Author's Note:32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7QU2EHx8v0
Thank you for getting this far into the story! I promise that that a lot of your outstanding questions will answered in time. Hang in there.
Inside the tiny shack was just as simple as its owner. A wooden chair hugged a small table across the room and a sheet hammock hung slack behind it. To his left at the entrance stood a wood burning stove with an iron skillet resting atop it. A light layer of desert dust coated the room, apparently free-flowing from the window whenever a light wind would visit the home.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfjXH2NfCCw
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOQ3t6ID7Mc
In the center of the room was an upside down clay flower pot, spot lit by the rays pouring in from the gap left in the shutters on the window.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfpAdXmzYOz
It was small, with enamel glaze or flowers on the outside that looked to be painted by a child. It rested on the dirt floor with a long crack down the side and paint that chipped at the edges. Still, Zeph decided to carefully walk around it and sit at the table.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡypFOdcpNTi
Only moments passed before the man pushed open the shack door and took a few steps into the room. He spared a look at Zeph, sitting bare-cheeked in his only chair, before wordlessly shaking his head and setting down his things.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwnBYlKX43V
Zeph impatiently bounced his leg, watching the man set his basket on the ground next to the table and move around a pot and some utensils as if he was preparing to cook. He was rough looking; a thick raggy shirt draped from his shoulders and thicker pants clung drying mud to the fabric around his knees. He bore an unkempt, mostly grey beard and matching long grey hair that hid his aging face, leaving only his dark brown eyes and sun-spotted nose exposed to the elements.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmKt1yBZP3w
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsVJlXYV9cH
Zeph interrupted the clamor of dinner preparation. “Uuuh, do you have any clothes by any chance?”
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT4HPaGStwT
The man didn't face him to reply, apparently addressing the kitchenware.“Nothing for nothing.”
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9clbfibl2c
It took a longer moment than Zeph would like to admit before he understood the man’s meaning before responding,“I have nothing to give.”
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaXwSjI39qo
“And you get that in return,” but just as the man finished his sentence, movement caught Zeph’s eye from the center of the room.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0pHpGLQnbU
The pot wiggled.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEN6Gdcg9h8
The man spun around, quickly slicked back some droopy curls from his forehead and dropped to all fours, his head mere inches from the flower pot. With a free hand, he gently lifted it from the ground revealing a tiny, pinky-capped mushroom.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUHoIfdandN
The man drew his face so close to the mushroom that he nearly touched it with his nose, eyes crossed as he watched it. He listened to it. He paused for a moment before he spoke.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyR5f2WkNLq
“Well sure but he isn't a ‘somebody’, neither.” The man addressed the fungus, straining his eyes to maintain focus on it. Zeph watched the man speak to the mushroom in the middle of the room and began to wonder if entering this shack was a mistake.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx7TYfvZRf9
“Well, I guess I don't.” He spoke again. There was a long pause as the man intently listened to the toadstool.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfSRcadSrJb
Zeph slapped both knees. “Welp, I guess I should be going.”
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTGcgQRbozM
He started to roll forward in his chair when the man continued raising an insistent hand for Zeph to stay put.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO3wlxN2LOo
“I guess that's true.” Seemingly satisfied, the mushroom man stood up, leaving the clay pot next to the mushroom. He turned around to fetch a small cup full of well water from a bucket in the corner.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQQGk3iKWfB
“Go ahead and grab my spare garment from the chest behind you.” He sprinkled water and bone dust on the soil around the mushroom and replaced the clay pot.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXruNpofnZW
It took a moment for Zeph to realize the man was talking to him now. He looked behind the chair and found a small wooden chest on the floor. He retrieved the only set of clothes inside.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGzZUU6Z81E
While Zeph was busy getting dressed, the mushroom man skirted around him to his favorite and only chair. He spared a moment of still reprieve before bringing himself to use a small cloth to wipe the dubious shapes Zeph left behind in the dust with his naked rear.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1qlpRUeGzJ
“Baker,” the old man began. He pinched out the rest as he sat, enduring the creak of his old bones, “hadn’t been so busy before late.”
