Finding Walter

Finding Walter

We as storytellers often find ourselves as mere spectators watching this play of life, where there are no heroes, but villains a plenty... This is why I prefer being the omniscient narrator in a fictional narrative where the writer can make the good guys win. It makes sense. It gives purpose to life. But this is no such story. This is a real life narrative, which I have no control over. I am just a helpless narrator, watching, asking some questions, but just like the reader I don't have the answers...

 

 

 

It was the winter of 1985, late November. Mr. and Mrs. Henley, an old couple, were pushing through the snow, trying to find an address. It wasn't the peak of winter in those parts, but it was freezing cold and the whole town was covered in snow as the relentless snowflakes kept rushing down and flying around crazy in the dry icy breeze that could peel the skin clean off the flesh.

 

They weren't well covered to tolerate the extreme conditions. It was hard to tell if they had enough clothes underneath their raggity old overcoats and wrappers. They had their heads and ears shut covered with mufflers and caps. No one was outside their homes. It was the coldest day in recent history, most schools, offices and shops were closed. People sat inside their homes, wrapped from head to toe in warm clothes, by the fireplace, drinking wine and still shivering.

 

Cutting the snow with carefully deliberated steps, the elderly couple went on looking for their son Walter. Walter Henley. Walter had come to the town of Memphil, in search for a job back in late 1982. He was the only child of Mr. & Mrs. Henley. He had found himself the job he came looking for, earning a decent wage. He used to call his parents every other day. It's been almost six months since he last called. It's long enough to cause panic among other people, but the Henleys had faith in God and they did not believe anything bad could happen to them under his guiding gaze. There are both upsides and downsides to this.

 

In this particular case, God's gaze found itself blinded by the light reflecting off of Mr. Henley's orthodox Christian mirror. Being an orthodox religious person, Mr. Henley, never quite understood nor did he appreciate the cultural changes that took place during the 60's and 70's. He did not appreciate the boys and girls who listened to rock music and "acted silly". He was also in stern opposition of homosexuality. "It's ridiculous that some people can even think about giving it a thought! Consider? Consider what! That two men have sex with each other? What next? A man marrying his pooch!" He always thought.

 

His anger only intensified when his only son Walter, began to show a little inclination towards effeminacy, in his teen days. Walter was picked on regularly, by other boys at school and in the neighborhood. Robert Henley did not help the situation to say the least. When they picked on Walter, Mr. Henley would pick on him even more. Mrs. Henley, though she loved her son more than anything in the world, was however, neutral about this matter. She did not bully her son but neither did she put a stop to it. She thought it was the only way Walter would change and become "normal". Mr. Henley, being a self-proclaimed "religious and societal" man, always chose pandering to society over standing by his son. He loved his son, no doubt about it. But he would never accept that there might be a slight chance that Walter is...gay! "Boy you're not a kid anymore, I cannot have you playing with little girls and their dolls wearing their makeup alright! You're a man and you better start acting like one! I will not be the butt of jokes amongst my peers because my son thinks he's a freaking strawberry princess! You're gonna play baseball and not dance Ballet, you understand! You're G.I. Joe and not freaking Barbie, got that!"

 

It's needless to say that Walter had an increasingly hard time growing up. He had very few friends. Everyone kept their distance from him because whoever stood by him in school ended up tasting toilet water. Gay was not they way in Aramville High School. So though it bothered some to see him being bullied, they often laughed along, to avoid suspicion.

 

As soon as Walter completed high school, he moved out and stopped talking to his father completely. He only called his mother once in a while. Mr. Henley realizing that he had done his son wrong, softened his demeanor towards Walter. He was afraid his only son may never speak to him again. He believed that he owed reparations to his son for being too harsh on him.

