Tales from Beyond the Sunrise

By Nick Cascione

Tales from Beyond the Sunrise is a collection of imaginative and inspirational short stories. The characters in these tales find themselves facing amazing and at times, peculiar situations. Otherworldly occurrences are key elements that create an atmospheric unknown in each story, which aligns itself with underlining spiritual tones. Although these characters may be ordinary in every sense of the word, it is the notion of being thrusted into extraordinary circumstances that deems them anything but ordinary. Rather, through these arising events, inevitably become enlightened.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jan 12, 2022
• ISBN: 9781098089252

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Tales from Beyond the Sunrise

Nick Cascione

Copyright © 2021 by Nick Cascione

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Batter Up

Rest Stop in Sunnyvale

Top Floor, Please

Flickering Lights

The Other Side of the Bridge

Tonino and Veronica

The Chosen Ones

The Christmas Town

For my dad, Dominick, who recently passed away and went home to be with God in heaven. I dedicate this book and these stories to you, Dad, in your loving memory. I will never forget all you taught me, and you will be in my heart forever. I love you, Dad!

Batter Up

An ordinary pleasant spring day in a small town. The year 1955 makes way for a Little League baseball game, which is well underway like so many others across the nation. Little kids enjoy the great national pastime on a smaller scale but not unlike its big brother: the Major Leagues.

Little Earl Munson, age twelve, is playing in one of the most important baseball games of his young life. All he ever talks about is wanting to become a professional baseball player playing for his favorite team, the New York Yankees. This game between his Cardinals and their rival, Cubs, happens to be a decisive game, which will advance the winner to the playoffs with hopes of making it to the championship game. The Cardinals are down by one run and have last ups so this is it—the time to make it happen. Losing the game only gives one the option of watching the rest of the short sixteen game season from the park’s small grandstand.

There are two outs, and the bases are loaded. The umpire in charge of this exciting ballgame yells out, Batter up! Little Earl Munson walks timidly up to the plate with his teammates screaming positive expressions like, You can do it! and Wait for your pitch! A word from the coach as he gets closer to the batters’ box, Just make contact, but if he walks you, the game is tied, so wait for your pitch. If he gets that hit that everyone is hoping for, then chances are two runs will score, and they will win the game.

The count quickly tallies up to a full count, three balls and two strikes. The game is to be decided on the next strike or hit or become tied on ball four. Tension has mounted for both teams, and here comes the pitch. The few enthusiastic fans in the bleachers from both sides of the diamond cheer on their teams. Earl’s father yells out, Come on, Earl ‘The Pearl’, you could do it. Get a hold of one!

The opposing pitcher releases the pitch, which arrives quickly down the middle of the plate. Earl swings wildly and misses the perfect pitch. Game over. The Cubs win and are going to the playoffs. The Cardinals’ season is over, and one of Earl’s teammates yells out in disgust, I knew he would strike out.

The Cardinal players seem to all have tears in their eyes while Earl stands alone at home plate with tears of his own. Not one of his teammates goes over to console him with any compassion. The Cubs celebrate loudly at the pitcher’s mound. As the spectators begin to disperse following the end of the game, Earl’s coach never gets the opportunity to talk with Earl for when he finally drops his bat, he decides to hop on his bicycle and take off, allowing his father to call out his name in a caring way. Living only a few blocks from the park, Earl decides to ride home in utter disappointment rather than take on any more embarrassment.

On his bike ride home, Earl pulls off into a nearby alley and finds an isolated spot. He gets off his bike and does not bother with the kickstand. Rather he lets go of the bike, allowing it to hit the ground hard. He walks a few feet from his bike then sits down on the ground amongst some debris. He begins to cry. Yelling at himself, Why couldn’t I just make contact with the ball? Just get one measly hit! He further speaks to himself while continuing to cry aloud, I wish I could have one more chance to bat up to get that big hit instead of striking out, just one more chance. After a few moments of wallowing in his pity, he gets up and walks toward his bike, but he loses his balance after tripping over a metal object laying on the ground, thus hitting his head on the unforgiving pavement below. Some sort of weird-looking fog suddenly appears and approaches the desolate alley where Earl lay unconscious, enveloping the entire area in a mystical manner.

