Redeeming Light

by Annette O'Hare

  36

  Sunday, September 9, 1900

  Sarah awakened to the sound of a baby crying. The lighthouse was no longer swaying. Brilliant sunbeams dotted the gallery floor streaming through the small round windows. She wiped sleep from her eyes and looked from one person to the next. They had survived the storm.

  Louise remained on the pallet where she’d given birth the night before. Had it only been one night?

  Grace helped Mrs. Claiborne organize their supply of food.

  If the sounds coming from the lighthouse stairs were any indication, the throng of hungry storm survivors needed to be tended to.

  Guy and Mr. Claiborne fiddled with the light’s clockwork mechanism. Poor Mr. Claiborne laboriously turned the device by hand most of the night. His arm muscles bulged from overuse, but he had seen to it that his post wasn’t vacated.

  “Harry,” Mrs. Claiborne called out, attaining her husband’s attention. “How does it look outside?”

  He went to the gallery door, unlatching it he swung it wide open. The small room flooded with light. They all shielded their eyes against the brilliance. Claiborne went out onto the catwalk surrounding the gallery and surveyed the land.

  Sarah walked to the doorway.

  Rex jumped up.

  The lightkeeper held his hand up. “Stay back. There may be damage to the railing.”

  “I just want to look out.” She clung to the doorframe with one hand and held Rex’s collar with her other hand. The sheer destruction wrought by the storm took her breath away. A vast wasteland replaced the peninsula she knew and loved. Sand covered everything. The dunes were laid flat. The surf came farther inland than she remembered. Where was the ranch? She ran to the opposite side of the gallery and looked out a window. She turned away and slid down the wall to the floor. Where was Galveston?

  Mr. Claiborne came back inside and shut the door. Mouth gaping open, he shook his head and stared at his wife.

  “What does it look like out there, uncle?” Guy asked.

  It was as though he couldn’t collect the words to describe what he’d seen. “The water has mostly receded.” He moved to the floor hatch and got down on one knee. He pulled the door open revealing the two women Sarah had passed water down to the night before. “Mind your ears, ladies.” Once they’d covered their ears, Mr. Claiborne shouted down into the tower. “The tide has gone out! Open up the door!”

  A smell wafted up through the hatch that rivaled the McKinney barn before the stalls were mucked. Celebratory noises rose from the stairs, but there was also wailing and crying.

  No one could leave the gallery until all the people below moved down the steep spiral stairs and outside the lighthouse.

  Sarah slid across the floor to join her family.

  Melvin held his baby boy like an old pro.

  “He’s beautiful, Melvin.”

  A mixture of love and pride showed in the man’s eyes. “Thank you, Sarah, but I think the word you’re looking for is handsome.” They exchanged a soft chuckle. “Would you like to hold him?”

  Sarah held her hands out. The baby turned his head to her chest and made sucking motions with his tiny lips. “Hey, I’m not your mama!” Everyone laughed at Sarah’s outburst.

  “You must smell like his mama.” Mrs. Claiborne interjected from the other side of the gallery.

  Sarah gazed into her nephew’s eyes. “You should give him a name like Stormy or…or Gale. You know, because he was born in a storm.”

  “Sarah, no, that’s just silly.” Mama wasn’t thrilled.

  “His name is Melvin. But I do like the name Gale.” Louise looked up at her husband. “Don’t you, Melvin?”

  “He certainly deserves a commemorative name after all he’s been through.” Melvin hit his knee with his fist. “It’s settled then. His name shall be Melvin Gale Culp.”

  Sarah handed him over to Louise. Rex sat down beside her.

  Golden sunlight continued pouring in through the small round windows. It was a miracle that none of them had broken during the storm. Several of the large glass panes surrounding the lantern room above them had shattered in the night.

  What would Mama do when she found out the ranch was completely gone? Mama had already given up on cattle ranching anyway. But where would they all go?

  Mr. Claiborne returned to the floor hatch and lifted it open.

  Guy walked over beside his uncle and looked down the shaft. He turned to Grace. “It’s almost cleared out below. You ready to go take a look outside, honey?”