 

So he arranged a grand big barbeque in the backyard and invited many of his collegues and neighbours who previously had bullied Walter for his feminine qualities and sometimes on the instigation of Mr. Henley himself. Walter was a very softhearted young man who forgave way too easily. He made peace with his dad. Then in late 1982, Walter said that he was moving to Memphil town as he has found work there. It was nothing special, Walter just wanted to move in to an unknown place where he could be with his boyfriend Victor and walk with him freely without people bothering them with homophobic remarks. He kept contact with his parents via phone and mail. He gave them the address of his rented place and had been asking them to come over for the past couple of years. He could've visited his old parents in their hometown,  but Walter had had way too many ugly memories of being bullied and made fun of in that town. He frankly didn't want to go back there after he found this relatively tolerant town, the people of which though frowned upon him and Victor, were not very vocal about it. It was a small town none the less but it was situated close to big cities, which were exposed to the likes of movie stars and rock musicians. People would expect them to be more accepting of different things. Hence Walter stopped visiting his old hometown of Aramville and asked his father to come over to Memphil during Christmas. It would take less than hour or so airway, to the nearest city, which was about ten miles from the town of Memphil. It was five to six hours by train to Memphil Station. Mr. & Mrs. Henley were all set to visit Walter during the Christmas holidays of 1985 or "maybe sooner". But then by early June Walter stopped calling. The last letter they received from Walter was on the 16th of July, the day Jerry the mailman acted very very peculiar. Hence the old parents had to conduct this sudden tour, 300 myles across country.

 

They decided to go by train, even though airway would have been faster. But Mr. Henley thought they were too old for flying.

 

As they reached Memphil station, they saw a frozen hostile waste land. The entire platform was covered in ice; the stationmaster, a few staff and a handful of passengers were all shivering under their heavy winter wear.

The Henleys got off the train slowly, carefully watching their steps in the slippery platform.

Two other people got off in Memphil station, who were sitting facing them in the train, asked them of their destination after they got off the train.

"You boys from around here?" - asked Mr. Henley.

They too were going to Memphil town.

They asked the Henleys the reason behind their journey in this weather. The Henleys told them about their missing son Walter. The two men seemed a little stumbled upon hearing the name. They looked at each other for a brief moment and one of them said, "I believe I've heard the name before, is he a tall, good looking blue eyed boy with brown hair and a unibrow?"

Mrs. Henley was overjoyed, "Yes, that's our son, Walter."

Mr. Henley dropped his composure for a while, "Do you know him good sir?"

"Well...I...uh...well not too intimately but I think I've seen him around the neighborhood. It's a small town, people know each other often. I did not know his...uh... name before, but the description you folks gave of him and the work you mentioned him of being employed in, matches the profile of one man, plus it's a small town after all."

"He lives a few blocks away, to where we are going."- interrupted the other man.

Then the latter said something to the former in his ear and they asked permission to leave abruptly. They went in to a coffee shop. They weren't really in a hurry.

It was clear that they did not want to involve themselves in further discussion with the old couple. Mr. Henley was a bit open about his feelings. He didn't take their sudden change in attitude well. "What the hell is wrong with people these days?"- he exclaimed and made a gesture of disgust with his hands as he passed by them in the coffee shop. The two men said, "oh no, it's nothing as such, we're just a bit weary of the journey. We're just tired, that's all."

"I bet you are." - said Mr.Henley with a tone of disbelief and his eyes contracted.

"Calm down dear, they must really be tired." - pacified Mrs.Henley.

"Are you kidding Abigail? They gave such an accurate description of Walter that only we or his closest friends can!"

 

The town of Memphil was about five myles from the railway station. The Henleys called for a cab. The cab dropped them off about five blocks away. The driver wouldn't go any further. "Too much snow, it'll block the tyres"- the cabbie said.

They came a long way by train. They were carrying substancial amount of baggage. They had brought food, clothes, medicines, some wine and other accessories. Now the cab refused to drop them at the exact address as the path was filled with snow, some places almost knee deep. Or so he said was his reason for not going further. Mr. Henley gave him a good piece of his mind for abandoning elderly passengers. But now they were on their own. Walking through the snow. The temperature kept decreasing with every passing minute.

 

Mr. and Mrs. Henley continued well over three blocks by foot but they were unable to find the address of their son. All letterboxes and address plates were covered with frost. Mr. Henley suggested that they ask around the houses, since there was no one outside. Mrs. Henley agreed to the idea. They knocked on the first door and after quite a while a middle aged woman opened the door. "Yes?" Mr.Henley informed the old woman of his purpose. "Would you like to come in?" The woman invited the Henleys. Subdued by the cold, the Henleys accepted the hospitality. She introduced herself as Margaret, Margaret Collingwood. Mr. and Mrs. Collingwood had been living in this neighbourhood for over 20 years. They moved in after their marriage and have two teenage daughters who attend school.

