Chapter One
May misfortune follow you the rest of
your life, and never catch up.
~ Old Irish Saying ~
The sound of gentle rain tapped out a pleasant rhythm on the Cadillac’s roof. This was the first thought that crossed Sean’s mind when he regained consciousness. The searing pain from a world-class headache quickly vied for his attention and dominated his thoughts. A trickle of blood was running down the left side of his face, which seemed to be coming from his scalp.
It was now very dark outside, meaning he must have been out for several hours. The stiffness in his body seemed to confirm that conclusion. The wind had all but stopped, and the rain was reduced to a steady drizzle. The good news was that the SRX was still running and didn’t seem to be too badly damaged. For some reason that troubled his dazed mind, but he was unsure why.
He lifted his head off the passenger side windshield and was immediately assailed by blinding pain. It began in his left temple and quickly traveled through his neck and left shoulder. He dropped his head onto the headrest and hoped the pain would diminish. After several minutes, the pounding headache began to recede into a dull throb, but the neck pain was still ferocious.
Keeping his head very still, Sean tried to reason through what he’d just experienced. His mind still felt sluggish, but he was beginning to recall most of the accident. He’d struck the fallen tree—losing control—and the SRX crashed through the flimsy guard rail and fell into the…
“Where’s the ravine?” he said aloud, sitting up to look through the front windshield.
Pain erupted from his injured neck and head, but he did his best to ignore it. To his great relief, the Cadillac was sitting in the middle of a narrow, paved road, instead of at the bottom of a deep ravine. Sean had been so sure that the car was headed into the ravine when he’d lost consciousness.
He turned gingerly to look behind him. About a hundred yards back was Highway 101, which he’d been traveling on. The fallen tree was still lying in the middle of the highway, so he hadn’t imagined the accident. But instead of falling into the deadly ravine, he’d veered onto this narrow lane. Then he’d apparently brought the Cadillac to a stop and put it in park before he passed out. The confusing part was Sean couldn’t recall doing any of that. He didn’t even remember seeing the narrow lane his car was sitting on.
It was too much for his pain muddled mind to reason through. He would deal with the confusion once he’d gotten medical treatment and some much-needed rest. The fact that he was alive and safe was all that mattered now.
Sean reached for his cell phone that was still on the passenger seat beside him. Frustration burned within him when he saw it still had no signal. He sighed deeply and started to turn the Cadillac around to get back on Highway 101. He wondered how far he could travel in his present condition, but he really had no choice. Just as he began turning the wheel, he noticed that it wasn’t complete blackness ahead of him. A few lights were burning about a half-mile down the road. He had no idea what small town lay ahead, but right now it was any port in a storm.
He drove down the narrow lane, heading toward the unknown town at a slow and steady pace. The pain in his head and neck was nearly unbearable, but he was alive and that was more than what seemed likely a few hours ago.
As he neared the town, Sean noticed a large, semi-circular, cut of myrtle wood along the side of the road. The multi-colored grain made for a beautiful piece of wood. Someone had carved a few words, in the wood, in elegant, old-world script, Welcome to Rundimahair, A Bit of Heaven on Earth.
Sean knew this area of the Oregon Coast fairly well, but he’d never heard of this little town. Life was full of surprises, and he’d already had more than his share today.
The few lights that he’d seen in the distance multiplied dramatically as he reached the edge of town. He couldn’t be sure of the population, but judging by what he could see, Sean guessed there were about five or six thousand residents. This was a fair-sized town, by coastal standards, and he was still amazed he’d been unaware of its existence.
The ride suddenly became bumpy and a little uneven when he drove down Main Street. In his headlights, the cause was plain to see; the road had turned from pavement to cobblestone. That was something Sean hadn’t seen very often. It was appealing but not very practical—unless the town was trying to attract tourists to the area with an old-world look. That was likely, since most of the homes and businesses had something of an old world European look.
The small town seemed very out of place with a surreal aura that made Sean feel a little uneasy. It was probably just the aftermath of the accident, which left him feeling groggy and uncomfortable. He reasoned that everything would look better after a good night’s rest. If he still felt disoriented in the morning, he’d seek medical attention. Right now, all he wanted to do was go to bed.
Sean tried to focus on the surrounding buildings, hoping to find a motel or bed-and-breakfast where he could stop. It seemed the more he tried to concentrate, the more confused he became. His vision was becoming blurry, and he began to feel like he would pass out again. He tried to pull over but lost
