What You See Isn't Always What You Get

Chap.5

"Who are you again?" Danny asked the elder man.

"My name is Brett Baxter. You see, young man, I'm Dash's grandfather." The man replied. "I'm afraid your predicament is all my fault. If I had just gotten my brakes fixed before I went out, Terri would still be alive."

"You were the one who ran him over?" Sam wondered from the back seat.

"My brakes were shot; didn't work right. I couldn't stop when I saw that girl. Lucky for her, the boy pushed her out of the way. But…Terri, the boy, died due to the impact. All for his girlfriend."

Danny sighed and reached into his pocket, surprised to find a piece of paper in it. He pulled it out.

"It's a poem. By….Edgar Allen Poe." Danny stared at it. "This wasn't in my pocket before I learned about his promise."

"Maybe Terri put it in your pocket after you got hit." Tucker suggested.

"Read it." Sam suggested as well. Danny unfolded the paper and began to read off of it.

"Annabel Lee. By Edgar Allen Poe."

"Annabel Lee? Sounds like a symbolic poem." Brett replied. "Continue."

It was many and many a year ago,

In a kingdom by the sea

That a maiden there lived whom you may know

By the name of Annabel Lee

And this maiden lived with no other thought

Than to love and be loved by me

She was a child and I was a child

In this kingdom by the sea

But we loved with a love that was more than love

Me and my Annabel Lee

With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven

Coveted her and me

And this was the reason that, long ago,

In this kingdom by the sea,

A wind blew out of a cloud by night

Chilling my Annabel Lee

So that her high-borne kinsman came

And bore her away from me

To shut her up in a sepulcher

In this kingdom by the sea

The angels, not half so happy in heaven,

Went envying her and me

Yes! That is the reason (as all men know,

In this kingdom by the sea)

That the wind came out of the cloud, chilling

And killing my Annabel Lee

But our love it was stronger by far than the love

Of those who were older than we-

Of those who were wiser than we—

And neither the angels in heaven

Nor the demons under the sea

Can ever dissever my soul from the soul

Of my beautiful Annabel Lee

For the moon never beam without bringing me dreams

Of the beautiful Annabel Lee

And the stars never rise, but I see the bright eyes

Of the beautiful Annabel Lee

And so, all the night-tide, I lay down by the side

Of my darling, my life and my bride

In her sepulcher there by the sea—

In her tomb there by the sea

"Wow. I think…this is how Terri thought of Mom. He knew one of them was going to lose the other, sooner or later."

"I don't think he expected sooner." Sam replied.

"Hey, something's written on the other side!" Danny noticed. He turned the paper over and smiled.

"What's it say?" Tucker asked.

"I'd give everything for you, Maddie, my Annabel Lee."