"You're looking for your son you say? Do you have his address?" - said Mr. Collingwood.

"Yes, we do. But this weather, everything's covered in snow... we can't read the address plates!" - Mr. Henley replied, fussed.

"Could you let me see it?"

"Oh yes, please."

"You say your son's name was Walter and he resided at this address?" - The Collingwoods had a grim look on their faces.

"Yes, do you know him?"

"Well...we...no, not personally, but we've seen him around I guess."

"Could you show us the way to his house please?"

"Why don't you wait for an hour or so and let the blizzard pass, then my elder daughter will take you there personally. Have some coffee."

"Oh no Mrs. Collingwood. You and your husband have been kind enough to us old folks. I'll be sure to pray to the lord and wish prosperity to you good samaritans." - smiled Mrs. Henley. She added, "but we have not heard from our son in six months. He generally telephones us every week and sends letters every month. So please forgive us for our impatience, we do not mean to be rude. But our restlessness will persevere till we've seen him."

"We do not want to bother your daughter or you in this blizzard, if you could only come out on the porch and point directions towards his house, it'll be good enough for us."

Mr.Collingwood came out on the porch reluctantly, covered from head to toe and pointed the direction.

"Walk this way and make a turn on the first right, you'll see an old yellow building, low rise, 6 floors. There you go."

"Thank you so much Mr. Collingwood, I hope you can forgive us for our impatience. We haven't heard from our son in quite a while." - said Mrs. Henley.

 

Expressing their heartfelt gratitude for the Collingwoods, the Henleys made their way towards the yellow building on the first turn, through the blizzard. The blizzard wasn't too severe, but made worse by the freezing cold weather. Finally they reached the yellow building. Mrs. Henley was quite excited, she imagined how surpised Walter would be to see her. Mr. Henley however, was somewhat skeptical. He was expecting the worst, but at the same time he wanted to see his son alright. The main entrance of the building was inside an alley, a dead end alley. There were many large trash cans lying around and it seemed as if a human being was shivering inside one of them. Mr. Henley knocked on the door. He ringed the bell. There seemed to be no one inside the entire building. After about fifteen minutes of knocking and ringing, Mr. and Mrs. Henley were tired and half frozen. The desperate couple decided to walk to the other side of the building and scream out their son's name. Just as they were about to walk away, a faint voice was heard from inside the building, a faint "who is it?" So they waited for a few moments and finally someone pulled open the rusty old heavy doors. It was an old woman.

The woman invited the Henleys inside and introduced herself. She was Mary Winslow, one of the tenants of the building. She had been living there for several years now. "I can't remember when I moved in here, but it was much before all my hair turned gray." She smiled and so did the Henleys. But where was Walter?

"Walter Henley you say, he was your son?"

"Yes, Mrs. Winslow. We haven't heard from him in six months. He had given us this address."

"Oh yeah, he used to live on the 3rd floor along with a roommate but I think he moved out about 6 months ago!"

"He has been here for over two years, this is where he moved in when he came to this town. I think he would feel the need to inform us in case he moved!" - said Mr. Henley with a rude tone of disbelief.

"I don't think he expected you to give him a visit, because as far as I know he moved out along with his roommate. I think they found a cheaper place to stay."

"That's great, why wouldn't he tell us of the cheaper place?"

"Can we see the place where you say he used to dwell?" - asked Mrs. Henley.

"You can definitely go upstairs and look but there's no one there. There used to be four tenants, your son and his roommate who I think was his colleague as well. There was another couple in this floor(the second floor) and there's me. I am the only tenant in this building now." - replied Mary Winslow.

 

"Well where do you suppose he went? Where are we to look for him now that we did come to visit?" - enquired Mr. Henley.

"Oh dear God, please keep my child safe" - Mrs. Henley murmured a prayer for her son.

"I think he's in some kind of economical distress. I did overhear he and his friend talking about their company downsizing." - said Mary.

"Well let's suppose that the worst happened and he lost his job, why would he not come back to us? We never demand anything from him!" - said Mr.Henley.

