His name was Sebastian. A decrepit old man I remember from childhood. Whom whenever he could get one of us youngsters in his grasp, would tell us a tale of fright that I recall to this day.
In a small village not far from La Potiere, lived an old hermit. He was the recipient of the torment of the local children. At every opportunity the wee ones would tease and frustrate the aged soul. By tossing pebbles at the windows or by setting small obstacle's about his yard. You see, the old man was blind, and only ventured forth from his cottage after dark. Less apt to get in anyone's way, he went about the tending of his garden and delivering what surplus vegetables he was able to grow to the local Abby.
The Friar took pity on him, and saw to his needs of clothing and wood. An arrangement the old man would only accept as barter for his wares. None of the townsfolk, not even the Friar knew the tricks and teasing the children were doing was driving the old soul mad. His very reasons for being a hermit was that he wished no contact with the outside world, his trips to the Abby were strictly out of necessity .. therefore tolerated. But the constant torment invaded his privacy.. more so mentally than physically. One night, on All Hallows Eve, the children had outdone themselves in cruelty. What to them was thought a harmless practical joke, was to be the final straw that drove the old hermit over the edge.
The evening of Halloween some of the older kids had stuffed one of their britches and shirt with straw and cheesecloth. Hanging it from the rafters just outside the old mans door. The effigy didn't look real - it didn't have to - it needed to feel' real. Satisfied that their prank' would pass as one of them, they waited till nightfall. Just about dark, once they were certain the old man was about to rise for his nocturnal wandering, one boy kicked a small step stool loudly against the door of the cottage.
Startled to consciousness, the old man thought the village children were up to their tricks again. Ignoring the noise, he went about preparing his meal, taking his time, determined not to let the youngsters get to him this time. After some time with no reply, the children, as children do, lost interest in their prank and moved on to find other prey.
When the hermit was finished with his meal he made his way outside. He stumbled into the small stool that lay lying just in front of the door. Perplexed a bit that the wee ones should choose such an item to raise ruckus with, he set the stool aside. Taking another step forward he bumped into the object hanging before him. Startled by the encounter, the blind man reached up and began to feel what was blocking his way. First he felt one leg, then the other. As he explored with his hands a growing trepidation filled his heart. It couldn't be, no, not a child! As he reached up, he felt the rope about the neck of the wee one and all at once realized what had happened.
Obvious to him that what hung before him was the body of a dead child. Instantly feelings of guilt rose within him, for if he had acted immediately upon hearing the sound, perhaps the child wouldn't have died. He racked his heart and soul with grief, nearly driving him over the edge - for surely the townspeople would blame him. Ringing his hands, he thought for countless minutes as to what to do. It came to him to go to the Friar. Surely He would understand that it was an accident. Carefully avoiding the hanging body, he made his way to the Abby.
Hurriedly he dragged the Friar back to the cottage. All the while he was smitten by grief - begging the Friar to pray for forgiveness for allowing the child to die...wrought with despair. The Friar doing His best to give some solace to the old hermit.
Soon they arrived at the run down cottage. Right away the Friar could see that it wasn't the body of a child after all - merely a dummy dressed in a lads clothing. The Friar explained to the hermit that what had he felt was done to imitate the body of a hanging child. That no harm was done, he hadn't hurt anyone. Instead of being filled with joy that it wasn't a dead child after all, the old man simply let out a long ragged breath and collapsed.
Seeing that the old man had fainted, the Friar used a cart to bring the unconscious hermit back to the Abby. There He tended to the old man and tried to make him comfortable for the rest of the night. The next morning however, when the hermit awoke, he was a different man. He uttered not a word, nor made any sound. He simply sat with a blank look upon his face.
The Friar did His best to reason with the old man, figuring the prank had affected him more severely than He first thought. Leaving the old man be, the Friar decided once and for all to teach the children a lesson. He would gather up the wee ones and bring them back to the Abby to apologize to the poor tortured soul and make amends.
Making His way about the village the Friar rounded up the known troublemakers...six in all.. and made Their way back to the Abby. Suddenly, the bell began to toll...a hard ring at first.. then lighter rings as it faded out. Perplexed by this, for no service was to be at this hour, He hurried the children along. Upon arriving at the Abby, They made a most gruesome discovery.
