Eternal Love

By Timothy Zurcher

There is only a week of school left for Jeff Ruth. He works as a maintenance man at the local cemetery after school. Jeff notices a strange man that goes into the cemetery every day. This man sits and stares at a tombstone said to be his wifes. Rumor in the small town is that the man is a cold-blooded killer. It is said he murdered his wife with his bare hands. Everyone stays away from him at all times. Until one day, Jeff comes face to face with the local killer. Jeff soon realizes this killer might not be the person he is viewed as.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Mar 13, 2017
• ISBN: 9781524577926

Timothy Zurcher

Timothy Zurcher was born in the small town of Uhrichsville, Ohio. Found out he loved to write as a young child. Fell in love with writing poetry and short stories. He would often stay up nights writing literature that came to him in the night. Loves the outdoors and being in nature. Often does much of his writing outside. Tim writes wide varieties of genres. From romance to horror stories, and everything in between. He has a deep love for his family and friends that surround him. Eternal love is his first published book. Tim hopes to earn a master's degree in Occupational Therapy. He also hopes to publish numerous books in different genres.

Book preview

Chapter 1

Today, in our world, it is so dark and so cold. People have lost sight of what love really is. Some have never even witnessed true love in their lives. I got lucky enough to know what real love is in its purest form.

My name is Jeff Ruth. I was a teenage groundskeeper at the town cemetery in 2010. My job was typically easy and extremely boring. Every day after school, I had to walk around the cemetery and collect the trash that punk kids would leave in there every night. It was always the same stuff, chip bags and some beer cans tossed around. When I wasn’t collecting trash, I was mowing and trimming hedges. In the winter, I would shovel snow and throw down salt. We don’t have the luxury of all-year warm temperatures here in little old Uhrichsville, Ohio.

I came from one of those towns where everyone knows everyone. The kids would ride all over town on bikes in their little gangs. If something happened, the news would spread like a California wildfire. But at the same time, when someone needed help, the community would provide. In the summer, there was nothing like that little town. The smell of fires and the sound of country music would bombard your car as you drove around the streets. There were endless nights of laughter and corn-hole tournaments. The good times and freedom were endless. Every summer night, there was always a Little League game down at the parks to watch. There was always a do-or-die basketball game on the park court with people of all ages. There would be a backyard football game anywhere there was open grass. It was the absolute place to be when school left and summer arrived.

I was a skinny brown-haired sixteen-year-old boy. I usually tried to always wear what was in style at that moment, like a dumb kid. I worked at the cemetery just to get some extra money to pay for gas and Taco Bell.

Every day was the same story at work, day in and day out. I’d show up, get my list of duties that the boss would leave me, and get to it. I’d do my rounds and usually listen to music on my headphones. Music would help the time go a little bit faster at least. I was constantly surrounded by a seemingly endless sea of tombstones of all shapes and sizes. It was kinda cool to see all the different names and dates that surrounded me.

Every day there was always a strange guy there. He just sat there and stared at the same tombstone every day, as if he was having a conversation with it in his mind. The guys at work said they heard he went there and sat every day because he killed his wife one night. He murdered her with his bare hands when he was drunk. They said he was a complete waste of life, and he went and sat there every day as if to tell her he was sorry. So we all stayed away from him and let him do his own thing.

Little did I know my life would change one warm spring afternoon. I was on my usual trash route, actually enjoying my job since the vivid pink tulips had exploded into bloom. I was humming a song in my head as I was enjoying the warm sunshine that kissed my face. I was not really looking around. I kept my head down while collecting trash and sticks from the cool grass. As I rounded a shrub, I finally looked up. Right in front of me was a faded old green lawn chair, falling apart at the seams. The chair had holes all in the back and looked like an ancient artifact that shoulda been in a museum. Then he turned around and stood up. I completely froze in my tracks, unsure what to think or do. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. I was eye to eye with the town killer. We stood there and examined each other in a long silence.

He stood tall in his beat-up old brown work boots and faded blue jeans. He was wearing a plain white T-shirt that looked like it came straight out of the package. He had a full head of light-gray hair that almost shined in the sunlight. His face was clear and clean-shaven. Even for looking like he had a few miles on him, he stood tall and stout, like a renowned former warrior that never aged in his mind or heart. What struck me by complete surprise were his pale blue eyes that were almost gray. They carried the softest look I have ever seen in a person. I felt like they were entering my very soul. I felt an uneasy smile cross my face, and he smiled back as if mirroring me.

Hello, sir, how are you doin’ today? I said to break the silence as quickly as I could.

He kept those pale eyes locked onto mine and then spoke. His voice was so soft and smooth. I thought I might have heard him speak in a commercial on TV, one of those commercials where they try to make people cry. As he kept his eyes locked onto mine and spoke, I could feel my shoulders loosen up a little.