Mary suggested - "Well, I think you should pay a visit to his collegues after the blizzard seizes. I can give you directions to his workplace if you like?"

"That would be wonderful Mrs. Winslow." - said Mrs. Henley.

 

As directed by Mrs. Winslow, the Henleys made their way towards Walter's workplace. She even offered to watch their luggage in case they did not want to carry all that weight along. Mrs. Henley thought that would be the smart thing to do, "besides, Mrs. Winslow seems like a trustworthy lady!" - she said too.  Mary Winslow had been living on the first floor of the house since 10-15 years now. Nobody knows if she has or ever had a husband. Nobody hears much of her children either. She swiftly alters the conversation when anyone asks of her. Mary Winslow lives her life in extreme privacy. She is not much seen in public. Once in a while she walks out to get medicines and grocery. But out of habit, Mrs. Henley called Mary as Mrs. Winslow. As directed by Mary, the Henleys walked a few blocks and then boarded a cab to reach Walter's factory. 5 pm, it was past their shift time, the sky was getting darker by the minute. After speaking to a few other employees, they figured out how to reach the manager. Upon talking to the manager about Walter and the reason of their concern, the manager looked up a few files.

 

"We never sacked or suspended him. Walter was a good employee. He quit himself and said that he had found a better job somewhere else."

"Does this 'somewhere else' have a name we can use?" enquired Mr.Henley.

"I'm sorry. He did not inform us. He did not through the formal paperwork. Even though he did tell us that he'll quit soon, he didn't drop the resignation and quit without informing.

You might wanna ask a few other employees, somebody might know something."

"Thank you very much Sir, we will do so." -  said Mrs. Henley.

As soon as they walked out on the field, a few workers started whispering to each other something. Mr.Henley knew it had to be about them, because their eyes were fixed on them. Some kind of conspiracy was going on it seemed. Something is definitely wrong.

"Hey there sonny, you wouldn't happen to know my son Walter would you? Walter Henley? He's about 6'1, 170 pounds, has brown hair, unibrow." - Mr.Henley asked to one of the men involved in the gossip.

"Walter Henley? He doesn't work here no more. He hasn't been working here for quite a while now, say about 5 or 6 months!" - replied the man.

"Can you tell us of someone who might know his whereabouts? We're his parents. He hasn't written or called us in 6 months. We're really worried about his well being." - asked Mrs. Henley.

"Can't think of anyone as such. When he was here, he used to hangout with us mostly and his room mate Victor. They were pretty introvert otherwise, they never really liked too many people."

It was dark. Any longer and there would be no chance of finding a cab. The disheartened Henleys came back to Mary Winslow's house. Mrs. Henley broke down into tears. "Oh God, what has happened to our Walter?"

Mr. Henley rebuked, "Let's not jump to any conclusions. Just wait a while longer. We've waited six months, we can wait a few more if necessary. Being presumptuous will be of no help."

"Then what do you suppose we do? Nobody seems to know anything about our boy!"

Mary Winslow suggested - "I plead the two of you take some rest and wash up. You have had a longsome journey and you're obviously tired and weary. I'll make some hot water if you want. Rest now and start off afresh tomorrow. You'll definitely find something."

"That is so kind of you Mary, but where would we stay the night? We couldn't find a hotel and now it's dark. We expected to find Walter. Oh...we're so messed up, we're making it so hard for everyone!" - cried Mrs. Henley.

"Nonsense Mrs.Henley, you can stay with me for a few days if you want. I really would appreciate your company till you find your son. I tend to get lonely once in a while. I have the keys to Walter's room, you can stay there. I'll talk to the owner. It's nothing, really." - Mary had a compassionate smile.

Mrs.Winslow went in to make some hot water and coffee. Mrs. Henley had become quite fond of Mary and praised her intemperately. She could not be gracious enough to the humble and sympathetic Mary Winslow.

