Noah Dowelsby

I

"Can you keep a secret, Miriam?", asked Noah Dowelsby of his wife of twelve years. "Noah, why in the world would you ask me that. Of course I can keep a secret. We’ve shared many years together".

"Miriam, what I have to tell you is quite serious and I’m not sure how you will take this".

Miriam Dowelsby looked at her husband intently. What could he possibly tell her that she doesn’t already know?

"Miriam, I need for you to sit down. This won’t be easy for me". Miriam stared directly into her husband’s deep set blue eyes and could tell that something was deeply troubling him. He turned away from her. She walked from the kitchen doorway into the living room and sat on their plush, red sofa. Noah stared outside the front window watching the traffic and people going by.

The Dowelsby’s lived in a red brick row home in center city, Allentown, Pennsylvania. Their home resembled every other home on the block with the exception of the bay window in the front that Noah installed himself just two years prior.

As Noah turned around to face his wife, he noticed just how beautiful she was. Miriam, 33, always kept herself in good shape. She jogged 3 miles daily. She took yoga classes. Recently, she enrolled in the local community college as a Business Administration major. She had thick, shoulder length, brown hair. She stood only 5’4 and weighed just 115 lbs. Like Noah, she had blue eyes. Her figure was still the same as it was the day they were married just twelve years earlier, in 1994.

God, he loved her. He fell in love with her fast. Their courtship lasted all of six months before they married in Salem Methodist Church in the heart of the downtown. When Noah first met the then, Miriam Stellner at the end of 1993, he was a truck driver for Lubbers Lumber. Miriam worked as a cashier there.

Noah, on the other hand, stood only 5’8, but was stocky and overweight. At his company’s last physical examination, Noah weighed 257 lbs. The doctor told him that he needed to cut down on his food intake and recommended that Noah start a physical fitness regimen. The doctor told him that he should try to at least get down to 200 lbs. The doctor further discovered that Noah suffered from high blood pressure and that his excess weight could put him at risk for a heart attack or stroke. When Noah met Miriam, he weighed around 200 lbs. Noah figured everybody changed as they became older. Actually, he just did not have the ambition to take care of himself as Miriam did.

Noah enjoyed his life the way it was. He figured that at 34, he still had plenty of time to get himself back in shape. He wasn’t overly concerned. He knew his physical limitations and he had no plans of dying anytime soon.

"What is it, Noah?", asked Miriam.

"Miriam, do you remember the days when we first met and started dating?", he asked.

"Why of course I do, silly. It seems like just yesterday to me".

Noah put his hands in his pockets of his denim slacks and started to pace. The sunlight casting a nearly blinding glare off Noah’s shaved head as he moved. "Do you remember our first date?", he asked with a rather quizzical look on his face.

"Noah, I remember it all. It was beautiful. It still is Noah. I adore you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you".

"Baby, I have been thinking of our life together a lot lately", Noah said.

"All good, I hope", Miriam replied.

"Miriam, you are the best thing that has ever happened to me. I love you more today than ever".

"Then what is going on, Noah? Why are you so troubled?", asked Miriam.

"I feel to some extent that I have left you down over the years. We still live here in this city that is falling apart by the year. I wanted to have moved to that big house in the suburbs by now and leave this town behind, but I haven’t been able to do that yet. I know I’m only a truck driver and that I wish I was capable of doing something else, but I like driving and I like Lubbers. They have been good to me and you".

"Noah, is this about the babies", Miriam asked. Twice, Miriam became pregnant and both times she lost the baby. After the last miscarriage, the doctor told them that Miriam will never be able to have children. She always thought that Noah was disappointed in her.

"Miriam, honey, if our life together is suppose to be just me and you…well, I can live with that", Noah said as he stopped pacing directly in front of her and looked down into her eyes. He noticed a single tear creep out of the corner of her right eye and slowly slide down her face.

"Then what is wrong, Noah. You’re scaring me with this kind of talk."

"Have you ever heard of Rita Slowitz?", Noah asked Miriam.

"Rita Slowitz. No, I don’t remember ever hearing of her. I don’t believe I ever met her. No, I do not know her".

"I never told you about her, Miriam"?

"Is there something that I should know, Noah"?

"Rita and I dated before I met you", said Noah.

"I never thought that I was the only girl that you have been with, Noah. It’s okay", replied Miriam. "That was a long time ago and we’ve hade each other ever since, right?", asked Miriam hoping to confirm it to herself.

