Beyond_The_Veil

Dear Morgan,

Now what do I say regarding this, to someone so beautifully chipper as you? What, do I simply dash a summer's day with the blight-ridden scythe of winter like some heartless ghoul? Take a saw to the oldest tree in the forest? Nae, I musn't, for I shudder to think of it.
However, there is no getting around the bad news, so I'm afraid I'll have to bring down at least the scythe's crook. Our chapel is shutting down for good. We've got no money, Morgan - we can't keep running this, no matter how much you love the "beauty of marriage." Tax credits aren't enough, these days.
I, myself, have anticipated this. I will be leaving for the coast in three days, and you will not see me for all three. I must prepare for a new life, a new chapter of things. I cannot let this go on any longer, no matter how much it means to the both of us.
Despite that, I do wish you well, with the best regards I can give. You're such a kind man, and - suffice it to say - I have spent many sleepless nights thinking about the divinity of what's between your legs. You have graced me, both carnally and not.
Due to this, I have left six hundred dollars enclosed within this envelope. One good grace deserves another, even in this hard time. Find a way to live without me, dear - I'm sure you'll make do.

Good night and good luck, my young Margrave,

Elias L.

.

Being left by dear Elias wrecked the heart of poor Morgan Margrave, and - worse yet - left him without much of a place in the world. He had his chapel, yes, but that was shutting down - and thus, leaving his ownership - so he'd only have the charity of strangers to go off on. Between a rock and a hard place, Morgan had to make a difficult choice; ford his way forward, or hang on to the past?

He hung on.

Severely.

When the Margrave Chapel was two steps away from a reposession, dear Morgan did not leave the premises. His life's work was here, officiating and planning the weddings of many a cute couple - how could he just leave that behind?

The bank was not pleased. They had a job to do with this chapel, and Morgan was standing in the way of it, stubbornly hanging on to property that was no longer his. They had to solve it somehow, someway, but little Margrave was being very, very reticent.

Luckily for them, a little tool called "a gun" proved very, very helpful in solving the Margrave problem - and in a beautiful way, too. Morgan could now truly be with his chapel forever, and they wouldn't have to deal with his protestations any longer.
.

Not 5 blocks out from the still-standing Margrave Chapel, hucksters running a roadside museum beguile young children with stories of ghosts haunting the grounds, giving putative reports of urban explorers hearing groans and moans throughout the former grounds.
Some even say stranger things, like being able to hear a loud gurgling...and, in some dire cases, being able to smell a foul stench. Only some have made it out alive, so the story goes, and the place remains a fixture for the paranormally-inclined today. Even those who do not believe what rolls off a huckster's tongue show up on the grounds, wanting to prove to themselves that their skepticism is - in some way - more justified than they believe.

The observant among the public - namely, the locals - aren't too keen on it, though. See, when it's exactly 12:00 AM, a light, improvised song can be heard coming from the chapel, with a high voice singing in verse.

"Left to die, left to cry, left with no one to marry
but I know that I can run things, so I shut up and carry
Halfway in my Mar-grave, so my day-to-day was quite scary
Til I started snapping bones and grinding skin, so they have nothing to bury~!"

The townsfolk who hear this make a wise decision not to look too deep into the singer. All have agreed it would be a fools errand. However, they do keep a tally. Whenever they see someone new go in to the Margrave Chapel, they etch in one new mark.

This, of course, turns betting into a lucrative business. Thus, all have agreed on two conditions;

1. Say nothing to newcomers.
2. Point them towards their marriage with the pearly gates.

___________________________
THE TALLY

Your Name Here! Forever!



Alts_Worth_A_Hoot