 

After a few hours they had dinner together. The discussions went on about Walter, his whereabouts and his room mate Victor. Mrs. Winslow went to sleep in her bed after arranging beds for the Henleys in her guest room. The Henleys could not keep their eyelids shut all night. They kept speculating what and why. Questions, questions - too many to sleep. What has happened to Walter? Why did he quit his job? Where has he relocated to? Why did he not inform them? Is he with this Victor fellow? Has this Victor asked him not to call his parents?  What kind of a horrible person would ask a boy not to call his elderly parents! Of all the possibilities they would deny to even put to consider the option of death. Walter is their only child. They know that their chances of having grandson was slim but Mr. Henley never gave up completely, "we can always get a surrogate mother!" But things did not go the way Mr. Henley would've imagines. The physical and mental distance between Walter and his parents increased after he came to this new place. He found freedom. He did not want to go back to the old town where he had nothing but sad memories.

 

Mrs. Henley had fallen asleep early in the morning after being worried sick about Walter. Mr. Henley awoke her and said, "Come on Abby, we better get out and start asking around the neighbourhood. We can't stay here forever!" Mrs. Henley arose quickly and put on her overcoat. They asked around the neighbourhood till the afternoon. Not one house did they miss out which had an inhibitor. They spoke long and hard with all the neighbors and then they made their way towards the factory, which they had visited yerterday. Most of the residents were exceptionally nice to them and offered them snacks and beverages and some even offered to drive them to Walter's factory. "This is such nice town, no wonder Walter never wanted to come back Aramville." Thought the clueless Henleys.

 

At the lumber mill, they spoke to several employees till their shifts ended. But no leads whatsoever. Nobody seemed to know anything about Walter. "Well, he was kind of an outcast, he and his buddy Jonathan." Somebody corrected him, "that's Victor." "Right Victor. People would have thought them queer." The last remark had really agitated Mr. Henley, he replied harshly, "my son is not a queer, queer you folks are for being so rude to an old woman and an even older man, who're looking for their only son in the harshest weather conditions possible. Good day to you Sirs. You might want to consider your remarks once in a while."

 

Mary Winslow kept their hopes up, "I suggest you stay here for a few days. Really it's no trouble at all. You can help me with the cooking and dishes. If you stay a few days, I'm sure you'll hear some news about Walter. A tall handsome young man like Walter cannot just dissappear in thin air!"

"What if he is no mo.." - Mrs. Henley was disrupted.

"I told you to stop speculating Abigail! We'll find out in due time. If I have been an honest man all my life and you a good woman, God will let our son bury us, it's not gonna be the other way round!"

"Mr. and Mrs. Henley please, let's not discuss this any further. The two of you have had a very exhausting day, please rest and recover your energy. You may have to repeat today's schedule tomorrow again. I suggest you get help from the law." - suggested the ever so bright Mary Winslow.

 

For the next few days Mr. and Mrs. Henley went on around the town pursuing their own investigation. Finally their old bodies gave up on them. They couldn't do it anymore. So they sought help from the police. Mr. Henley wrote the missing report and Walter's photograph was provided too. That one photograph was all the old couple were carrying at the time.

 

Two weeks had past since they had come to Memphil. The Henleys did not plan on staying this long, especially considering the weather and the fact that they were being sheltered by a stranger. This stranger, even though a very charitable lady, shouldn't be bothered for their troubles. Even if this was no trifle issue. Mr. and Mrs. Henley were broken. Both physically and mentally. Nobody seemed to have any news about Walter. As if he just disappeared! As if he hadn't been living in this small town for over a year. Nobody seemed to know much about him.

 

After six days of filing the police report, a few officers showed up at Mary Winslow's apartment. It was the county sheriff Gilbert Griffin. He came inside in his elegant yet dominating manner, took his hat off and said - "Robert Henley?"

"Yes."

"We're sorry to inform you that as of now, we have found no news of your son Walter. We believe he has left this town and gone somewhere else."

"That is nonsense, why would he just leave and not tell us?"

"Look, Mr. Henley, it's either that or much worse. We have several frozen bodies lying in the forensics, rotting slowly for over 3 months, which almost fit the description of your son's. Would like to examine them instead?"

"You are a horrible human being!"

"Mr. Henley, I'm trying to lay it out to you as nicely as possible. Either he has left town with no trace or he's no more. I don't know how else to put it. Maybe it's my line of duty that has disabled me of euphemisms but I'm sorry, that's all I have."

