Linda's heart was racing in her chest. It was past 11 p.m. when she checked Clark's room: he was missing. Paul and Linda hurried to Ted's grave. There was no sign of Clark. “Clark!” Linda shouted. “Clark, you here?” Right then, Paul nudged wife. “Hey!” he cried. “Look!” Paul and Linda were taken aback when they noticed a fire in the distance and heard strange voices.
When Paul and Linda lost their son, Ted, their world collapsed. Sadly, their days passed slowly and were filled with pain and constant arguments and blames for their son’s tragic passing. Along the way, they forgot of their other son, who couldn’t put up with his parents’ fights any longer and found solace at his brother’s grave.
That Sunday afternoon, Paul got out in the backyard and saw his son’s lifeless body in the family’s pool. He jumped in to save him and called the paramedics, but it was late for anything to be done. Ted was dead.
His loss crushed his parents. Linda blamed her husband for the tragedy, and Paul accused her of not being the best mother to Ted. None of this was true, but the grief that settled in their hearts was so immense that they lost themselves and became unaware of the pain they were causing to Clark, their other son.
Clark cried constantly. His brother was the only person who understood him, and now that his parents were fighting day and night, he missed his twin more than ever.
One night, Paul and Linda’s accusations towards one another became so intense that Clark ran away from home and went straight to the cemetery. His parents didn’t even notice he was gone.
With tears rolling down his face, he talked to his brother’s grave, sharing his deepest feelings.
But then, all of a sudden, Clark heard voices coming from behind. He got scared when he realized he wasn’t alone. A group of young men dressed in robes approached him. “Well, well, look who’s here,” they said and started laughing. “This is our kingdom, and you shouldn’t have risked coming here at this hour young boy,” they said.
Clark started trembling, but then he noticed a man, well-dressed and in his 50s, shouting at the young men. “Why are you here again? You look ridiculous in those robes pretending to be some sort of cult.” Getting near, he added, “You better start studying instead of coming here to burn your lousy report cards.”
He then turned to Clark and told him not to worry. He asked him why he was there all by himself and if his parents knew where he was. Clark explained that he ran away from home and all he wanted was to visit his brother’s grave. He was convinced his mom and dad didn’t care about him so he didn’t want to return home.
At that time, Linda was home. She was sitting in the kitchen, contemplating her life. All of a sudden she realized she hadn’t seen Clark around. When she went to check on him, she saw his room was empty.
Scared and panicking, she tried to reach Paul, who had left the house after their argument. However, he didn’t pick up the phone.
Linda could sense Clark went to the cemetery. She grabbed the car keys and just as she was about to enter the car, Paul parked at the driveway.
“Where are you going at this time. It’s 11 p.m. for God’s sake,” he yelled. “Clark isn’t home, Paul, let’s go to the cemetery. He must be there.”
Once at the cemetery, there was no sign of their son. But they did spot some people dressed in black who were lighting a fire.
Paul went to them and showed them a photo of Clark, asking if they had seen him. One of the boys said, “Sir, your son shouldn’t have come here.” But Paul noticed the boys were harmless when he realized they were burning their report cards, so he threatened them and they finally told him Clark was with Mr. Bowen, the graveyard guard who lived 5 minutes away.
Linda and Paul were relieved. They were aware of the pain they caused to their son and promised not to argue any longer. The blaming only made things worse and was tearing their family apart.
When they arrived at Mr. Bowen’s cabin, they saw their son crying and telling the man how life felt like following his brother’s passing, and how his grave was the only place that brought peace to him. His words broke Linda and Paul’s hearts.
They knocked on the door and Mr. Bowen welcomed them inside. They hugged Clark and promised to be better parents from that moment on.