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Storyteller's Cabin |
"They don't let folks in Heaven who've made promises they don't keep." Clay answered. "So I've been lyin' here this whole time. And I'd be much obliged if you'd let me keep my promise and be the best man at your wedding!"
Well, Tom figured he had no choice but to help his friend out. So he brought him back to town. Needless to say, the townspeople were quite scared when Clay - who they'd put in the ground not more than a year ago - came back looking no worse for wear. But once they saw he was the same old Clay, they gradually started to accept him again, even if he was dead.
Tom's wedding day finally came, and there was quite a party at the local dance hall afterwards. Local fiddlers kept the guests dancing until the wee hours of the morning. Much beer and Cajun sausage was consumed by all. And as the party wound down, and Tom enjoyed another slow waltz with his new bride, he felt Clay tap him on the shoulder.
"It's time for me to go," said Clay. "Could you walk me back to the graveyard? That way we can say goodbye - for good this time."
Tom noticed that Clay had a new look on his face - a peaceful, content look he'd never seen before. Tom looked at his bride, who nodded her approval with a smile and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I'll be right back, I promise," Tom said to Isabelle.
With that, Tom walked with Clay down the cemetery road. They walked in silence most of the time, Clay looking up at the bright stars with a grin on his face. When they reached the rusted cemetery gate, Clay opened it wide with a loud creak. But this time, there weren't any old, crumbling tombstones on the other side. Instead, Tom's jaw dropped as he saw a sparkling gold path leading through a beautiful forest of multicolored fruit trees. Songbirds sang the most beautiful songs Tom had ever heard.
"Is this Heaven?" Tom asked his friend.
"Must be," Clay answered, "But you can't go there. It ain't your time. Besides, you have a new bride waitin' for you back in town."
Tom knew he had to get back, but he couldn't tear his eyes away from the beauty on the other side of the gate. "Let me walk with you a bit," Tom said. "I've gotta see what it's like. I'll turn back in a few minutes, I swear."
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