come here please?”
She handed her son the package and the hand-written note. “Poor Mister Regola left you this Ben.”
Ben read the note that Sam had left to his mother. He didn’t feel much like getting a thank-you, see you in the sweet by and by, gift from a dead man. Ben liked Sam, and would have gladly opened the package had Sam still been alive, but the whole idea of opening the dead man’s package made him very uneasy. “Mom, it creeps me out to open this package.”
“Ben, it is never easy when someone you know passes away. Mr. Regola liked you, and he left you something to remember him by, that’s all. He couldn’t have known that he was going to pass on during the night. I am sure he would want you to keep the gift regardless of the circumstances. Let’s see what he made you Ben.”
Ben tore open the plain brown wrapping paper. Inside was a neatly framed painting of the Rule estate as viewed from the lake. Prominent in the foreground was the old wooden water tower and boat house. Much smaller in the background stood the three story Victorian mansion. The painting was signed on the lower right. The first line read; “Regola” and below that “egg tempera 1968” On the reverse side of the panel the same brown butcher’s paper had been glued to the frame and used as a backing. Written on it in Sam’s handwriting were the words:
Ben, Look within for the answers that you seek.
Ben glanced up at his mother with a puzzled look on his face. He shrugged his shoulders.
“What does Sam mean Ben? What answers are you seeking?”
“Mom, I have no clue. Maybe it is an ancient proverb or something Confucius might have said.”
“What an odd painting.” Allie said as she looked over the primitive artwork. “Why would Sam make the water-tower the focal point?”
“Mom, do I have to keep it?”
Ben had been trying to forget all about the incident earlier that summer at the Rule estate. The thought of having a painting to remind him each and every day of his narrow escape from the Hell-hound did not appeal to him at all. “I really don’t like it all that much.”
“Ben, Sam made this for you. Why would you not want to keep it?”
Ben had to think fast.“Mom, it just kind of creeps me out— you know, because he died here.”
“I have an idea Ben. How about we hang it up here in cabin six to honor Sam’s memory?”
Ben loved the idea, and so the painting of the water tower was permanently hung in cabin six as a tribute, and in the memory of, Sam Regola.
CHAPTER TEN
Therapy Part Three ( Present Day )
octor Levine paged his receptionist via the intercom. “Cathy, could you please bring Mister Fisher and I some tea? Thank you. Ben, in your dream, the monkey shows up two times. First it is climbing a water tower, and then it is on the mansion grounds where you and your friend Matt are taking shelter beneath the boat during the bad storm. Does the monkey menace you in any way?”
“What do you mean by menace?”
“Does the monkey threaten you?”
“No, I wouldn’t say that he threatens me, but the little bugger bares his teeth and scares the crap out of Matt and I.”
“Why do you think the monkey is climbing the water tower?”
“Doctor, this is very frustrating. I have no idea why a monkey would be climbing a water tower, other than the fact that he is a monkey, and the water tower looks like a giant jungle gym.”
“Humor me Ben. You have told me that the monkey ruined your family’s resort business. The monkey signifies a menacing presence from your past. I am merely trying to ascertain whether or not the water tower menaces you as well.”
“How on earth could a water tower be a menace to me?”
“Let me ask you this Ben. Are you afraid of heights?”
There was a quiet knock on the office door. Doctor Levine opened it and in walked Cathy with a silver tray with a decorative ceramic Chinese pot and matching tea cups. She set the tray down on the coffee table and began
She handed her son the package and the hand-written note. “Poor Mister Regola left you this Ben.”
Ben read the note that Sam had left to his mother. He didn’t feel much like getting a thank-you, see you in the sweet by and by, gift from a dead man. Ben liked Sam, and would have gladly opened the package had Sam still been alive, but the whole idea of opening the dead man’s package made him very uneasy. “Mom, it creeps me out to open this package.”
“Ben, it is never easy when someone you know passes away. Mr. Regola liked you, and he left you something to remember him by, that’s all. He couldn’t have known that he was going to pass on during the night. I am sure he would want you to keep the gift regardless of the circumstances. Let’s see what he made you Ben.”
Ben tore open the plain brown wrapping paper. Inside was a neatly framed painting of the Rule estate as viewed from the lake. Prominent in the foreground was the old wooden water tower and boat house. Much smaller in the background stood the three story Victorian mansion. The painting was signed on the lower right. The first line read; “Regola” and below that “egg tempera 1968” On the reverse side of the panel the same brown butcher’s paper had been glued to the frame and used as a backing. Written on it in Sam’s handwriting were the words:
Ben, Look within for the answers that you seek.
Ben glanced up at his mother with a puzzled look on his face. He shrugged his shoulders.
“What does Sam mean Ben? What answers are you seeking?”
“Mom, I have no clue. Maybe it is an ancient proverb or something Confucius might have said.”
“What an odd painting.” Allie said as she looked over the primitive artwork. “Why would Sam make the water-tower the focal point?”
“Mom, do I have to keep it?”
Ben had been trying to forget all about the incident earlier that summer at the Rule estate. The thought of having a painting to remind him each and every day of his narrow escape from the Hell-hound did not appeal to him at all. “I really don’t like it all that much.”
“Ben, Sam made this for you. Why would you not want to keep it?”
Ben had to think fast.“Mom, it just kind of creeps me out— you know, because he died here.”
“I have an idea Ben. How about we hang it up here in cabin six to honor Sam’s memory?”
Ben loved the idea, and so the painting of the water tower was permanently hung in cabin six as a tribute, and in the memory of, Sam Regola.
CHAPTER TEN
Therapy Part Three ( Present Day )
octor Levine paged his receptionist via the intercom. “Cathy, could you please bring Mister Fisher and I some tea? Thank you. Ben, in your dream, the monkey shows up two times. First it is climbing a water tower, and then it is on the mansion grounds where you and your friend Matt are taking shelter beneath the boat during the bad storm. Does the monkey menace you in any way?”
“What do you mean by menace?”
“Does the monkey threaten you?”
“No, I wouldn’t say that he threatens me, but the little bugger bares his teeth and scares the crap out of Matt and I.”
“Why do you think the monkey is climbing the water tower?”
“Doctor, this is very frustrating. I have no idea why a monkey would be climbing a water tower, other than the fact that he is a monkey, and the water tower looks like a giant jungle gym.”
“Humor me Ben. You have told me that the monkey ruined your family’s resort business. The monkey signifies a menacing presence from your past. I am merely trying to ascertain whether or not the water tower menaces you as well.”
“How on earth could a water tower be a menace to me?”
“Let me ask you this Ben. Are you afraid of heights?”
There was a quiet knock on the office door. Doctor Levine opened it and in walked Cathy with a silver tray with a decorative ceramic Chinese pot and matching tea cups. She set the tray down on the coffee table and began
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