The Tale of the Everlasting Candle

Somewhere close to three hundred years ago, a young business man, his lovely wife and their beautiful daughter lived in a small, but well built and lovely cabin on a coastal island. The man worked for one of the plantation owners on the island, and would often have to spend days or weeks traveling on ships to other ports along the coast. His little family always went down to the docks when he arrived home, where they would cheerfully greet him with smiles and hugs. Sometimes, the father would bring back special treats for his precious little girl. Oh, he loved her so! She was the center of his world!

One afternoon, when the father arrived at the dock, his wife and daughter were not there. He struck out on the sandy road heading home, thoughts racing and wondering as to why his family had not been there to greet him. This was quite unusual, and he was worried. When the cabin into view, he noticed how very quiet it was. He broke into a run and nearly tore the door off the hinges going inside. There, he discovered his wife, lying so very still in their bed, face flushed, and barely alive. She had the fever. His precious daughter was sitting beside her mother, dutifully wiping her mothers brow with a cool, moist piece of cloth. “Oh, father, mama has been so ill! I tried to help her, but I didn’t know what to do and I’m scared father!” cried the little girl. The man took his daughter into his arms and told her she had done just fine for a little girl of only five years. He then sent her outside to get some fersh water from the well.

Throughout the night, the father stood watch over his wife. The nearest doctor would be days away as there was no physician on their island. He bathed her in the cool water, he tried to get her to drink. Nothing he done could save her. The fever had claimed another soul. They lay her body to rest on a small patch of ground under a live oak tree in the church cemetery. Both father and daughter were grief stricken. But, as were the times, life had to go on.

One of the ladies in their little community offered to take care of his daughter while he was on his trips for the plantation owner. She would care of her until he could find another wife, which was customary in those days. The father didn’t want another, as he had loved his wife with all his heart. He also knew that he needed to provide a mother for his daughter, and that he could not continue to take advantage of the nice lady who had offered to care for her. He decided that when the proper mourning time had passed, he would indeed look for a new wife in earnest.

He found her on one of his journeys. She was the daughter of a wealthy client he had worked with in the past. She had never married, and was considered by many to be a spinster. She was quiet, not much to look at, but seemed to have a gentle way. He spent as much time as he could with her, telling her about his little cabin on the island and about his beautiful daughter before asking her to be his bride. She, seeing things through his eyes, agreed.

When they arrived on the island, his daughter was waiting with a pretty bouquet of freshly picked wildflowers for her new mother. The father had a wagon waiting to carry his new bride and all her things to her new home. She greeted her new step-daughter, and carefully took the flowers so as not to soil her gloves. The messy things would leave green stains or dirt on them. She quickly threw them in the back of the wagon. The father, who was excited, didn’t notice this gesture, but the poor little girl did. She knew at that moment that this woman would never be a mother to her.

The new bride was miserable from the very first day. She couldn’t imagine what had made her decide to move to this God forsaken place, or why she had agreed to be a wife and mother. Oh, well, this was her lot in life, she had chosen it, and she would make do the best she could. She quickly learned didn’t like being a wife when her new husband had exercised his husbandly rights, and she hated the little girl that seemed to always be needing something or was in her way. She had servants back home. Here, she had to do everything herself, the cooking, the washing, the mending, the cleaning, the tending to the garden. Oh how she hated her new life. But she never showed this to her new husband.

She learned to look forward to her husbands trips, especially since they were for longer and longer time periods. Sometimes, he was gone a whole month! She dreaded the days he returned. She had already figured out a way to keep that brat of his in line – she kept her locked in the small outside shed most of the time, only allowing her out for small meals and trips to the outhouse. She told her that if she ever told her father, it would upset her father terribly and she’d really be sorry. The little girl loved her father and would never upset him, so she kept quiet about her horrible new life. Her step-mother always made sure to cover her behavior in such a way that the father never suspected a thing. The little girl learned to put a smile on her face so as not to give away the horrid secrets that was her life.

She hated most the absolute darkness. She imagined all the bugs and spiders that must be in the shed. She missed the sunshine, the smell of the woods and the wildflowers, and the sand between her toes. She missed watching the clouds form shapes in the sky and feeling the drops of cool rain on her skin in the heat of a summer afternoon. Day in, day out, every season, the poor girl was stuck in the dark, damp shed. Maybe once a week, if it was sunny, her step-mother would sometimes allow her out of the shed and make her sit in a chair in the sunshine so her pale skin wouldn’t betray her time in the darkness. She wasn’t allowed to move or play, but at least she was out in the sunshine, even if only for a short time.

For several years, this awful behavior continued. The step-mother seemed to become more bitter and evil as time passed, now often beating the girl for some accused wrong before putting her in the shed. She was slowly losing her grip on her sanity, but didn’t realize it. She had allowed her bitterness to consume her. She became more careless, more slovenly in her ways and allowed her appearance to slip, often remaining in her night clothes for days. Yet when her husband was home, all appearances changed. She would keep the girl out of the shed, working herself and the girl in a frenzy to clean up the accumulated mess. When he arrived home, she would always portray the loving wife and mother, never allowing him to see her true ways. He simply never knew.

One spring afternoon, he arrived home a few days early. He had bought new dresses for his wife and daughter, along with a few other special treats to celebrate a new promotion. To keep everything as a surprise, he didn’t notify anyone that he would be home early. He happily took off on his way home, carrying his packages with a bounce in his step and joy in his heart. He was so thankful for his blessings, for his beautiful daughter and his loving wife. He was happy to be home, especially when he had such wonderful news to share. He had no idea as to what awaited him.

