The Fourth Life of Sean Donoghue by Trish Hanan (children's books read aloud .txt) 📕

they wake them up and play with them but they didn’t have them and when we checked on your wife she was gone and Bill checked the barn and his horse is gone.” Sally’s voice had risen to almost hysterical by the time all the words rushed out. Sean hugged her.
“It’s alright, lass; it’s not your fault. I should have known she’d do something like this and put a guard on the boys,” Sean said. They walked very quickly to the house. Sean sent Bill to fetch Lonnie and the men and began packing a travel bag. Ryan and Danny both insisted on coming with him and he didn’t have the heart to refuse them so they harnessed up the carriage and brought out the mattresses for the old men.
They tried to track Julie through the forest and catch up with her but she had a good four hour head start and with the carriage they were limited to the main trails. He didn’t say a word to his grandsons though; Sean didn’t want them to think they were a burden to the rescue mission.
It took them three weeks to reach the Indian valley and when they got there they were greeted by representatives of King Thunder Cloud which confused them.
“The King wishes to see you in the great hall, Mr. Donoghue, and your grandfathers,” Theo, the greeter informed them as they got off their horses. Sean nodded and the six men followed him into the castle.
“General Donoghue, how pleased we are to see you once again,” King Thunder Cloud’s voice boomed from his throne and the six men bowed low with respect. His wife Singing Moon sat next to him and sitting next to him was Sean’s wife Julie wearing a smug smile. Sean didn’t like the looks of this one little bit. Ryan and Danny exchanged a worried glance. Chairs were brought and the men sat in a half circle in front of the King who looked at them with a frown.
“My wife has told me of your situation and it is a troubled one indeed, General indeed,” he said. “Is there no way that you would consider moving to the Malweenah Valley and raising your children here in a peaceful place?” he asked him. Sean raised an eyebrow.
“My home, Your Majesty, is in Sweetwater in the Donoghue Valley and my wife and children belong in that home,” he said firmly. “I fail to see why you would be interested in my affairs.” The King frowned down at him.
“Your wife is my wife’s cousin, General, our families are united and as head of the family it is up to me to decide what is best for the children,” he informed him. All of the white men appeared shocked. Julie gave them another smug smile. Sean could see he was going to lose this battle and his children, which he could never allow.
“I have talked with my medicine men and with Father Vincent and they all agree that the massacre of the Keetiks which happened in your valley cannot be over-looked, it makes the valley a source of evil and all who live there will be affected by that evil,” King Thunder Cloud said solemnly and Sean wanted to laugh. If that was the case, then no one would be able to live anywhere. Something bad could have happened anywhere on the planet for God’s sake, even in this so-called peaceful place.
“Your wife wishes to remain your wife and live with you, General, but only if you remain here in this valley with her. If you abandon her and your children Father Vincent will give her a divorce and she will be free to marry again,” the King continued. “You will be free to marry again and have more children with another woman but these children of my family will remain here with their mother in the Malweenah Valley.” Sean almost got up and hit him but he restrained himself. Sean stood up and slowly shook his head. They all looked confused, the King had spoken and his word was law.
“As much as I respect, Your Majesty, my spirit would surely die without my children,” Sean informed them. Julie almost laughed at him. Then Sean continued.
“In fact, if you were to shoot me in the head with a rifle and kill me, I would die and stay dead for several hours and my spirit would leave me,” he explained. “But when it got to the Spirit World and searched around for my children and couldn’t find them; it would return to my body and I would come back to life, because my spirit cannot live without my children.” Sean spoke so earnestly that the King wanted to believe him but Julie and the Queen laughed.
“Don’t be absurd, no one can die and come back to life, it’s impossible,” Julie sneered and the Queen agreed with her. Sean looked at them both and smiled. Then he turned to the King.
“I want one of my men to shoot me, Your Highness, and kill me,” he told him and everyone gasped. “Then I want you to keep my body here on the floor so my spirit will know where to return to. When my spirit searches the Spirit World for my children and doesn’t find them, it will come back to my body and I will come back to live. Will that prove to you how much my children mean to me and that they should come back with me and live with me?” he asked him and the King nodded. Julie and the Queen looked shocked.
“You can’t be serious, he’s fooling you,” Singing Moon exclaimed. The King waved his hand at her.
