Jacob's Landing

Built on the shoreline of Lake Willow, the small town of Sagewood exploded during the height of the automobile industry. Families flocked to the area, adding the need for more schools, bigger stores, and larger homes.

Fall activities promoted the local crops with hayrides, corn mazes, car shows, and every dessert possible made from the fruits grown in the area. Seasonal flavors of beer from nearby microbreweries drew in thirsty crowds looking for a new favorite. Each Christmas, they decorated the streets with thousands of twinkling lights. Even though it was cold and often snowy, they had a parade, bringing good cheer to all who attended. Restaurants and hotels stayed booked months in advance.

Jacob's Landing covered several acres next to the channel with sidewalks and picnic tables for people of all ages to enjoy. A local woodworker designed and made several sturdy benches for the park. Unbeknownst to anyone, he gave every bench a name and a special skill--the ability to communicate with each other.

The Listener heard its' occupants. Their stories didn't need intervention. The people were there to relax and enjoy the park. They were friends, families, lovers, and even strangers who laughed and smiled before moving on.

The Whisperer offered words of kindness and hope. Thoughts appeared as if by magic to the ones who just needed a nudge in the right direction to improve their lives. Some of the occupants returned while others found what they needed the first time.

The Goddess warmed the soul and healed the heart of those struggling in life. Although it looked the same as the other benches, this one was extra magical, sending messages of courage and strength to those occupying it, guiding them to a happier life than they had before. The Goddess often had return visitors who hadn't found complete peace.

Jasper was the huge oak tree standing in the park that steered people to sit on the bench best suited to help them. He seldom made a mistake.

Consider the endless--and often times emotional--stories they could tell. Some people spent a few hours there before leaving town. Others didn't like that the serene setting gave them too much time to think. They left with their unresolved issues tucked away until they were strong enough to face them. The benches didn't see them as failures but as future possibilities to use their magic on.

The first one who needed their help was Ethan Dodd, the star quarterback of the Traymont Lions three years in a row. The school stripped him of the title when they found a bag of drugs in his backpack during a surprise inspection at the school. His arrest made all the papers and labeled him a drug dealer. His girlfriend, Laura Gibbons, broke up with him... and married Morris Legers the month after graduation. His parents kicked him out long before the ink dried on the documents that sent him to prison.

No one listened to Ethan despite the lack of evidence linking him to any drug activity in the area. Morris sat in the courtroom and smirked as the judge--his father--sentenced Ethan to five years in prison... the same institution that Alfred Legers--Morris's uncle--ran. The time given was far more than the laws for first time offenders but Judge Legers had his own rules and no one dared question them.

His time there wasn't easy. Frequent beatings left Ethan with limited vision in his right eye as well as enough aches and pains to make him feel far older than he was. The five years turned into eleven because of constant charges that appeared in his file, even though they weren't true. Ethan spent his time reading, learning as much as possible for when he would be free.

Finally the day came. He had done his time. The guards walked him to the exit where they shoved him into the fencing so often it left cuts and bruises on his face and arms. Ethan refused to react, knowing if he did, they would return him to a cell and extend his sentence yet again. With nothing more than the clothes he wore, they pushed him through the gate.

No one was there to greet him. No one invited him home while he acclimated to a reasonably normal life. His parents refused to acknowledge him and his brother hadn't spoken to him since the arrest. Throughout it all, while Ethan maintained his innocence... he also held on to his faith in God.

Wandering through the streets one city away from his hometown, Ethan ended up at Jacob's Landing. The park hadn't been more than a few patches of grass and some trees the last time he had been there. He stared at the boats in the channel and wondered what it would be like to go anywhere in the world without having to report to someone each week. His first meeting with his parole officer was in a few days. That didn't give him much time to make plans, starting with somewhere to live.

He sat on the bench and let the sun warm his face. It had been years since he had a say in his own life. A nearby sign told him the park closed at ten yet he didn't have any idea of where to go. Spotting a security guard for the park, he decided to take a chance and ask for suggestions.

