Dreams And True Love Last Forever

 As the years went by several  families owned the land that Allie now lived on. Those folks fell in love, married, and had children. There were hard times and good times like in all walks of life, but this particular ranch claimed the hearts of all that had lived there.  Those that loved the ranch loved it with all of their hearts and souls. Some, not many, hated the dry hot land and moved off and far away. Many worked the land as small children, others moved there with hopes and dreams of becoming wealthy. Many worked the land and the horses and ultimately died there doing what they loved best; probably the dream of many. A young couple had met at a dance nearly a hundred years ago. They fell in love with each other and married. They both had a dream. His was to strike it rich by mining for gold or silver rumored to be had in this new land not yet a state. Hers was to have a baby to love. They both worked hard at making the ranch a success, by attaining their dreams, but only one came true. Edward found some silver after years of back breaking work, but Virginia's dream of having a baby never did come true. They died forty years later within days of each other neither wanting to leave their beloved ranch. Somehow their spirits remained to watch and wait...

Edward and Virginia had no family to leave their ranch to so it went up for sale to pay the back taxes after several years of being abandoned. There was an auction on the courthouse steps in the county seat; Master City. Another couple very much in love bought the ranch of their dreams as the highest bidder. They couldn't believe their luck. They moved into the shack that was nearly in ruins by then with stars in their eyes. They had a home, a ranch and with any luck children to enjoy and leave their ranch to for generations to come. They were blessed with a little girl. Her antics made their long days of hard work in the hot dry years easier to bear.

They named her Whitlee after their ancestors which was fitting, because after long years of neglect there were trees and brush to clear. By the time she was born there was a beautiful meadow for their horses to roam and flowers and bushes growing for their little one to gather in the spring of her second year.

Whitlee's mother was at times very lonely while her husband worked the mine. It seemed almost futile to her compared to the hours away from their home vs. the small amounts of silver that he would accumulate by the end of each month. She thought that he was so talented in making things out of the silver he found that perhaps he could make a living doing that. At least he would be home. She wrote her thoughts and feelings on small scraps of paper on those lonely days. It seemed like when she wrote these things down she would feel less lonely. It was almost like writing to a friend. She would put them in her apron pocket and eventually they would end up in her old dresser drawer. A dresser that was left by the previous owners.

One day when Whitlee was older her parents decided  to go to town in their wagon. It was the end of the month and they needed supplies for the winter. Winters in Texas were unpredictable at best. It was usually warm, but sometimes Mother Nature would turn a cold shoulder and the weather was cold and often would produce freezing rain. She was almost four years old. At the end of each month Whitlee's father would turn in the silver he had collected and in turn would receive cash. The cash was very important to this young couple. It bought flour, sugar, coffee, dried beans and other things they could not raise. Occasionally a piece or two of candy for their beautiful little girl would find it's way into Whitlee's father's purchases. It was a long and hot ride, but also fun. Whitlee's mother had fixed a lunch and they stopped by a grove of trees to have a little picnic. There was a small stream there which was such fun for a little girl to wade in after lunch. It was an exciting day because today was the day they were going to buy some chickens. With chickens they would have their own eggs and hopefully new chicks that would hatch. Eventually they would have a large enough flock to have fried chicken for a Sunday dinner.

When they finished their lunch Whitlee and her mother made their way to the General Store to shop, but mostly look while Whitlee's father went to the assay office to get his money from the silver that he had gleaned from the old mine that month. The store was run by a friendly older gentleman whose name was George. He smiled at Whitlee as she looked at all of his wares in the showcase.

"What can I help you with young lady? Would you like some candy? I'm in a good mood today so it's free just for pretty little girls like you." 

Whitlee didn't answer him, but smiled and moved to the part of the counter where the owner had books for sale. Whitlee had a secret. She knew that her mother wrote words on little scraps of paper and hid them in her pocket. She didn't know why, but she had a feeling it was important. Her mother had moved to the part of the store where they sold yard goods so she quietly said, "How much is this book with no pictures just lines? Is it really expensive?" George frowned at her and said, "Are you old enough to write?" Whitlee shook her head and whispered, "No, it's for my mama. Christmas is coming. Is it real expensive?" The older man looked over to where the child's mother shopped. She was wanting a new dress badly, but somehow he knew that the journal was the gift that was even better. The child knew what her mother not only wanted, but needed to help get her through the hard and lonely times of a miner's wife. Over the last five years he had waited on the young hardworking couple. He had been so happy for them when they first brought their beautiful baby girl into town for the first time. He smiled and said, "Do you have a penny? It's on sale today. The thing is, I don't know how you are going to get it home without your mama seeing it." Whitlee smiled and said, "I have an apron too like my mama's. I think it will work." She gave the kind man her penny and immediately slipped the slim book into her apron pocket. She could hardly wait until Christmas. It was going to be the best Christmas ever!

*******

Allie woke up to a commotion outside. "What is going on out there?" She ran to the kitchen door only to see a cloud of smoke, and an old Jeep with its tires flat and a thick piece of paper laying on the ground by the Jeep's front tire. The air felt chilly and the smoke was thick. 

She couldn't figure out what in the world had happened. She stooped over to see what the paper was and couldn't believe her eyes. "Uncle Bill's will. She had laid it on the little table by the couch when she was watching television. Where are you? Did you do this? How did your will get out here? Doesn't this Jeep belong to Lill? Lill are you out here? What is going on?"

Virginia and Edward smiled and Virginia said to her husband, "I think our work is done for today. Lill lit out of here like she was on fire when she saw us. Allie will be just fine. The will shows anyone that has the nerve to contest Bill's wishes that the ranch does indeed belong to her. We will always be here when she needs us. Hopefully she will find some entries I wrote and a photo that I kept in that old journal I found when we were first married. Edward grinned and said, "Aren't you forgetting my beautiful handwork making those picture frames?"

 If you listened closely you could hear them chuckle as they urged their ghostly horses to be on their way. Giddyup!"