"Miriam, I have to tell you all about Rita. I don’t want any secrets between us".

Miriam took a deep breath and sat back.

II

"It was never anything serious with Rita…or so I thought. Evidently, she had a much different impression about the relationship that her and I shared".

"What does that mean, Noah?", asked Miriam.

"I mean, she was serious about me, but I wasn’t about her. It was purely physical for me. I never wanted to have a serious future with her". Noah turned back to the bay window and stared out at the street. Miriam sat patiently on the couch and waited to hear the rest of the story.

"Rita was also a truck driver, not for Lubbers, but as a private contractor. Believe me when I tell you, Miriam, that she was probably more of a trucker than I was, but at the same time, she was beautiful. She was tall, thin, and blonde. She may have played the trucker part, but looked like a beautiful woman".

"Noah, I’m really not interested in the details of how Rita looked…or about your relationship with her. If it’s in the past, we can let it there", Miriam said.

"You don’t understand, Miriam. I never loved her. It was not like that. We would meet at different motels for a night here and a night there"…

"Noah, I get it! You liked to have sex with her!", screamed Miriam at Noah as her tears flowed more freely now. She did not understand why she should feel so jealous about something that happened a long time ago, but for some reason, she did.

"Miriam, you’re right. I won’t deny that, but that’s not the full extent of the story". Noah continued, "After you and I met, I still saw Rita a few more times".

Miriam felt as if Noah had just punched her in the stomach. Her heart sank. This was everything that she hoped she would not hear.

"Miriam, it did not take me long to realize that I wanted to be with you and only you. I fell in love with you fast and hard. When I realized that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you, I knew that I had to break it off with Rita", Noah said.

Noah turned back around to face Miriam. His face was red. He had red blotches on his cheeks. She was concerned his blood pressure was going to soar. She stood up from the couch and walked over to him. She placed her hand on his cheek. "Calm down, Noah.", she said. Noah’s secret was no so bad after all.

"I called her and told her to meet me at Scales Motel in Kuhnsville that night. That’s where we usually met. It was on the outskirts of the city. As a long haul trucker, she preferred to stay on the highways and not come into the city.

"That night, we were not intimate. I told her that I had met you and that I did not want to see her anymore. I told her that I loved you and that I wanted to settle down. She did not take it very well. We started to argue. She accused me of using her, which I guess I did. She slapped me in the face. She told me how much she cared about me, that she loved me. She could not believe that I did not feel the same way towards her.

"What happened, Noah,?", asked Miriam.

"It was a bitter argument". Noah threw his hands into the air in frustration. "She wanted to know all about you, Miriam. Who you were, where you lived, how we met, she demanded to know everything. All the while, she’s slapping me on my chest and pushing me. Do you remember the picture of yourself that you gave to me on our second date, Miriam"?

"Of course I do. I wrote my name and address on the back", Miriam stated.

"Well, while Rita and I struggled, my wallet fell to the floor. She scooped it up and found your picture".

"What did she do?", Miriam asked.

"She just said, ‘pretty girl, Noah’, then she turned away and ran into the bathroom. She locked the door behind her and I heard her sobbing. I didn’t know what to do, so I sat on the bed and waited for her to come out".

Miriam looked into Noah’s eyes hoping to see his heart. She stood up creasing the wrinkles out of her jeans with her hands, then wiping her eyes. "When she came back out," Noah continued, "she threw my wallet back to me. She wasn’t crying anymore. She had this look of stone on her face. She walked past me and grabbed her coat off of the bed and said, ‘I hope you and Miriam will be very happy’. Then she turned towards the door, but before she left, she turned around to me and said, ‘You won’t hear from me again, Noah, but your little lady will be hearing from me!’, then she slammed the door behind her".

"Then what, Noah?", Miriam asked.

"I haven’t seen her again since that night", replied Noah.

"Promise me, Noah Dowelsby, that you never saw her after that night?"

"Miriam, I swear".

III

Miriam walked across the living room to the stairs. After hearing Noah’s admission, she felt dirty, unclean in her mind. "I’ll be in the shower, Noah. I need to try to relax and understand everything that you’ve told me. I won’t be long, just give me a little time, Noah".

"Miriam, I’m sorry if I hurt you, but…", Miriam interrupted Noah before he could finish his thought and said, "Don’t say another word for now, Noah. Let me be alone for a little while. I’ll be alright".

"But, Miriam…"

"No, Noah. Not now".

