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2024-10-29 19:42:56
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Shadow On The Eyes The Farmer
Back in the truck, I headed to Abby’s Second Hand and Foot Used Goods. I knew I could always pop on my laptop and order furniture delivered new, but I was curious about the store and the owner. Pulling up along the cracked sidewalk littered with old street lamps, I got out and looked around. Years of dirt and sun-beaten storefronts lined up one next to the other. Fliers about donations and the local foodbank covered the glass door while antiques sat in the window displays. Opening the door, I heard a bell chime, and a woman’s voice called out, “If you’re looking for the food bank, you’ll have to visit the church first for a voucher.” I recognized the owner when she walked around a long shoe rack displaying used heels and sneakers. Looking me over, she said, “Oh, it’s you.” I didn’t know how to take it, so my suave response was, “Yes, it’s me?” She rolled her eyes, “At the gas station, red truck? Almost hit me?” I nodded and cracked a sheepish smile, “Ah, faded blue tru
Shadow On The Eyes Under The Stairs
It was well past midnight, and I lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling. Sleep was being a bitch and refused to come. Earlier, I’d spoken to Eric, informing him of my decision to buy the home, and he was more excited than I was. “Man, that’s great news! If there’s anything you need, tell me. I got you covered, and hey, it’s a good step. You can move on and get a fresh start. Age doesn’t rewind, you know? Maybe find your pen, and pick it up? But hey, I gotta go. We got a newbie who signed with an illiterate asshole who thinks we’re paid to write for him. Talk again soon!” That was the extent of his congrats, which was fine with me. He was still making money off of me, but the moment I start sending him transcripts and outlines, he’ll be up my ass, pushing me for even bigger dollar signs. I still can’t figure out why I bought the home. Maybe I felt pushed or subconsciously wanted to stop running around. Who knows, if the place doesn’t work after I move in, I could always sell it to
Shadow On The Eyes Blink
I started to get up, thinking that if I intervened at that moment, I'd wake up in a cold sweat, and the dream would be over. But the boy grabbed my sleeve, and like a vice grip yanking me back, I stumbled and made a noise. William's father stopped on the stairs. I could see the back of his mud-covered boots now. If William's momma wasn't mad about muddy boot prints in the house, then what the young boy did must have really pissed her off. He was wearing jeans, also caked with dry mud. I could smell the manure on him, and I remembered smelling the same thing in the warehouse. "I hear you breathing, boy. Might as well come out now." We didn't move, and I could feel William's arm lift to cover his mouth again. My attention was drawn back to peeking between the steps as his father took another step down, and then, it was like I was watching an old familiar cartoon, the man bent in half at such an angle that I didn't think was possible. The oil lamp swung gently as he held it out, m
Shadow On The Eyes Draw The Line
Sitting up in a familiar state of sweat, or what I thought was sweat, I realized what woke me. Looking up, I could see tons of water droplets coming down from the ceiling. It was leaking while the rain beat at the window outside. The sound of thunder cracked loudly, and I shook my head. "Fucking great," I mumbled as I pressed my hand down into the soggy bed. Grabbing my phone from the side table, I looked at the time. It was only four in the morning, so that meant I'd only slept maybe three hours, but the dream, fuck, it made it feel like I had slept the entire day. Getting up, I changed into a hoodie and jeans before heading to complain about the leak. I noticed the water was dripping on the tv stand and carpet by the bathroom. I wasn't about to sleep on the wet floor. Somehow, again, I ended up in a room with shitty conditions. Opening the door, wet wind slapped at me. I pulled the hood over my head and slammed the door behind me as I tried dodging the rain and went throug
Shadow On The Eyes Some Whisper
I was done with the Motel of Horrors. After Tina had left me to ponder my life choices, I finally turned in the room key. There was no point in asking for a refund. Even if I knew what I’d seen and what I didn’t afterward, I couldn’t prove it. The early morning was a gray, foggy mist leftover from the rain that still threatened overhead. I decided to head out to the new house to unlock the door and unload the crap in my truck. It wasn’t a big deal driving out there, the distance from town wasn’t too bad, and the main strip of road was deserted at this time. Finally, after about 15 minutes of driving, I reached the turn for the long gravel driveway. The weathered for sale sign was gone. Someone had apparently removed it. Usually, a person or family is happy with sunshine coming out of their ass when they buy a home, and I used to be that kind of someone. But not today. Between the dreams and subtle things that looked like warnings, I wondered if I’d genuinely made a mistake. Anothe
Shadow On The Eyes More Feet
