Little Lost Leon: Chapter Eight

CHAPTER EIGHT

The sight was everything Wayne had hoped to see.  For there they all were awaiting his arrival with Leon.  The entire immediate family back together again.

Well, at least what was left of it.  For Bonnie had left a hole in the whole that he did not think could ever be filled.

“Let’s see, Leon.  There is your Aunt Leslie with your Uncle James and their two children, who are your cousins.  There is your Aunt Arlynda…  Hold on just a minute…  Who is that man with her?  Who is that woman with your Uncle Michael?  She sure is pretty—isn't she?  Him?  Not so much.  Neither is that man with your Aunt Arlynda.”

Leon made a sound Wayne had never heard from him before.  He actually laughed.  Leon was barely a week old, and he laughed.

Wayne was shaking his head from side to side in amazement as he put Leon back into Bonnie’s picnic basket to make it easier for them to disembark the train.  It was a good thing he did, too!  For Wayne still had one foot on the train step when Arlynda rushed up with tears streaming down her face to give him a big hug.

“It is so good to see you again, daddy.  It was all my fault.  I drove you and mom away.  I am so very sorry.  Please forgive me.”

Your mother and I never stopped loving you, Arlynda.  How could we?  For you were our precious daughter, and nothing could ever change that.  Be assured that you have always had our forgiveness.  Who is this with you and your children, and do I see three other children with him?”

“He is my husband, Calvin.  Those are his children, who adopted me as their mother last year.  Calvin and I have been married for two years now.  Did you not receive my letters?”

Wayne was totally shocked over how different Arlynda was acting and could only shake his head from side to side to indicate that they had not received her letters.  Then Leslie walked up and gave him another big hug.

It was around then when Wayne found his voice again.  “What did you do to your sister, Leslie?”

Both of his girls let loose with a cackle in response to his question, and Wayne remembered Leon’s laugh.  “Where is Leon?”

“Oh, Michaela has him,” Leslie answered.

“Michaela?”

“Michael’s wife, Michaela.  They were married three years ago, and a medical condition will not allow her to carry a child full-term.  They have suffered through four miscarriages so far.  It is such a shame, too.  For she loves them so—especially babies.  We have been afraid she would snatch one or two and hide ‘em in their house someday.”  Leslie was grinning from ear to ear after she said that last part.

“I suppose we never received the letter about that—huh?”

“They both wrote letters, and when a reply was not received in a timely manner, Michael wanted to load up and head down there.  We persuaded him not to out of respect for your feelings.  We figured that one of you would at least write when ready.”

“I am devastated over not receiving any letters.  They would have made us so very happy.  I do not have an excuse for why we did not write—neither good, nor bad. I suppose time just slipped away from us.”

“It happens.”

“So, Michael married Michaela…”

“Yeah, he says that the continued survival of his bachelorhood didn’t stand a chance once she had him in her sights.”

“Has she had anything to say about that?”

“She has been known to mumble something or another about having no idea what she was thinking, but with that thick French-Canadian accent of hers, it is hard to tell for sure.”

“She’s a  Quebecer—eh?”

“Doesn’t respond well to being called, Frog.”

“Oh?”

“Learned that the hard way, I did.”

“Didn’t your brother try to warn you?”

“Nary a word.”

Wayne was still chuckling to himself when he noticed a man and a woman standing off to the side.  They were two of the closest friends Bonnie and him ever had.  They also owned one of the funeral parlors in town.

When Leslie saw her dad looking at the couple, she said, “Arlynda has already taken care of the arrangements.  They are subject to any changes you want made, of course.  She even insisted on paying for it all.  You wouldn’t believe how different she is now.  You and mom leaving really shook her to the core.  She didn’t even know how rich Calvin was before they got married, and she did not care when she found out!”

“Come to think of it, I think I do remember Calvin somewhat.  Isn’t he the oldest son of the brewery owner?”