"Oh no sheriff, please forgive them, they don't mean that. They haven't heard from their son in over six months, please feel for them."

"I understand Mrs. Winslow. It's totally my fault. I apologize for my behaviour. Sir, Ma'am, Mrs. Winslow, have a nice day."

 

The sheriff left. His apology sounded heartfelt.

 

Later that evening, the deputy came and introduced himself as Matthew Dawson. He wanted to speak to the Henleys in private.

"If you don't mind, Mrs. Winslow."

"Oh not at all deputy Dawson, please go right ahead, they're on the next floor."

"Thank you Mrs. Winslow, I appreciate that."

After introducing himself, deputy sheriff Matthew Dawson told them a bone chilling story.

 

"I've been here for about four or five months. But I've gone through some of the case files in the cold case section, because I like to stay updated with the place where I've been posted. One such report suggests that two unidentified men were killed back in July, one of their name was probably Victor, but the name has been striked off as no identifications were found on him. He was probably identified by someone but due to lack of evidence his witness was dismissed. I have reasons to believe and evidences to assume that he was killed by a mob. Of course it was hard to identify him as he was lynched along with another man and then burned on a bundle of small twigs and branches of trees. I have also recovered some photographs which were junked inside the archives that show the photographs of burned bodies of two men. there are also photographs of the crime scene, one such photograph documents writings on the trees inside the woods where they were lynched and burned. What they had recovered fresh off the crime scene was that it was some religious killing. Some men claimed their lives for 'disobeying the will of God' apparently.There were also other written remarks like 'burn faggots with fagots' and 'no home for homos' etc. Accordingly the two men killed were believed to have been homosexual and harmful for society. I think one one of them may have been your boy."

"You watch your mouth! Do not associate such derogatory remarks with my son. Come on Abby, we don't need to hear this." - fired Mr. Henley. They were about to walk out the door when Mary nudged in, "is everything alright? I was going upstairs, I heard Robert screaming."

 

Mrs. Winslow was eavesdropping.

 

"Mr. Henley, I didn't mean to hurt you folks, I just think that you're not being let to know the truth." - apologized the deputy.

 

"I just think you're being over-ambitious young man, the sheriff came in here earlier and he told us of the possibilities that can link the mysterious disappearance of Walter to some of the murder cases of recent history. But he also happened to mention that none of the descriptions gave a 100% match! It is most likely that Walter has left town uninformed for some unknown reason. Please Mr. Dawson, do not confuse by contradicting the town's authority, the sheriff." - suggested a stern Mary.

 

"I'm not trying to contradict the sheriff Mrs.Winslow, I just feel, maybe he doesn't realize that there is a chance..."

 

"Please deputy, we can have this discussion in front if the sheriff if you like, what do you think Robert and Abigail?"

 

"Yes please!" - exclaimed Robert.

 

"I'm sorry. I'll bring the sheriff along next time."

 

"He'll bring you along, don't forget you're his deputy, he's not yours." - nailed Mary.

 

Deputy Dawson put on his hat and left emasculated.

 

"Please don't bother about the deputy's report, he is as ambitious as they get, always trying to outperform everyone else, even the sheriff. He doesn't care about the case, he just needs the spotlight. I've heard that he was transferred from his previous workplace because of his showoffs. I can't imagine how people deal with him!" - Mrs. Winslow was a bit too excited and made a lot of hand movements which she normally does not do.

 

Mrs. Winslow made a long telephone call that evening, speaking in a low, husky voice which was inaudible to the Henleys who were sitting across the long drawing room.

 

Mrs.Henley could not stop the river of her eyes from flowing. She had not spoken a word in a few hours now.

 

"Abigail, recall the man carefully, they said he 'almost fits the description of our Walter. Almost, not exactly. He also said that it was hard to identify the body as it was burned severely. Why would anyone burn to death a good boy like Walter? He never did wrong to no one. He never bullied anyone. And he was definitely not queer! Abigail wipe your tears woman! We shall not lose our hopes. I'm sure it wasn't our Walter they found dead."

"Our son is dead Robert! Dead!"

