I was going to elope with the man of my dreams, what more could I ask for? Alan insisted I needed to be with him. I couldn't agree more.

My family was from the OLD South. Since I didn't know Alan "not his real name" all my life. my family was against my even seeing him. They would never agree to my marrying him. They believed there were enough young men available in our small town; that I didn't have to go looking at strangers.

Al was different from any young man I had ever known. He was tall, dark and handsome, like the guys in the old cliches. My folk's disliked him on sight. They thought he had a foreboding look. I always thought he looked mysterious. He always seemed to be deep into his own thoughts. His eyes had that hooded look, almost as if he were trying to look into his own head. This only made him more attractive to me. We had only know each other four months when Alan asked me to elope with him. He knew getting blessings from my family was never going to happen, and the thought of an elopement made my head swim with excitement.

Alan lived in the next town over from ours. He was only a farm hand, but I knew that he was educated "so he said" and was capable of earning a better living by moving to one of the Northern States. Moving North would have had my grandfather turning sumersaults in his grave. My parents pretty much thought the same way.

The rain was coming down in torrents that Friday. Alan and I had made our plans to elope that night. I was already packed, my few belongings hidden away in the trunk of my car. I was going to wait till my parents were asleep and creep out like a thief in the night. I would keep to the back roads,..This was at Alan's insistence. I tried to tell him that the main highway would be much faster, but he was adamant about me keeping to the back roads.

The rain was coming down so hard it was bringing down what seemed like half the trees in the woods. I was going from one side of the road to the other trying to avoid the downed branches that dotted the road. I could barely see the dim lights from the old fuel station as I pulled in. An old man bundled into a rain slicker came out to the car. He peered into the window, with rain splashed glasses. As I peered back I couldn't help but notice the gentle soft look to his face. The eyes seemed so familiar to me, I knew I had seen them before. I asked if there was a road near by that would take me to the main highway. I was already almost an hr late picking up Alan. "I should have never kept to the back roads" I kept telling myself. "Well now, Little Miss, you just keep to this here road, you're on, and it will take you to "WHERE YOU NEED TO BE".

Two hours later I was still going in the same direction. Finally I was entering a major highway, only the sign ahead was welcoming me into the next state.

Panic overtook me as I turned myself around and headed back. I started looking for the fuel station I had left, and "thanks to that old man's directions', by now Alan must be thinking that I had no intentions of picking him up.

The old station was dark and deserted. It showed signs of years of decay. The roof had blown off many storms ago and laid a few feet from the old useless pumps. This was the same station I passed just a few hrs ago. Crying softly I knew I was heading home again.

I tiptoed into the house just as dawn was breaking. I could hear my folks stirring in their room. I tried to call Al, but the phones were out because of the storm. I crawled into the bed and turned on the TV. The volume was barely audible. I didn't need sound, they were showing the body of a young girl found a few miles up the road from where I had turned around and headed back. She was the foreman's daughter, that operated the farm Alan worked on. Her throat had been..slashed. My heart was heavy. "I Knew the girl".

I fell into a deep sleep only to dream of the old man in the rain slicker. This time there was no mistake recognizing that soft gentle face, as he whispered "YOU'RE WHERE YOU NEED TO BE".

It was my grandfather, who had passed away when I was seven. I could sense his presence the next morning as I heard the news announcement "MAN ARRESTED FOR MURDER".The Harper farm filled up the tv screen. A tall dark man was being led out of a barn in handcuffs. His hooded eyes stared back into the camera. You're right Grandpa, I'm where I need to be", because of an angel in a rain slicker.

The local papers filled in all the details the next morning. The picture of his arrest showed a...small man in a rain slicker peeking out from behind the barn. A soft glow surrounded the hooded head.

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