“My medicine men will make sure he is really dead and telling the truth,” he declared. Lonnie, Todd and Young Sean tried to talk Sean out of it.
“Granddad, I know you’re immortal but coming back from the dead, can you really do that?” Young Sean asked. Ryan laughed.
“Your Granddad did it once before,” he informed them with a grin. They all looked shocked. Sean smiled.
“Ryan will tell you all the story after you shoot me; now who wants to do it?” he asked them. No one wanted to so they did odds and evens and Lonnie won, or lost as he groaned.
The medicine men were called and Father Vincent came of course and Sean stood on a nice red blanket and Lonnie stood at the end of the hall and nervously aimed his rifle.
“Are you ready, Granddad?” he called out. Sean waved at him.
“Just shoot me in the forehead, lad, don’t take out an eye or my nose,” he called back and Lonnie trembled. But he took careful aim and hit his Granddad right on the forehead almost directly between his eyes.
“Great shot, Lonnie,” Todd said with admiration as they watched Sean’s body drop to the floor. Everyone rushed over and rolled him over. His sightless dark, green eyes looked up at the ceiling.
“Oh, yes, he’s dead alright, nice shot, Lonnie,” Young Sean beamed up at him. They laid Sean gently on the blanket and put a pillow under his head and all of the medicine men and Father Vincent examined him and proclaimed him dead. Julie, of course, had to come over and listen for a heart beat. She cried when she realized her husband was dead.
“I can’t believe you killed him. Murderer!” she screamed at Lonnie who looked uncomfortable. Todd patted him on his back.
“She’s a real pain in the arse ain’t she?” he asked his cousin and they all laughed nervously. Ryan took them over to the table and they were served food and coffee while they waited for Sean’s spirit to come back. Ryan told them all about Father Zucker and Ted Stevens shooting their Granddad in the graveyard when he was visiting Maggie’s grave.
“No wonder that old priest looked so scared, he saw Granddad come back from the dead,” Todd said and they all laughed.
The hours passed slowly as they all paced nervously around the body. The Indian medicine men examined it often and shook their heads.
“He is dead and he is not coming back to life,” they told the King solemnly after four hours. Ryan giggled and they turned to stare at the old man who was seventy-six.
“Let’s give him a couple of more hours,” he suggested. “The Spirit World is an awful big place and he’s searching for little children.” The all nodded and the wait continued.
Julie walked around alternately weeping and laughing saying “I’m free, I can marry again,” and “This is all my fault, I drove him insane when I took his children.” They all though she was batty as hell and avoided her.
Finally after five and a half hours, the body twitched. Ryan pointed and shouted.
“Look, he’s waking up.” And they all ran over to look.
Sean’s body twitched again and he sat up and took a deep breath. Then he raised a hand to his head and groaned and looked around him. His eyes blinked furiously and Young Sean realized his eyes were dry so he ran forward with a cup of water. Sean threw the water on his face and grinned at his grandson.
“Where are my children?” he asked in a loud voice. The Malweenahs gasped and Julie fainted. Todd and Lonnie helped Sean over to the table and the medicine men examined him carefully and the bullet was removed from his head, stitched up and he was bandaged. The King beamed.
“Your spirit is a strong one, Sean Donoghue, and your need for your children has brought you back from the dead just as you said it would,” he said solemnly. “Your children will be returned and you may take them with you. Your wife will be free to go with you if she wishes or she can remain her with us.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Sean said and they boys were brought out. They both were screaming but when they saw Sean they stopped and began to laugh when they were in his arms. Sean kissed them both and turned to his men.
“Let’s get the hell out of here, lads,” he told them and they all rushed out of the great hall. Todd looked back.
“Aren’t you going to ask your wife if she wants to come?” he asked. Sean shook his head.
“That woman can go to hell for all I care,” he muttered and climbed on Sir William with both boys in his arms. They rode out of the valley as fast as they could but once it was behind them they slowed down.
“Daddy missed you, Kalin, Bobby, give me a kiss,” Sean cooed as he rode. Both boys seemed fine and they were sure happy to see him. And Sean was happy despite having the biggest headache he’d had since the last time he’d been shot in the head.
Sally and Carrie were happy to see the babies when they returned home and everyone was appalled at what Sean had to do to get his sons home. They didn’t tell any of the regular people the truth just that it had all be a trick they played on the King and his people. Sean had pretended to be dead. They all believed this, of course, because after all,