“Yes, he is.  He had been living in France with his wife and their three children at the time.  Their marriage was rather rocky at best, and when Robert came over for a visit before continuing his search for what fun there might be to find, she took off with him and left Calvin and their children far behind.  It was like an Italian opera or something.  Anyway, he moved back here to lick his wounds.  All it took was one look at Arlynda, and he was ready to jump right back into the fire.  He was a little wiser this time around, though.  So, he masked his appearance to avoid her falling for him just on account of his money and assumed high position in the community hierarchy.  He wanted her to fall in love with him on account of the goodness of his heart alone.  Arlynda was already broken and felt unworthy to be loved by anyone.  When Calvin started treating her and her children with such great kindness, she fell hard for him.  His role in that tragic Italian opera had been changed to a prince in a fairy tale, and her role as a troll was changed to a princess.  They officially adopted each other’s children last year and plan to live very happily together ever after.”

“Wow, what a script.  Who could write something that great?”

Wayne’s question went unanswered for the time being.  He meant it to be rhetorical, anyway.

Wayne did have another question for Leslie, though.  “We have all suffered so very much these last few very long years.  It is so very good that most things have worked out as well as they have, but let us leave the troubles of the past in the past—okay?”

“That would be fine with me, dad.  With all of us, I am quite sure.”

After leaving the train depot, the family all gathered together for the evening at the house Wayne and Bonnie had called home and raised their children in.  Michael had remained in the place after their parents made the move down south, and he had moved Michaela in after they became officially and most blissfully wed.

Michael waited to spend some alone time with his father until his sisters and their families had left to go to their respective homes.  Michael's patience proved to be most rewarding for them both.

“How did you meet Michaela, Michael?”

“I was fishing for trout from the southern bank of the Lesser Seine River one day when this split-tail entangled her line with mine.  I was at that very narrow section of the channel, and she was on the opposite bank.  She cast her line right over mine, and then had the unmitigated gall to accuse me of causing the mess!”

“I imagine you were quite surprised to find her hooked on the other end of your line when you went to reel it in.”

“Surprise had nothing to do with it.  I was plumb pissed!”

“Then what happened?”

“The only way I could see to resolve the matter was to cut my line and call it a day.  I sure hated to, though.  For on top of it being a matter of principle, I had on that green mosquito you tied for me when I was little more than a young buck.”

“It looks like it still worked out for the best, though.”

“Yeah, I suppose so,” Michael replied with a big grin.  “It turned out that she was the daughter of one of the biggest outfitters in all of Canada, and I can now buy any kind of fishing tackle and hunting equipment I could ever dream of at cost!”

“Aren’t you skipping a few steps?”

“Okay.  It became to where she was somewhere in sight everywhere I went to go fishing or hunting.  I just ignored her for a while, but when she caused a big buck I was taking aim at to bolt before I could squeeze the trigger, I had to put an end to the nonsense.  When I not so calmly asked her what her problem was, she said that it would cost me dinner to find out.  The rest is history, as they say.”

“What did you feed her?  It must have been something really good.  After all, you got your looks from me, and you have never been all that charming.”

“Well, of course it was!  You didn't raise no fool.”

They both erupted in raucous laughter.  Michaela came into the room to shush them because Leon was sleeping, and the two fully-grown men turned into a couple of young schoolboys quietly snickering to themselves over an inside joke.  Michaela left the room in feigned disgust.

The next two days passed with a flash.  Michaela had succeeded in fully confiscating Leon, and Wayne was thrilled.  When he asked Leon what he thought about staying with her and Michael, Leon waved his arms and kicked his legs in an excited fashion.  Wayne fully expected to hear him talking any day now.

Bonnie’s funeral and graveside memorial service were truly amazing.  It looked like the entire town and half of the county were in attendance.  Wayne could not help but think about how touched Vonnie would have been.

Wayne was asked to give a eulogy, but he declined.  For he wanted it to be much more of a celebration of Bonnie’s life than a sorrowful acknowledgement of her death, and he did not believe that he could utter a word without dissolving into a pool of tears.