With all the wee ones gathered about in shock, they watched the Friar attempt to free the hanging body of the hermit from the bells ropes. With all His might He tried to rescue the strangled man - to no avail. His body simply swung to and fro, the dead blind eyes all bulged out - seeming to stare directly at the now crying children. Not one word was said, nor would there be for a long, long time....
The Bell Tolls - Part Two
Many years had passed and much had changed in the village. The small Abby was abandoned, being replaced as the villages Holy place by a larger church. The children all grown now with wee ones of their own.
The new generation of little ones roamed about the village, doing as children do. Their favorite place to play was the old Abby. They knew that years before, the place had been abandoned and is now rumored to be haunted, though none knew the details of what had caused it's demise. During the day, the empty halls afforded them a secret place to play away from the adults. One part of the Abby though was boarded off - the small room at the base of the bell tower. A dare the older children would play on the wee ones would be to challenge them to go into the broken down structure after dark and knock on door of the sealed off room and stand there for the count of ten. Serving as a good fright and a good laugh - no real harm was done.
Much was at peace in the village until one fateful All Hallow's Eve. The day began no different than any other, everyone went about the day preparing for the village party planned for later that evening. The festival was held in the village square, the entire community gathering in celebration of the day. The children would dress up and parade around as goblins and ghouls scaring the unaware.
As eventide fell, both children and adults alike were enjoying the celebration. Tales told about the fires, good food and cool ale a plenty. Soon the children tired of hunting for victims and headed off on adventures of their own. Six of them, on dares went to test their bravery at the Abby but knew better than to announce to where they were going. A bit of time passed and no-one noticed that the children were gone.
It wasn't till close to midnight when the first parent got the inkling that something was out of place'. A quick realization that several children were missing and couldn't be found sent groups of the townsfolk searching. Looking high and low, panic was beginning to set in. It was then, much to the surprise of the villagers...the old Abby bell began to toll.
It rang six times, then stopped as mysteriously as it had started. In an instant, the memory of that fateful day long ago rushed back into the minds of the now grown children'.. filling their hearts with dread. All at once, those who had this memory bolted for the old Abby.
Thoughts of what happened years before was on all their minds. Since becoming the village leaders, their efforts to see the old Abby torn down had failed. The pact they had sworn with the Friar about keeping what happened a secret had not given the group enough reason' without revealing it to demolish the crumbling building. The best they could do was to seal off the room where the dreadful accident happened and get on with life. A good plan until now.
Upon arriving at the Abby, their torches revealed nothing. Not a soul was about, nor a sound. Immediately they began to search the old structure and made a discovery that froze them in their footsteps. The door leading to the bell tower was gaping open.. the boards used to bar entrance strewn about all splintered and broken. Dashing forward as a group, the six terrified parents entered the room.
All at once they felt like they did that day so long ago.. standing there mouths agape with tears in their eyes. Hanging before them on the bell tower ropes was....
At this point Sebastian would shout loudly wrapping his hands about the necks of U/us unsuspecting and terrified children. His eyes would grow pale and seem to stare through U/us...as if he didn't see U/us, as if he were blind. In a gravely voice her uttered these words...
Forever be vigilant in the care of Y/your children. Raise them well and teach T/them the meaning of decency and respect. Know that I am watching and will serve in judgment one day. You may choose your own ending to this tale, a choice best made now as youngsters yourselves save you know full well how to raise wee ones of Y/your own some day.
You can choose to ignore responsibility, hide yourself from the debts you owe and end up losing what you find most precious in life. Or you can choose to learn a lesson from what I tell you.. as did those in this tale.
Hanging before them on the bell ropes was the body of the old hermit. Sitting below the swinging corpse sat the missing children in a semi-circle...as if they were at story time. Each had a solemn look upon their faces for now they knew the whole story as to what had happened here with their parents and this poor old hermit. Each now knew, both child and adult alike, the true meaning of one being responsible for one's actions and the consequences it always brings to bare.
The End