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    The Man By the Tree
    The Man By the Tree
    The Man By the Tree
    Ebook52 pages48 minutes

    The Man By the Tree

    By Michael Augustine

    ()

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    About this ebook

    THIS BOOK FOLLOWS THE LIFE OF A FAMILY TRYING TO START OVER, FACING TRAGEDY AND MISDIRECTION AND THE LACK OF TRUST WITHIN, CAUSING A CHAIN OF EVENTS
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherLulu.com
    Release dateAug 8, 2023
    ISBN9781312242869
    The Man By the Tree

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      Book preview

      The Man By the Tree - Michael Augustine

      THE MAN BY THE TREE

      Author: Michael Augustine

                Edited by: Alethea Tucker

      Man By the Tree

      COPYRIGHT © 2023 Michael Augustine/All Eyes on You Productions

      ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

      ISBN: 978-1-312-24286-9

      FORWARD

      THIS WORLD IS FULL OF STRANGE OCCURRENCES. MANY CULTS AND RELIGIOUS FANATICS SEEK TO FORCE THEIR WILL ON THE UNSUSPECTED. GOOD AND EVIL ARE THE LOT OF US ALL. OUR LIVES MUST BE OPERATED BY A CODE OF ETHICS AND VALUES, BUT IN OUR HEARTS, WE MUST LEARN TO CONTROL ALL OF OUR LEARNING PHENOMENA THAT EXISTS WITHIN. WHEN ALL IS DONE, AND THE DUST AND THE SMOKE DISAPPEAR, ALL THAT’S LEFT IS US.

      Part I

      WE LEFT TEXAS HEADING TO CALIFORNIA. I WORKED DEAD-END JOBS WITHOUT ANY FUTURE UNTIL WE AS A FAMILY DECIDED TO LEAVE. I WAS EXCITED ABOUT A POSSIBLE NEW BEGINNING WITH MY WIFE AND TWO CHILDREN. WHILE DRIVING AND SEEING THE SCENERIES OF THE LANDSCAPE, I ROLLED DOWN THE CAR WINDOW AND INHALED THE FRESHNESS OF THE COOL AUTUMN AIR. I WITNESSED THE BEAUTY OF GOD’S BLESSING AND THOUGHT ABOUT A NEW LIFE, A NEW BEGINNING.

      I APPRECIATED THE BLESSING OF MY TWO SONS. HOPE DANCED IN MY HEAD ABOUT THEIR FUTURE OUTCOME. WE DROVE WEST ON I-10 THEN STOPPED AT A GAS STATION TO GET FUEL, REFRESHMENTS, AND TO JUST RELAX. MY WIFE ASKED, IS IT OK FOR US TO STAY AT MY PARENT’S HOUSE UNTIL WE GET SETTLED? I REPLIED, THAT’S FINE. SMILING, SHE CALLED TO NOTIFY THEM OF OUR INTENTIONS. LATER THAT NIGHT, AT ABOUT 2 A.M., EVERYONE WAS SLEEPING. MY EYES WERE TIRED. I WIPED MY FACE WITH MY HAND.

      SUDDENLY, I HIT SOMETHING. NOT KNOWING WHAT IT WAS, I STOPPED THE CAR ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. MY WIFE WOKE UP ASKING, WHAT'S WRONG? I SAID, I DON’T KNOW, BUT I’LL GO SEE. I GOT OUT OF THE CAR AND INSTRUCTED HER TO STAY INSIDE AND LOCK THE DOOR UNTIL MY RETURN. WHILE WALKING BACK TOWARD THE OBJECT I HIT LAYING NEXT TO A TREE, I LOOKED QUICKLY BACKWARD TOWARD MY FAMILY IN THE CAR. I GAVE A SIGNAL THAT ALL WAS OK.

      AS I FOCUSED FORWARD, I CONTINUED WALKING TOWARD THE OBJECT. I NOTICED IT WAS A MAN. I RAN AND GENTLY GRABBED HIM. BLOOD WAS EVERYWHERE AND HIS RIGHT LEG WAS CUT. I TRIED TO STOP THE BLOOD BY TYING A RAG AROUND IT. I CHECKED HIS PULSE. HE WAS BREATHING. I MOVED HIM AND PROPPED HIM UP AGAINST A TREE. I WAS COVERED IN BLOOD ALL OVER. THE SMELL OF DEATH WAS EVERYWHERE. I STOOD THERE WATCHING HIS BLOOD FLOW FROM HIS BODY. I WAS CONFUSED AND IN SHOCK. AS I WAS ATTEMPTING TO WALK AWAY, HE SPOKE QUIETLY SAYING, IT’S YOUR TURN. NOT WANTING TO DRAW ATTENTION TO THE BLOOD, I REMOVED MY SHIRT AND OPENED THE TRUNK OF THE CAR. I PUT ON ANOTHER SHIRT AND CAST THE BLOODY SHIRT INSIDE THE TRUNK. WHILE ENTERING BACK INTO THE VEHICLE, MY WIFE NOTICED A BLOOD STAIN ON MY PANTS.  I TOLD HER IT WAS BLOOD FROM THE DOG THAT I HAD REMOVED FROM THE STREET. SHE ASKED NO MORE QUESTIONS AND QUICKLY FELL BACK ASLEEP AGAIN.

      I SAT THERE AS CARS WHISTLED BY. GUILT, FEAR, AND SHOCK CAUSED ME TO MAKE A DECISION THAT FOR A LIFETIME I WOULD REGRET. I LOOKED BACK AGAIN. GUILT AND SHAME WERE TRYING TO WARN ME, BUT I WAS SCARED AND COULDN’T THINK STRAIGHT. LIKE A COWARD, I DROVE OFF LEAVING THE MAN THERE AGAINST A TREE. I KEPT DRIVING KNOWING WHAT I HAD DONE. I NOTICED THE MILE MARKER ON THE ROAD WHERE I HIT THE MAN WAS 697.

      MY MIND WAS CLOUDY AND I WAS UNABLE TO THINK CLEARLY. I ONLY HEARD HIS LAST WORDS REPLAYING OVER AND OVER IN MY MIND, IT’S YOUR TURN. I KEPT TRYING TO SHAKE OFF THE INHUMANE ACT I HAD COMMITTED BY POSSIBLY KILLING A MAN, RENDERING HIM NO MEDICAL TREATMENT NOR BRINGING HIM

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