Bells At Midnight

Christmas Eve in Whitethorn. Frost on the churchyard stones. A bell that tolls names that should not yet be spoken.Carols drift from St Jude's and candles bloom against the dark, but unease lies under every ribbon and wreath. The village keeps its old custom of reading the year's departed—until, during the service itself, the bell begins to toll on its own. The sound does not count the dead. It ca...