Once upon a time there were events and things that appeared and nobody had
an explanation for them. Every story has a beginning, a middle, and an end. Not
necessarily in that order……………….
It was a cold dark night in November in a small village in Centralia,Pennsylvania.
The year was 1754, the year which was called a year with bad luck according to
the villagers. The sky was dark and there wasn’t a single star on it. The rain started
to fall faster and making a creepy sound. The villagers were running and going
home , they locked their doors and waited for the rain to stop. But the rain didn’t
stop…. Blue lighting was covering the sky. One middle aged man named Paul was
going home, but he wasn’t scared from the rain. He was happy because the rain is
good for his corn. He has been working with corn for many years. It had been
raining for one hour so Paul decided to stop somewhere and wait. Because he was
running and the drops were falling in his face and body , he couldn’t see
anything ,his eyes were wet. Suddenly , he stopped near an old abandoned house.
He recognized the house because he walked that path every day. It was the house
of an old man who died last year. Paul was cold but he hoped that the rain will stop
soon so he can go home. Everything was dark, and the wind was blowing , the
trees looked like they were fighting against each other. While Paul was sitting in
his knees and looking down a flame started in the house. Paul jumped quickly and
opened the door… Inside he saw a light that was coming from the small room.
Despite he was a strong man,Paul started to tremble. He heard a voice “Come,
come closer’. Paul’s mind froze in a second.As he was coming close to the sound
the voice was clearer. A man with wings in white clothes came in the room and
Paul couldn’t believe his eyes. He saw the man with long white beard. Paul closed
his eyes and before he has opened his eyes the man disappeared. The decent man
was in shook. The tremendous rain has stopped and even though Paul’s legs were
shaking he arrived home. His wife was waiting for him in the table with dinner and
candles lit up. She saw Paul and asked him why he was looking like that. He was
wet and his eyes were wide open. Paul told his wife what he had just saw. She was
angry and said to him” Oh God, not again…… you were drinking with your stupid
friends again” . He was very mad at her and denied. She went to the bedroom and
fell asleep. The following morning Paul went to the market and told the villagers
what he saw ,everybody was laughing at him and nobody believed his story. An
old man was standing next to him, and whisper to him” I know everything”. Paul
turned back but he couldn’t see the man and he went to the church to talk with the
priest. The priest told him that it wasn’t an angel because angels don’t talk with
people they just keep the people from heaven. The priest advised Paul to go to
church every Sunday and pray. The days were passing and Paul was only thinking
about the man with the wings. Although, the villagers were laughing at him he
didn’t care . Paul went every single night in the old house but the man with the
wings wasn’t there. One night, later in November, Paul and his friend Patrick were
drinking beer and Paul said that he was tired and went home. Instead of going
home, Paul stopped in front of the abandoned house. He entered inside and sat on
the old couch with a lot of dust. He put his hands on his eyes when he heard a
voice” Help”. He stood up and went to see who it was. As soon as he got there he
saw the man with the wings, yet the man with the wings wasn’t moving , he
couldn’t. Paul shouted and took the man and went to his house. His wife opened
the door and cried loud. They took the man to their kitchen and gave him food. The
man with the wings wasn’t talking while Paul and his wife were making plan how
to show him in front of the village. His wife said to him that now he can let the cat
out of the bag and everyone will believe him. They took the man down in the
basement and kept there all night. The man with the wings was sad and tired. The
next day was sunny but cold, and Paul was going around the village like a mad
man and he was telling the story and invited people to come and see the man with
the wings. Paul’s wife had an idea to charge people money if they wanted to see
the man with the wings. Most importantly they were satisfied with the idea that
they can become rich. The poor villagers were coming to their home and gave
them silver or gold coins just to see the man with the wings. The happy couple
were singing and dancing around the house, at the same time that the man with the
wings was becoming sick ,and his wings weren’t shining like the first time. Tears
were falling from his eyes and Paul didn’t notice anything. Time was passing,
Paul’s days were full of happiness and cursed money made of the pain of another
man. The winter has come, but there wasn’t snow, just cold weather and squally
wind. It was December, the last month of 1754. One night a heavy rain started to
fall and the sky was becoming blue. Paul and his wife were talking in front of the
fire place, when the house started to move. They went to the basement and saw the
man with the wings above them. As Paul opened the mouth to say something the
man with the wings told to him “ Never mess with something that is sacred,
furthermore never take an advantage of a man and make happiness of his pain” “
You were a bad man Paul… a very bad man”. Meanwhile outside Paul’s corn field
was all in fire and burned. The bricks of the house started to fall. Paul and his wife
were crying and shouting for help, their faces were becoming old with wrinkles
like they are ninety years old. His wife couldn’t speak and Paul was on his knees
praying. The man with the wings flew away in a better place …. Where he has
always belonged.
Christmas arrived, villagers had never forgotten about the man with the wings,
Paul became a synonym for bad person. An old man drinking a hot tea was telling
the story about the man with the wings to his grandson who was listening carefully
with his blue eyes and red cheeks……