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWsZmZF7YUG
“Who’s Baker?”32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbEhZ157w9s
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡux3gVi8c8D
“Aint a ‘who.’ Baker’s a town about 3 miles north from here,” he scratched some dirt free from his beard before continuing, pointing a weathered finger in various directions as he explained. “First, some dead Laudendales two nights back. Then a poor farmer’s family there on one side of town, same night. Wuddn’t but last night that the banker, Crock, and his wife on the other side turn up dead in the most heinous. Lotta dead folk. Lotta strangers.”
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsR5Zch2ejs
Zeph caught a stare from the man as he pulled the ragged shirt over his head. “I don’t want trouble.”
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoUJ2Psi2Ne
“Trouble ain't something you bring along with you. I got a feeling trouble is sumin’ you gon find,” he took a visual inventory of the oversized clothes cascading over Zeph’s body. “Stranger.”
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzGI54Em04Y
“I’m trying to find a lost boy. He’s the one in trouble. Is there anyone else new to town? It would have been last night, I think.”
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡITQZ7fasqv
“Well, it wuddn’t no ‘last night’ but they say a stranger came from the forest. A boy, but he’s wanted by the sheriff.”
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0ncaMSrdCA
“It has to be a mistake! Dylan is a good boy!”
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKRM01uX3yX
“Well, if’n you know the boy, you oughta get to town and state a case for ‘em. Though, he might get hanged ‘fore then.”
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0IMPW5pUWr
Zeph’s arms dropped.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0Ky7jai5Zn
Without a word he sprinted out the door back into the savanna. The man looked down introspectively until the sound of footsteps came back to his door as quickly as they left. Zeph came bursting back through the door.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ68WHGrAuA7
“Which way is Baker again?”
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5auH9BGglM
Mushroom man simply pointed and Zeph left once again.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjQQn35PAW9
“See you tomorrow,” he shouted after him and the mushroom pot jiggled in agreement.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Td2wNOgvZ
Zeph heard it but dismissed it for the crazed rambling of a dessert loner. If he found Dylan, he has no intention of staying here. Wherever here was. He doubted he would ever see that little shack ever again.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0RFCpReK3W
Instead, he sprinted toward Baker, a middle of nowhere two to save Dylan from whatever horrible misunderstanding led to him being a wanted boy.
Inside the tiny shack was just as simple as its owner. A wooden chair hugged a small table across the room and a sheet hammock hung slack behind it. To his left at the entrance stood a wood burning stove with an iron skillet resting atop it. A light layer of desert dust coated the room, apparently free-flowing from the window whenever a light wind would visit the home.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjMqii6R9pd
In the center of the room was an upside down clay flower pot, spot lit by the rays pouring in from the gap left in the shutters on the window.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVriWts2BQm
It was small, with enamel glaze or flowers on the outside that looked to be painted by a child. It rested on the dirt floor with a long crack down the side and paint that chipped at the edges. Still, Zeph decided to carefully walk around it and sit at the table.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkPe6Z0Kbtz
Only moments passed before the man pushed open the shack door and took a few steps into the room. He spared a look at Zeph, sitting bare-cheeked in his only chair, before wordlessly shaking his head and setting down his things.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuIImv7mrCv
Zeph impatiently bounced his leg, watching the man set his basket on the ground next to the table and move around a pot and some utensils as if he was preparing to cook. He was rough looking; a thick raggy shirt draped from his shoulders and thicker pants clung drying mud to the fabric around his knees. He bore an unkempt, mostly grey beard and matching long grey hair that hid his aging face, leaving only his dark brown eyes and sun-spotted nose exposed to the elements.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBJZ168u8vc
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGQrTTmcAyc
Zeph interrupted the clamor of dinner preparation. “Uuuh, do you have any clothes by any chance?”
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV2oM5BW34l
The man didn't face him to reply, apparently addressing the kitchenware.“Nothing for nothing.”
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNNKUvJaNlH
It took a longer moment than Zeph would like to admit before he understood the man’s meaning before responding,“I have nothing to give.”