She finished walking up the stairs and Noah heard the bathroom door close. Then he heard the sound of the lock being turned. He turned and walked across the room. He sat in his favorite chair with his elbows on his knees, his head in his hands and thought. He told her a long kept secret, but he didn’t quite expect it to have this profound of an affect on her. What he said had happened a long time ago. At least, it was in his mind. He figured she would be hurt, but not to the point of walking away from him and wanting to spend time alone. She was only taking a shower, he tried to convince himself. ‘Soon she’ll come back down and things will go back to normal’, he thought.

He heard the water start to run through the pipes. Miriam took long, hot showers. It was her way of relaxing. She would normally spend at least 30 minutes in the shower, longer if she felt stressed. Noah sat back and closed his eyes. A migraine rapidly approached his head behind his eyes. Before he realized it, Noah had fallen asleep.

He awoke with a start as he heard footsteps above him. Miriam was finished getting her shower and she was now walking back and forth from the closet to the bed in the bedroom. She was getting dressed. Noah stood up and approached the stairs. Should he go see Miriam? Should he just wait?

Noah decided to get a drink. He walked to the kitchen, opened the refrigerator door. He had his choice of bottled water, soda, orange juice, or beer. He chose a can of beer. He popped up the flip-top and took a long swallow. The effects were nearly immediate as he felt the rush of the alcohol to his brain.

He walked into the living room, turned on the television and waited. He wasn’t really watching anything,. The television was just a distraction from the thoughts in his head. As he sat down, Miriam walked back down the stairs. She wore a red satin blouse and tight black jeans. Noah noticed that she was wearing make-up. Miriam seldom wore any make-up while at home.

"Noah, can we go do something?", asked Miriam.

"Miriam you look beautiful. What would you like to do"?

"I thought that maybe we could go and get some dinner. Maybe go for a drive after"?

"What are you hungry for, Miriam?", asked Noah.

"How about some Chinese, Noah"?

"I have a better idea. We can get some take-out from Wong’s and then go to my Aunt’s cabin," said Noah.

"Yes, maybe that would be nice. You’ve never taken me to the cabin, since your Aunt died. Can we stay the night"?

"That would be great, Miriam, wouldn’t it", a delighted Noah agreed.

IV

Mary Dowelsby died in 1999 after seventy-seven years of life. Mary was the sister of Noah’s father, Wallace. When she died in 1999, she was the last of the Dowelsby’s with the exception of Noah. Since Noah was her only next of kin, she left her entire estate to Noah. Noah had no brothers or sisters, which reminded him again of Rita Slowitz.

Rita, likewise, was an only child and had no close remaining family. It was the topic of many of the conversations that Rita and Noah had when they were dating. Rita lived on her own since the day she graduated high school from Jefferson High School in Jefferson, South Dakota. Upon graduating, she enrolled in a truck driving school so she could earn her CDL license. She wanted to see the country. With no family holding her back and a relatively extravagant inheritance, she was free to do what she wanted . She wanted to travel. She, also, enjoyed automobiles. Not that she was a tomboy, hardly, she was as feminine as any girl. Noah found these two traits sexy. To Noah, she was beautiful and sensuous. She could also be one of the guys.

Noah’s parents died in 1988 dirt poor. They did not have much of an estate, only enough money to provide for burial. Wallace Dowelsby had a massive heart attack in early January 1988. His mother, Kate depended upon Wallace for everything and when he passed away, she lost her will to live as well dying in October of 1988. Kate had had a heart attack as well. Both his parents died young. Wallace was 51, Kate 49. Noah was only 17 when they died.

After his mother’s death, Noah moved in with his Aunt Mary. Aunt Mary was sixty-years old at the time. She died at the age of 71 in 1999 of natural causes. Noah’s Aunt sold her home and moved to the cabin that her parents had built after she retired in 1987. She was a waitress at Duff’s Café from the time she was sixteen until the day she retired at the age of 59.

Aunt Mary’s cabin located on the outskirts of northwestern Lehigh County in a densely wooded area surrounded by huge, thick, maple trees near the borough of New Tripoli. The cabin was a one-story, red brick cabin with an old fashioned gas stove for cooking. A refrigerator, sink, and a small pine table with matching four chairs comprised the left corner of the cabin. A fire place was in the middle of the far wall. A television that still received its transmission via antenna was adjacent to the fireplace and the kitchen area. An old, plaid couch sat directly in front of the television. Opposite the kitchen was the bed that Noah’s Aunt slept in. When Noah lived there in his younger days, he slept in a sleeping bag on the couch. The bathroom and shower were in a separate small cabin alongside the cabin. A door alongside the stove led to the clay, ground unfinished basement. Noah had not been down there in years and his Aunt rarely went down to the basement. The bathroom and…

V

When Noah and Miriam arrived at the cabin, Miriam could not believe just how small it was. "It seemed much bigger the last time that we were here, Noah", said Miriam. "That’s probably because it was the only time that you were here, Miriam. People sometimes remember things differently after awhile", Noah commented.