Mrs.Henley had lost herself. She did not speak, did not eat, did not move for hours. One couldn't tell if she was alive or dead. The next morning Mr.Henley found himself too broken. The world had come to an end it seemed. Mrs.Henley still wasn't talking. Mr.Henley gathered his remaining strength and somehow got out. He decided to go back to the police station and request a re-investigation. Just then, Sheriff Griffin showed up. "Mr. and Mrs. Henley I am extremely apologetic for what took place after I left yesterday. My deputy is an overambitious fool who just doesn't know where to draw the line. I assure you that though the incident he describes of did take place, it had nothing to do with Walter or anyone named Victor. Some men were indeed lynched by a mob but for robbery and murder. We don't condone such behaviour, the general public should not take the law in their hands but they were not in any way, shape or form related to your son or Victor Scott. Those two men have been identified accurately by the forensics as Jehowa Malakian and Juan Alto Gomez, illegal immigrants and murderers. I assure you that no such dead person in our records fits the description of Walter Henley to such an extent that would strike suspicion. Most human bodies have 20-30% percent similarities with each other, the percentage of similarity increases if they're mutilated. But unless the similarity is more than 60% it isn't likely to be considered for comparison."

 

"But you wanted us to identify bodies yesterday!" - Mrs. Henley's crying voice was mostly incomprehensible, but the sheriff understood her.

"Yes ma'am I did and I'm sorry I shouldn't have. I was trying to tell you that we have searched among the living and the dead and we've found no matches with Walter."

 

Sheriff Griffin was a good man. He assured that he and his men will do everything they can to find him if he is alive. They even assured him that they will contact interstate police if necessary.

 

Mr.Henley went up Mrs. Winslow with his trademark integrity asked her if she would allow them to stay just a few more days. Mary agreed with tearful eyes.

 

Sheila Buchrel lived next door was keeping herself up to date in the Walter disappearance case. She drew inspiration from this old man's will, "Even though his body is broken...he refuses to give up!" Many people in the neighbourhood were now aware of who the elderly couple were and how they were fighting their old age and the cold, to find their only son. Many of them praised Mary Winslow for being so cooperative.

 

Almost a month had passed since the Henleys had got here in Memphil. Chrsitmas was near. The town had began preparing for the holidays. Mary Winslow said not a thing but she did her best to support them in their endeavor to find Walter. Still no news of Walter. The Sheriff and his men were unable to find anything. Missing posters were hung all around the town. But everybody just looked at Mr.Henley, sighed, lowered their heads and walked away when they saw him. Mrs. Henley was still recovering from her coma like state. Mr. Henley broken and defeated, decided to go back home. "We cannot stay here and trouble you any further Mrs. Winslow. We have barely paid anything for our lodging and you refuse to take our money. We should leave now. We would forever be grateful to you and if you ever come to our Aramville, our doors will be open for you at all times. For as long as we are living, we will be indebted to you. Goodbye Mrs. Winslow."

 

The Henleys packed up and left for the railway station. They got their tickets and aboarded the train. Deputy Matthew Dawson had heard the news of their departure, he came all the way to see them and tell them that disciplinary actions were being taken against him. But he changed his mind. He thought it best not to bother them with his own problems. "If ignorance makes their life easier, then so be it." He watched them aboard the train and watched the train leave the station. They did not see Deputy Dawson standing there with his hat in his hand.

 

It was a long journey back home. Not 300 miles long, no. This elongation was something else. It was as if waiting for death. But sometimes dying is for the lucky. The incident did make the front page in one of the local newspapers named Memphil Daily, but the local authorities were well able to suppress the national media and threaten the editor of Memphil Daily enough to discontinue publishing any further developments on the incident. The distribution of the paper was blocked as soon as it reached the eyes of the authorities.

 

A news like that would not miss your eye, the headlines read,

 

"Two Homosexual Men Burned Alive in Balsam Woods".

 

Inset it had the photographs of the two burned bodies.

 

'Two men living together in Memphil town, Riverside county, suspected to be homosexual by the community were lynched  and burned inside the famous sanctuary Balsam Woods on Friday, the 12th of June. The two men were identified as Walter Henley (28) and Victor Scott (30) who weren't originally from Memphil town but had been living there for over a year.