"Sir, I'm wondering if you know of any shelters in town--"

"Head up the street and turn at the first left. There's a church that helps people down on their luck."

"Thank you. Have a good night, sir."

The guard nodded and continued down the sidewalk. He was tired and ready for a beer. He didn't care about another homeless bum looking for a handout.

Ethan saw the light at the top of the steeple before he turned the corner. His hopes rose when he noticed the door was open. Walking faster, he prayed there would be someone to help. For the first time in years, luck was on Ethan's side. The priest didn't ask questions, just offered him a place to sleep. In the morning, he thanked the man and left, still without a destination.

As he had the day before, he spent the hours at Jacob's Landing, alternating between walking along the channel and sitting on benches. Night came sooner than plans did and Ethan found himself back at the church, hoping for a place to sleep again. The same priest came to the door and let him in, giving him not only a bed but also a change of clothing and a hot meal. Ethan cried at the man's kindness and thanked God for bringing him to the church.

The following morning, Ethan gathered his meager bundle of clothing and headed toward the door. Thankful to see the sun, he walked to the park as he had the day before.

The benches recognized the sad looking young man. They whispered to each other, trying to guess his story, wondering which one of them he would choose to sit on that day. Ethan leaned against the railing and stared at the water, much the way he had his first day at the park. He ignored the people around him and dreamed of sailing away. Eventually, he wandered toward a bench, ready to ease his sore body for a while.

There he found a newspaper folded to hide the headlines. When no one came to claim it, Ethan decided to see if he recognized anything happening in the area. The headline gave him a glimmer of hope.

Judge Arrested

As part of a lengthy investigation, Judge Legers, his brother Alfred Legers, and his son, Morris Legers, all found guilty of extortion, corruption, drug trafficking, planting evidence, and dozens of other crimes. The family chose people they saw as rivals or as disposable to society to take the blame.

Cases going back over ten years have teams of officials investigating them to confirm their validity. The cases with false charges will...

Ethan stopped reading while he thought back to his days in high school. Morris hadn't made the football team. Laura Gibbons refused to date him, choosing Ethan, the star quarterback, instead. Maybe he had been naïve. Crime hadn't been a part of his world. Yet by no fault of his own, Ethan fit into the family's evil plans. Anger filled him as he thought of how much he missed because of the Legers family.

He folded the paper and tucked it under his arm as he made his way to his meeting with his parole officer. Maybe his future wouldn't be as bleak as he anticipated.

The meeting didn't last long. His parole officer didn't want to discuss the Legers family or the effect it could have on Ethan. After stamping his chart confirming the young man was there, he dismissed him. Ethan left, confused as to what good the meetings were if the man refused to talk about housing or the job market available to him.

Back at the park, he opened the newspaper again and read the entire article from the first word to the last. Then he memorized the name and address of the law firm that originally broke the story. Instead of staying in the park, he walked around town, hoping to find it. Evening came and he hadn't been able to locate the law office. Dejected, he stood in front of the church again.

"You look troubled, son. Come in and have a hot meal. Maybe you'll find the answers you seek."

Ethan gave the priest a weak smile. He spent the entire day hoping he could find good news. All he had was a sore back and blisters on his feet.

"Thank you. I really..."

"You owe us no explanation here. God is ready to help all His children and we are here to do His bidding," the priest said.

Ethan remembered the years he spent attending church. He learned that God wanted him to turn the other cheek and not raise a hand to anyone who did a disservice to him or his family. Staying true to that belief hadn't been easy while he was in prison but he came to the church with a clear conscience.

That evening he worked up the nerve to discuss his situation with the counselor he met there. The man listened without interrupting as Ethan started from the arrest and ended with his release. He also showed the man the newspaper article about the Legers family and their list of crimes.

"Get some sleep. Tomorrow we'll see that you get to the law firm. The church has people on staff to help you get this cleared up."