  Grace wasted no time rising and dusting her hands on her skirt. “You better believe I’m ready.”

  “Anyone else going down with us?”

  Mr. Claiborne scratched his whiskery chin. “I need to see how bad we fared through the storm. And I have to get more fuel for the light. You going down, Mama?”

  Mrs. Claiborne placed one final item into the box she’d been gathering together. She patted the container. “Yes, I’m coming. Guy, can you carry this box down for me? We have a lot of hungry people to feed.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Mama, I’m going down. Are you coming?” Sarah asked.

  “I suppose so. I hate to see the mess left by this storm.” She rose from the floor and looked down at mother, father, and baby. “Y’all gonna be all right without me for a while?”

  Louise nodded.

  The trek down the iron stairs seemed to take forever. Her heart beat faster the closer they came to the door. How much worse would it be up close?

  Rex quickly trotted off, having important business to tend to.

  Sarah put her hand up to shield her eyes from the brilliant sunlight. God made amends for the horror of the previous night with the most beautiful sunrise Sarah could ever remember seeing.

  Mama grasped the bodice of her dress and clamped her hand onto Sarah’s arm as she sank to the ground. Sarah grabbed her before she went all the way down.

  “Grace, help me!” Sarah hollered.

  Grace and Guy rushed over and helped Sarah get Mama back on her feet.

  “Are you all right, Mrs. McKinney?” Guy asked.

  Mama’s face was white as a clean linen sheet. “I, I’ll be fine. I just need to sit down.”

  Guy and Sarah helped her over to a tremendous tree trunk that had washed in with the storm. The downed tree was so enormous that Guy had to put his hands around Mama’s tiny waist and lift her up onto it.

  They were surrounded by death and destruction on every side.

  Piteous tears burned her cheeks as Sarah stared at the senseless violence. Dear God, what must it have been like for them?

  The lighthouse inhabitants milled about the grounds. Some turned over bodies checking for loved ones.

  Sarah couldn’t look at them. Why had God spared her life and her family and not these people? And if she looked, she might see his face…no. She shook her head and looked instead at all the dead animals, hoping she didn’t see her loyal companion, Ginger.

  A big steer lay lifeless on the ground. Several more just like it were scattered about. Moving closer, she examined the animal’s hindquarter. The brand on the beast’s haunch was a large T8. Sarah’s eyes half closed in a squint. “Tate…”

  Mr. Tate refused her any help selling off the herd after Daddy passed. He didn’t get his cattle to market before the storm hit. And now they were all dead. It didn’t bring her any joy.

  Grace appeared by her side, tears ran down her porcelain cheeks. “Oh, Sarah, there’s nothing left!”

  “I know, sister. But we still have our lives, and that’s more than can be said for these poor folks.”

  Mama rested a can of water on her crossed legs. Guy offered her a soda cracker from a box, but she waved him off.

  The crackers looked as delicious as roast beef to Sarah, who hadn’t eaten for hours.

  Rex sat at Guy’s feet whimpering for a morsel of food.

  “Sarah, look at that beautiful rainbow!” Grace exclaimed.

  T
he glorious symbol of God’s everlasting promise stretched across the sky. One end reached all the way passed Bolivar, the other covered the entirety of what was Galveston Island.

  “It’s so beautiful, Grace. Thank You, God, for keeping Your promise not to destroy the entire earth by flood.”

  A large hand gently grasped Sarah’s shoulder. Startled, she turned around and looked up into familiar green eyes. Her bottom lip trembled, and tears gushed. She tried to speak, but the words wouldn’t come. Frederick leaned down, covering her lips with his. Sarah put her arms around his neck as they shared warm, passionate kisses. She never wanted to let go and risk losing him again.

  Mama didn’t share in her concern. “Sarah Jane McKinney, let go of that boy!”

  “Yes, ma’am!” Sarah giggled.

  “Oh, I’m so thankful you’re alive.” Frederick released her and held her at arm’s length.

