Neverland

Chapter 5

It was eleven thirty in the morning when the Hart family pulled out of their driveway to start their long journey to Ohio. Usually Molly loved to go to Ohio. It meant that she would get to hang out with her wonderful cousins, go swimming, go four wheeling, ride horses, and if she was lucky, the goats would escape and she would have to go help get them back. Her cousins in Ohio had acres and acres of land. Every morning you woke up to the sun rising behind the hills in their backyard. Their land was like a dream come true to Molly. You could never be bored while staying there.

She reflected on the many adventures that she had had in the years past. She smiled to herself remembering the time that her and her cousins were swimming and they made twenty pound balloon babies. They had put the mouth of the balloon to the pool’s jet until they were so big that they almost popped. She shuddered remembering the time that she was riding one of the horses and it was being rebellious and took her under a pine tree. The horse was small enough to fit under the branches but she couldn’t say the same for herself. She was lucky that she escaped with only a couple cuts on her hand. She remembered the time that the goats got out and were found a mile away near a graveyard. As they were gathering them in, a thunderstorm started. She smiled at the thought. She remembered when they walked on the train tracks, and through a tunnel, running for their lives when they heard a train coming. And the time that they visited an old covered bridge and how she felt strangely safe, sound, and at home when her cousin Michael was around.

But this time, she couldn’t enjoy the many adventures that awaited her in Ohio. She had to watch them pass her by as she comforted her family.

The trip to Ohio was a long one. It was about an eight hour drive. Though it was long, it was such a beautiful trip. Once they got out of the corn fields of Illinois, you passed by the wonderful Indianapolis. Then you passed through a five mile long wind mill farm. Molly studied the giant white pillars that spun in the air above. As she gazed, the wind mills lulled her to sleep, and when she awoke, she could see nothing but trees and hills. They were in Ohio, at last. Molly watched the whir of still green trees pass for what seemed like hours until they finally reached a small town with only a Sonic restaurant, a Super 8 hotel, a gas station, and only about fifty homes.

When they got to the hotel they checked in and went to their room. Molly’s grandparents were already at the hotel in the room next to them. When Molly saw her “Meme” she ran up to her and held her tight. Aunt Charlene had been her oldest sister and she could tell that her dear meme was torn to pieces. When Molly asked her how she was later that day she said, “I’m not doing well. Not well at all. You know, it hurt when my grandparents died, it hurt when I watched my parents be buried, and it hurt real bad when I lost my brother. But…Charlene…she was my sister. There is a hole in my heart that will never be filled again. You know, Molly, you are so lucky that you will never have to go through the pain of losing a sister.”

The next couple days seemed to drag on and on. She just wished that everyone could be happy again. She missed her aunt. She was so happy that in June her aunt made her a blanket. Molly had brought the blanket with her as a comfort. It still even smelled of her aunt; old perfume and cigarette smoke. Aunt Charlene had been a heavy smoker, Molly knew that, and was a little surprised that she didn’t die of lung cancer. Her mom had told her earlier that she had blacked out and she fell down her basement stairs. She broke her neck, her scull, and she shattered some bones in her arm. She had died on contact and she hadn’t felt any pain, which was a relief for everyone.

The wake was beautiful. Molly was amazed at how many people knew and loved her aunt. Once the wake started, the place was never empty; in fact; it was crowded the whole four or five hours.

The funeral was kind of weird in her opinion. It was an old country funeral. The singing was terrible. And instead of one pastor talking about the beautiful life of her aunt, two pastors preached.