Mr. George Brown
The year is 2008, it’s a difficult time of financial crisis. I’ve decided to sell my house and live in the countryside for the remaining days of my life. I’m 59 years old, born and raised in the city. Been working for as long as I can remember. I worked a lot in my younger days and never had the time to marry or start a family. No one would like me, especially now that I’m old, bald, and have this ugly scar on my face from an accident years ago. I never go out without a hat nowadays.The city suffocates me and I can’t stand living here anymore.
I saw this place called Cloverdale on a TV program once. From what I can remember, it seemed peaceful and I have been thinking of that place ever since. That’s where I’m heading.
Welcome to Cloverdale!
“Finally”, I whispered to myself as I passed the welcome sign. I’m tired. I’ve been driving continuously for seven days, stopping only to rest at highway motels. I bought an abandoned house near a creek. It shouldn’t be that far now. I couldn’t bring most of my belongings so I guess I’ll have to stop by a hardware to buy some tools to repair my new place.
As I stepped out of my car, I noticed there were a few people walking in the street. They look like farmers and working men wearing overalls and tall boots.
“Welcome to Jim’s store, how can I help you?” the guy inside asked as he approached me. I told him everything I needed and I watched him as he moved back and forth preparing my orders. He’s an old man, probably in his seventies. I can tell he’s got a poor eyesight since he’s having a hard time reading the labels on the boxes. When he’s done, he called for me at the counter.
“Too quiet in here, mister, no?” I asked.
“That’s what the city people come here for. I’m Jim”, he replied as he extends his hand to shake mine.
“Right. I’m George Brown. I bought a house near the creek.”
“I see, so you’re the one who bought the old Willis’ home.”
“Yeah. Thank you for these, Jim.” I paid for the tools and left, the line behind me suddenly got longer.
Outside the store, I saw a little girl sitting at a bench, staring at me blankly. I waved my hand to greet her but she ran away inside.
I drove away to my new place. The house looked decent from the outside, but as I stepped inside, I noticed the dust that had accumulated over time. Despite this, the rooms are still livable. I checked that there’s electricity and water. However, there are no lights, but that’s not a big problem. I need to go back to the hardware to buy some lightbulbs. The sun is setting fast.
As I started my car, I noticed someone walking in front. It’s the kid from the store. “Hi, little one. Where are your parents? It’s almost dark and you shouldn’t be here.” I asked.
“I’m Clay. I was just playing and got lost. I can’t find my way home,” she said, crying. She then asked if she could have a ride to the store. She was just quiet the whole time and didn’t say a word. She jumped out of the car as soon as we got to the store and ran away to the bench outside.
I went inside the store and saw Jim standing at the counter. He didn’t notice me coming as I went to him, “Hey, Jim, I found your kid. She’s outside.”
“What kid? I live here alone.”
“There was a kid earlier when I came here. She was sitting outside your store.”
“I don’t know who you’re talking about.” He replied in a confused tone.
“She said her name was Clay. I found her walking outside my house as I started my car to get back here to buy some lightbulbs. She said she was lost.” And he replied, “Mister, you might want to grab a seat. Clay and her family have been dead for about ten years now. They used to live at the old Willis’ home. They were visiting the city when they were murdered. Poor family. It was all over the news back then. They never found the killer, but witnesses claimed the assailant was wearing glasses, he was bald and had a big scar on his left cheek. He got away before the police arrived.”