Tales from Beyond the Aether

By Shane Halfyard

"Tales From the Aether: Volume One" by Shane Halfyard unfolds four captivating stories, each weaving a unique tapestry of human experience.

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• Language: English
• Publisher: Oxford Book Writers
• Release date: Feb 20, 2024
• ISBN: 9781964482620

Book preview

Tales From the Aether

Volume One

Shane Halfyard

Copyright © 2023

All Rights Reserved

Dedication

To my loving wife Girlie. Thank you for believing in me and pushing me to write this book. I don’t believe that I would have ever done it without your support.

Of course you know that if this book fails I reserve the right to blame you. Ha! Ha!

Contents

Dedication

Author’s Notes

The Weekend

The Little Blind Boy

Snow Day

Father Mills

Author’s Notes

This is my first book of short stories. I am hoping to write a series of books based in this world that I have started to create.

The city of Fredericton and Geary are real. So are some of the places I’ve mentioned in these stories, such as Killarney Lake, St Dunstan Church, St Mary's Reserve, The Victoria Hospital, and the two universities, to name a few. I am sure there are more, but I can’t list them all.

Sometimes I needed a place, so I would create it. One example is The Quick Stop, where Grandmother is sitting on the porch puffing away at her pipe. She’s ready to sell you what you need and give you some old-timey advice while she’s at it. Who is Grandmother? Well, we will learn more about her as the series continues.

Almost all the family names I have talked about are real families living in the Fredericton area for generations. So I wanted to keep this story as truthful as possible. No, wait, that’s not right. I think the best way to say it is, I wanted to be as authentic as possible. So I would use the family names but give them different first names. Oh, I am sure I got a few names right, and if I have, well then congratulations, your name is now in print. But I promise you it is more of a coincidence than anything else.

Does that mean none of the lovely people in my version of Fredericton are not based on real people? No, of course not. Girlie Harding is 100% real, based on my wife, Girlie Halfyard. Sean Harding is not just based on me but a combination of my great-grandfather and my father. Eleanor and Cassandra are based on my two daughters.

Jason Andrews was one of my best friends growing up, and Robert Andrews was his father. So for the sake of my little universe, I switched them up a bit.

AJ is based on me as well. I am almost blind, and I am a Native American and Caucasian mix. I am sure those terms are considered offensive by now. Please don’t cancel me, folks; keep my age in mind when you read this.

Anyway, you might be wondering, did I base some of AJ’s life experiences on my childhood? The answer is yes. I was born premature and I am legally blind. I did have to fight often, and the teachers really didn't know what to do with me, so they pretty much ignored me. I really couldn’t read well until I got to high school.

The major difference besides running into Dr. Crossmen that is, I was lucky enough to have a lot of friends growing up. My childhood wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t awful either.

Now I think I have taken enough of your time. I hope you enjoy my little book of stories, and I hope you will read the next set.

Thank you,

Shane Halfyard.

January 1st, 2024

The Weekend

Fredericton, New Brunswick, July 1956

Sean is riding home from work in the back of a 1948 Ford with three of his friends. Friends? No, that's not right. What we are can't be categorized as friends, he thinks. The hell we survived together makes us more than friends, more than family. I don't think there's a word for what we are.

Resting his head on the car window, Sean starts rubbing the small mass of scar tissue on his right temple. What he lovingly calls his gift from Juno. Looking out of the car window, he feels himself drift away, and as he drifts, he hears his name faintly in the background.

Harding?

Huh? Sean thinks as his name is being repeated.

Harding? Harding!

He hears his name getting louder, changing from the background to the foreground.

Harding! Private Harding, wake the fuck up!

Sean snaps his head up and looks Sergeant Cooper in the eyes.

Sir! Yes, Sir!

The choppy waters rocked the Higgins so much so that Sean finds it hard to stand straight. He strains to hear Sergeant Cooper over the sounds of gunfire, explosions and the screams of those poor souls who happened to land on the beach first.

Harding, is this battle not exciting enough for you? Are you bored, Private Harding? Sergeant Cooper managed to scream while keeping his home-rolled smoke tucked into the side of his mouth. Squinting his left eye while staring deep into Harding's eyes.

Well? Sergeant Cooper asked.

Well what Sir? Sean asked in a shaking voice, feeling rather stupid if he was going to be honest with himself.

Are we boring you, Private Harding? Sergeant Cooper yelled as he stepped close. Now Sean has to squint his eyes from the sting of the blueish-gray smoke. Not being a smoker himself, he feels his eyes water. He blinks away tears and hopes to himself that it's from the smoke and not the deepening fear he feels right now.

Sean says while turning to face the fast-approaching beach, No.

Boom!

They both see another explosion and three bodies being hurled back into the black foaming water.

I'm just a little scared, Sir! says Sean.

Then, something happened that Sean didn't expect. Sergeant Cooper's face softens, and he places a firm hand on the boy's shoulder, for a boy is what he truly is.