Wayne felt absolutely exhausted afterward.  The family and a few very close friends came over to the house to commiserate about Bonnie, and Wayne excused himself to go out onto the front porch and sit for a little while with Leon on the swing he and Bonnie had spent hours and hours sitting on over the years.

Wayne thought about all that had transpired the last month—the last six months, actually.  He wondered to himself what happened to Ruby and if she was even still alive.  He quickly changed the subject because of how depressing memories of her had become.

Wayne looked over at Leon, and his heart was filled with joy again.  It was of the rather bittersweet variety, though.

As if Leon could read Wayne’s mind, he reached out his little hand toward him.  As Wayne took Leon’s hand in his, he heard Leon say, “It will be as it should be in the end, grandpa.  You can rest in peace soon enough.”

Wayne was too exhausted to marvel over Leon’s first words.  For a dark wave of fatigue had washed over him, but he closed his eyes with a smile on his face.

A few minutes later, Michaela came out of the house to check on Wayne and Leon.  She took one look at Wayne and rushed back into the house.  She quickly came back out with Michael, who confirmed what she had suspected.  His beloved father was indeed dead.

Well, not exactly.  For Wayne was actually between life and death and still had a decision to make.

“Are ready to accept Me now?”

Wayne opened his eyes to see a man standing before him with His arms stretched out wide.  Wayne thought that he must be dreaming, but he decided to play along, anyway.  For as far as He was concerned, it was not as if he had anything else really pressing to take care of or even better to do at the moment.

“Who are you?”

“I am the Lord Jesus Christ.  I want to be your Savior, if you will have Me.”

“Am I dead?”

“Your body is dead, but you obvious are not.  Not quite yet, that is.”

“Are you the One they talk about in church?”

“Yes, but I would much rather them talk with me.  I have been talking to them since they were in the womb.  I have been talking to all of mankind from that time until at least a person’s time runs out in the material realm.  A few have talked with me, but most refuse to believe they can, as is their right.”

“The material realm?”

“It is where you have been living—the material realm or the natural world.  Everything there is temporary while the Spiritual realm is eternal. The material realm was never meant to last but for a little while in comparison to the whole of eternity.”

“Oh, then I am in Purgatory—right?”

“No, no such place exists.  There was never a need for one.  How could there be?  For how would it be possible to earn something that is freely given as a gift of My grace, My love?”

“What about penance?”

“None required.  None wanted.  That is one of far too many demonic doctrines readily adopted by some to maintain control over others and generate great material wealth for themselves in the process.  Again, as is their right.”

“Are you helpless to prevent such?”

No, not at all, but what others intend for evil, I use for good.  I make it obvious when something is wrong, but who is so blind as the one who does not want to see?”

“You said that You wanted to be my Savior.  What do I need to be saved from?”

“Destruction.”

“What?  Am I not already destroyed?  You said that my body is dead and implied that whatever is left of me is about to be dead.”

“I implied no such thing.  Your soul is facing death, nonetheless.  For the wages of sin is death, but whosoever will just accept Me as their own personal Lord and Savior will live forever.”

“Who made a stupid rule like that?”

“I did, actually.”

“Who are you to make such a rule?  Do I not have the right to live as I please without being beholding to anyone?”

“I am your Creator, and yes, you did have the right to live as you pleased.  I gave you that right, but I did not give you the right to live forever like that.  I created you.  You belong to Me.  I am the Lord God Almighty.  You recognize that there is a higher power than yourself.  There is no higher power than Me.  It would be different if I was just a superior being seeking to gain and maintain control over lesser beings, who came to be in the universe in the same way as I did.  There is no such thing as evolution.  Although, there is a natural order of things operating in the universe.  I established that order.  I established the so-called laws of nature and the laws of physics, but I am not subject to those laws.  I created the universe.  I created everything that exists, and everything that exists belongs to Me.  You would have never existed to begin with unless I created you, and I have the right to end your existence whenever I please.  I have the right to end the existence of everything I created.”

“Wait a minute.  Let me get this straight.  You offer to save me now, but You can destroy me later on at a time of your choosing?  How am I supposed to live with an arrangement like that?”

