Author: STORYRUSHUS

I looked from Kyle to the six tiny apple trees. Their branches were thin. Their leaves were bright green. Grandpa had always said apple trees taught the same lesson as …

PART 12: THE FIRST INVITATION Read More

A year later, the apple trees finally produced fruit. Not much. Just enough to fill one small wooden basket. Grandpa would have called it a good beginning. I picked each …

PART 15: HOME Read More

Part 2: My father had just walked through the door when my sister uttered that last sentence. The call cut off before I could ask her where she was. I …

My mother spent seven years praying to my dead sister. Yesterday, I saw her alive on national television… accusing a man of kidnapping her. When they showed the photo of the suspect, my mother fainted. It was my father. Read More

Seven years after the divorce, Alexandra found a cream-colored envelope resting inside her mailbox. The handwriting on the front made her smile before she even opened it. It belonged to …

PART 18 – THE WEDDING INVITATION Read More

Ten years after the house had been moved, the neighborhood looked different. New families had arrived. Children who once rode tricycles now drove their own cars. The two maple trees …

PART 21 – THE BENCH UNDER THE MAPLE TREE Read More

A month after Alexandra’s seventy-fifth birthday, an unexpected envelope arrived from a law office in downtown Chicago. The return address wasn’t familiar. Neither was the attorney’s name. Alexandra opened it …

PART 24 – THE LETTER NOBODY EXPECTED Read More

Thirty-five years after the house was moved, Alexandra celebrated her eightieth birthday. The maple trees now stood like quiet guardians over the property. Their branches stretched so far that they …

PART 27 – THE PORCH LIGHT Read More

Another twelve years passed. The maple trees had become local landmarks. Children riding bicycles through the neighborhood often told one another, “Turn left at the giant maple trees.” None of …

PART 30 ( End) – THE PORCH LIGHT NEVER WENT OUT Read More

June arrived with bright mornings and warm evenings. The maple trees in Alexandra’s yard were finally tall enough to cast small patches of shade across the lawn. She smiled every …

PART 15 – FATHER’S DAY Read More

At exactly 5:42 the following morning, Alexandra stood alone at the end of the driveway with a paper cup of coffee warming her hands. The neighborhood was still asleep. Only …

PART 2 – THE HOUSE BEGINS TO DISAPPEAR Read More