It took a little under an hour to get everything moved. The rain held, but the wind decided to make itself known as we carried the desk up the small steps. “We’ll have to bring it in the sliding glass door. I don’t think we can fit it in this one,” Abby said, setting her side down. “Yeah, looks that way. Let’s head around the back then.” Walking around the side of the house, both our steps sunk into the ground as we carried the heavy desk to the back patio door. “Shit, it’s still locked. Set it down, and I’ll unlock it,” I told her as I set my side of the heavy piece of junk down and headed back around to the front door. Coming in the front door, I could see our muddy tracks, but something caught my eye. Muddy shoeprints were going into the hallway towards the bedrooms, also. We had set everything up in the living room, and I didn’t recall either of us going back there. I followed them to the back bedroom. They were comparable to mine in size, but I couldn’t tell if they we
Shadow On The Eyes It Starts
“Good to see ya again, Mr. Lake. I didn’t get the chance to introduce myself properly last time. Names Buck Johnson,” the large farmer said, holding out his hand. I took it reluctantly and shook it, getting a smile from him. “Nice to meet you again,” I replied politely. “So’s, I hear you ended up buying the place after all?” I nodded, glancing between him and the sheriff, “Yeah, I figured it’d work for what I was looking for.” “Good deal, and I suppose you won’t need to use that barn?” I shrugged, looking away, not sure how I wanted to respond. “Nah, he’s a writer, probably wouldn’t know the first thing about using a combine, am I right, Mr. Lake?” I looked at the man, tempted to say no because I could pay someone else to use it, but instead just smiled, replying, “I suppose you are right, sheriff. Anyway, it was nice seeing you both again. Take care now.” I gave them a quick nod and turned, trying to get back to my truck. They didn’t say anything or call after me, to which I
Shadow On The Eyes Chaos And Dream
When I say shadows, I didn’t mean the kind that appears when the sun is bright. These were dark, deep, nothingness, more of a blur rather. I blinked several times, and when I slowly turned my head to see them, they disappeared. They were gone, completely. I went back to the bathroom and flipped on the light. Leaning forward in the mirror, I pulled back the skin around my eye, seeing if I had something sticking there. Nothing, my eyes looked the same, bloodshot, with heavy bags drooping underneath. Splashing water on my face, I looked back into the mirror, and that’s when I caught sight of the shadows standing behind me. I yelled in a panic, almost climbing on the toilet as I turned around, but nothing was there. I glanced back to the mirror, but nothing dark and looming stood there. The bathroom was empty, void of anything other than myself. I sat on the toilet for a minute, trying to gather myself back to reality, my heart thumping in my throat. It had to be all in my mi
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- Shadow On The Eyes
update notice
Unfortunately, I got very sick in early 2023, and in October of 2023, I was diagnosed with multiple myeloma type cancer. I have finished chemo, and it is officially in remission (yay! thank the Lord). I will be updating soon, hopefully, as my energy returns. I want to finish my stories and continue others soooo badly, it is driving me crazy! I am soo sorry for the lack of updating, and keeping in touch. I hope everyone is well and I look forward to writing for you again soon. Please be patient and thank you for waiting on me, I promise to hurry!
- Shadow On The Eyes
Kaleidoscope
With a brick in hand and the full intention of breaking the damned window, I stood there frozen and unable to rationalize what I had just experienced. Was there really some bastard that had broke into my home and mocked me, or was it just another delusional dream, and I was about to wake up soaked like I had pissed myself yet again? The innocent black kitten continued to bat around a small paper ball, oblivious to my staring inside. I dropped the brick. The sound of it hitting wet wood on the deck was loud enough to echo, and the sound reached inside, making the kitten bounce on all fours before he ran to hide under my recliner. Turning, I ran down the steps to the front yard, almost sliding on my ass, drenched and feeling the coldness of wet clothes. But, of course, no one was there when I spun in circles looking around me. “WHO ARE YOU? WHAT DO YOU WANT?” I had yelled loud enough that my voice cracked, but I knew if an intruder was there or not, no one would really answer
- Shadow On The Eyes
Locked Out
The little furball and I headed back to the house, and heavy rain started hitting the windshield. I was carefully driving but prayed the little thing wouldn’t make the ride difficult by suddenly jumping on the dash or climbing my face. Luckily, that didn’t happen, but the rain was coming down harder when I parked out front of the house. Making a plan, I stuffed the kitten in my hoodie the best I could and grabbed the bags before darting out the door and up to the house. After fidgeting with the keys, I was able to get in. I still managed to get soaked a bit, and the kitten wasn’t too happy either. “I’ll get your poop box set up first and then change,” I said out loud to fill the silence in the house. I put it in the spare room until I could move the desk in there. The kitten seemed grateful to relieve itself, and I left it alone to get out of my wet clothes. I had just pulled my shirt on after drying my hair when I heard scratching noises and loud banging outside. The kitten w
- Shadow On The Eyes
Recognizing Truth
