HDA - December Magic by RM Chapter 1

Frank took a breath. “I, Franklin Edward Hardy, take you, Caren Elizabeth Anderson to be my wedded wife. To have and to hold, in sickness and in health. For richer, for poorer, to love and to cherish, until death do us part.”

He looked at her beautiful face and saw her eyes were brimming with tears. He knew they were happy tears. He felt happy as well. They were just beginning their lives together. And there were so many experiences they could look forward to together.

Frank cupped her face in his right hand, caressing her cheek with his thumb. He caught a stray tear from her eye and wiped it away. He lowered his lips to hers to seal their marriage with a kiss.

Suddenly there was a gunshot and she fell limp in his arms. They both sank to the floor. Frank leaned back from Caren and saw the blood seeping through her white wedding dress. Her eyes were closed and when he felt for a pulse, there wasn’t one.

“NO!” Frank yelled.

Sitting up quickly, he struggled to breath.

He was vaguely aware that he was in his bedroom on Elm Street , in the home his parents owned. He gasped for air. It felt like there was no oxygen in his room.

The light cam on in his room, but he wasn’t aware of it. He also didn’t see his brother coming over to the bed. All he saw was the blood covering Caren’s wedding dress.

A voice was penetrating his consciousness telling him to breathe.

Frank pulled his knees to his chest and dropped his head onto them. He tried to breathe deeply, but couldn’t get the breath in. All he could do was gasp.

“Come on, Frank, take a deep breath,” a familiar voice said.

Frank felt a hand patting his back.

“You were just dreaming,” the voice said. “Whatever it was, it wasn’t real.”

Frank was finally able to get his breathing back under control. He lifted his head and looked around his bedroom. His room.

“Are you all right, Frank?”

He turned his head to the side and saw his brother, Joe, sitting on the bed beside him.

“Frank?”

“I’m all right,” Frank said quietly, although he could still feel his heart thumping in his chest.

“Are you sure? You were calling out awfully loud.”

“Yeah,” Frank said.

He felt Joe get of the bed and watched his younger brother head into the bathroom that connected their two rooms.

Frank looked at his left hand and saw there was no wedding band adorning his finger. He knew it had been a dream.

But why? he wondered. Why did I have the dream that Caren got shot at our wedding? Why? It doesn’t make sense. I haven’t been worrying about the wedding. It’s a week away and everything is falling into place. We haven’t had any problems with the plans. I don’t understand what is going on.

“Here you go.”

Frank looked up and saw Joe had a glass of water in his hand. He dropped his knees so he was sitting Indian style and took the glass from Joe.

His brother settled on the end of the bed and watched him carefully. Frank took a couple sips of water and could see the concern etched on his brother’s face.

As Frank lowered the glass, Joe asked, “Do you want to tell me about the dream?”

Frank let out a breath. “It was nothing, Joe.”

“Frank, come on. It’s me you’re talking to. You know I know you better than anyone else knows you and I know it was more than nothing. So spill.”

Frank smiled slightly and chuckled. “Do you have any idea what you just said?”

“Of course,” Joe answered. “I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t know.” He looked Frank in the eye. “Come on. I’m waiting.”

“Joe, I know you want to hear what it was about, but I really don’t want to talk about it. I hope you understand.”

“I do understand,” Joe said. “And if you feel you need to talk about it, you can come to me.”

“I know, Joe.” Frank said his brother yawn. “Go ahead back to sleep. You look exhausted.”

“All right, but only if you’re sure,” Joe said.

“I’m sure,” Frank said. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

“All right. Night.”

“Night, Joe.”

Frank watched his brother get to his feet and head for his bedroom.

Once alone, Frank leaned back against the headboard and let out a deep breath. Even though he knew it had been a dream, something was really bothering him about it. He closed his eyes and focused on trying to relax his body. He needed to get some sleep. There was a lot to do the following morning and he needed to be ready for it. He just hoped he would be able to sleep.

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Disclaimer

The Hardy Boys belong to Simon and Schuster and the Stratemeyer Foundation. The authors have just borrowed them for an adventure or two. The authors promise to put the boys back when they are done with them. The authors do claim copyright to the original characters in this story. Please do not borrow original characters without express permission of the authors.