  He looked as though he’d been through so much, which reminded her of what a terrible mess she must look like. She had been so shocked by his appearance she didn’t realize what he was wearing. Her hand rose to her cheek. “You’re wearing Daddy’s Stetson. How on earth did you come by that?”

  Frederick grinned and removed the big cowboy hat. “I knew it was important to you, so I made a special trip to pick it up. And now I’m returning it to its rightful owner.” He set the Stetson on Sarah’s head.

  The big hat slid down to her nose. She laughed and took it off. Reaching up, she set it down on Frederick’s head. “It looks much better on you.”

  Frederick made a stern face and wiggled his eyebrows. “Why, thank ya, ma’am.”

  “I love you, Frederick Chessher.”

  “And I love you, Miss Sarah Jane McKinney.” Frederick leaned in for another kiss, but was stopped abruptly.

  “Hey, you two! Stop all that kissing and get over here right now!” Mama hollered.

  Sarah seized the opportunity and pecked him on the tip of his nose.

  He threw his head back and erupted in laughter.

  Hand in hand they walked toward Mama.

  Mama would scold her for their outlandish public display of affection.

  But with her head floating amongst the clouds Sarah couldn’t muster enough energy to care. She was in love…and her Frederick was too.

  37

  Frederick held Sarah’s small hand as they walked toward the McKinney ranch. His life had changed in the course of one night. He had learned so much in the short time he’d spent in the lighthouse. He wanted, no needed, to think further on the things God showed him, but the utter horror of the destruction that lay before them demanded his attention. “Are you sure you want to go all the way to the ranch? It might not be safe.”

  “Yes. Mama wants to know how bad it is.” Sarah pointed to an empty space where a house had once been. “I think that’s where the Bradleys lived. I hope they made it out.”

  “I do too, my love.” Frederick felt sick to his stomach remembering the scene he’d passed the night before. Some of them hadn’t made it.

  The peninsula didn’t have much of a road to begin with, but now there was none at all. Still, they walked where the road had once been. Things that had once been someone’s earthly belongings surrounded them, books, clothes, washbasins, dishes, a stuffed bear. Did their owners make it?

  “I still can’t believe you were safe inside the lighthouse the whole time.”

  “Well, not exactly. My friends and I were the last four people to be admitted before the lighthouse keeper shut the door.”

  “You brought friends with you?”

  “Not friends really. They were people on the train with me. A doctor, a young woman and her little girl.”

  “You were on the train? Oh my, that must have been frightening.”

  “Yes, but not nearly as frightening as helping the doctor set a badly broken bone, or wading through waist deep water and guiding a makeshift raft to the lighthouse with a mother and child balanced on top of it.”

  “Frederick, that’s awful. However did you manage?”

  “Oh, it wasn’t a big deal, I suppose. God was with us. And it was nothing like having a gun pulled on me. Do you suppose I qualify as a true Texan now?”

  “What on earth happened?”

  “I’ll tell you all about it later. Let’s go see what’s left of the ranch.”

  The metal tracks of the Galveston and Interstate Railroad were pulled from the ground by the sheer force of the wind. Wooden crossties weighing two hundred pounds or more were tossed about like dead maple leaves in the fall.

  “Oh, Frederick, thank goodness you got off the train when you did.”

  He nodded in disbelief, but didn’t utter a word, thinking of those who’d stayed with the train.

  The ranch wasn’t far ahead of them. Frederick held tight to Sarah’s hand. There was nothing left, not even the huge barn. No ranch house meant they wouldn’t encounter the dead bodies of Mr. Hobbs and his son, Nelson, he hoped. Frederick stopped walking and turned to Sarah. “There’s something I’ve been pondering I would like to ask you about.”

  “Oh, what is it?”

  “Before I found you at the lighthouse I heard you talking to Grace about the rainbow. You seemed almost thankful. It…it’s hard for me to fathom you feeling that way after all you’ve been through.”

  Sarah’s soft smile filled his heart with joy.

  “I am thankful. Didn’t God keep His promise not to destroy the earth with flood? And He spared my life and my family too. I think I have much to be thankful for.”