When I got to my driveway finally, I noticed two large boxes and a package of blinds thrown next to the mailbox. I figured they’d leave it there. I hated getting things by post. The shit either came up missing or was delivered, ripped, smashed, and plain old snooped through. Seriously, how can we not notice a hole torn in the corner or a flap of plastic ripped off? When I pulled up to the house, having taken my time driving along the field, I decided to fix the door to the shed. It was hanging loose again. Grabbing everything from the truck and trying to balance it with one hand, I unlocked the front door and went in. Setting the boxes down, I looked around, and nothing seemed out of order, so I went back outside. The sun, fighting through incoming clouds, was still a ways away from setting, so it gave me plenty of time. With the small toolbox from the back of the truck, I walked toward the shed. The door had shut again, but as I got closer, it moved. I watched it for a moment
- Shadow On The Eyes
Still No Luck
I felt the same confusion the young officer did when he asked, “Assault, sir?” Frank grinned and held up his hand, showing bloody knuckles where he punched Ron, “Yes, officer Tigs, assault. His face assaulted my hand.” The young officer, Tigs, just nodded and looked back at his desk before he started writing. Ron spat blood onto the floor and seemed calmer when he said, “Ha! Good hit, Frank. Always easy when someone can’t defend themselves, but you WOULD know all about that, wouldn’t you?” Frank quickly turned and went back for more, giving Ron a couple more punches to the face. I wanted to stop him. His beating on the guy seemed a little excessive and unprofessional. “Put him in solitary confinement for a week, and add threat and destruction of property to the charges. Maybe he’ll learn to keep his mouth shut then,” Frank said once he was done pummeling the knocked-out Ron. I looked at Buck's face, and there was amusement at Frank's actions. This wasn’t a place for law enfo
- Shadow On The Eyes
Pointless Inquiry
In a small building complex, very close to the Sunny Field Market, was the local police station coupled with a fire station and a small courthouse. Unlike larger cities, where you’d find them separated and imposing their position, this small complex served as a multifunctional beacon of enforcement and reliance for the town. I prepared myself for what I would ask as I pulled into the parking lot. Sometimes, we can get the most profound answers with the simplest questions. It’s human nature to share, boast and be informative, and to sound important and knowledgeable. I grabbed a pad of paper and a pen before getting out and opening one of the double glass doors to the sheriff's department. A bell jingled when I walked in and up to the front desk, much like Sunny Motel's desk. However, behind it, the room was open with several desks holding computers and at the back, behind a glass partition, was the sheriff's office. “Can I help you?” a woman said, standing up from the desk. I no
- Shadow On The Eyes
Failed Plans
The sun had warmed the house enough I could shut the windows before going outside and making a fire pit. Several bricks and cinder blocks were sitting next to the shed, so after using a very old shovel I found, I dug a small burn pit and surrounded it with the blocks and bricks. It took me a while. The ground was hard from the cold, and for being supposedly fertile dirt, there were a shit ton of rocks. Once I was finished, I went inside to start grabbing the stuff I had planned on burning. The small pit was halfway between the house and the woods, so it was safe from setting fire to either. Eventually, I had a nice blaze built, have found a random lighter in one of the boxes Abby gave me. It was easier than lighting paper on the stove. Standing there and methodically tossing stuff in, I failed to notice the farmer, Chuck, had come from the backside of the house. “Heya, Mr. Lake, having yourself a BBQ?” He startled me initially, and then I felt slightly irritated, but I just no
- Shadow On The Eyes
Spook Board
My voice got more aggressive as I got agitated. “Ah, now calm down. What you see is what it is, a party man. We are having a party in your brain. Bout’s time too.” I shook my head. It was too unreal. I could understand the nightmares, but this one was too crazy to grasp reasoning. “You’s trippen again? See, I told you you’d find what you not be looking for out here.” I threw my hand across the space of nothing, “Out here? There isn’t a goddamn thing out here!” I pulled at my hair, and my hand came back with a clump of it. “Ah, now see, you changing, told you, should have stayed in the tub, want a hit?” Again, the zebra man offered me a drag of his blunt, but I was so pissed I smacked it from his hand with my fisted clump of hair before watching the hair and the blunt fall into nothingness. “Awe shit, you gone and done it now,” he said in a tone that suddenly worried me. The feeling of the bass stopped, and the entire room of freaks turned to look at me as the lights froze, no
- Shadow On The Eyes
Slip Of Bizarre
My voice echoed in the bathroom as I began to yell in frustration. Did I need to call a priest to come here, find me wacko, and then the town avoid me like some filthy bum on the streets? Like it was my fault? I turned quickly, and the shadow, again, was gone. However, when I faced the mirror this time, my blood ran cold. Steam replaced where I had wiped, and then, as if some invisible finger was floating in the air, I read aloud the words it wrote across my blurred reflection, “Do Not Hear, Do Not Look.” I asked, “Do not hear or look? What the fuck does that mean!?” yelling again, but the house’s response was silence. Whoever or whatever it was left me to figure it out alone. Going to the kitchen after I was dressed, I grabbed more chips and chewed hard. I wasn’t hungry, but I refused to smoke or drink, so it was as close to relieving stress as I could muster. When I was done and the bag of chips had been demolished, I noticed the house got colder as temperatures started to dr