"It’s truly cozy, Noah. I like it. It’s intimate in a way".

"It’s all ours now, Miriam. Maybe we should come here more often".

"That would really be nice, Noah. It could be our little getaway".

Miriam paused then as she divided the General Tso’s and white rice up for them to share, she asked, "Can we take a walk later"?

Noah said, "Anything you want, Miriam. This day is just for you".
After dinner, Noah pulled Miriam close, "I really need to hold you, Miriam. I want to feel whole with you again".

"Come here, Noah", as Miriam led him to the bed. They laid there for nearly an hour just holding each other tightly and gazing into each others eyes. "I really am sorry, Miriam. I can’t say it enough.".

"It’s over with Noah. I’m alright".

Gradually, they both drifted off to sleep. Noah had finally relaxed enough to fall into a deep, sound sleep. Miriam, on the other hand, awoke to the chirping of the birds off in the distance.

She crept out of bed, while Noah still slept and put a pot of coffee on to brew. When she looked at the clock, she realized it was 8:30 a.m. the next morning. They slept through the entire night holding each other tight. While the coffee was brewing, Miriam happened to notice the door that led to the basement. She had never been down there, so she slowly, silently opened the door and descended the old wooden stairs.

She found a light switch on the left half way down the stairs and turned it on. Noah was right, there was nothing down here but two old storage trunks and a cabinet. She approached one of the storage trunks and opened it. Inside was his Aunt’s clothing. Evidently, Noah instead of trying to get rid of his aunt’s belongings, he stored it here. The second trunk was more of the same with the exception of some of his aunt’s jewelry stored wrapped in paper in the middle of yet more of her clothes. Next she approached the cabinet, she opened it to find cans of paint, tools, and other items that were used to help maintain the cabin.

Then Miriam noticed the strangest thing. She noticed that the far wall seemed to have been done over and not very well, by the significant bulge that protruded from the wall. She walked over and placed her hand on the uneven plastered wall. To her surprise, chunks of plaster fell away and onto the floor. This seemed odd, because the rest of the foundation of the basement seemed perfectly built and preserved.

She scraped at a piece of plaster that was hanging by a thread. When enough of the plaster piece was showing, Miriam gripped the piece with both hands and pulled. The entire section of the uneven portion of the wall gave way and fell to the floor. Miriam left out a slight shriek, surprised by the fact that the cabin’s foundation could be that much in danger of collapse, but when she peered inside the hole, she shrieked at the top of her lungs. Inside the hole, in a fetal position lied a skeleton.

Miriam shrieked and stumbled backwards. She caught herself on the railing of the stairwell. A voice coming from the darkness of the stairwell above said, "Miriam, I would like you to meet Rita Slowitz. I’m sorry that we couldn’t have a more formal introduction, but then again, I did not think that the two of you would ever meet".

"Noah, what is going on? I don’t understand. Is this some sort of twisted, cruel joke?", asked Miriam.

"I was going to finish my story about Rita, Miriam, but I was waiting for the right moment".

"Noah, is that really Rita"?

"Oh, in deed it is".

"But, I thought you said that you never saw her again after that night, Noah"?

Noah slowly, descended the stairs and stopped halfway, where the light was shining just on his face, showing a face that was evil and filled with rage at Miriam’s discovery. "I have not seen her since that night, Miriam…until now".

Miriam sensing that this was not a good sign slowly started to back away from the stairwell and the frightening figure in the wall.

Noah descended the remaining steps, stopping at the landing. "Miriam, that night back at the motel, I followed Rita to her rig. I turned her around to face me. I slapped her hard in the face. It cut her lip and the blood began to fill her mouth and drip down her face from the corner of her lips. I grabbed her by the shoulders and slammed her up against the cab of her truck knocking the wind out of her. She pleaded with me to stop, but I just could not. I couldn’t take the chance of her calling you and revealing everything. "I would not allow that. I grabbed her by the shoulders and threw her into her truck. She fought hard, kicking me several times, once in the head that drew blood from my scalp. When I saw my own blood, I lost it. I punched her square in the face knocking some of her teeth out, then I grabbed her by the hair and banged her head against the dashboard until she stopped moving. I lifter her head up one last time and turned it to me and I said, "Now what are you going to do, bitch…not a goddamn thing.

