by H. Caswell
Alfred, observes the fat man’s disgust with him. Wright’s perversion of money; leading himself on; to be a telling tale; of his own lack of ambition; to succeed in his life; as well, he is forced by faults; of his own DNA, and binding unbreakable chains, within his blood; to know any better. A clear picture emerges, of the family Wright, has come from; within Alfred’s thoughts.‘A mother, of strict, religious background … ruling the homestead. Making every waking decision … for her young son. What to eat, or wear, when to bathe, pray … or comb his hair. Yes, every waking moment, comes … from this woman. And she gives no approval. No … She, unsatisfied … in her life, and her identity; forces her … to succumb, into a roll of mumblings, and squalls of anger, toward her beloved … son. Emotional, and physical abuse; indeed … took place, with his mother. As her son, he … accepted his;fate.For certain, Alfred, knows that Wrights father;would have been absent from the home. Weakness, and tired … of his wife, this man, his … father, may have taken work up in some distant land. Perhaps a; coal miner. Any place … but … home … would be Father’s agenda. From time … to time, a visit back … home, only to find himself tired of the … bickering and voice of his wife, he would find refuge in leaving … again. Yes, Alfred is reasonably sure of Wright's life. His accusations are evident,in the appearance of the man before him. Overweight; due to the lacking commands, to eat, or when it has … been enough. His clothing, baggy, and wrinkled. Black slick hair combed back without style. His unshaven face, a testament of …laziness. Alfred notices …the mustard stain, upon his white button down shirt, leading me, to believe Wright … also to be, unmarried. I knows … with no conflicting thoughts; Wright’s mother is certainly … dead. And by the looks of her son; would be … rolling in her grave. And with no mother steering his direction; Wright for certain, would not know the woman he should marry. Conflicted, to the exact path his father may have taken, Alfred,assumes … Wright’s father may have never returned to the family home after one of his visits. A selfish … bastard … for sure. Smart, perhaps, but, selfish … to leave … leave … his boy … behind’. ‘A tug from Wright on Alfred’s top coat snaps him back to the present’“Have you changed … your mindsir?”‘Alfred shakes his head no, and signals to proceedon’ they walk along a curving walkway made of cobblestones. The path, filled with overgrown, vegetation. It leads them to the front, weather-worn, steps of the hospital. Alfred; gazes ‘with his eyes wide, his heart delightfully pounding, within his chest’ upon the enormous building. Her brick, red walls, and cobblestone sides, climb three stories high. The bottom floor, assuming, basement, small square windows surrounded by shrubs. The remaining two floors; long large windows, with broken panes of glass, where some tree branches, have broken through; overlooking the water. Two enormously, large weathered wooden doors, hang barley; on by their hinges. Wright grasps the door to the right, with two hands; he struggles with its weight, using his bodies mass, he pushes it open. Thunder rolls forward, in the distance, reminding Wright, they must hurry.
Some of the floorboards protruding upward; from their nails rusting away.“Watch your step” he cautions, as Alfred thinks ‘Other than some floor boards, and fallen large chunks of plaster … from the walls, the appearance inside, has fared,well’ Their steps echo through the empty, hollow, building. Mice, scatter across the floors,‘Alfred smirks thinking, Enjoy now little critters … soon you shall not … live’ as the men head down a very wide; long hall. Many of the rooms; staggered from side, to side; closed off with thick green, rusty metal doors, with a tiny window covered in bars, and a long narrow slot for food trays; evidence of the caution needed during the smallpox pandemic, and of course, their protection of staff, during the drug infested times. They reach a large kitchen. The white pine cabinets rotted; their doors are hardly clinging on, wrap around three-quarters of the room. Long dark wooden counter tops, embrace the cabinets nicely. To Alfred‘s left, a rusty white wood cooking stove, nestled in a corner of its space. To the far right, a long broken wooden table, and chairs, semi stands, beneath three large, wide windows. Alfred, looks about the room thinking … ‘I will not need such … an extravagant room, but I alone … will not occupy this place,either’ Understanding the urgency of their having to get back upon the tug, Alfred, suggests to Wright“Please … explain the best qualities of the buildings” while stepping cautiously over the broken table, to look out the windows’ Wright begins his verbal tour … “The building has many sections added … from the first build; which we stand in, now. The tuberculosis wing‘pointing down a hall to his left’ the last … made. Many areas on the two main floors, have secured doors … for locking people ... inside. The drug addicts … OH … they would become extremely …‘shaking his head’ Violent, during the detox phase, so the staff felt it Necessary … ‘sighing’ to add more secure doors; especially;after a DEADLY … instance ‘his voice lowers in sorrow’ when a young female … she umm … carved up a nurse.