The Halls of Forever

During his last moments on earth, a young World War II pilot made a promise to his girl back home. "Dearest Jill, I feel I have always known you and will love you through the halls of forever. Although we can no longer be together in this life, I promise that somehow, someday we'll find each other again. Laurel Matthews discovers Jill Sullivan's photo in an old family album and is convinced she's met her somewhere before. But Jill died long before she was born. The picture rekindles childhood dreams of a girl like Jill, playing with a boy in a wheat field, which is now a long established housing tract. Her curiosity leads her to one of the town's oldest citizens, Sara Edwards. Sara weaves a tale around the town of Crown Point, Indiana, and the love her son, Danny, had for Jill. Laurel is enchanted with their tragic love story and wishes she could meet someone like Danny. Her own marriage has ended in betrayal, shattering all her dreams for the future. Laurel's father recently bought Antonelli's Garden Center from his late wife's relatives. He asks Laurel to come out and take over as his office manager for a few weeks. As soon as she arrives, she meets two new friends, Jeff Kavanaugh and her shirttail relative, Cassie Antonelli. When Cassie sees Jeff and Laurel together, she is convinced they've been together in a prior life and are destined for one another. Laurel dismisses the idea as nonsense, reminding Cassie that Jeff already has a girlfriend, a blonde goddess of epic proportions. As Cassie resorts to every trick in the book to bring them together, Laurel grows more and more attracted to Jeff. She is caught in a tangle of emotions---mourning love lost, reliving a love which can only exist in dreams, and longing for a relationship with Jeff, the man who will never see her as anything but a friend. Laurel begins to question the very foundation of her scientific worldview. Is she Jill Sullivan reborn and destined to find Danny in this life? Or will fate only tear them apart again?

Linda Faulkner lives in the foothills of the Sierras with her husband. She has performed extensively as a flutist and singer in the northern California region and published articles about people in the arts. She currently plays First Chair Flute with her community symphony and is busy honing her skills as a pianist. Linda also volunteers as a first responder at Sierra at Tahoe Ski Resort and is a long time member of National Ski Patrol.