cheeks and realized the letter had made him
cry.  He glanced over at Gary as well and noticed that he
was crying too.  That's when Mikey realized he had been
shedding more than a few tears himself.

"Are you going to let him live with us then?" Mikey asked
his dad, while being more than a little hopeful.

"If Gary wants to stay," his father announced, "then I'll
have the papers checked out, to make sure they are both
legal and in order."

Hearing this, Gary quickly nodded his head to indicate
that he would definitely like that.  When Gary's answer
sank in, Mikey was just as excited by the idea as Gary was.

"How could I ever refuse?" his father added, after getting
Gary's reply.  "Who am I to question a mother's love,
especially when she went to all this trouble from beyond
the grave?"

THE END


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