‘Alfred turns his eyes upon Wright’ the rumor, the girl … believed the hallucination she was having, of a HORRIBLE … two headed dog- like figure … trying to EAT … her. The nurseentered her room ‘softens his voice again’ you know… to help her; when she carved the nurse up … real bad. People claim; her body… was shredded ….cheese … by a broken piece of glass, she found … from the kitchen. She had it hid under the flooring … beneath her bed. I would have cautioned … you … BUT … to be … honest … after telling you …‘removing his hanky, wiping his brow’ the history and your … nonchalant attitude; I suppose, this story has no issues with …you.” ‘Alfred, slightly amused, with Wright’s sarcastic opinion; looks to Wright briefly, before engaging his sites, back outdoors.’ The third floor is where the resident Doctor … would reside. That floor overlooks the water and full visual of the tugs coming in; either with new residents or supplies. I have often; thought about … how … Beautiful …‘his eyes glistening’ it must have been to watch a coastal storm; come in from those … windows.‘He looks to Alfred, who seems unimpressed’Wright thinks for a moment‘What is with this … strange … man’he continues… The center room’s décor … is very exquisite ‘excitably speaking’ deep dark, cherry wood, bookcases, almost … wall to wall. OH, might I add … the books are still on those … shelves ‘smiling’ the deep, cherry molding, sweeping through the entire … area. Large handcrafted cobblestone fireplace, blackened, cherry wood flooring, with antique oriental rugs. They claim … there is a hidden office‘Alfred’s curiosity heightens’ behind one of the bookcase although it has yet ... to be found. It will take some time to find … if one was to see … if it is … True. Of course, due to her abandonment … I will say… the area handled it pretty … well. Some damage … you know … worn … and she don’t shine … like new … BUT far better than one would … suspect." ‘Alfred stops Wright briefly and asks him’, “You said … center room, what other rooms are there?” Wright answers … Oh, yes, there is a small bedroom tucked in the right corner. Enough room … for a bed and desk I suppose. And the floors own … bathing room. Hell … that alone Sir … is quite remarkable. If I remember … correctly … a porcelain claw tub. Those rooms are quite small, but I assume … the activity mainly had been spent … in the grand room. The grounds here well, ‘Wright looks out the window’over-grown now, did present … some beautiful flower gardens. Many folks enjoyed that area over there,” ‘Wright, pointing out the big kitchen window, to an enormous Cherry tree astonish; still standing in the mist about a hundred yards, center of an overgrown garden. A broken park bench;laying beneath the hanging wispy branches’Yes that spot … over there …is most famous, in the brochures … of this island. Great selling points… I suppose. Over there to our left … the building most feared. A visual reminder … of what was to come … of those who fall‘his voice somber’ sick. The Crematorium! ‘Alfred’s eyes brighten with the word’ They, well… very well … could not bring the DEAD … back to town … or any land … for that matter; once the Sickness … had taken their l
ives. I will get back to that one … in a moment. Over to the left in the far corner … is a small cottage … Typhoid Mary … resided there … Can YOU … Believe … that woman… infected and‘he sighs’ KILLED … many people in the Bronx? Working as a cook … she was. When others would become … you know … sick, she just … moves on… to another job. Repeating the same actions over … and over … UNTIL … they finally caught onto her. Yes, she spent her years there in that cottage. Rightfully so … I say … as you can see from the exterior, there is not much left to it. Now to the EERIEIST … thing about this island, if YOU … already did not find it that way… anyhow … ‘Wright’s voice becomes breathless and excited with fear as he begins to tell’,the … basement; the COLD … cellar. That Place even I would not spend ONE minute … inside. The concrete walls ‘his eyes grow dim, his voice shaken with fear’ stained … with … with … BLOOD. Small rooms, many might I add … hold metal tables with … STRAPS! …at the tops and bottoms of them. Small counters with Weird and … FREAKY … equipment upon them still sit in corners. In one room … a strange chair; sits in the middle; I have no idea … what it is, but some say … Electrocution happened there ‘Wright’s voice is shaking as he describes the area’ I do not know if the stories are true … But … I feel … you now … sick… every time I go down… there. Anyways … In the far back a colossal; extremely old heavy oak door ‘Taking a white hanky from his lapel pocket,he wipes his brow.’ Alfred picks up on Wright’s nervous posture. He finds himself now … even more intrigued. “Well …Go ondear man” ‘encouraged Alfred’“Behind this door… are tunnels. Underground tunnels … Some lead to areas where you can watch … the shower rooms; while others; to inmate’s rooms. They are small trap doors for peeping, you know." Wright’s look upon his face withdrawnand horrified. He wipes his brow again.I do not know exactly … why. But the doors are there. These tunnels are lit by hanging hurricane lamps … from the ceilings. Bloody; hand prints… smear some of the walls. Almost as if whoever… was trying to hold‘Wrights’ voice softens’ themselves… back‘He clears his throat’ the dirt ground permanently scarred with … wheel tracks. I assume … from the wheeled tables. Of the two; I explored … I only went completely down one. It led to the …. Crematorium. Inside that place. Ohhh! … maannn! ‘Wright’s voice a higher pitched tone. His skin, wet with moisture from his nervousness’… I never … EVER … want to SEE … the inside of that place AGAIN! The rounded cobblestone walls … still echo the sounds … of the slamming door and burning flames. It is right smack … in the center of the room. This huge round stack … greets you. That is … Where … the DOOR … is… you see … this THING … climbs twenty feet UP in the air, through the roof … and outside. To the side of it, there is an opening … where they would feed the hardwood … to fuel this Inferno. Them … there … wheel tracks; lead right up to a large cast iron door … with an enormous handle. I opened it once ‘with a voice excited withsurprise now’ MAN!! There are still … Skeletal … Remains of People … in THERE!” ‘Shock and disgust areevident in Wright’s voice’I joke with you not …SIR … I re…fuse EVER … to go back down there… or anywhere near the basement again. That is why I never bothered to see where the last tunnel went. Some … speculate in times of craziness here … before she permanently shut down … that Bodies are also…. buried in a small swamp…’pointing out the window past the tree’ out in the far east side, of the island.It makes some sense‘shrugging’ seems the tunnel … Appears to head in that direction. But as I have made CLEAR… I …will… not ... find out!”
As Wright turns to look upon Alfred, as strong wind rattles, the windows of the building. A loud; body shaking, crash, of thunder; rolls; above them. Alfred, smiles at Wright, and suggests they get back to the tug. As they make their way out of the building, Alfred looks back at her; briefly, hollering to Wright as they run through the over ground vegetation“I will be taking her. We will do up the paperwork…’yelling louder over the gusts of wind’WHEN … WE … Get Back To TOWN.”‘Wright acknowledges Alfred with a wave’ The Captain delighted and already preparing the tug, for the return trip;greets the two gentlemen. “Made it just in time. I ‘ginning’ was just …preparing to leave.” Alfred finds no amusement; in the Captain, as they climb aboard,his eyes piercing the back of the captains head ‘you are treading on thin waters’ They begin their course back inland.
The waters, extremely agitated, angrily; pounding, the tug with her waves as they try to hold on while the rain; pouring down soaking the men aboard, while the thunder unleashes … its fury. Lighting; striking just behind them … as they finally make landfall. As they step upon the dock; Alfred notices the cab awaiting him‘smiles’“Come on." Alfred points to the cab and signals for Wright to follow. The two man now soaked to the bones climb inside. Before they pulls away, Wright pointing out the back window, south “The tug, if you should … buy one … docks over there … down on 132 Main Street. That is your … personal;transport station.” Alfred pulls from his soaked, pocket, his pipe; clenching it between his teeth; orders Wright,“Well … do YOU suppose you should … give … your address to the cabbie.” Embarrassed, by his lack of attention; Wright gives the driver his address. The cab ride, is a bit odd, with silence‘Wright trying not to look upon the man he sits beside … thinking ‘This fellow … is JUST not right. There is something … VERY wrong here’ as they cruises through the mostly bare streets, due to the; raging storm. Traffic … unusually; calm.
