The Halls of Forever

Laurel Matthews discovers a photo of Jill Sullivan in an old family album. She's convinced she has seen Jill somewhere before, but her father assures her Jill died in 1949, long before Laurel was born. The picture rekindles childhood dreams of a girl like Jill and a boy playing together in a wheat field, which is now a subdivision of homes. Laurel's curiosity leads her to one of the town's oldest citizens. Sara, the widow of Doc Edwards. Over several visits Sara weaves tales around the town of Crown Point, her son Danny, and his love for Jill Sullivan. In the end, their dreams of sharing a life together were shattered by World War II. Enchanted by their tragic story, Laurel wishes she could find someone like the boy who died a lifetime ago. Her marriage of five years is ending, and her widowed father is leaving Indiana to buy a garden center owned by his late wife's relatives in California. Two months later, Laurel's father calls to ask her to take over as his office manager for a few weeks. Laurel jumps at the chance to leave the bleak winter weather. In California she meets two new friends, Jeff Kavanaugh and her shirttail relative, Cassandra Antonelli. When Laurel finds out the job will last longer than expected, she moves in with Cassie. Cassie is a devotee of the metaphysical. Laurel on the other hand is practical with a no-nonsense, scientific worldview. Laurel tells Cassie about her visits with Sara and the ill-fated love of Danny and Jill. When Cassie sees Laurel and Jeff together, her sixth sense tells her they are the modern day counterparts of Danny and Jill and are destined to marry. Laurel dismisses the whole idea and reminds Cassie about the blonde "goddess" Jeff is dating. It's a hopeless situation. As Cassie resorts to every matchmaking trick in the book, Laurel grows more and more attracted to Jeff, against her better judgment. Are they destined to be together, or will fate tear them apart again?

During his last moments on Earth, Danny made a promise to keep. "Dearest Jill, I feel I have always known you and will love you through the hall 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 a photo of Jill Sullivan in an old family album. She's convinced she has seen Jill somewhere before, but her father assures her Jill died in 1949, long before Laurel 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 subdivision of homes. Laurel's curiosity leads her to one of the town's oldest citizens, Sara, the widow of Doc Edwards. Over several visits Sara weaves tales around the town of Crown Point, her son, Danny, and his love for Jill Sullivan. In the end, their dreams of sharing a life together were shattered by World War II. Enchanted by their tragic love story, Laurel wishes she could find someone like the boy who died a lifetime ago. Her marriage of five years is ending, and her widowed father is leaving Indiana to buy Antonellis's Garden Center in California from his late wife's' relatives. Two months later, Laurel's father calls to ask her to take over as his office manager for a few weeks. Laurel jumps at the chance to leave the bleak Indiana winter weather. In California Laurel meets two new friends, Jeff Kavanaugh, and her shirttail relative, Cassandra Antonelli. When Laurel discovers the job will last longer, she moves in with Cassie. Cassie is a devotee of the metaphysical. Laurel on the other hand is practical and has a no-nonsense, scientific worldview. Laurel tells Cassie about her visits with Sara and the ill-fated love of Danny and Jill. Soon after Cassie sees Laurel and Jeff together, and her sixth sense tells her they are the modern day counterparts of Danny and Jill. Laurel dismisses the whole idea and reminds Cassie about the blonde "goddess" Jeff is dating. It's a hopeless situation. As Cassie resorts to every matchmaking trick in the book, Laurel grows more and more attracted to Jeff, against her better judgment. She is caught in a tangle of emotions-mourning love lost, reliving a love that only exist in dreams, and longing for a relationship with Jeff, the man who will never see her as anything but a friend. She begins to question the very foundation of her beliefs. Is shes Jill Sullivan reborn and destined to find Danny in this life? If so, will they share a lifetime together? Or, will fate tear them apart again?

Linda Faulkner lives in the foothills of the Sierras in Northern California. She graduated with a Master's Degree in Voice and has performed extensively throughout the northern California region as a singer and flutist. Currently she plays First Chair flute in her community symphony and is working to improve her skills as a pianist. She has published articles about people in the arts, and her fictional story, "Lucky" was published in an anthology of cat stories. Faulkner is an avid skier and long time member of National Ski Patrol. She volunteers as a first responder at the Sierra at Tahoe Ski Resort. She did extensive research in the field of reincarnation for her latest book. One gentleman having a past life reading was asked how many lives he'd spent with his wife. He answered, "I feel I have always known her and will love her through the halls of forever." This was ultimately the inspiration for the title, "The Halls of Forever".