Thinking to himself, If this kid is over eighteen, I'll eat my hat.

Everyone is scared, son. Sergeant Cooper says in an almost gentle way, But I need you and your Killarney Road crew to take that bunker. Pointing at the far eastern bunker, he says, Can you do it?

Yes, Sir, Sean says in a low, trembling voice that almost breaks Sergeant Cooper's heart.

Sergeant Cooper thinks to himself. I need to get this boy in gear. He needs some fire in his belly, or he isn’t going to make it. Sergeant Cooper yells. Can you do it, Private Harding?!

Sean snaps his heels together, stands up straight as best he can during such a choppy, rough ride, salutes Sergeant Cooper and yells, Sir! Yes, sir!

When the Higgins door drops open, Private Sean Harding is the first one off the boat and into the wonderfully cold water. He is in such a rush he trips over his own feet and falls face-first into the water. The people behind him are in such a rush that he feels the weight of at least three soldiers stomping his back, pushing his face into the water over and over again. He takes a mouth full of water into his lungs and starts to gag, choke and gasp.

Am I going to drown before I even make it to the fucking beach? Sean thinks to himself, Get up for fuck shakes! If you are going to die, don’t die like this. You asshole!

Feeling a powerful grip on each of his shoulders, he is pulled to his feet by two of his closest friends. Get enough to drink, pal? Jason says as they are rushing to the beach. As soon as they land, Sean is rocked on his heels when a mortar explodes to his right. He feels a light pelting of sand hit him as he is temporarily blinded by the spray of dirt.

Sean feels himself being gently rocked awake. Sean? Sean? Wake up, you’re home.

Blinking his dark brown eyes open, he sees the big, broad, honest face of Troy Arbeau. Ever since Juno, Troy and the rest of the crew have looked at me with that same look of concern. Sean thinks to himself. They always look so worried.

Wow, buddy, you must be worn out, eh? Troy says as he lights up and Export A.

Cuffing out two columns of blue Gray smoke from his nose. He says, Are you okay, Sean? You seemed pretty rattled.

Opening the car door, Sean replies, I’m fine. Just dreaming old dreams.

Are you sure? Troy's right. You look shaken up.

Sean turns towards the new voice in the front passenger door window. Seeing the concern on his best friend Jason’s face, Sean says, Yeah, I'm fine, Jason; I'm just overworked and underpaid.

Jason lets out an unexpected snort, I hear ya, pal.

Sean knocks on the roof of the car, See you boys on Monday. Sean says as he turns towards his simple but nice two-story house.

Sean loves living on Killarney Road, or just the Killarney as the locals call it. To understand why, you need to look at not only the location but the people. The road is near Saint Mary's Indian Reserve. For the most part, it's in Fredericton but turns into a highway once you've gone a ways past Killarney Lake.

The people here are the working poor. Most are honest or as honest as being the working poor will allow them to be. Now, you may wonder what that means.

Well, the people here won't rob a bank, steal from their neighbors, or murder anyone. That doesn't mean they won't sell drugs, moonshine or do a little hunting during the off-season. It's just what folks need to do to survive around here.

What I’m trying to tell you is that just because a person breaks a law or two to pay the bills or feed their kids doesn't make them bad people. There is a strong sense of community here, and they look after each other. If you can accept that, then you will understand how things work around here.

Now, Sean is a good tinkerer. He can fix engines, radios, and pretty much anything that can plug into a wall or any type of mechanical device.

Looking up at the second-floor window, he sees his two daughters. Eleanor, who is six and Cassandra, who is four. They are playing with their dolls. Smiling as he entered his home, he sees a pretty tiny Oriental woman who's been his wife for a little over seven years.

How was work? Girlie asks while taking Sean's coat.

Kissing her softly on the corner of her mouth, Oh, work is work. I'm just happy it's the weekend. Sean says.

Just then, he hears the combined sound of thundering feet stomping down the stairs and the high-pitched giggling and screaming of his two girls. Excited to see you there, Daddy.

Daddy's home!

Daddy's home!

Daddy's home!

His two girls screaming in unison, adds to the pain of his growing migraine. Rubbing his gift from Juno, he thinks to himself, There are worse things to come home to.

The two girls hug him tightly around each leg, looking up at their father with the cute, gape tooth smile that only children and the very old can pull off.

Picking both girls up and kissing both of their cheeks, with a load of smacking sounds, first Eleanor and then Cassandra. Then Cassandra and then Eleanor.

He carries the girls to the eat-in kitchen. He sets his girls in their chairs, and sees what's for dinner. It's a mix of Canadian and Filipino food: chicken adobo, mashed potatoes, peas, carrots and rolls.

As Sean sits down, his wife hands him a little white pill and a large glass of water.

Take your vitamin. She says softly and with a look of worry in her eyes.

He takes it and thinks to himself. My sweet Asian doll is always looking after me.

While they eat, the talk at the dinner table fades to dull murmurs. Sean finds himself looking at Girlie, and I mean really looking at