  Frederick pushed the cowboy hat up and rubbed his forehead. “I’m trying to understand. Truly I am.” Despite his assurance before that God was with them, he struggled with his newfound feelings, seeing the destruction around them.

  She squeezed his hand. “That’s all I can ask for.”

  ~*~

  Sarah ran to where the gate bearing the MK brand once stood. One lone wooden post remained. Sarah collapsed against the pole, grabbing hold of it with both arms. It was all gone, the ranch house, the barn, the animals—her home. She let go of the post. Her boots sank into the waterlogged sod with every step. A small section of the house’s floorboards, the part attached to the fireplace was still there. Huge stones had dislodged from the chimney. Sarah hopped up on the elevated floor.

  “Sarah, be careful!” Frederick yelled.

  One of the boards twisted beneath her feet. She grabbed hold of the mantel that was still attached to the fireplace remains. The center stone was still there. “Will you hand me one of those small rocks, please?”

  “You need to come down from there. It’s not safe.”

  “I will, after you give me a rock.”

  “Your mother will have my hide if you hurt yourself.”

  “I won’t get hurt. Now hand me that dark brown rock.”

  Frederick gave her the stone.

  She pounded against the fireplace with the rock. Grunting with each glancing blow, she wiggled what she was hitting up and down, back and forth, until it came off and slipped into her palm. “There, I have it!” With a satisfied smile, she held up the wrought iron MK brand that had embellished their fireplace her whole life.

  “Are you quite happy now?” Frederick put his hands around her petite waist and lifted her onto the ground.

  “Yes. It’s all I have left.”

  Frederick swallowed her in an embrace. “I’m so sorry, my love.”

  “It’s all right. Now I have something to remember this place by.”

  “But it’s not all right. You’ve lost everything. Why aren’t you furious with God? I haven’t lost nearly as much as you, and I am angry.”

  Sarah clutched the wrought iron emblem to her chest and gazed up into Frederick’s gorgeous green eyes. “Everything I’ve lost are just things, and things can be replaced. I have my life and my family, and that’s all that really matters. When I was at the top of the lighthouse during the storm, I didn’t think we would make it. I prayed God would
save us.” She looked back at him. “I also asked God to spare your life, and look, here you are.”

  Frederick plopped down on the edge of the remaining floorboards. After what seemed like a long time he finally looked up at her. “Your words reminded me of something that happened while we were in the lighthouse. I heard a man screaming, but the water was already too deep. There was no way I could open the door. I didn’t know where you were. I feared you dead. In my desperation, I called out to God. I asked Him to spare the lives of the people in the lighthouse.” He raised his head and looked at her with watery, red eyes. “But I begged Him to save you, Sarah. I realize now…He answered my prayer.”

  Sarah fell to her knees. Her skirt squished into the soft earth. She held her hands out, and Frederick took hold of them. “You prayed for me?” Her eyes could no longer hold onto the tears. “Both our prayers were answered.”

  Frederick released Sarah’s hands and wrapped his arms around her. “Oh, my darling, Sarah, I love you so.”

  “And I love you, Fre…”

  Frederick pressed his lips to hers and stirred something deep within her. His lips slid from her mouth and caressed the length of her neck. She sucked in a deep breath as heat rose up her chest. Bells rang. Were they wedding bells? The more Frederick kissed her, the louder the bells sounded.

  “Missy Sarah, Missy Sarah!”

  She would know that accent anywhere.

  Pedro and Inez drove their mule cart up the washed-out drive. The mule’s fancy harness jingled with each step.

  Sarah quickly turned to Frederick. “Is my face red? It feels very hot. Just look at me. You’ve made a complete mess of me.”

  Frederick chuckled and pulled his handkerchief out. “You’re absolutely beautiful. Just as you always are.” He offered her the cloth.

  She rubbed her neck and face.

  “Pedro! Inez! Praise God you made it through the storm!” Reaching the cart, Sarah threw her arms around Inez’s neck and hugged her tight. “Pedro, Inez, this is Frederick Chessher.” Saying his name ushered the heat back up her neck. She couldn’t stop smiling.