"Then I drove her rig here it was 3:45 or 3:50 in the morning. My Aunt Mary was sound asleep, but I couldn’t risk her hearing anything, so I rolled Rita’s body up in an old carpet and dragged it about 25 feet into the woods. I covered it with some loose leaves and underbrush until my Aunt left the next morning to go to the grocery store in town.

"Then I brought her back in here and began making a hole in the wall. It really wasn’t that difficult, Miriam. The plaster and concrete was fairly easy to break through. When I had a hole that I thought was big enough, I stuffed her into there and re-sealed the wall. I admit it didn’t look perfect, but my Aunt rarely came down here and when she did, she never noticed and no one else ever came down here…until you had to go snooping around, Miriam. You couldn’t leave well enough alone".

"How could you do that to someone, Noah Dowelsby, have you no soul?", asked Miriam.

"I think my soul died that night Miriam, but as much as you want to condemn me, I want you to know that I did this for you, for us".

"Noah, hasn’t anybody ever wondered about whatever happened to her?" asked Miriam.

"Not a soul, Miriam. Not a soul. Nobody even knows she’s missing and it’s been all these years".

"What about her truck, Noah? How did you get rid of that"?

"That was actually quite easy, Miriam. I sold it to a bunch of drug runners down in Philly, who didn’t give a shit about where it came from, if it had a Title, that sort of thing, Miriam. You might not know about these things because you were raised, or should I say sheltered from some of the evil that happens in this world, Miriam".

Noah stared directly into Miriam’s eyes for the longest time. Miriam matched him stare for stare until she couldn’t take it anymore. Then Noah slowly started to walk towards her.

"Noah, what are you going to do"?

"Everything would have been fine, Miriam if you would not have made your little discovery".

Miriam backed up a step with each step that Noah came forward. She needed to think. She knew that she could not remain here in the basement. She had to make it to the stairs, which Noah was directly in front of.

"Noah, what are you going to do?’, asked Miriam.

"Well, it’s like this, Miriam, when Rita began to know to much, I killed her, so now I have to kill you".

With that knowledge, Miriam’s legs became alive and she raced to the near side under the stairwell. Noah laughed and continued to move towards her. He was within twenty feet of her. She needed to react quick.

Under the stairwell, Miriam noticed some gardening tools and grabbed a pair of garden shears. Noah had not yet noticed, part of the stairwell blocked his view. As he moved directly behind her, Miriam spun around and lunged at Noah thrusting the garden shears towards Noah. Noah reacted slowly, Miriam had caught him by surprise and had forgotten all about the tools that were under the stairwell.

Then Noah felt a sharp, stabbing pain in his right shoulder, near his neck. The pain was instant and the blood gushed forward onto Miriam and the wall. Miriam buried the shears into Noah’s shoulder right up to their handles. Noah staggered to his right and fell against the stairwell, then slowly fell to the floor. Miriam sensing her opportunity sprinted to the stairs. She took the stairs two at a time until she reached the first floor. Then she heard Noah moan below. She paused to listen, then raced to the front door.

Noah shrieked, the pain was intense. He tried to yank the shears from his shoulder, but they were lodged against a bone in his shoulder. He was dizzy, almost incoherent, but he knew he had to find Miriam…and fast. He grabbed the stairwell railing and raised himself to his feet. His head began to clear as he heard Miriam reach the front door, the only door to the cabin, and close it behind her. ‘That’s o.k., he thought, there’s nothing but woods out there, she won’t know which way to go’.

Noah climbed the stairs. With each step, he nearly fainted from the pain in his shoulder. Finally, he reached the top of the stairs. He paused and saw the open door. Again, he tried to pry the shears from his shoulder, but to no avail. He took a deep breath ignoring the stabbing pain and raced out the door.

Once Miriam was outside a wall of uncertainty enveloped her. It was now dark and she did not know where she was. She was not familiar with this countryside, but she thought that she could hide behind the trees and brush until she could make her way around to the rear of the cabin and the dirt road, where Noah parked the car. She crouched down behind a bush as Noah came out of the cabin.

