by J. A. Areces
***
The morning sun appeared to dance across the soft ripples of Mount Dora Lake. For anyone who rode along the parallel road, the temptation to pull over and bask in its beauty was inevitable. It was Jesse’s favorite time of the day. It was the only time that he could forget about everything -- the nightmares, Mr. Claw, even the wizard Beifar. The cool breeze was delightful. The orange and yellow of the morning light made everything appear fresh and clean. The local traffic died down as he entered town, which made the overall experience calm and pleasant.
For Jesse, things now seemed completely different. The fact that he performed the first task of the Exercises was exhilarating. The anxiety he felt when he first awoke subsided. He was able to take in the splendor around him and felt ready to take on the day.
Jesse pulled over in front of Radio Shack. He needed to speak to Rob. It was just past 9:00 a.m., and the store was open for business. Rob was busy placing more merchandise on the shelves in the back of the store. Jesse entered the store; a buzz announced his arrival. Jesse unconsciously expected to hear the ringing of bells, like at Alivan’s Wizards and Witches Corner Store, instead of a buzzer. Rob called out that he would be right with him, and Jesse waited patiently by the front counter.
“You look terrible, man,” were Rob’s first words. “What did you do last night?”
Jesse lowered his eyes for a moment. He wasn’t sure how to answer Rob without providing too much information. “I suffered a bad nightmare, again. I was wondering if you could tell me more about your friend’s grandmother, the one you spoke about last night."
Rob’s eyebrows rose as he stepped behind the counter. “You’re not going to like this,” he swallowed hard, “the old lady I told you about last night… the one you delivered the batteries to” he looked around for a second, “died. Heart attack -- scared to death.”
Rob was correct; Jesse didn’t like the news.
“Tell me more?” Jesse was reluctant to ask.
“The neighbor next door found her dead clutching at nothing - - bizarre. The neighbor stated that the last person who saw her alive was the UPS deliveryman. He delivered a small package. The neighbor said that she bumped into him on the way out and as usual he was in a rush.”
“I don’t get it?”
“Folks around here still talk about the murders that took place in front of your store,” continued Rob, “and about old man Lefkoff. They’re starting to wonder if there’s some connection. After those deaths, the store was shut down, ya’ know, and empty till you got here. Now, there is another similar death. Dude, get out of town.”
Jesse could only stare at Rob. He didn’t know what to say, what to think. The peaceful ride into town seemed long ago, distant, forgotten. Jesse thanked Rob for the information, and left. The morning no longer appeared beautiful. He no longer felt excited about feeling his fingers. He didn’t even remember. That could have been him last night. He experienced a similar nightmare. He felt as if he was going to die. He could have been scared to death. Jesse felt overwhelmed, drained and tired. He slowly climbed on his bike and headed to the Deli, hoping to see Cindy.