Time passes and pictured on top of a secluded hilltop, a beautiful Beverly Hills mansion is surrounded by a dense-looking fog rolling in. Peering into a bedroom window of this mansion is a sight of an elderly man lying in his bed. It is some sixty-five years later, distancing itself from that tragic loss on the Little League baseball field, and seventy-seven-year-old Earl The Pearl Munson is awoken by his doorbell to the tune of Take Me Out to the Ball Game. Earl is known throughout the baseball world as one of the game’s greatest ballplayers who ever played the game. He owns the home run record with a total of 788, collected 3627 hits and has a lifetime batting average of .357 and was also known for his amazing defensive skills in the outfield. Arguably, there was no one better in the game then or since.

The man at the door is Earl’s agent, Rooney Palms, who then knocks loudly after no response. The maid finally comes to let Mr. Palms in. He rudely marches in barely saying hello to the smiling maid who apologized for the delay. As he walks abruptly upstairs, he yells out to Earl, Let’s get a move on, Earl ‘The Pearl!’ While stretching his arms in bed, Earl welcomes his agent into his room. It is time for another baseball card signing show where Earl Munson is the top billing marquee once again. Earl is tired of going to all these baseball card signing shows and pleads with his agent, Rooney, if they could cancel today’s participation in the show.

He states, I would rather go for a nice walk in the park instead. His agent blows that idea off quickly stating they have an obligation to be there for those awaiting Earl’s presence. He tells him how he just cannot walk around a park for he would get mobbed by everyone because he has one of the most recognizable faces on the planet. Earl normally cannot walk around like others in the world, too much of a frenzy is what would happen like Beatlemania, in years past. Other than the managed baseball card shows, he rarely is seen in public, but has made hundreds of commercials since his retirement. Even during his failed two marriages, he kept to himself. So in the last fifty years or so, he stays within the confines of his home—a sad thought but nevertheless a reality.

A limousine arrives at a large arena with many people inside awaiting a superstar, a baseball superstar. Earl The Pearl steps out of the limousine with his agent, Rooney Palms, and many of the people still in line waiting to get in go berserk. The star will receive $100,000 for his services. Not bad for five hours of work, well, signing your name to a bunch of baseballs, pictures, and posters anyway. Just a glimpse of him makes the crowd go ballistic. It is the equivalent of Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron walking in together somewhere.

There must be around twenty thousand people within the arena. Security guards intervene to protect Earl from many people trying to get close enough to touch him. Everyone has their cell phones in their hands taking as many pictures of him as he walks by them. At the end of the five-hour shift with only one twenty-minute break and sipping from a large glass of water with slices of lemon inside, the great Earl Munson attempts to sign the last baseball of the day. It is held by a young boy named Billy, around the age of eleven or twelve. The boy could hardly compose himself standing in front of his idol, Earl the Pearl Munson. The smile on Billy’s face said it all. Admiration for one’s hero is part of a kid’s childhood.

After his anxiety diminishes of meeting his idol, the now-composed little boy begins to tell Earl about how earlier in the day while playing in his Little League baseball game, something had happened that changed his feelings about the great game of baseball. But Earl Munson has no time to chitchat to anyone else any longer. The day has been long, and it is now time to finally go home once his John Hancock was applied to this baseball. He just wants to sign the kid’s baseball and get out of there as quickly as possible. The boy’s father, who instilled this admiration about this famous ballplayer into his son, tells him how Mr. Munson is a terribly busy man. Billy mumbles out a whispered thank you after Earl signs his baseball, who is now in a somber mood because his idol would not take the time to listen to his heartbreaking day. As the father and son walk away from the great baseball star, Billy tells his father how he only wanted to tell the baseball legend how his team was only one hit away from making the playoffs. Earl speaks out to Billy, What’s that kid?

Well, you see, Mr. Munson, I was up with two outs in the last inning with loaded bases, and we were down by one run. All I had to do was get a hit, and we probably would have won. Billy begins to cry as he continues his story. I struck out, said Billy sadly. He further states, And then our season was over. I don’t think I want to play baseball anymore. He then drops his head in shame.

Earl tells Billy not to be mad at the game just