These men were allegedly carriers of the newly discovered HTLV-III(or LAV) virus which is considered the etiological agent of Aquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome or AIDS. According to one of the senior residences of Memphil, Mary Winslow, AIDS is known as GRID or Gay Related Immune Deficiency for a good reason. In her own words, "men are not supposed to indulge in sexual activities with other men. It is against the will of God and against nature; and if you go against nature, nature will punish you by giving you this incurable disease. But it is upto us, the senior members of the society, to control the spread of this disease."

Though according to police reports Mary Winslow was not directly involved in the lynching nor did she perpetrate the violence, however, she along with several other locals of Memphil town are openly condoning the mob lynching of the two men.

The county Sheriff Gilbert Griffin said, "A lot of people who were not part of the mob in any shape or form, believe that it was all done for the greater good. We had heard rumors that one of the two men were bi-sexual or involved sexually with both the sexes. We have never had a person infected with HIV in our community before. The religious authorities were furious and wanted them dead. We could not take the chance of a large scale riot. Our town was always peaceful and we strive to keep it that way. So though we did not hand them over to the Christian mob but neither did they hand them over to the law." Two members of the mob, Nathan Andreas and Cornel Depisto, who were intially detained by the authorities but let go on bail, were known to have been co-workers of Walter Henley and Victor Scott in the Finley-West Lumber Mill. According to the two men, "They were queers. They were queers and they were lovers. We don't want queers in our workplace. It's just not safe."

How this tragic incident took place inside this much popular tourist destination of Memphil, is a mystery to all. According to the post-mortem reports, the incident took place past midnight.

The two men had been physically tortured before they were lynched and burned to death. Not much information has been uncovered about either men except their workplace. They're said to have moved in to the town about 15 months ago and were living together in a rented apartment in Mary Winslow's building. The indirect verbatim used by both the locals and the police have led many to believe that they were in fact 'influenced' by the radical Christian mob.

Few locals who are apparently against what happened, still sympathize with Andreas and Depisto as they feel that the two were merely pawns.The police have filed a lawsuit against the identified members of the mob and there will be further inquiry as per orders of the court. Some religious authorities are suspected to be suppressing evidence that may put the town church in jeopardy.'

 

 

Deputy Dawson was no overambitious officer. What the news and the deputy could not cover, however, is that Walter and his partner had been in hiding for months as the citizens of Memphil town were seemingly on a witch hunt for homosexuals. Both of them left their jobs at the lumber mill as two men working in the mill, Nathan Andreas and Cornel DePisto had brutally murdered two homosexual men, Andy and Philip G. Walter and Victor knew these men from a bar nearby where they had spoken to Victor and told them of their worries of being murdered. After Andy and Philip were murdered, Walter took Victor and they hid in his apartment all throughout the day. They would only go out at night in their hoodies to get supplies from the local stores. Leaving their jobs at the mill Walter and Victor were working as part time bartenders at a local nightclub, where they were spotted by Nathan and Cornel.

 

On Friday night, Walter and his partner Victor were caught offguard as the mob broke in to their rented apartment, owned by Mary Winslow and started beating them brutally. They jumped out the window and made a run for it. They tried to hide in the Balsam woods. But they were surrounded by the town mob and lynched and burned on a pile of fagots. Mary Winslow was among the main perpetrators of this mob violence, though she was not physically present. The mob was formed by members of the local community, of which Mary Winslow is a member and possibly sheriff Griffin too.

 

 

Who are we to decide what is natural and what is not? The same nature that created us also created that which we consider unnatural! So then who gave us the authority to determine who should remain a part of this nature and who not? We are but a part of the whole process. We don't create. We complete. When two people love each other and leave everything, everyone, including their livelihoods to be with each other, and we surround them up and burn them alive, there's something horribly wrong about it.

 

The grief stricken Henleys were completely cut out from the outside world. Their loss made them retreat inside a coccoon. Their pain made them unreceiving of any outside stimulus. Mr.Henley's blank eyes stared distant. It reflected the blue sky and the ice covered meadows yonder...

 

Mrs. Henley had cried herself to sleep on his shoulders. It was hard to tell if they were alive. They never got to know. No one in their neighborhood had the heart to tell them. They would not let them. But their miserable old lives were none the less prolonged...it went on. The earth kept spinning.