The Edge of Town (part 4)

I emerged from the barrier of Johnson grass that protected the house and stood in the sweltering sun looking at the ominous structure. Only a few more steps and I would reach the coolness of the shadowed porch. I suddenly felt the isolation of this place. There wasn’t the usual singing of birds or the constant hum of locust that buzz in the summer swelter. Nothing seemed alive except for the swaying grass behind me.

I became aware of my tank top sticking to me from all of the moisture that my body had lost. I had to move from of the heat or pass out. My only choice was to step onto the porch. I felt as if I were walking into a dark, gaping mouth.

I stood trembling for several minutes as my body temperature began to lower. As the heat faded from my body, my mind began to awaken. Glancing around the rotting porch I began to feel stronger and strangely, I began to feel more relaxed. I noticed that it wasn’t as dark inside the house now that I was this close. Peeking through a broken window I could start to see details of the living area. There were pages from old newspapers and magazines lying in quiet loneliness, scattered throughout the room. A fireplace sat along the wall, silent like a tomb. The room echoed of emptiness. I felt curiosity build in my thoughts. Who had lived here? When did they leave? What had happened in this place that made people be frightened of it? The more that I looked through the window, the less I became afraid. It was just an old abandoned house.

Another thought occurred to me. If I actually went inside the house, at least a little way, then I would be braver than Pete. Now that would be something! I would be able to brag about something that I did that Pete never would dare to do, not in a thousand years.

I looked back at the wall of grass that blocked the quick escape to my green bike, then scanned the room once more. Weighing the odds, I made my decision.

Stepping through the window I smiled at how brave I was.

The house on the edge of town now had me inside of it’s hungry belly.

To be continued…