Blue Castle Sinners Revised and Updated

By Ms. Pamela

Maintaining the family winter tradition, Pastor Haugen with his wife, Helen and their three teenage children whisked away to South Lake Tahoe after Christmas and will remain there until the New Year. Upon reaching their destination, they notice a Range Rover has stalled in front of their property. Two gentlemen are waiting for roadside assistance.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ms. Pamela
• Release date: Feb 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9781088020555

Ms. Pamela

Ms. Pamela, a contemporary Christian author has written poetry, plays and short reads for over two decades. Blue Castle Sinners is her second published work. Most recently, "Twins at the Well," a captivating Christmas tale and "It's Quajuuh's Turn" are two of her children's books that will surely delight the hearts of young readers around the world.

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Blue Castle Sinners Revised and Updated

Blue Castle Sinners Revised and Updated

Blue Castle Sinners Revised and Updated

Ms. Pamela

Ms. Pamela

Copyright © 2015 Ms. Pamela

All rights reserved

The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.

Cover design by: Wide Sky Studio

Printed in the United States of America

Oh! Heavenly Father,

To imagine you so wondrously painted the earthly skies and layers of galaxies, designed our planet’s landscapes with colors arrayed since the creation and oceans from clear pastels to the darkest hues—only the one true living God!

I am honored to have the privilege of this special assignment in the form of creative writing and blessed with the inspiration of your holy scriptures with their specific meaning and to share how countless their applications are for living this brief life. Thank you for considering an imperfect person to fulfill your perfect will.

All praises to you! Bless your holy name, Elohim!

One of the daughters of the Tribe of Judah,

Ms. Pamela

The Word of God is inclusive to all—Heaven is exclusive to all who hear His Word and obey.

Ms. Pamela

Contents

Copyright

Dedication

notes

One Traditions

Two The Good Deed

Three Getting Away

Four The Lie In Truth

Five Musing

Six The Darkness of Dawn

Seven The Gone Factor

Eight Eyes of Recompense

Nine The Ultimate Appeal

Ten Nightmare's Overture

Eleven Guarding Reputations

Twelve For the Sake of Appearances

Thirteen The Elder's Enigma

Fourteen The Demise of Intent

Fifteen Ingrid's Letter of Discontentment

Sixteen The Luccia House

Seventeen In Thinking (Signature Chapter)

About The Author

One

Traditions

Each year the week following Christmas, Pastor Anders Haugen, his wife Helen, and three children venture off to their family vacation home. Helen, a native Californian, inherited the luxurious large four-bedroom cabin nestled away in the picturesque hills of South Lake Tahoe—two hours away from their home in Elk Grove, a Sacramento, California suburb. Helen’s slender body and long legs kept her active in local and national swimming competitions in her youth. While growing up she, her parents and brother enjoyed summer boating and fishing. During the winter, they snow sled and skied at their favorite spots. Her brother Adam is a dairy farmer in Cody, Wyoming.

Pastor Haugen is the senior pastor at the Silver Rock Christian Center in Elk Grove. His natural blond hair and blue eyes, along with his tall and husky build are the result of his Norwegian heritage. In the 1940s, his parents settled in Northern California from a tiny village outside of Oslo. He has two brothers living in the Los Angeles area, Nilas and Rasmin. His parents, who have since passed away were devout Lutherans.

Twenty-plus years ago, Pastor Haugen decided to leave the Lutheran church and seek out his own path to teach a simpler yet, fundamental road to salvation. He has enjoyed a solid steady growth at the congregation over the years.

All three of their children Peter, Andrew and Sarah are involved in youth ministries. Andrew, a junior in high school is taller than his father and he plays football. He bears the resemblance of Helen. Peter was born in January, and Sarah in December of the same year. Both attend middle school. Sarah resembles her father. She inherited her mother’s swimming trait and competes locally. Peter runs track and is the family’s techie whiz kid.

This is the time when the Haugens’ schedules come to a halt, and they reconnect as a family. The pastor and his wife catch up on their reading and they all take full advantage of the winter season.

Thank you, Father, for another day! Time to get up Anders if we plan to leave around eleven! says Helen, as she stretches her

arms from under the sheets.

Morning, Helen. It’s seven already. You’ve got to be kidding me.

Good morning. Now you know I don’t kid around about this vacation. It seemed to me when it was announced last night at church we would be away for our traditional week. Everyone realized they had to have a moment. We just stayed a little longer than we normally do.

 I know! But sweetheart that’s the life of being a pastor.

 No. That’s the life of being a good pastor. Now let’s get up.