“By faith.  You must trust that I will keep My promise.”

“It is all so very complicated.  That is why I never had any use for religion, philosophy—none of that stuff.”

“As you should not have had, but you could have had a very close and personal relationship with Me your entire life in the material realm.  The absolute truth is not very complicated at all.  When understanding is based on religion and philosophy, it does appear to be complicated, but what I have actually said about it is simple.  Everything I have done, everything I have created, has been to accomplish one purpose.  This purpose is to make it possible for Me to receive love that is freely given for the right reason, and to receive it more abundantly.  You asked your daughter, Leslie, who could write a script as great as Calvin’s actual courtship of your other daughter, Arlynda.  I could.  I actually did.  Calvin’s courtship of Arlynda is a dim reflection of My courtship of mankind.  I am all-powerful, all-knowing, always-present and perfect in all of My ways.  Tell me, what would you have done if I had of visibly appeared before you in all of My glory sometime during your life in the material realm?”

“I would have tried to bury my face in whatever I was standing on at the time out of fear.”

“Exactly, and others would lay prostrate before me in false humility out of their desire for personal gain.  Hence, the reason why I hid Myself from the sight of mankind in the material realm.  For I do not want worship based on fear or greed.  Tell me, what would you have done in my place?  Would you be satisfied with being loved for the wrong reasons?”

“No, I suppose not.”

“No, you most certainly would not.  You wanted to be loved as you were loved by Bonnie.  She was free to love someone else, but she chose you.  You were not rich and powerful, nor even all that physically attractive, and yet, she loved you with all of her heart.  She loved you like that because of the goodness of your heart.  That is what I want.  It is what I have always wanted.  Did you want to have children?”

“I really did not care either way, but Bonnie wanted children.  I wanted to give her all I could of whatever she wanted.  If that included children, so be it.”

“Did you not come to want them as badly as she did?”

“Oh yes.”

“Why?”

“I had no idea just how much joy a child could bring into my life.  My parents always treated me like I was a farmhand—little more than a slave expected to do what I was told to do and when I was told to do it.  I never felt loved by my parents.  Since I did not need a farmhand, nor anyone to work at my business or around the house, I saw no need for children.  Bonnie understood what a good relationship between a parent and their children should be.  I loved her loving Leslie, our firstborn, so much,  and I basked in the warmth of the love I was receiving from Leslie on account of her.  I looked forward to watching her grow-up as much as Bonnie did.  I was as excited as she was over her becoming pregnant again, and it was the same for the third time.”

“Was the kind of love you were receiving from your children the same as what you were receiving from your wife?”

“Not, not really.  The love between Bonnie and I was richer and more intense, but as our children matured, the love between us and them became richer and richer.”

“Why do you think the kind of love between you and your children was different than the kind of love between you and your wife?”

“I don’t know.  I had never really thought about it before.  I suppose it had something or another to do with love between a good parent and their children being taken more for granted.  A good parent is expected to love their children with all of their heart, and in turn, the parent expects to be loved by their children with all of their heart.  A parent can chose to want or not want their child, but they have no choice of what or who their child will be.  They can mold their child to a certain extent, but they have no choice of whether a child will accept or reject what their parents want.  A child can be forced to comply, but that does not mean that they will come to accept it.  If a child does not like the way their parents want them to be, they are not going to love their parents like they should or even any at all.  In sharp contrast, a man and woman are free to love and marry whoever they chose.  Well, at least from a western perspective.  In a prearranged marriage, the love shared between a husband and wife is much more like that shared between a parent and their child.  Whereas, nothing is taken for granted between a husband and wife when their marriage was not prearranged.  Well, at least nothing should be taken for granted.  When it is good, it is not by either one.  Whoa, I just remembered being told that you want us to be your children by faith.  Is that true?”