Wright, wants very much to ask what the purpose of the island, is intended, to be. Deciding not to ask. There is something, highly, uncertain, about Alfred that is unsettling to him. He suspects,‘I am probably better off,not knowing the answer’ as the cab pulls up to the address, Alfred leans over and hands the cab driver another fifty. The cabbie looks behind to Alfred, smoke rising from his pipe;Alfred lets the driver know “Your services … will no longer be in need today. Thank you …for your services.” The driver tips his hat to Alfred, as the two step out into the pouring, rain. As the cab pulls away, Alfred looks up to the building, they stand before. He chuckles inside; knowing, yet, again, by the dreadful lack of up keeping of this building, his personal inventory of Wright’s life, to be correctly, evaluated.As the wind rushes through, Alfred looks over the building, while waiting for Wright; who is fumbling through his overcoat, looking for his keys he whispers“For the love of God”Alfred, highly amused, snickers, starring at the broken glass on the front doors, parts, replaced with plywood. The three wooden steps, the gray paint, has all … but worn off. A black mailbox; hanging sideways; attached to the brick building … rubs against the bricks, in the wind … obvious signs, of worn marks a sign … of it being this way for quite, some time.‘Alfred smiles, he cannot help but, be impressed with his abilities, while he continues his entertainment’ the piles of old newspapers; never collected; soaked and nearly shredded; gather below the hanging box. To the far right, a big white sign; taped to the four windows, a couple stories up reads; FOR Rent “Financial ruins” ‘expresses Alfred under his breath’Just left, of the entrance, on the second-floor; curtains of lime green, and a half sun-bleached worn, ripped shade; hang. Rubbish; litters, the sidewalk around the building, while an overfilled, toppled trash container, and allows its contents, to blow in the streets. Alfred; disgusted, yet amused, with Wright’s,diagnoses, thinks ‘I cannot wait for the day … I shall not suffer … any longer with the filth of this … community’ Wright, pays no attention to any of this, as he hobbles up the steps, unlocking the door. He is very, unaware, of the thoughts of, Alfred. Inside, a long, dark hall; trash, litters the floors, while a black cat,scurries up the stairs“I am not surprised” Wright turning back to Alfred “Did you say something … Sir?” Alfred very much wanted to discuss the man’s issues, but answers “No” The odor inside; smells, of old dirty socks and rot of flesh. Alfred, lights his pipe once more, in hopes, to cover the, stench, with his cherry tobacco. As they make their way up; Alfred, notices the many broke
n spindles along the chipped, red painted, banisters. A few dirty, nasty, rats; eating some sort of unrecognizable, decayed, dead animal, ‘Alfred rolling his eyes’ they pay no mind, to the approaching men, as they make their way up the last flight of steps. It was no surprise, to Alfred, when they arrived at their destination, to see bags of trash; stacked against the outside walls. The smell, on the other hand; did offend his nose. Even with the pipe smoke, it could not hide, the rotting smell; emanating from within them. Wright, unlocks the door as if all this is perfectly, normal, showing no signs of embarrassment, of any kind.“Please come in” welcoming Alfred. Inside much of the same is present. Dirty laundry; scattered from one room, to another, in this two room studio. The hardwood flooring, from what you can see of it, scratched and dull. Dirty dishes; piled in the sink and small counter. A white ice box beside the sink and counter; covered in black prints.Alfred thinks ‘His issues may be deeper … than even I understand’ while he notices Wright, does not have much for furnishing. A green and yellow; pin stripped worn couch; nestled, beneath the window he had noticed outside. It is apparent the man sleeps upon it‘Too lazy even for a bed’ Alfred’s mind speaks, proof with the pillow and dark green blanket tossed to one side. A small coffee table; placed just front of the couch, of course, piled with a few dirty dishes and papers. No pictures; hang‘Alfred takes notice, no family portraits’ on the old worn plaster walls. A lone, standing lamp; nestled in the right corner near the couch its shade torn. The floor around and under the table littered, with takeout containers. ‘Yes, a man with no direction, for sure’ Alfred, is certain of this. Wright makes his way to the ice box. He reaches above and pulls a white envelope down, while blowing and brushing the dust that has collected,off. “Here we go, sir.” Alfred follows Wright to the filled, counter top. Wright pushes a small pile of dirty cups over, just enough to place the paper down. Alfred reads; PURCHASE AGREEMENT OF NORTH BROTHER’S ISLAND, as is as shown. Alfred, wanting quickly now to get out of this wretched place; pulls a pen from his expensive, lime green, suit coat pocket. As Wright wasting no time, signs the agreement, Alfred, unlocks his black briefcase realizing with nowhere to put the money, he decides to give the whole lot, to Wright.