Helen kneels on the side of the bed and begins her morning prayer. Pastor Haugen walks toward the window and stretches his arms.

 Thank you, Lord, for another day! he says in a soft voice.

♦  ♦  ♦

Meanwhile in San Francisco...

As you drive up to 38661 Tierra Lynn Lane in the area of Sea Cliff, the plush foliage and huge double ornate white glass-stained doors symbolizes the residents’ wealth. The surrounding homes balance privacy and sophistication as they are uniquely arrayed on the hills. The backdrop of the San Francisco Bay is spectacular as the layers of fog add to this mysterious ambience.

Daniel Piattoni is the owner of this palatial home for over 17 years, and most refer to him as Dan. This fifty-five-year-old is six-feet tall, bronze toned, and medium-built with salt and pepper clean-cut thick hair. Dan always has an abundance of dry humor, which he himself admits from time to time is a tad off. Never married and no children, he spends a great deal of his time working from home managing his real estate businesses. However, when time permits, being five minutes away from the Pacific Ocean, he walks there to enjoy the tranquility of the magnificent waves. He works tirelessly in the community on a couple of boards advocating for social issues of disadvantaged people and poor musically inclined students in San Francisco and the surrounding areas. All the years of long arduous hours and lack of sleep, he slowly developed illnesses and one in particular is multiple sclerosis.

In the spring, Cane Peters became his temporary houseguest and personal assistant. Cane is six-feet and five inches tall, extremely handsome with model-like features complemented with reddish blond hair and green eyes. Originally from Kentucky, his undeniable southern accent always captures curiosity from others. He works part-time and does other odd jobs for Dan. Cane has become a dependable and trustworthy employee.

There is a knock at Dan’s bedroom door.

Cane come on in and don’t bother asking.

And good morning to you too.

Cane speaks from behind the door as he pushes the door open with his shoulder and steadily balancing a tray of tea.

The room is pale beige with white ornate crown molding. Hunter green drapes cover the east and south windows to complement the imported French mahogany bedroom suite. To the west, a quaint fireplace is paired with a portrait of his mother, the late Mrs. Luccia Piattoni, hanging above.

The tea is steeping from a porcelain white and black rose teapot accompanied by dry wheat toast and his morning cannabis pill perfectly laid across the white cloth napkin.

Morning. I don’t know how good it is, but it’s finally morning. No, seriously, I slept horrible and had an odd of sort's dream.

Odd of sorts. Sorry to hear, but Dan I slept like a newborn baby. And I can’t wait to get away from this place to smell some fresh mountain air.

After this horrible night of sleeping a few days in South Lake Tahoe will probably settle my mind. The dream was ghastly.

Ghastly?

Never mind. I don’t know why I bothered mentioning I had an awful dream to you.

Okay. This morning is going south. Good morning, Sir Dan. So, you didn’t sleep well! Care to share? Take your green monster and I’m sure you will feel better.

Dan stares in disgust as he swallows the pill and sips tea.

All jokes aside. Please tell me about your dream. You know I have insight to meanings. Seriously! he suggests as he opens the drapes.

I was laying stretched out in the freezing snow on top of warm money—literally hundreds, if not thousands of bills. Snow was everywhere and my hands were frozen. I couldn’t move. I believe I wanted to feel the money, but I couldn’t.

Let me think about this one. Snow. Money. Hmmm.

No, I’m not done. My mother always wore this signature perfume, and I could actually smell it. It was so real. I didn’t see her, but just as I can smell this tea I’m sipping, I recognized an old familiar scent. How bizarre, don’t you think?

Is your mom’s birthday or the day of her death near?

No. Nothing like that.

Hmmm. Usually when you dream about people who have passed on it means you deeply miss them, requiring some type of closure or you are going to hear from someone living that you’ve not heard from in quite a while.

Cane, maybe it’s a bad sign and we should postpone this trip!

Postpone this trip! You’ve got to be kidding! Right? This has been planned for some time. Did you eat something that didn’t agree with you before you went to bed? You know that will do it.

You know I rarely, if ever, eat anything before I go to sleep. Why even ask? Anyway, plans can be changed. Perhaps, in a couple of weeks we can make it up there.

This is so unlike you. Is this because your mother was a part of your dream? People dream about deceased parents, children and significant others all the time. It’s only normal to reach back to pleasant memories. You are taking this as some sort of omen and, furthermore, it makes you live by fear.

Cane sits in the window seat peering out and shakes his head in disappointment.

All right, Cane. Perhaps, you are correct and I’m the last one to believe omens and that silly nonsense. South Lake Tahoe here we come!