“Yes, but I did not want mankind to take anything for granted.  I could have very easily created mankind to live in My Kingdom of Heaven from the start, but I wanted there to be an appearance of separation between Me and mankind.  So, I created the material realm and placed mankind in it as they naturally are.  The love that I have for mankind is much more enduring than the kind of love a child can receive from their biological parents and much more intense than the most torrid of love affairs in the material realm.  I receive love from My holy angels, but I wanted more.  This does not mean that I do not greatly value the love that I receive from My holy angels, but they have been given every reason to love Me.  They dwell in My Kingdom of Heaven, where everything is perfect.  They are not subjected to it being too hot or too cold.  They are not subjected to storms.  They are not subjected to bodily injury, disease, heartbreak, nor pain of any kind.  They do not become hungry or thirsty.  They do not need clean air to breath.  They do not need to sleep.  They do not become tired, and they always have enough strength to do what they were created to do, which is to serve Me.  Of course they should love Me.  Ah, but it takes a very special kind of love to give it to someone unlovable.  You and Bonnie were given some first-hand experience with that.  For Arlynda was unlovable for quite some time, but you both kept giving her your love.  Yes, a good parent should love their child, but some children are harder to love than others.  Arlynda came to recognize just how great, how special, the love her parents had for her was when she came to recognize just how unlovable she had been.  She also recognized just how great, how special, the love that Calvin was offering to her was.  Yes, she fully recognized that she was incredibly physically attractive, but that was severely tarnished by how unlovable she was.  Yet, Calvin still wanted to love her.  That is the kind of love I want to receive from My children by faith.  A child has no choice of who their biological parents are, but they have a choice of whether or not they want to be their child.  No, there is no changing whose blood is coursing through their veins, but what kind of a relationship can a good parent really have with their child if their child does not want to accept them as truly being their parent?  No, there is no changing the absolute truth of the matter truly being that I am your Creator, but what kind of a relationship can I really have with you if you do not want to accept Me as truly being your Heavenly Father?”

“Are you my Heavenly Father or my Savior?”

“I am both, and I also manifest Myself as being the Holy Spirit.  My Holy Spirit.  Who works in the material realm to accomplish My purposes.”

“How can this be?”

