"Funny, how things go."......................kronk

Kandy took hold of her aunt's hand and squeezed. "Aunt Virginia, I love you."

"Awww darling, so sweet of you to say so." Virginia leaned over and gave the girl a hug. "Are you frightened dear? Don't worry now, we'll be just fine. These airplanes are well maintained and loaded with all kinds of safety features." Kandy's face took on a puzzeled look, "Oh no Aunt Virginia, I'm not scared. Not at all. I just wanted to say that I love you. I mean, you're always taking me with you, to such neat places." Virginia patted the girl's hand, "Well Kandy, you are good company, I enjoy having you along."

The captain announced: "Trays up, seat belts on and descent pending."

"Aunt Virginia?"

"Yes dear."

"Aunt Virginia, are you going to Lafayette to study something for a new book?"

Virginia pulled a stick of chewing gum from the pack, handed it to Kandy and then got one for herself.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome dear. I hadn't planned on studying for a book, but you never know, something just may come up."

The plane began it's descent and Virginia's ears began popping. She chewed her gum aggressively, trying to compensate for pressure drop. Kandy was amused by her aunt's exaggerated gum chewing. "Ooooh, that's a good gum, isn't it Aunt Virginia?"

Virginia reached over the armrest and gave the girl a squeeze. "Oh yes, good, good gum. Chew yours up to. Smack, smack, smack."

Kandy's face remained glued to the window as the plane began to circle and loose altitude. Virginia looked on, smiled and answered the child's many questions. "How wonderful," she thought, "to experience flight at such a young age." Her own "first flight" had been a nightmare by comparison.

She'd been twenty-one years old at the time. Everything about the incident had been frightening. The plane was small and crowded. The ride turned rough as the plane went through severe thunderstorms. Lightning flashes, booming thunder and the sickening, rapid-loss in altitude, caused by the turbulence, all combined to make her terribly ill.

With an involuntary shudder, Virginia" snapped back" as the landing gear touched the tarmac. Kandy exclaimed,"We're here, we're here."

A new MercedesRoadster and a young man with a sign waited outside of baggage claim. Virginia offered a picture ID. "Hello, I'm V. Miller." The young man handed the card back, "Hello Miss Miller, I'm Bill. Everything is in order, have a great trip." Bill fell into a squat, "And who do we have here?" Kandy stepped forward and extended her hand, "Hello, I'm Kandy Cooper."

"Pleased to meet you Kandy. I'm Bill. Can I take that bag for you?"

"Yes.. please Bill."

The trip, to the little town on the river, took about twenty minutes via the interstate highway. Another 5 minutes of country road and the tall, white church steeple came into view. Virginia turned down the bamboo-lined lane that went to the cemetary and the river beyond. The cane grew thick and tall on both sides of the lane for about a quarter of a mile, then gave way to a waist high hedge of holly bushes. Beyond the hedge, row upon row of tombs extended almost to the river.

Virginia pulled off the roadway into an angled parking space. Kandy came bounding around the front of the car and grabbed her aunt's hand. "Come, let's run Aunt Virginia, let's run!" They ran, maneuvering amongst the tombs, towards the central walkway that led to the statue of "Christ on the Cross."

On either side of the walk, painted-stone-madonnas and kneeling angels kept watch over the massive stone crypts of the" well to do" dead, scattered here and there amongst a forest of plain white crosses.

Hand in hand, Virginia and Kandy walked up to the base of the 30 foot crucifix. The bronze effigy of Jesus, his head tilted in death, seemed to invite prayer. Kandy climbed the steps at the base of the monument and layed her hands on the bronze feet. "Oh poor Jesus..Poor,poor Jesus." Virginia helped the girl down, and together they made their way behind the statue and towards the last row of tombs. Beyond these, the ground began a gradual slope towards the river.

