garden.
He could see it in his
mind; beets, lettuce, squash, tomatoes, beans. Much of his life had
died after he was cursed, even if he himself would never know
death. No friends or family. No place to mourn his parents or old
mortal life.
His garden helped him. It was
something to take care of, nurture, and watch grow.
Jack took some trash to
the curb, and was halfway back to the house when he heard a
voice.
"Hello, there."
He cringed. There was no doubt he'd
love his new home. The beach, the sun, a movie theater down the
street, plenty of sights to see. But there was one bad thing about
his neighborhood.
Neighbors.
The man trotted across his
lawn, uninvited. Somewhere in his forties, blond hair, blue eyes,
khaki shorts, button-down collar shirt, sandals. Wedding ring.
Short little man, only coming up to Jack's jaw. His hands had small
green stains, most likely from gardening.
"Hi, I'm Larry," he said. "I'd shake
your hand, but they're a little dirty right now."
"That's fine. I'm not a big
handshaker."
"So, do you have a name?"
"Yes."
Larry waited patiently.
Jack said nothing, and enjoyed the moment of
awkwardness.
"Uh, what is it?"
"Jack."
"Nice to meet you, Jack. I take it
you're our new neighbor? I've seen people cleaning the place up for
the past few weeks, moving furniture in."
"Yeah. I'll be living right next to
you."
"The couple who was here before were
real sweet. It was sad to see them go. They told me the landlord
was a real dickhead. Very unfriendly."
"You don't say?"
"Yeah. I hope I never meet
the bastard. Listen, Jack, I was hoping I could ask a small favor
of you."
Jack raised an eyebrow.
"My son, he just turned seventeen.
He's been driving all over the place. Well, since this house has
been empty, he's been parking where your truck is now. Would you
mind moving down just a bit?"
Jack nearly choked holding
in laughter.
"He can't park in front of your
house?"
"Uh, my wife has the Lexus. And I
drive the BMW. I really don't like it when he parks close to us.
And there's plenty of room in front of your house-"
"I don't care about your
son. I won't be moving my truck. Any other friendly
requests?"
Larry's face fell. It took him a
moment to slowly shake his head from side to side.
"Okay, then," Jack said. "You have a
good day there, neighbor."
He shoved his anger aside
as he turned around and headed back to his house. He could feel
Larry's beady little eyes on him. Hopefully the rest of the
neighbors weren't like him.
Jack scrolled
through his iPhone for some good moving
in music. He settled on Elvis as he worked
through the rest of the afternoon and well into the night. He
unpacked, pulled the plastic from the furniture, moved things
around. Physical work was easy when fatigue wasn't an
issue.
It was a shame his curse didn't come
with extra strength.
He spent most of his time
getting the kitchen in order. Cooking was another passion of his,
and he made sure every house he owned had a nice kitchen. His new
kitchen took up nearly the back half of the house, with an island
in the middle and a breakfast bar separating the kitchen from the
living room. There wasn't a dining room, as there wasn't really a
need for one, just as he had no use for a bed.
It was nearly two in the
morning when he finished. He stood on his front porch and watched
the neighborhood sleep, wishing he could sleep right along with it.
His brain told him this was the time he should be asleep. The world
slowed down and rested when it got dark. But he could never join
the world, and it drove him mad sometimes. He was truly apart from
it.
His mind raced for
something to do. The cable wouldn't be hooked up until tomorrow,
but he did have plenty of DVDs to watch. He could read his Kindle
Fire and listen to music.
He decided to go for a
walk. The heart of Parkville was only a few blocks away, with
shops, businesses, places to eat. They were all closed, but it
would be nice to acquaint himself with Parkville
He could see it in his
mind; beets, lettuce, squash, tomatoes, beans. Much of his life had
died after he was cursed, even if he himself would never know
death. No friends or family. No place to mourn his parents or old
mortal life.
His garden helped him. It was
something to take care of, nurture, and watch grow.
Jack took some trash to
the curb, and was halfway back to the house when he heard a
voice.
"Hello, there."
He cringed. There was no doubt he'd
love his new home. The beach, the sun, a movie theater down the
street, plenty of sights to see. But there was one bad thing about
his neighborhood.
Neighbors.
The man trotted across his
lawn, uninvited. Somewhere in his forties, blond hair, blue eyes,
khaki shorts, button-down collar shirt, sandals. Wedding ring.
Short little man, only coming up to Jack's jaw. His hands had small
green stains, most likely from gardening.
"Hi, I'm Larry," he said. "I'd shake
your hand, but they're a little dirty right now."
"That's fine. I'm not a big
handshaker."
"So, do you have a name?"
"Yes."
Larry waited patiently.
Jack said nothing, and enjoyed the moment of
awkwardness.
"Uh, what is it?"
"Jack."
"Nice to meet you, Jack. I take it
you're our new neighbor? I've seen people cleaning the place up for
the past few weeks, moving furniture in."
"Yeah. I'll be living right next to
you."
"The couple who was here before were
real sweet. It was sad to see them go. They told me the landlord
was a real dickhead. Very unfriendly."
"You don't say?"
"Yeah. I hope I never meet
the bastard. Listen, Jack, I was hoping I could ask a small favor
of you."
Jack raised an eyebrow.
"My son, he just turned seventeen.
He's been driving all over the place. Well, since this house has
been empty, he's been parking where your truck is now. Would you
mind moving down just a bit?"
Jack nearly choked holding
in laughter.
"He can't park in front of your
house?"
"Uh, my wife has the Lexus. And I
drive the BMW. I really don't like it when he parks close to us.
And there's plenty of room in front of your house-"
"I don't care about your
son. I won't be moving my truck. Any other friendly
requests?"
Larry's face fell. It took him a
moment to slowly shake his head from side to side.
"Okay, then," Jack said. "You have a
good day there, neighbor."
He shoved his anger aside
as he turned around and headed back to his house. He could feel
Larry's beady little eyes on him. Hopefully the rest of the
neighbors weren't like him.
Jack scrolled
through his iPhone for some good moving
in music. He settled on Elvis as he worked
through the rest of the afternoon and well into the night. He
unpacked, pulled the plastic from the furniture, moved things
around. Physical work was easy when fatigue wasn't an
issue.
It was a shame his curse didn't come
with extra strength.
He spent most of his time
getting the kitchen in order. Cooking was another passion of his,
and he made sure every house he owned had a nice kitchen. His new
kitchen took up nearly the back half of the house, with an island
in the middle and a breakfast bar separating the kitchen from the
living room. There wasn't a dining room, as there wasn't really a
need for one, just as he had no use for a bed.
It was nearly two in the
morning when he finished. He stood on his front porch and watched
the neighborhood sleep, wishing he could sleep right along with it.
His brain told him this was the time he should be asleep. The world
slowed down and rested when it got dark. But he could never join
the world, and it drove him mad sometimes. He was truly apart from
it.
His mind raced for
something to do. The cable wouldn't be hooked up until tomorrow,
but he did have plenty of DVDs to watch. He could read his Kindle
Fire and listen to music.
He decided to go for a
walk. The heart of Parkville was only a few blocks away, with
shops, businesses, places to eat. They were all closed, but it
would be nice to acquaint himself with Parkville
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