“Does it really matter?  I left room for doubt to allow for faith in the natural realm.  There is no reason to doubt when you can physically see and naturally understand something, but it takes faith to believe in what you cannot see and understand.  The need for faith in Me never ends.  For you have no guarantee of your continued existence in My Kingdom of Heaven other than My promise, My assurance that I have always wanted you to spend all of eternity with Me in My Kingdom of Heaven as an heir to all that is Mine in glory.  I wanted to receive the kind of love that exists in a good marriage, but in a good marriage, the husband and wife can think of themselves as being partners in the relationship.  For they have earned the love and respect of the other.  I did not want that with mankind.  So, I made it to where it could never righteously happen.  For there is nothing good about humanity apart from Me.  Whatever good they may do is actually Me doing it through them.  No, there is no way for you or anyone like you to earn my favor.  Ah, but I wanted to earn the special kind of love that I can receive from My children by faith.  What makes that love so special is that I have generally presented Myself as being unlovable.  I gave mankind good reason to think that I created most, if not all, of them to be the objects of My scorn—certainly not My affections.  Yes, I have clearly given My promise, but actions speak louder than words.  After all, how can I really be as loving and merciful as I profess to be when the material realm is filled with pain and sufferings of every kind.  Even what is naturally considered to be a perfect life in the material realm is not all that perfect.  For it ends.  How can a life truly be perfect if it ends?  Yes, I have kept declaring that there is a better day coming, but until it is actually here, it has to be taken on faith that it is coming.  I keep declaring that life in My Kingdom of Heaven will last for all of eternity, but how can that be fully realized when eternity lasts forever and ever?  It is not like I am promising that life in My Kingdom of Heaven will last for a billion years and you could wait until that billion years comes to pass to actually see that I have kept My promise.  For eternity never ends.  Therefore, you have to keep taking it on faith that I will keep My promise.  I proved that I am worthy of receiving all of your faith by not just saying that I love you enough to die for you, I went ahead and actually did it by sending a full and equal part of Myself to suffer enormously on a cruel, cruel Roman cross and actually Spiritually die.  For mere physical death was not enough to fulfill My Law, the Law that established the wages of sin is death—Spiritual death to be exact.  For all of mankind will physically die, but only those who reject My Gospel will perish on account of their own sins.  All who will want Me as their own Heavenly Father and humbly accept My free offer of salvation will live forever and ever.  The choice is theirs to make.  Even those who physically died before they reached their own age of accountability or were never mentally capable of accepting Me and My Gospel during their time in the material realm will be given a choice of whether to stay or not.  For it would not accomplish My purpose to force anyone to spend all of eternity with Me in My kingdom of Heaven as an heir to all that is Mine in glory against their will.  That was Me on that cruel, cruel Roman cross.  See, I still bear the scars from the nails.  I spent three days in the grave and separated from the rest of Me to fulfill a prophecy about Me connecting the three days the Prophet Jonah spent in the belly of the great fish I prepared for that purpose, but those three days were from a natural perspective.  From a Spiritual perspective, it was merely a few seconds.  For a thousand years in the material realm is like a day in the Spiritual realm.  There was no need for Me to be Spiritually dead any longer than that.  You and your beloved wife were spared fully realizing her physical death.  For you were not there, and she was asleep at the time.  Nonetheless, your beloved wife physically dying before you did gave you a tiny sampling of the pain and agony We, as My heavenly Father, Holy Spirit and Myself, went through because of My Spiritual death.  For what We actually felt was more painful and agonizing than mankind can even start to naturally comprehend.  There are not enough numbers to accurately determine the full measure of Our misery.  I assure you that it was well worth enduring, though.  The kind of love I can receive from you and your kind is well worth paying the ultimate price for.  It has been made easy to think of Me as being cold and unfeeling, but there is a great lake in My Kingdom of Heaven that holds the tears I have shed for mankind.  I have felt every little bit of pain and suffering I have subjected mankind to. I take full responsibility for it all—even the actions of the devil and his demons. For none of it could have happened unless I allowed it to.  I created the material realm and placed mankind in it as they naturally are without any defense against sin in themselves.  Then I allowed sin to enter into the material realm and established My Law in order to make it easier for mankind to know that they were desperately in need of a Savior because of not being good enough in themselves to be one of My children by faith.  It is not required of a person to prove themselves as being worthy of My favor.  All I humbly ask for is to be given the full benefit of their considerable doubts and to believe in Me.  The wrath I will pour out on the wicked, come Judgment Day, is much more about My heartbreak over their rejection of Me than any sort of righteous indignation.  Those who wanted to be Mine will not be judged.”

“Have you done for others like you have done for me?”

“No, I called to some at a very early age while others were not called until just before they took their last breath in the material realm.  It all depended on what I wanted to accomplish in and through each individual.  You serve as an example of a very obstinate child.  It was not necessary for some to see anything miraculous to believe while others would never want to truly be one of My children by faith—even if I visibly appeared before them in all of My glory.  I have known since before I laid the foundation of the material realm who would and would not want to truly be Mine.  I allowed the wicked to come into existence in order to further prove just how good and merciful at heart I truly am.  For I showered them with My love while knowing full well that they would never love Me back.  I heaped My bounty on them while knowing full well that they would never appreciate it.”

“I am so very sorry for all of the extra trouble I have put You through.  Please forgive me, but I am certainly undeserving of Your love.”

“You are well worth the effort.  It is time for you to rest in peace now, as I had Leon tell you.  Great will be My joy when the time comes for Me to gather you and the rest of My children by faith unto Myself to spend all of eternity with Me in My Kingdom of Heaven as heirs unto all that is Mine in glory.  It will come soon enough.”

All of that had taken less than a millisecond.  A twinkling of our Heavenly Father’s eye, if you will.

Leon missed Wayne, but he could not have been happier with having Michael and Michaela as his dad and mom.  Whenever Michael was not at work, Leon was right there beside him.  He became like Michael’s shadow, and truly loved hunting and fishing.

