Len Monroe was walking through his paddock checking on the sheep, all the while keeping a wary eye on the approaching storm clouds. In the distance he suddenly noticed two people, a man and a woman, come through the gate from Oakhaven, which backed onto his land, and run across the paddock towards the small hill. Then they started to make their way up the hill towards the top.

  “No!” Len shouted, waving his arms, “Don’t go up there. There’s a storm coming!”

  The couple didn’t seem to hear him. They were too far away.

  Then a third person, a man, came staggering across the paddock and started following the couple up the hill.

  “Stop! Go back!” Len shouted as he started running towards the hill. As he got closer to the hill the dark clouds moved overhead and he could feel the crackling of electricity in the air. Lightning would strike at any moment. He reached the bottom of the hill and stopped. He could just make out the three people at the top. What were they doing up there? He waved his arms frantically and shouted, “Get off the hill now before the lightning….”

  There was a bright flash of light and a loud crash of thunder. Len was thrown to the ground. He recovered a minute later and clambered to his feet. It was raining and the wind was blowing strongly. He looked up towards the top of the hill but there was no sign of the three people.

  “They’re probably dead,” he muttered to himself as he pulled out his mobile phone from his pocket and pressed 999 to call an ambulance.

  Five minutes later the storm had moved away and the sky started the clear as Len made his way to the top of the hill expecting to find three bodies.

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  There was only one body. A man lying face down with a gun on the grass near his left hand. Len checked for a pulse, but there was none.

  In the distance below the hill he could see ambulance officers carrying stretchers making their way across the field.

  He waved his arms. “Up here.” He shouted.

  The body of Don Robinson was taken away while the police conducted an extensive search of the area for the missing couple.

  Len was asked over and over, “Are you sure you saw three people at the top of the hill when the lightning hit?”

  He said he was positive.

  The missing couple was never found.

  *****

  She sat on the garden seat gazing sadly out over the green pasture towards the hill. Suddenly something caught her eye. Two people were making their way down the hillside and across the field in her direction. It was a man and a woman. The woman was wearing a white dress and she looked very familiar.

  Katherine sprang to her feet, opened the gate and ran across the field to meet them.

  “Sister!” She rushed up and held her sister in tight embrace.

  “Where have you been, Isabella?” she asked, “Everyone has been searching for you for days. I thought the lightning had killed you. Quickly, we must go and tell mother and father. They’ve been frantic with worry about you. Oh, who is this gentleman with you?"

  "Katherine, this is Mr Jackson,” Isabella put her arm around the man’s waist, “We’ve known each other for some time and we have some wonderful news. We’re going to be married.”