Her eyes already moist with tears, Virginia stopped at the foot of a rather plain concrete sepulcher. It's only adornment, a blocky, rough-molded cross. Embedded in the center of the cross was an oval picture frame. In the frame, covered by a thick glass front, was the photograph of an elderly man. The man, clad in bib-overalls, stood in front of a white-washed building and leaned on a long-handled shovel for support.

Kandy studied the picture, then asked, "Is that the man that lives here, Aunt Virginia?"

"Yes Kandy, this is where he is now." Virginia wiped the tears from her eyes and stooped down so that she was eye to eye with her niece. "See that house over there?" Virginia turned the girl so that she was facing away from the tomb and towards a small white home, on a couple of wooded acres that bordered the cemetary. Kandy nodded her head. "Well that is where this man lived when he was alive. His name was Charlie and he lived there with his wife Elsie. I lived there also."

"You did?" Kandy grew excited. "So you lived here when you were a little girl, like me?" Virginia continued, "Actually, I was a little older than you are Kandy. I came here when I was about 10 years old. My own parents were killed in an auto accident. Charlie and Elsie are my grandparents. They took me in. Charlie passed away about 8 years ago, but Gramma Elsie still lives there. I bet that she'd love to see you."

"Oh yes, Aunt Virginia. Can Gramma Elsie be my gramma to?" Virginia took Kandy's hand, "I'm sure that Gramma would love that Kandy. Come, let's go see her."

The rattlesnake was an old one, accustomed to leaving it's burrow at the same time each day, to hunt down by the dense vegetation near the river. Nearly six and a half feet long and big around as a man's arm, she packed enough poison to knock down a cow.

Virginia and Kandy went down to the river and followed it until they came to the small drainage ditch that seperated the cemetary property and that of her grandmother. "Now Kandy, there used to me a tiny metal bridge that Grandpa built a long time ago, so we wouldn't get our feet wet. Yep, I see it's still there. Wanna go first?" Kandy hopped up onto the metal grating that formed the bridge.

Faith can indeed play cruel tricks, sometimes. The odds of Kandy coming off the bridge at the same time that the rattlesnake passed-by, on it's way to hunt, must've been several millions to one. Never-the-less, such things do happen. As Kandy's foot left the bridge, the old snake sensed the vibration, felt the warmth of the child's bare leg and prepared to lift it's head and strike.

In that same instant, the cutting-sharp edge of Grampa Charlie's shovel came down right behind the snakes head, cleanly severing it from the huge body. The headless bulk of the snake thrashed and tossed itself about in the dry weeds.

So intent were they on the crossing, Virginia and Kandy had failed to notice the old woman's approach. Now, they saw the snakes body and Elsie at the same time. Virginia screamed, "Gramma, watch out! There's a snake!"

Elsie stood there in her dressing gown and leaned on the shovel. "He he he, Virginia. Girl, it's good to see ya again. Don't you worry bout that old serpent. That's a powerful-big body there for sure, but it ain't too dangerous at all, without it's head and I got that right here on the other side of this shovel."

Virginia gave her Gramma a huge hug. "Gramma Elsie, this is my niece Kandy." Elsie drew the girl to her. "Well hello Kandy girl. I'm glad that Virginia finally brought you around to see me. I've heard a lot about you. I bet you could use a big glass of lemonade. I make a good one."

Kandy looked over at the snake's body, still twitching in the grass. "Gramma Elsie, what kinda snake is that?" Elsie took the girls hand and turned to head back towards the house. "Oh, just one of them canebrake rattlesnakes. I've seen this one around a time or two. Should've got it years ago, I guess. Never bothered me before, so I never bothered it."

Virginia came and took hold of her Gramma's other hand.

"Funny thing though Virginia, I was just down to sleep, when I dreamed about your Grampa Charlie. He kept a nagging me saying, *Woman get yourself on over to the metal bridge. There's company coming to see ya. Bring my shovel with ya to.*"

..."Funny how things go."

For "V" I asked her to ask me and she did. I did, then this was born....Thanks

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