Michaela would sometimes also go on a hunt or be out in the boat fishing with them, and a very good time was had by all.  It did not matter if they brought home anything to eat or not.  Just being together was more than enough.

As was mentioned before, Leon could not accompany Michael to work at the brewery.  Therefore, he would spend much of that time helping Michaela around the house, and Michaela would help him pursue his educational interests.

Leon wanted to know everything, and he was like a sponge soaking up knowledge.  The county library was located in town, and Michaela would go with him to pick out books to take home for study.  The library was well-stocked with an assortment of classical literature and informative works on science, mathematics, philosophy and the arts.

Life for Leon remained as such for the next four years.  What changed was him being invited to attend a very prestigious private school on a full scholarship.  It was an amazing opportunity, and not one that Michael and Michaela would deny Leon.

The only drawback was the school being located in an area that did not allow any hunting and fishing nearby, and the closest legal game was a half-day’s ride away.  Leon was still too young to live without his parents when he was not in class, and Michael was glad to move Michaela and himself there for as long as it took for Leon to graduate to a higher level of education.

The plan was for them to come back home to spend holiday breaks with the rest of the family, and this let Michael and Leon heed the call of the wild before they both went plumb insane.  It all worked well for a year and a half.

It was during an Easter/spring break when an angry squall came on Michael, Michaela and Leon while they were out in a boat fishing for whatever may have been biting at the time.  Michael valiantly tried to safely row the boat ashore, but the fierce wind smashed the boat to pieces on some jagged rocks.  Leon was the only one to survive.

In fact, Leon was the only one to survive in the entire family.  For that angry squall was actually the outer edge of a huge tornado that tore a wide path through town.  There were only a few structures left standing, and the rest of Leon’s family perished in the storm.  His home was one of structures left standing, but to Leon, a home is just a house without a family to dwell in it.

Leon felt like he had been field-dressed as he sat alone in that big and very empty house.  There was evidence to the contrary, however.  For field-dressing removes the organs, and Leon’s heart remained, and.

There was a sizable portion of Leon that wished his heart had gone with the wind.  For it was filled with rage, and this made him even angrier.

Leon did not know who to focus his rage on, but he felt like someone was responsible.  Mother Nature came to mind, but it was a hollow thought.

Leon’s mood mellowed a little when he spotted a couple of letters sticking out of one of the top drawers of the desk in the living room.  He was somewhat reluctant to read them, though.  For holding black and white reminders of the great love he had just lost would be so very hard to take at the time, but curiosity over what the letters were about gnawed on him.

One of the letters was the one Wayne had written to Michael before heading back up north.  Leon’s eyes filled with tears as he felt the agony in Wayne’s gut-wrenching words.  Then he gasped in utter disbelief.  For Leon had come to the part about him and his biological mother, Ruby.

Leon had a faint memory of Wayne, and he had suspected that Wayne really was not his grandfather.  Well, at least not in regards to Wayne and him being related by blood, but nothing had been said to Leon about it.

Leon’s shock increased exponentially when he read the other letter, which had been written by someone named William and addressed to Wayne.  For William had wrote that the undertaker had suspected foul-play being involved in Bonnie’s death and had sent off some of her tissue samples to be tested for poison.  It was a new procedure being conducted in a lab a fair distance from Whistling Pines. and it had taken over a month for the results to come back showing excessive amounts of nightshade and hemlock being detected.  William also wrote that he did not think Wayne would want to pursue a criminal prosecution of Ruby, but he felt like Wayne should know about the poisoning.  Leon’s rage returned with a vengeance.

It was well after dark before Leon went to stand on his feet.  Leon had just sat there with his mind ablaze.  He was not thinking of anything in particular.  Everything and nothing at the same time would be an apt description.

Then Leon decided to take off down south in the hope of picking up his biological mother’s trail.  “Who knows,” he thought, “I might even discover who my biological father is or at least was?  Besides, there was certainly nothing left for him up north as far as he was concerned, and the legend of Little Lost Leon was born.