"Man, you had me going there for a minute. I dream a conundrum of crap and I say, oh well and keep it moving! Next time read a kid’s book before you go to bed—Hänsel and Gretel or something."

"Out of all the books, why would you suggest Hänsel and Gretel?"

No reason. Just off the cuff, I guess. Why? Don’t tell me you are superstitious about them too? 

Of course not! Don’t be silly. Would you mind reclosing the drapes please? I need a couple of more hours of sleep, and it will make me feel better before heading up the mountain.

I agree. Rested body, happy thoughts. I’ll check in on you in a couple of hours. And I’m relieved you didn’t change your mind.

As the door closed, he props his pillows and curls into a comfortable slumber position. Dan regrets changing his mind to postpone or even cancel it all together. Deep inside, strong reservations about the trip linger. Smelling his mother’s favorite perfume scent is too genuine to dismiss. Lately, his mother weighed heavily on his heart and how he longed for her. 

And Cane is selfish as usual. He knew seeing all white in a dream is never a good sign, and yet he lied to me because he desperately wants to get out of the city to escape his own demons. Why did I once again cave into yet another situation that makes me uncomfortable? He says to himself.

Suggesting Hänsel and Gretel isn’t a coincidence either. One of his longtime and dearest friends, Ingrid, was possibly going to commit suicide one evening and out of a gesture of desperation, he introduced her to the simplest of classical music. Specifically, Hänsel and Gretel’s Evening Prayer. Dan used the music to encapsulate the importance of everyone’s life being boundless in purpose. When this brief enchanting melody of music was written, the composer’s dream was for all who heard years after his passing to embrace its beauty. To this day, it is their binding secret and when her spirit requires solace, she plays the comforting piece.

What does all of this mean? Am I suffering from a paranoid anxiety disorder or overanalyzing a miniscule matter? Dan gets up, walks toward the fireplace, and opens a slender black tin box of matches and muses to light it—or not.

"Mom, were you here last night? Are you trying to tell me something? The Luccia House plans are coming along beautifully. A few details here and there to iron out, but prometto il suo cortese e amorevole spirito non sarà mai dimenticato. Mai!" says Dan as he rubs the border of the portrait. He promised to never forget his mother’s gracious and loving spirit. He lit a fire and sat down in the chair with visions of this memorial project that guided him into a gentle sleep.

Both men were in need of clarity and privacy to sort out thoughts and to formalize their individual future plans. However, this morning produced anxiousness for one and hesitance for the other.

Dan has traveled the world throughout his entire life. He bore witness to wealth and unspeakable poverty. His eclectic home displays are reminders of his global journeys with Aborigine art, Maasai masks, elegant Italian leather furnishings, and Persian rugs. However, the library served as a combination of social and academia gatherings. A black Fazioli piano belonging to his late Aunt Sovenia accentuated one corner.

Dan was once a Catholic, and now an atheist. As one who fully understood Christianity, he completely avoids any arguing or passing judgment on religious enthusiast. Most consider him brilliantly unusual with his acceptance and encouragement of others to practice any form of belief if it embraces peace and enlightenment.

When he initially met troubled Cane, he strongly urged him to seek balance and meaning through reading the Bible. Cane, a Christian with a Southern Baptist upbringing, sits quietly in the library reading his Bible as frankincense permeates the room. He hasn’t stepped foot in a church since leaving Kentucky almost a year ago. Deep within him, there is a yearning for tradition he left behind. South Lake Tahoe is assuredly not Kentucky, but the majestic mountains and open air will suffice. There are moments when Cane feels completely in control of his life, and then out of nowhere, a word or something insignificant will produce an insidious behavior or bouts of rage. All the while, Dan believes time and patience are the healing balm.

Dan’s late parents, Alonso and Luccia Piattoni, purchased the large South Lake Tahoe property in the late fifties as an investment. They never accomplished the goal of selling or considered renting. Their free time was spent mostly abroad, and they vacationed in South Lake Tahoe on occasion. However, when the Piattonis' did get around to vacationing there, it became one of Dan’s favorite places. His mother called it, The Healing Home. She believed with serious conviction the place truly had healing powers. Dan remembered witnessing his mother sprinkling holy oil throughout the home and praying intensely. It was peaceful and free from any business distractions. His father would proudly take over the kitchen and remind his mother that his cooking was what won her heart. Also, Mr. Piattoni reminded Dan of how he anticipated seeing his grandchildren there one day.

For Dan, this secluded tranquil property was one of nature’s hidden jewels he appreciated and visited often with his close