Ethan felt the tension leave his body. He hadn't been able to relax--or have hope--since his arrest. Although he didn't think he would be able to sleep with all the questions swirling in his brain, he did. The sun shining through the stained glass windows woke him. Already there was a line for breakfast. After a quick shower and change of clothing, Ethan spotted the priest.

"Son, this is Miles Campbell, a parishioner here, with a law practice across town. I told him you needed help and he offered to hear your story. The conference room is empty and you're welcome to use it as long as you need to."

Ethan spent the morning talking to the attorney. He left nothing out, including the fake charges in prison that extended his sentence far beyond the original five years. By the time he was done, Ethan was exhausted. No one had ever believed him or tried to help him.

"I'll schedule a meeting for this afternoon with the lead investigator on the Legers case. How about we get together again tomorrow morning?"

"Yes, sir," Ethan said. "Thank you."

As before, Ethan spent the day at Jacob's Landing, sitting on a bench, trying to fathom how an entire family could be cold-blooded enough to send innocent people to prison--or worse. That he wasn't the only person the family hurt didn't give Ethan much satisfaction. Nothing could give him back the eleven years he spent locked away with murderers and rapists.

The bench felt Ethan's pain as his soul cried out for answers. Whispering amongst themselves, they devised a simple plan of intervention. An hour later, Ethan spotted an elderly couple on the sidewalk. It had been over eleven years since his parents spoke to him but he recognized them instantly. Yet how could he talk to them after they deserted him? Before he had a chance to decide, they stopped in front of him.

"Father Francis suggested we might find you here," his mother said. "Don't be angry with him for telling us. He wanted to help, and we've talked to him about you so many times."

"You might not believe us, but--" His father looked old as he searched for the right words. "Ethan, we were wrong."

Taking a good look at the people who raised him, Ethan struggled. They looked tired. Of course, he had been gone more than a decade and certainly didn't look the same either.

"We shouldn't have doubted you, but the judge... he told us..." his father said.

"They threatened your father. He sent men to our house, and they..."

Ethan's mother had tears running down her cheeks when she spoke. That the Legers had intimidated his family hadn't occurred to him. Of course, at seventeen, evil of any sort hadn't been part of his world.

"We tried to see you, at the prison, but they told us if we did, they would make sure you never got out alive. Ethan, you're our son. We never wanted--"

The world around Ethan disappeared. He stood but hesitated before taking the few steps to his parents.

"I didn't do anything wrong. Someone--Morris most likely--planted those drugs in my backpack even though I don't really know why. Nothing they said I did in that damn prison was true. They beat me, made me go days without food. It didn't matter to them that I refused to fight back. They just laughed and beat me harder. Do you know what it's like to have half a dozen men holding you down while their buddies take turns kicking you until you don't want to live anymore?"

The anger Ethan felt wasn't aimed at his parents. Yet his father shielded his wife as if Ethan was going to hit her. In that moment, he understood the fear the Legers instilled on his family. He cried for all they lost... and for how much they stole from him since the arrest.

The benches whispered, as they had done earlier while searching for a solution to fix Ethan's life. If they had been able to smile, they would have. Instead, they wrapped Ethan's arms around the parents he thought abandoned him. Several minutes passed. Ethan didn't hide his tears as he felt the ice leaving his heart. They turned, holding hands the way they hadn't been able to for over a decade. He finally understood what kept his parents away. It hadn't been shame, as he thought for so many years. In time, the family would move past the evils the Legers family forced on them.

That night, although no one sat on the bench where Ethan had been earlier that day, a tiny mark mysteriously appeared in the hard wood of The Goddess. It wasn't the first--and wouldn't be the last--to celebrate healed souls.

Ethan returned to Jacob's Landing a few months after his reunion with his parents. He liked the peacefulness of the water. The Legers family legal problems continued to make the papers and the news channels. Even though he worked with the agencies investigating the illegalities of his arrest and prison time, life didn't automatically become normal for him. Employers saw his record and turned him away despite the documentation from the government confirming his innocence. Deep in thought, hearing his name startled him.