"It’s no use trying to get away, Miriam", I have the keys to the car. I removed your key, when I realized that you were down in the basement. "You have no where to go, so you can hide, or try to make it back to the road, but the road’s eleven miles away". Noah paused. He scanned the immediate surroundings in front of him from left to right. He could not see Miriam. She was there though. He could feel her.

Then Noah started walking right towards where she was hiding. She didn’t think he could see her, but she couldn’t take a chance. She jumped to her feet and ran deeper into the dark woods. Noah saw the movement, but didn’t realize that it was Miriam at first. He ran inside the cabin and returned with a bright flashlight. He darted into the woods after her. He knew that she was faster than him, but he knew the woods.

As he ran, he could here the sound of the breaking twigs and rustling of leaves ahead of him. Miriam was ahead of him, but not too far. As he ran, he scanned the perimeter with the flashlight. He could still faintly hear the sound of someone running up ahead, but he could not see.

Miriam stopped to catch her breath. She laid down in the grass next to a huge oak tree. She rolled on her side to her left where some bushes hid her along with the trees. The pain in her side told her that she needed to rest until she caught her breath. She saw a beam of light moving from left to right knowing that Noah had recovered and was looking for her. He was so close to her now, she could hear his breathing. It was too late to try to make a run for it, he was too close. She was too tired, so she hid and waited.

"Miriam, you won’t get away. I know these woods better than anyone. I grew-up here". Miriam did not answer. Silence was her ally. Then she heard his footsteps right next to the oak tree. She mustered up all of her courage and swung her right leg straight out and knocked Noah’s feet out from under him. He screamed and fell in a heap. He landed face down and the shears in his shoulders plunged deeper into his bones. Noah screamed wildly, the blood was flowing freely. It was all over his shirt, face, arms, and hands.

Miriam leapt to her feet and stared down at Noah. "You are not the person I thought you were, Noah Dowelsby. Our entire marriage and life has been a lie". Noah quickly rolled over on his right side, reached out and grabbed Miriam’s left foot. Surprised by this quick movement, Miriam pulled her right leg back and then kicked forward landing squarely on Noah’s jaw. The sound of bone shattering and blood flying meant Miriam’s kick had found its mark. Noah fell back in a heap on his side. His breathing was labored and she knew he was severely hurt.

God, she wished the cabin had a phone or that she had a cell phone. Their meager lifestyle never afforded them the opportunity to purchase one. Then she felt a hand grasp tightly around her right ankle. Without even thinking, she punched Noah in the nose with her left hand. She felt more bone give way and realized she had probably broken his nose. Noah’s grip loosened and Miriam ran back towards the cabin, behind her she could hear Noah trying to follow her. His breathing was labored, he was trying to talk to her, but she couldn’t make out what he was saying.

Miriam reached the clearing in front of the cabin and wondered what her next move would be. She decided that her best bet was to hunker down and hide. In the morning, she would have a better chance a finding her way out of here. She ran into the woods adjacent to the left side of the cabin.

Just then Noah reached the clearing in front of the cabin. He screamed at the top of his lungs, "Miriam"! "Miriam"! He looked pathetic, beaten. He had blood all over his body. The garden shears still protruded from his right shoulder. His face was swollen and bloodied. "Miriam, you come here right…now", Noah’s voice was barely above a whisper now.

Noah noticed movement to his left and shone the flashlight in that direction. He saw Miriam laying in the ground. "You can’t hide from me, Miriam. It’s time to end this". Noah’s breathing became even more labored. His face turned a bright shade of purple, a pain shot up his left arm. As he came to within five feet of Miriam, he said, "It’s all over, Miriam. Please remember, I’ll always love you".

"Noah, you’re not well, you need to stop and sit down. Noah you need to give yourself up. This is not worth it.", Miriam said.

"I don’t want to go to prison, Miriam. I’ll never get out or I’ll get the death penalty. I can’t live like that". Noah quickly rose to his feet again and moved towards Miriam, but a sudden pain in his chest made him cry out, "Miriam"! He fell face first to the ground and lay motionless.

Miriam waited for about ten minutes before she approached Noah’s body. She felt his wrist for a pulse and found none. Noah like his parents before him had had a massive heart attack. He was dead before he hit the ground.

VI

At dawn, Miriam struggled through the woods until she found highway #309. She stopped the first car that was driving along, The driver was an older woman, Ann Wright. She left Miriam use her cell phone. Miriam called the police and explained the story. Ann allowed Miriam to remain in her car until the police arrived, but for Miriam the long ordeal was finally over.