Shadows of December: Illusions of Time
2019
ISNB: 978-1-5320-8422 (sc)
ISNB: 978-1-5320-8423 (e)
From brand new author M.A. Senft comes an uplifting tale of young redemption, angels, mystery . . . and timeless surprises.
Locals call this day Halloween. Ancients referred to it as All Souls’ Night. The ancients would be right. There is at least one soul that roams this town, late at night. A woman, they say, often spotted at the shores of Lake Itasca, her footprints defined in the sandy soil. A ghostly shadow forever etched in the past, playing out in the present. Many say the woman in white is a myth, one that began the century before and belonging to the legend that surrounds Nicolett Cemetery in the small town of Lake Itasca.
But life is rarely defined in black and white, is it?
It is October 31, 1947, and tonight is not an ordinary Halloween. In the dark of night, soon to be settled in at Nicolett Cemetery, not one, but two souls travel. Through a dimensional portal the timeless soul named Danielle has entered town, joined by her younger brother, Ethan. As with every year, homage will be paid to their mother who was born on this day. A token of love will be placed at the water’s edge.
Across dimensions and into a region that lies outside the boundaries of time, a young man will also venture. Although his initial encounter with Danielle is about to take place, this will not be his last.
Before the night is through, three purposeful tasks will have been completed by Danielle.
A strong feeling of déjà vu washed over Jay. Strangely, he felt as if he’d been here before, standing in this exact spot, waiting for Isaac. Two long-tailed meteorites jetted across the starlit sky, disappearing into blackness. From the back pages of his mind, a picture began to take shape. There was an odd sense of familiarity to the scene. Jay stared at the pinpricked canopy of stars twinkling overhead, cradling a vast universe of secrets. For some strange reason, it felt like he was staring up at the night sky from another vantage point. Not Lake Itasca.
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Something in the darkness told Jay to take a closer look. Without understanding why, his gaze was diverted from the night sky to the woods behind his house. For reasons he couldn’t explain, Jay pondered an unanswerable question: once written in the stars, can destiny be changed? It struck him it was better not to know. The Earth seemed to stand still while a memory slipped through his fingers. Whatever it was, the image had tucked itself just out of reach.