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKxZXZohCkD
“And you get that in return,” but just as the man finished his sentence, movement caught Zeph’s eye from the center of the room.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHTMvpbZYXB
The pot wiggled.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnCQl9jQQ2T
The man spun around, quickly slicked back some droopy curls from his forehead and dropped to all fours, his head mere inches from the flower pot. With a free hand, he gently lifted it from the ground revealing a tiny, pinky-capped mushroom.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw1ZjE1SxGm
The man drew his face so close to the mushroom that he nearly touched it with his nose, eyes crossed as he watched it. He listened to it. He paused for a moment before he spoke.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcvQmCkF1QB
“Well sure but he isn't a ‘somebody’, neither.” The man addressed the fungus, straining his eyes to maintain focus on it. Zeph watched the man speak to the mushroom in the middle of the room and began to wonder if entering this shack was a mistake.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNIT3q6JXOQ
“Well, I guess I don't.” He spoke again. There was a long pause as the man intently listened to the toadstool.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdy0DNHYRxR
Zeph slapped both knees. “Welp, I guess I should be going.”
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBx6IDY32zb
He started to roll forward in his chair when the man continued raising an insistent hand for Zeph to stay put.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡICvIWgqtr2
“I guess that's true.” Seemingly satisfied, the mushroom man stood up, leaving the clay pot next to the mushroom. He turned around to fetch a small cup full of well water from a bucket in the corner.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV6btUFYcBM
“Go ahead and grab my spare garment from the chest behind you.” He sprinkled water and bone dust on the soil around the mushroom and replaced the clay pot.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu2ASHag2IG
It took a moment for Zeph to realize the man was talking to him now. He looked behind the chair and found a small wooden chest on the floor. He retrieved the only set of clothes inside.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1aXsOLm6oa
While Zeph was busy getting dressed, the mushroom man skirted around him to his favorite and only chair. He spared a moment of still reprieve before bringing himself to use a small cloth to wipe the dubious shapes Zeph left behind in the dust with his naked rear.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp5NG1ObqKK
“Baker,” the old man began. He pinched out the rest as he sat, enduring the creak of his old bones, “hadn’t been so busy before late.”
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHN6G66uyfG
“Who’s Baker?”32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9t7iws90KW
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9K8WkC7e53
“Aint a ‘who.’ Baker’s a town about 3 miles north from here,” he scratched some dirt free from his beard before continuing, pointing a weathered finger in various directions as he explained. “First, some dead Laudendales two nights back. Then a poor farmer’s family there on one side of town, same night. Wuddn’t but last night that the banker, Crock, and his wife on the other side turn up dead in the most heinous. Lotta dead folk. Lotta strangers.”
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEQT6Otoe2o
Zeph caught a stare from the man as he pulled the ragged shirt over his head. “I don’t want trouble.”
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU1WqKxWHQK
“Trouble ain't something you bring along with you. I got a feeling trouble is sumin’ you gon find,” he took a visual inventory of the oversized clothes cascading over Zeph’s body. “Stranger.”
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhfyUCjBJs8
“I’m trying to find a lost boy. He’s the one in trouble. Is there anyone else new to town? It would have been last night, I think.”
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyJVU8c6NQV
“Well, it wuddn’t no ‘last night’ but they say a stranger came from the forest. A boy, but he’s wanted by the sheriff.”
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhjpFeKCvlJ
“It has to be a mistake! Dylan is a good boy!”
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9DxVu6D0sq
“Well, if’n you know the boy, you oughta get to town and state a case for ‘em. Though, he might get hanged ‘fore then.”
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDhQMoG3cT4
Zeph’s arms dropped.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzXV8ykmMbg
Without a word he sprinted out the door back into the savanna. The man looked down introspectively until the sound of footsteps came back to his door as quickly as they left. Zeph came bursting back through the door.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFTd7I7AQOD
“Which way is Baker again?”
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ64kz45X4oH
Mushroom man simply pointed and Zeph left once again.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡButptSBH69
“See you tomorrow,” he shouted after him and the mushroom pot jiggled in agreement.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOOZjObmGYD
Zeph heard it but dismissed it for the crazed rambling of a dessert loner. If he found Dylan, he has no intention of staying here. Wherever here was. He doubted he would ever see that little shack ever again.
32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfBc7v6MFtE
Instead, he sprinted toward Baker, a middle of nowhere two to save Dylan from whatever horrible misunderstanding led to him being a wanted boy.32Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtEnBC6741J
and then Add to home screen.