The Mystery of the Broken Fence

It started out like any other day. Paul and Susan were making breakfast before heading out for a walk in their new neighborhood. They had just moved to Charleston not too long ago. It was their first home and they were very excited. As Susan begins to serve breakfast to Paul, they both hear a loud crash. What was that? Paul leaves Susan to finish serving breakfast and looks out the peep hole of the front door to see what all the commotion is about. There’s no one there. Paul doesn’t see anyone moving so he goes back to his breakfast with Susan.

Soon, they embark on their walk of their friendly, new neighborhood. As Paul and Susan round the corner to return to their house they notice the neighbor’s fence. It’s been smashed. Maybe their gardener accidentally hit it with the lawn mower.

Time progresses and Susan and Paul notice that their neighbor’s fence has yet to be fixed. This is a brand new community. They should have fixed their fence a bit ago. Susan decides it’s time to knock on the neighbor’s door and find out what’s going on. No one answers. Maybe they’re at work or out for the day.

Later that night, Susan gets a weird feeling. Why would they just leave their fence like that? There has to be some explanation. Susan grabs her flashlight and Paul follows her to the neighbor’s house. This probably isn’t a good idea. We shouldn’t be shining our flashlights into their house. Nothing in the house looks odd. All the furniture is intact, but no lights are on and it doesn’t look as if anyone is home. That’s strange. It’s only 8:30pm. Where could they be? Their 2 cars are parked in the garage, but the house is very still. Susan remembers the family has 3 cars and the third car is no where to be found. Maybe they packed up and drove away?

Another month passes and no word from the neighbor’s. Their fence is still a wreck and their gardener has stopped tending the lawn. He must not be getting paid. Susan and Paul haven’t seen the neighbors in some time and decide there’s one last thing they can do.

The Sheriff pulls up around 4pm in the afternoon. Susan greets him and describes the past few weeks. She tells him the fence has been broken for some time and the neighbors haven’t been seen since. The Sheriff investigates the house. He sees the cars in the garage and a few pieces of furniture in the house. He notes that the mailbox is filled to the top. That’s not a good sign. What could have happened to these people? There have been no missing person’s reports filed. The Sheriff tells Susan the house will more than likely foreclose soon unless a method of payment has been set up. There’s nothing else to be done at this time. Susan and Paul wave as the Sheriff drives away. There has to be something else that can be done. He’s the Sheriff. He can’t just walk away from this and wait for the house to foreclose. These people didn’t just vanish into thin air, especially because their third car is missing. But Susan and Paul are forced to go about their business. If the Sheriff says there’s nothing to be done, than Susan and Paul are forced to wait.

Two weeks later, Susan and Paul are watching television in the living room when Susan sits up suddenly. It’s one thing to skip town and not tell anyone, but that doesn’t explain why the fence is broken. Why would the fence be broken? If it wasn’t for that, we never would have snooped around and noticed they were gone. This has to mean something. Susan grabs her shovel out of the garage and Paul follows her to the backyard.

To be continued…..

Drifting

I talk more now than before. Does she know who I am or even hear what I'm saying? Not usually. Does anyone else talk to her? Not really. She is still a person. She still has feelings and knows people are there. Does she realize they're there to see her? No, because they don't talk to her. They don't care about her. I never did until now. Even now, it just makes me sad and I talk out of pity and sadness. I talk because no one else does. I talk to pass the time. She likes to talk, but can't always listen. Even if she doesn't know me, she knows I'm there and that matters. Her state has improved. His state is no longer. She may know his state. She may not know his state. In the long run it was unfair. She wanted to go, but he didn't want her to. He went and what does she have? A few people who see her because they have to and not because they want to. It might be too hard for them to see her, which I understand, but make a small effort. She's still present physically. She wants to be with her family and not the family that can be seen or touched. She needs to be with her family. The new family she created was solid for a short period of time. Now is time for the old family to return as one. I hope it won't be as bad as we may think. I hope it's calm and gentle. I hope everyone is at peace with the ways things are. The way things will be.

The End

Death. What an ugly word. What an ugly thought. Some people bring it upon themselves and some people have no choice. It’s hard. It’s hard when you’re close enough to touch the person. It’s hard when you see the process. It’s hard. Memories bring smiles and laughter. Memories bring tears. Will it ever get easy? Will it ever be something the rest of us can live with? Will it ever be easy to see the one’s you love cry? Will it ever be easy to be the one crying?