Heaven (Casteel 1)

Pa wasn't even there.

Dead drunk down at Shirley's Place, 1 had to

presume, when his last child and his only mother were

buried. Reverend Wayland Wise was there with his

poker-faced wife, Rosalynn, to say the words for an

old woman whom everybody had liked, if not

respected.

Not one of ours would go into the ground

without a proper funeral, with all the right words said

to see this old woman and this stillborn child into

heaven.

"And the Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh

away," intoned the Reverend. He tilted his face

toward the sun. "Lord God, hear my prayer. Accept

this beloved wife, mother, grandmother and true

believer, along with this tiny new soul, into heaven--

ffing WIDE your pearly gates, THROW EM OPEN! Gather in this Christian woman, Lord, this child, Lord, for she was honest, plain, true to her faith, and

the child is innocent, pure, and blameless!"

We trudged home in single file, still crying. The people of the mountains were there to

grieve with us, to suffer the departure of Annie

Brandywine Casteel, one of their own, and with us

they trooped back to the house, and sat with us, and

sang with us, and prayed with us for hours on end.

And when it was done, they brought out the

moonshine, the guitars and banjos and fiddles, and

they struck up a lively tune as the hill women brought

out the treats to serve.

The next day, when the sun was shining, I went

again to the graveyard to stand with Tom and stare

down at Granny's raw grave, and that tiny one barely