Summary:   Ben is lying on his death bed when three ghostly visitors from the past step in to change the course of fate.

Rating K+ / Word count 1,410

 

 

On This Night

As one the three approached the house, stopping just outside to observe the soft light spilling from the downstairs window. This was a special night. A night when the dead were allowed to walk among the living. The three had been coming every night on this day for years; always in disguise, watching from a distance the ones they had left behind; not wanting to get too close for fear of being recognized. Recognition would only bring pain to the ones they loved. This year was different. This year death had been waiting as they entered the familiar yard. They watched him looming, ominous in the shadows. His long icy fingers holding the reigns of his ghostly steed. The three exchanged a desperate look. They knew what they had to do. This year they would have to get closer; much closer than they had ever dared to do before.

The night of October thirty-first was dark and cold. The year was 1864 and it should have been a night of great joy for the Cartwrights. Not only did the family usually attend the annual Virginia City Halloween festival; decked out in magnificent costumes, feasting on caramel apples, and dancing with beautiful women, but it was also the long awaited day that they finally become a state. With Little Joe’s birthday also falling on the thirty-first the family had made plans for a huge celebration. But plans that had been made were now forgotten; as three forlorn figures sat unmoving; in sorrow and incomprehension. Upstairs the man who had always been their rock, their comfort, their father, lay dying. What had started out as nothing but a cold had quickly progressed into bronchitis, and a few days ago Doc Martin had told them with much sadness that Ben had developed pneumonia. The boys had taken turns over the last few days staying constantly at his bedside, not wanting him to be alone even for a moment. Now, they came as one into the great room where before they had always taken solace in each other’s company. The sorrowful doctor had left just moments before, after telling them that their father would slip away sometime during the night. Each brother; each son, sat alone in despair. There was no comfort in sitting in front of the huge stone fireplace on this night. Their thoughts of grief and anguish seemed to take on a physical entity of their own and like an oppressive giant settled heavily over the room.
A knock at the door broke the silence. In a fog the three brothers sat unmoving having heard the knock, but seemingly unable to do anything about it. After a few moments the front door opened and a stranger walked in. An old woman, her graying hair piled loosely in a bun on her head and a kind smile on her lips entered the room. She walked directly over to Adam and laid a withered hand on his shoulder. He looked up at the aging woman only half seeing her. When she spoke Adam’s heart skipped a beat.

“I’m an old friend of your father’s Adam,” She said. Something about her voice pricked at Adam’s subconscious.

“Do I know her?” He asked himself

“I knew him,” the woman continued. “When he was a fun-loving and dashing sailor with a daring dream of going west. He was so young and adventurous. He’s always been there for you Adam. It never once occurred to him to leave you behind, and he won’t leave you now.”

With that the old woman tenderly placed a hand on his cheek then walked towards the stairs. Adam sat unmoving, her words bringing him a strange sense of comfort.

Upstairs Ben sensed her presence in the room. The air that had before seemed tainted with death suddenly grew fresh. A cooling breeze floated across his fevered brow; he could almost taste the salt water in the air. His breathing, which before had been raspy and strangled; grew even and steady. She leaned close and lightly brushed her lips over his. He breathed deeply of her essence and was filled with a new strength.

Hoss Cartwright sat by the fireplace; never before had he felt such a great emptiness. He waited silently for the world to come to an end. He knew without a doubt it would end; for how could it continue without the most important person in his life there to guide and direct him. He started slightly, when almost as if out of nowhere, a woman appeared before him. She reached for his hand and without knowing why, he took her hand. That touch; it seemed so familiar; something from long ago. She met his teary blue eyes with her own and spoke, “I was with your father on the trail. He was bold and courageous. I was there the day you were born; I saw the look of love in his eyes as he held you in his arms. He’s not ready to let you go yet, Eric. The woman gently patted Hoss’s large hands and then as suddenly as she had appeared to him, she was gone. Hoss felt no fear; only a peace that had settled over him.

“How did she know my name?” He wondered absently.

In the room where Ben lay, he turned his head towards the new presence; she like the first gently leaned over him and lightly kissed his lips. He immediately recognized the warmth that seemed to fill his insides; slowly releasing the dull aching pain that had consumed his body. She seemed to radiate bright yellow sunshine, and he reveled in her closeness.

Little Joe Cartwright was angry. Angry at the world; angry at God… at Pa. He couldn’t face losing his father. Thoughts of running; running as far and as fast as he could consumed him. He jumped up and left the house, ignoring the voices of his brothers calling to him. He was determined to go and never look back. He stopped short just as he reached the barn door. There a beautiful woman; with long flowing hair stood between him and his escape from this horrible nightmare.

“What are you doing here?” He demanded. His mind raced as he tried to place where he might have seen the familiar woman.

“I heard of your father’s illness, I’ve come to help.” She answered softly.

Little Joe scoffed, “The doctor can’t do anything; God hasn’t heard my prayers. What makes you think you can do anything?” Tears streamed down his face and he gazed at this woman; pleading for answers.

“You’re wrong, son,” God has heard your prayers, “and you’re not alone. I knew your father when he arrived here. I helped him to build this place. He was strong and stubborn; full of pride and determination. He’ll always be here for you Little Joe; as long as you need him.” The woman stepped nearer to Joe and took him into her arms. He was sobbing, but through his tears she could feel him release his anger. She slowly let him go and made her way towards the house.

Ben Cartwright could feel the charge in the air as she entered the room; he turned his face expectantly anticipating what was to come. Her passionate kiss left him breathless and he once again marveled at her fiery spirit. He gasped as she released him and instantly his fever broke. Slowly, carefully, he opened his eyes. He smiled softly as his gaze rested upon them. He reached out a hand towards the three woman who had given him so much love; so much happiness. Elizabeth, Inger, and Marie Cartwright smiled back at him. They had known that no disguise could ever hide their love for him, and it was this knowledge that had always kept them at bay before. Tonight he had needed them and they had come to him, as badly as they wanted him to join them they knew that their sons still needed him.

As dawn slowly broke in the east Ben watched with tears in his eyes while his three lost loves faded into the light. Last night had been a miracle; a night when the dead were allowed to walk among the living. A night he would remember forever.

 

The End