Author's Note:12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEZszFMuN4O
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.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGVDojXN9rc
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsUqJtt9ipP
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.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqT9e3MUip0
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.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2tE3UB9PU5
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.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUEA73uFfCm
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.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ82XiC2PqFg
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJmhBZfUZS9
Zeph interrupted the clamor of dinner preparation. “Uuuh, do you have any clothes by any chance?”
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoCEFQUneyR
The man didn't face him to reply, apparently addressing the kitchenware.“Nothing for nothing.”
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuBrOSdq4xj
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.”
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa2PtXnYbvq
“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.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnnuamyJgrQ
The pot wiggled.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoFH9a5nT63
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.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ8pk4vh3Qg
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.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjshysYXXeK
“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.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqib1l0TO6z
“Well, I guess I don't.” He spoke again. There was a long pause as the man intently listened to the toadstool.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK3uoClAIns
Zeph slapped both knees. “Welp, I guess I should be going.”
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ4gFJU2FhU
He started to roll forward in his chair when the man continued raising an insistent hand for Zeph to stay put.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwo2ZQx35L1
“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.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnvEu4uYNZq
“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.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4deqwJPFXw
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.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Nox8uopVM
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.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGeIWH2LNa0
“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.”
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzWaXRulJ5s
“Who’s Baker?”12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOWqSRTrbzW
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8bxjbJyQzp
“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.”
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZiTc19JYBN
Zeph caught a stare from the man as he pulled the ragged shirt over his head. “I don’t want trouble.”
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS93qzZLFTd
“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.”
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ12NCZSYg7u
“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.”
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnS9z4iHaKt
“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.”
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEVQtyBbI21
“It has to be a mistake! Dylan is a good boy!”
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ33v9Dp2eN9
“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.”
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHcdsYrt3Nr
Zeph’s arms dropped.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYgVtb7XrIQ
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.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEOrND3AlTL
“Which way is Baker again?”
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsf41vigace
Mushroom man simply pointed and Zeph left once again.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRAEFZsKPZd
“See you tomorrow,” he shouted after him and the mushroom pot jiggled in agreement.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbQ5OLLM6TV
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.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUtna1mIX5P
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.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBQXeQ5wMne
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.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡToFBqhFAIu
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.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdkH1jzl5te
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.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbMW5LzX7MR
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.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVPGMZlLohL
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgIPO0055Ag
Zeph interrupted the clamor of dinner preparation. “Uuuh, do you have any clothes by any chance?”
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz16oqZzmic
The man didn't face him to reply, apparently addressing the kitchenware.“Nothing for nothing.”
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡISirNT9Mhv
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.”
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxbps05WViu
“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.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX7V2zr0bG9
The pot wiggled.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFa7RgoyigE
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.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMO9R9UBswY
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.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDsGN4IKWOh
“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.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdXsviiXPkd
“Well, I guess I don't.” He spoke again. There was a long pause as the man intently listened to the toadstool.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe5xqCUTLB8
Zeph slapped both knees. “Welp, I guess I should be going.”
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFm7IDZ7xlI
He started to roll forward in his chair when the man continued raising an insistent hand for Zeph to stay put.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPZB2Ubhax6
“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.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxOE50FbCjG
“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.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9ewpimr9q7
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.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnbkTfrhv2H
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.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3SgTIwUftn
“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.”
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡryAAxhE9nq
“Who’s Baker?”12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3WZUmjGOuI
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡulsUELl1Us
“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.”
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsq4SlasGEl
Zeph caught a stare from the man as he pulled the ragged shirt over his head. “I don’t want trouble.”
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPDZNSoCAFE
“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.”
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡebHYvUjgJP
“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.”
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZBhnO0mAxR
“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.”
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH0cz2Dfn3Z
“It has to be a mistake! Dylan is a good boy!”
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJoAmGd6XMB
“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.”
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡruR0kJIvHi
Zeph’s arms dropped.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsH9eishNV5
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.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdxsHGMr1Yd
“Which way is Baker again?”
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk6yRshkeHM
Mushroom man simply pointed and Zeph left once again.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIRq3xSYAnc
“See you tomorrow,” he shouted after him and the mushroom pot jiggled in agreement.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9je45r2kOY
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.
12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrjVu41Ujij
Instead, he sprinted toward Baker, a middle of nowhere two to save Dylan from whatever horrible misunderstanding led to him being a wanted boy.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTJbpeseJJv
and then Add to home screen.