Excerpt
ONE
SOWING THE SEEDS

Nellie Blue Bell toiled once more to reminisce on this chilly night,
which found her once again, sitting in a chair made familiar to her
aged body by the passing of time. It seemed to her that her old brain
was a ball of bread dough requiring kneading to attempt to recollect
or draw out memories hidden deep within the recesses. The months
passed slowly in those long hours of thought. Still, she found herself
no closer to an answer. She questioned why it had happened to her,
but refused to indulge in self-pity tonight.
She thought, and revisited, how the handyman back at her home
in West Virginia tacked down that annoying piece of carpet covering
the treads of the worn stairs. Frowning in thought, the lines on her
face grew deep. She nearly always used the rail leading upstairs as an
added precaution. The well-traveled steps creaked the years with her
footsteps; so many times in fact she wore a path in the old carpet.
Sure, there were the odd few times she stumbled. But she would
catch herself, and pause on the staircase to allow her panicked heart
to return to normal. Old people did that, but what puzzled her most
was recollecting a hand on her back, a sharp blow. She shook her
head as if she would jar loose a thought and return back to that
particular day in West Virginia. Aged minds can play tricks. Still, with
each night of thought, she felt sure she had not stumbled or tripped.
Who would have done this to her and, more importantly, why would
they?