any of the others around me. Sure, its lawn was left to grow weed-filled and wild, where any insect could find a home, but there was really no reason why the house should have stood out in my mind, no reason at all why I should have noted it -- except, of course, that it had been vacant for as long as I could remember.
In fairness, even that isn't so strange. At least, it didn't seem so then. Time is soft and malleable, and can slow to a crawl when you're young. Sometimes, it almost seems to stop. For all I know, the place had been empty for only a few months before I really noticed it -- though, afterwards, I never saw a single person set foot there.
I'd spent a good part of my summer vacation with Mitch under direct orders from my mother. No doubt, she thought it would do us both good. She and Mrs. Ramsey were friends, and through some miracle of childhood Mitch and I were supposed to have bonded, too. It wasn't that I disliked him, but at the time I would rather have been left alone by the world instead of been forced to socialize. My father was still only a few months gone, and his absence from my life left me in a sort of limbo, where I wanted nothing more than for each day to be over. The last place I wanted to be was inside Mitch's room with its overpowering chemical smell, and a part of me hated my own discomfort.
He rolled his dice.
"Double-sixes!" he said, then moved his marker twelve squares. "You suck at this game, you know."
"I know, I know." I rolled my own set of dice, and reported the number to him so he could move my marker across the board. The air-conditioner made the room cool, much cooler than my own, though the recycled air also tasted funny. On the bright side, though the air-filter made too much noise, it offered the constant amusement of blowing Mitch’s dark black hair out of shape. "You look like a caveman," I said.
He smiled and beat his chest. I held my breath for a second and waited, but nothing happened.
"I've asked my mom, but she won't let me keep a comb in here. I don't know what she thinks I'll catch from a comb ." He shook his head and laughed, and while he did so I sneaked a look at the clock. It was nearly time for me to go. When I looked back at him he wasn't laughing any longer.
"You know, Neil, you can leave whenever you want. It's okay."
"I can stay a few minutes more. Do you want to do something else?"
He didn't seem to.
Part of me knew he was lying, but I had put on a brave face for too long already. I needed time to myself, and already I could feel the seconds slipping away from me forever.
My mother wasn't too thrilled when I arrived home.
"Mrs. Ramsey called me today at work. Did you and Mitch have a fight?"
"You said I didn't have to spend the whole day there."
My mother sighed, and rubbed her temples. Through the thin drapes in the living room window I could see the house across the street. Its long grass wavered as the sheer material between us moved with the wind.
"Neil, right now, it's good for you to be over there. Don't you understand?"
I grumbled. "I don't think I can do it. There are too many rules --"
"It will be okay. Just do this for me, please?" She took my hand and smiled at me. What else could I do but agree? She ran her fingers through my hair approvingly.
"You're growing up too fast, little man."
# # #
The next day I was allowed to take a vacation from Mitch. It sounds harsh to say, but I needed it. As much as I didn't want to disappoint my mother, I also couldn't be cooped up in that moldering house. The day was a beautiful one, the kind where the sunlight shines so bright it makes everything glitter, and I spent the good part of it on the front lawn of the house, just sitting in the grass, looking up at the sky and trying to pretend my family was still whole. It worked, but only for a few seconds at a time.
I lay there and watched the clouds change shape and creep past, and without warning I was startled by a soft flutter of darkness
In fairness, even that isn't so strange. At least, it didn't seem so then. Time is soft and malleable, and can slow to a crawl when you're young. Sometimes, it almost seems to stop. For all I know, the place had been empty for only a few months before I really noticed it -- though, afterwards, I never saw a single person set foot there.
I'd spent a good part of my summer vacation with Mitch under direct orders from my mother. No doubt, she thought it would do us both good. She and Mrs. Ramsey were friends, and through some miracle of childhood Mitch and I were supposed to have bonded, too. It wasn't that I disliked him, but at the time I would rather have been left alone by the world instead of been forced to socialize. My father was still only a few months gone, and his absence from my life left me in a sort of limbo, where I wanted nothing more than for each day to be over. The last place I wanted to be was inside Mitch's room with its overpowering chemical smell, and a part of me hated my own discomfort.
He rolled his dice.
"Double-sixes!" he said, then moved his marker twelve squares. "You suck at this game, you know."
"I know, I know." I rolled my own set of dice, and reported the number to him so he could move my marker across the board. The air-conditioner made the room cool, much cooler than my own, though the recycled air also tasted funny. On the bright side, though the air-filter made too much noise, it offered the constant amusement of blowing Mitch’s dark black hair out of shape. "You look like a caveman," I said.
He smiled and beat his chest. I held my breath for a second and waited, but nothing happened.
"I've asked my mom, but she won't let me keep a comb in here. I don't know what she thinks I'll catch from a comb ." He shook his head and laughed, and while he did so I sneaked a look at the clock. It was nearly time for me to go. When I looked back at him he wasn't laughing any longer.
"You know, Neil, you can leave whenever you want. It's okay."
"I can stay a few minutes more. Do you want to do something else?"
He didn't seem to.
Part of me knew he was lying, but I had put on a brave face for too long already. I needed time to myself, and already I could feel the seconds slipping away from me forever.
My mother wasn't too thrilled when I arrived home.
"Mrs. Ramsey called me today at work. Did you and Mitch have a fight?"
"You said I didn't have to spend the whole day there."
My mother sighed, and rubbed her temples. Through the thin drapes in the living room window I could see the house across the street. Its long grass wavered as the sheer material between us moved with the wind.
"Neil, right now, it's good for you to be over there. Don't you understand?"
I grumbled. "I don't think I can do it. There are too many rules --"
"It will be okay. Just do this for me, please?" She took my hand and smiled at me. What else could I do but agree? She ran her fingers through my hair approvingly.
"You're growing up too fast, little man."
# # #
The next day I was allowed to take a vacation from Mitch. It sounds harsh to say, but I needed it. As much as I didn't want to disappoint my mother, I also couldn't be cooped up in that moldering house. The day was a beautiful one, the kind where the sunlight shines so bright it makes everything glitter, and I spent the good part of it on the front lawn of the house, just sitting in the grass, looking up at the sky and trying to pretend my family was still whole. It worked, but only for a few seconds at a time.
I lay there and watched the clouds change shape and creep past, and without warning I was startled by a soft flutter of darkness
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