I’m doing fine, young man. Just came to say hello to the missus for a little bit.

I felt a gulp build up in the back of my throat after hearing him say that.

You work here, Jeff?

I saw him looking at my gray groundskeeper jacket with my name on it.

Yes, sir, I’m here every day, I said as I swallowed that lump in the back of my throat. I felt like I had attempted to swallow a golf ball.

I know. I see you walk around.

He stuck his old wrinkled hand out, with veins protruding in every direction like roots under an old tree.

Dan Williams, he said as he gripped my hand firmly, looking me in the eye as he did.

Uhm, Jeff … Jeff Ruth, I said as I tried to sound manly. I tried to hold his gaze, but I felt his eyes looking into me, like he was finding out everything about me through my eyes. I looked away quickly in discomfort.

I think he sensed my unease and spoke to ease my mind. How old are you, young man? he asked with a questioning look on his face.

I’m sixteen, sir, a sophomore at Claymont High School, I said with a bold smile on my face.

He let out a faint chuckle. I could have guessed that. You carry that look in your eye as if to take on the world.

We stood there smiling at each other for a few seconds. Two blue jays were singing their song of spring in the deep blue sky above us. We stood in the short silence for a moment.

A nice young man such as yourself have a girlfriend, Jeff? he said, still smiling.

No, sir, not a lot of luck with women lately. If you don’t play football or aren’t on the wrestling team, they don’t even look at you.

He chuckled softly at my response.

You know something, Jeff—times change, but people never do. That’s for sure, he said with a wide smile. I had the same problem when I was in school, far too long ago. The girls will soon realize the cool guys are bad news, and please call me Dan. You seem like a good, well-mannered young man.

Okay, Dan, I said with a big smile on my face.

So was this the missus? I said without thinking.

He looked at me quickly with a look of complete surprise on his face. He looked at me as if I had told him the cure for cancer. I felt embarrassed and looked at the ground, feeling terrible for what I had just said. An uneasy lump built up in the back of my throat. The silence was awkward until I looked back at Dan.

He was staring up into the beautiful clear blue sky. He looked like he was searching for the answer to my question in the clouds, like the answer was floating somewhere in space. Then he looked me directly in the eyes. I saw a brilliant shimmer of light in those old gray eyes. I had never seen such a thing in my life until that day. It seemed to almost mesmerize me. He raised his arm and pointed to the tombstone that said Claire Williams (1940–1962).

There she is, boy, he said in a calm, soothing voice. He was still staring at the tombstone as he spoke to me.

A single shimmering tear rolled from his eye. I watched it slowly fall to the cool grass at his feet. I felt so bad for bringing it up at this point. I started to slowly back away from him.

He spoke and froze me in my tracks. Jeff, you aren’t gonna believe me, but I have only loved one woman my entire life. I have never even gazed at another woman since she passed, he said, looking at me with that vibrant shimmer in his eyes. She made life seem like a glorious dream, one of those dreams that are so real you pour your heart and soul into it. Except this dream happened while I was conscious. It was a never-ending dream every day with her.

What happened to her? I asked with a questioning look on my face.

She died in a horrible car accident at the age of twenty-two, he said in a low sorrowful voice.

I’m so sorry I brought it up, I said, looking him in the eyes, which appeared to be staring straight through me, daydreaming.

Don’t be sorry, boy, he said with a powerful yet soft voice. That magnificent shimmer once again filled his eyes instantly.

She gave me enough love to last me the rest of my life here on earth until I see her and live the dream once again, he said as he turned his wrinkled finger and pointed to the beautiful blue spring sky. Young man, every once in a while, God pairs up two people that were meant to be together since the beginning of time itself. When these two people are together, there appears to be no evil in the world. When these two people meet, it is almost like a message sent from God letting us know he really does exist.

His words dug their way right through me to my core. I was totally amazed that people like that still even existed on this earth. I thought men like that only existed in movies you take girls to, just to see them cry. When he spoke, he really spoke. He had a strong, rugged posture; yet there was a soft welcoming tone to his voice.

My head was filled with thousands of questions for him that instantly entered my mind. I felt like he was a sorcerer of some sort that could answer any question I could throw at him.

How do you know if you have found that person? was the only question out of thousands that I could mutter.

He stood there smiling at me, as if that question was the single greatest question I could have asked him.

Jeff, if you meet me here tomorrow, I will answer that very question and all the others you have. He let out a soft chuckle as he stuck his hand out in agreement.

I thought about what everyone said about him for a few seconds, how he was a cold-blooded killer and dangerous. But I did not see that, so I reached out and shook his hand.

Yes, sir, absolutely, I said excitedly while shaking his