He walked up the eerily quiet cabin, fearfully remembering the time he had came home to his first wife. He ran up, opened the door and was appalled at what he found. The inside of the cabin was in shambles. He saw his wife in her night clothes sitting in her chair. She jumped like she had been shot when he burst through the door. He looked around an didn’t see his daughter. Fear gripped him. He ran over to his wife, grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her while he yelled “Where is she? What have you done?” “But, but, you’re not supposed to be here! You’re simply not supposed to be here!” is all she could say. He dropped her and ran through the house, fearfully searching and calling but not finding her. He ran outside and began to call her. He finally heard her weak cries coming from the shed.

He ran to the shed, ripped open the door and grabbed his frightened little girl and sat down sobbing. “Oh, father”, she cried, “I’m so sorry! I tried to be good, I really did. I’m sorry I am so dirty and that I smell so bad, but she didn’t let me out like she usually does. I think she forgot about me this time. I didn’t mean to upset you father! Don’t cry, please don’t cry.” And so they sat for more than an hour, comforting each other and him learning of the terrible, dark filled life his precious daughter had been living for the past 6 years. Never had a man felt so low. And never had a daughter felt such joy. It was now over.

The father managed to keep his temper in check while he gathered the horrible woman’s things and put them onto the wagon. He put her on the first ship headed up the coast and gave instructions for her to be delivered to her family, along with a letter explaining why she was there. She had fully lost her mind, and all she would do is repeat “But you’re not supposed to be here, just not supposed to be here.…” She boarded the ship and they never saw her again, nor did they ever want to.

The first thing the father did was take down all the curtains in the house. He swore to his daughter that she would never have to be in the dark again. He tore down the awful shed that had been her prison for so long. He went into town and bought every candle that was available, along with a new oil lamp and enough oil for a year. Their life took on new meaning. The took pleasure in the simple things that had missed for so long. The father’s promotion allowed him to remain at home now, never having to sail out again. The daughter took over the running of the house, the father enjoyed his time at home.

As the years past, the little girl grew into a beautiful young lady. She was now of the age to begin having suitors. Many young men came to visit their humble home to see her, as she was said to be the fairest of all the young women on the whole coast and would make quite a catch for some young man. But alas, their past problems would come back to haunt them. When a young man seemed to be getting a bit serious, the father would have a talk with him and explain that who ever chose to marry his daughter would have to solemnly promise to burn a candle or a lamp by her bed every night, as she had a terrible fear of the dark. Well, no young man was ready for the expense of such a promise, as candles and oil were expensive and sometimes difficult to obtain. One by one, the suitors would quit visiting.

One evening, a young man that she had met at her father’s work place came calling. They chatted, ate supper, and talked about the current events up and down the coast. They included the father in their conversations, and seemed to enjoy each others company. Months went by, and the father knew it was time for him to talk to the young man. Sadly, he explained the promise, just as he had so many time before, knowing that the outcome would probably break his daughters heart once again. But he was surprised. The young man, instead of fleeing like the other past, replied that if he could have the lovely daughters hand in marriage, then he would gladly burn a thousand candles! The father was overjoyed and gave the young couple his blessing. They were married in the fall.

They moved to a small house just down the road from her father. With him being alone and getting older, she didn’t want to be too far away. Her husband was as good as his word, and kept his promise to her father. Every evening, he would place a candle by her bed, and when he kissed her goodnight, he lit the candle. In the mornings, he would gather the melted wax into a small bowl to reuse. And as always, time passed.

The now old father passed away quietly one winter night in his sleep. He was laid to rest by his young wife from so many years before. The young couple also grew older, seeing their own children grow up and move away to the cities. Life was changing on the island, and there simply wasn’t anything to hold their children there. They took care of each other in their old age, each one doing what the other could not. But the husband still burned a candle by her bed every night. Not one single night had she ever had to be in the dark, just like he had promised.

When she passed away, she was laid to rest near her parents. The old man missed her terribly. He kept his promise though. Every evening, regardless of the weather, he walked down to the cemetery where she now lay. He had built a little shelter of sorts for a candle by the head of her grave. No wind or rain would be able to put it out in the middle of the night. He took her a fresh candle and lit it every evening, often staying long enough to tell her some news of the day, or read a letter he had received from one of the children or grandchildren. He would then walk back to their little home, sometimes waving, smiling or saying hello to a passing neighbor.

Over the years, the island had grown, and most people knew about the crazy old man and his candle, but few remained that were old enough to know the real story or the reason the old man made the walk every evening at dusk. When it was finally discovered that he had died in his sleep, many people couldn’t believe it. The new undertaker said he had been dead at least a week when he was found, but many people said he couldn’t have been, as they had seen him walking towards the graveyard or had seen the candle burning by his wife’s grave. People really began to talk when the candlelight was seen weeks and months after he had been buried beside his dear wife. Many began avoiding the road in the evenings for fear of seeing the mans ghost out for his evening walk.

Over the years, people came and went, the plantations ceased to exist. The island simply changed with the times. More and more people were buried in the same cemetery and any memory of the old couple faded away. In more modern times, pavement replaced the once sandy little roads, large homes replaced the cabins, and automobiles replaced the old buggies and wagons. Now, no one remembers their names, nor exactly where they are buried, but even now, almost three hundred years later, if you walk by the cemetery at night, in between the shadows of the headstones, live oaks, magnolias and the azaleas, if you look closely, you can see a candle glowing in the darkness. Just a soft shimmer that tells the tale of a little girl that will never have to be afraid of the dark, a tale of true love, a promise made, and one single, glowing everlasting candle.



© Dorothy Taylor