"Ethan?"

Laura Gibbons stood on the sidewalk in front of him. She had aged even more than he had, he noted.

"Hello, Laura."

"I heard... the papers said..."

"What do you want, Laura?"

He struggled to keep the anger out of his voice. He didn't want anything to do with her.

"I know you must hate me but I didn't know what they were doing."

Ethan didn't say anything. Laura might be telling the truth but he didn't care what she had to say.

"Is that all?"

"I... Ethan, I... I'm really sorry."

"Good bye, Laura."

Ethan stood and walked away. For a moment, he wondered what he saw in her during high school. Chalking it up to being young, he left the park. It might take a while, he admitted, but he would rise from his past and succeed.

Laura remained standing at the railing for several minutes. Eventually, she took Ethan's spot on the bench, exhausted from the mental stress of their brief conversation. Her life was a disaster. She hadn't known anything about her husband's crimes yet she spent hours with investigators. Proving her innocence hadn't been easy... or fast.

Her marriage to Morris began normal enough. He claimed to love her and agreed to have a family. Yet before their second anniversary, he stopped sleeping with her, moving into a spare room of the mansion they called home. Soon she discovered the rumors of affairs were true. Morris hadn't even denied them when she approached him and refused to divorce her or even to let her move out. The abuse started because he claimed she disrespected him by questioning his authority as the man of the house. Attempting to stay out of his way by following his rules became her way of life.

During the investigation, with orders not to leave town, she began walking to get out of the house. The staff Morris insisted they have had been cleared of any charges and dismissed. With no one else in the enormous house, she felt claustrophobic. Most times she stayed away from anywhere someone might recognize her. As with the entire Legers family, her picture often made the newspapers. Guilty or not, she found that the public believed she had to have known or seen something as Morris's wife.

In fact, she finally understood that her trusting nature and innocence had made her the perfect choice for a wife. She didn't ask questions when they dated. She believed what he told her their life would be like. Later he claimed his countless affairs were her fault because she lacked the experience needed to satisfy a man. She assumed he had been right and turned her back to his cheating.

With the family behind bars, and their name smeared for eternity, she didn't know what to do. Her own parents refused to believe she hadn't known something about her husband's crimes. Friends from high school had long ago moved on with their own lives. She hadn't ever worked and wouldn't know where to start searching for a job. The investigators warned her they would be confiscating the home. Fear filled the young woman as she tried to find a solution.

As darkness fell, she made her way home. The following week she received documents giving her thirty days to vacate the premises. She stared at the papers for hours. Hiring a company to move the belongings wouldn't only be costly, but she didn't have anywhere to go with them. Two days passed before she spotted a small ad in the morning newspaper about buying estate furnishings. She took the chance and called the number listed hoping she could sell a few of the items in the house.

For a change, luck was on her side. She had been able to make a deal for everything in the house. The next day, she packed her personal belongings into a rental car and left town. Without a destination in mind, she drove until dark. No matter how far she went, though, her years with the Legers would never go away.

Her short time at the park hadn't brought answers for her. Maybe in the future, if the young woman found her way back, she would find peace.

* * * *

Ethel hadn't been to the park in months. She missed the gentle breeze sent over the land from the water and the boats that filled the channel. Her dream vacation had always been to take a cruise. The location didn't matter as long as she could be far away from land. Those dreams shattered when her mother developed Alzheimer's soon after her father passed away. Without any brothers or sisters to help, Ethel had the full responsibility of caring for her. She left her job, moved into the family home, and settled into the position of caretaker. Yet nothing prepared her for the way her life would change.

Her friends stopped inviting her to join them for dinner or movies. She had to drop out of the book club at the library because she didn't have anyone to stay with her mother. She struggled to keep the housework and laundry done. Her mother, once caring and organized, turned angry and violent.