The Old Church : The Secret of the Old Church
Fiction
By Sylvia Stein
Fuquay, North Carolina
As the old woman walked to the corridor of the Old Church, a vast of memories began to
overwhelm her. . She took a deep breath, and then smiled. “ Are you okay Grandma?” said
a younger man. “ Oh, she paused, I will be okay my darlin!” she said as she tried to hold back
her tears.
The Old Church had been a reminder of so many things for the old woman. In this
building she had met the love of her life. His name was Antonio Grimaldi and no one knew that
he had been her first and one true love. “ Are you sure you can make it Mom, called another
woman’s voice. “ Yes, Miranda, hunny, I am going to be fine!” she assured them.
But Miranda, her daughter knew that her mother was not going to be fine. Of all her children
and grandchildren she was the only one who knew of the Secret of The Old Church and what this
building represented to her mother. This had happened about a year ago, that Miranda found her
Alessandra crying while holding a newspaper clipping. At first she thought the clipping was of
her deceased father John who had passed away two years prior. However to Miranda’s dismay
it turned out that the clipping her mother held so close was of Antonio. “ Mother who is this man
that you cry for?’ she asked in a curious tone. “ Oh my dear, I am so sorry!”, she cried out.
Thereafter, Miranda learned that Antonio Grimaldi was the first and one true love of her mother’s
life, but sadly the Spanish War had come and he had been one of the casualties. Then
Alessandra had tried to rebuild her life with John Maxwell, and was grateful for a second chance
at love. But sadly,in her heart there was still a big part that belonged to Antonio.
Now in the present, Miranda knew what The Old Church meant to her mother. As they walked
closer to it, Alessandra began to drift away in time. Her memories went back to when she first
met Antonio. She had just turned 20 and was attending a Catholic University in Castille Spain.
Alessandra had grown up with a very religious family and so faith was also very important to her
as well. Therefore, there in the Church of San Vicente in the City of Madrid Spain she met
Antonio Grimaldi, who was serving in the Military. It only took one look and they both fell in
love. Sadly, there love was put to many tests from the very start, since his first duty was to
serve and protect and that meant that his life was also placed in danger. But somehow
Alessandra and Antonio always tried to focus on each other.
Back in the present, tears began to overtake the older woman once again. She paused for a
moment. Then as she began to walk through the huge dusty doors, she began to see Antonio’s
face on every corner, calling to her. “ My Alessandra, I love you, he smiled. It was strange,
but a huge gust of wind, came pouring through the corridor doors of the Old and now abandon
Church it was almost as if Antonio’s spirit began to overtake the room. “ Goodness!”, said an
alarmed Miranda, “ Is everyone okay?” she continued. “ Yes Mom”!, called her son Alex who
had decided to accompany them, since they had received word that the Old Church was going to
be demolished. The thought of it gone, came to bear to much pain on Alessandra. She had
lived all of her life in Castille. She had always been able to take a drive to Madrid and find the
Church of San Vicente ( St. Vincent) and know that it would always hold a special place in her
heart. Sadly, the news of the Old Church being demolished felt like someone had come and
ripped a piece of the old woman’s heart and she was not about to let that happen.
After awhile, Miranda called out to her son. “ Alex, Why don’t we give Grandma some time
so that she can say her goodbyes!” As Alex looked at his mother, they both smiled at each
other. “ Yes Mom!”, he said anxiously. Then they both walked to the other side of the church.
As soon as Alessandra knew that both her daughter and grandson had officially stepped away,
she began to feel a big presence. “ Oh Antonio my love!” she cried. “ I will always cherish
the times that we spent loving one another!” she added. Then after awhile, she began to
hear a piano ballad playing as she recalled the times they both had sat at Church. Then
Alessandra envisioned Antonio smiling at her as she sang in the church choir. As the sequence
of the images became more and more real, she began to envision Antonio calling out to her.
“Dance with Me Alessandra”, one more time. Please Dance with me”! he called out to her. As
Antonio called out to her, she saw herself turn back into that young girl. Their dance seemed to
have lasted to what seemed for hours. However, just as the clock in the Old Abandon Church hit
the evening hour it started to ring. The sound was so loud, that suddenly Alessandra came back
to the present. “ Mom are you ready to go?” called her daughter. “Yes, she let out a sad sigh.
However, just as she stepped out from the church, she began to cry out loudly. “ Oh I am so
sorry Miranda and Alex, she stated. She then added, “ You must think I am being so foolish to
still be in so much pain for this man!” “No grandma, said Alex. “ On the contrary, we truly
respect the fact that you were able to try and move forward with your life!”. “ Yes Mom, please
do not apologize, added her daughter Miranda. “ I know you loved Daddy, but Antonio was
your first love!”
“ Thank you Miranda and Alex!” said a calmer Alessandra. As she walked out the door, she
began to smile once again. Sadly, after a few months later Miranda and the rest of her siblings
said their last goodbyes to their Beloved Mother, and Grandmother. She had died of cardiac
arrest after contracting the flu.
However, for Miranda and Alex, the image of Alessandra always came to them in a dream where
they would see her singing in the choir as she smiled to her beloved Antonio. For in this life
and the after The Secret of The Old Church would live within them forever.
The End
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