The little boy at the pond

Newspapers have been slowly diminishing the last twenty years. So on the one hand Sally & Josh felt pretty good to be working. On the other hand they weren’t to thrilled to be working for a sensationalist tabloid.

Replying to Josh, Sally said. “The whole thing is crazy but they’re paying us to write the story so who cares. We’ll just go and write a story.”

That’s when Josh noticed the guy in the back of the gas station. “Excuse me, excuse me. … Can you tell me where the Rosehill Land of peaceful Rest is?”

The old attendant was bored. In spite of the situation, they’d seen no real interest from outside the area. The old attendant thought a moment. ‘These two looked like a couple kids from the big city. Maybe I should have a bit of fun with them. No, maybe not. No telling what might happen. You just never knew these days.’

“Sure,” the garage attendant replied. “Sure, I can do that.”

Sally broke in. “Can you tell us anything about the area?”

“Yep,” the attendant replied. “Construction began back in eighteen and seventy five. That’s when they put the first farmhouse out here. Before then it was all just forest don’t ya know. There was talk of a fountain round about here somewhere. Nobody can remember exactly where. Anyway, the old family that lived in the farm house must’a just up and left. For about thirty years far’n as I can tell, it was just abandoned property. That’s when the city, well just a township really, got the idea to take the land and sell it to a developer. Cept’n there weren’t no real interest from any developers. Except the one of course. The Angelic Rest Corporation it was called. They put in the most beautiful cemetery I ever saw. It’s just up the road there and to the right. I got to warn you though. It don’t look nothing like it did, before, … well, just before. I reckon that’s all I got to say. You can just drive on up there and see for yourself.”

As they got back in the car Josh looked at Sally. “That was, a bit normal and weird all at the same time. Guess we better have a look.”

About twenty minutes later they pulled into a small but adorable retirement community and looked at one another. Sally looked at Josh. “Are we in the right place?”

Josh replied. “I must’ve done something wrong.” Josh promptly turned back to the gas station.

The sun was up high now. The station looked well kept but fairly old. It had an old Marathon Oil sign over the one garage bay. Josh decided he might as well gas up while Sally searched out the attendant. It was fascinating watching the price on the old pump. The numbers were on little metal postage stamps that would slowly roll over and clink down as the pump groaned putting the gas in the car. Just as he finished Sally came out smiling.

Sally spoke out. “He tried to use an old time imprint machine and ended up having to write all the card information on a note pad to call in later. He has an actual rotary phone. Anyway, that was the right place.”

Josh looked confused a moment. “ I thought it was supposed to be a cemetery.”

Sally just smiled. “It was. That’s what the story is about. The boss has google maps satellite photos and everything but nobody believes it. That’s what he just said on the phone. For three years it’s a cemetery and then the next time the satellite goes over it’s a retirement community. That’s what he said when I just called him on the rotary phone.” Sally chuckled. “It’s the first time I’ve ever used a rotary phone. Anyway, the boss said to check it out.”

About twenty minutes later Sally and Josh were listening to a young man named Pete.

Pete explained as best he could. “He just stood there, forlorn look, too short jeans and over size shirt. It was odd, him just standing there. There was no discernible reason for it.”

Pete explained, the little pond, about the length of a football field and half the width, never had any people around it. Well, not directly around it. It was in a neighborhood of homes most of which housed older retirees. The pond had two fountains often blowing sideways in the breeze and a number of various water fowl from large blue gray herons to their smaller cousins the feisty little green herons. Even the odd duck family would come by. But never, ever, were there any human children at the pond.

It looked like rain would be in the offing for the afternoon and that’s probably why a neighbor invited the boy to wait on the porch while he called someone to come pick the boy up. That’s when it happened. No one could believe it once it was over but that’s when it happened. The little boy looked up at the gentleman and began to sing.

As the boy sang the animals took note, each stopping mid stride to turn and stare at the boy. Those stares became tentative little steps, one little squirrel chittering softly to three little squirrels with her as they continued in careful steps, making their way to the boy. Two huge snapping turtles came from the bottom of the pond and simultaneously, the little green heron hopped on the blue herons back as it waded through the shallows at the edge of the pond, all heading to the little boy with the angelic voice. It was then that each retiree came from within their homes and listened to the lilting and rolling voice that carried centuries of melancholic yearning cascading in waves over them all.

Then, as each of them began to relax they noticed the years slide off their body. All their pain and suffering just melted into the ground. The little boy just petted each animal nodded to everyone outside, smiled and twisted his hand. With the twist of his hand it was like a tent veil opened, there was a glow, then boy waved, stepped through and was gone.

Immediately, sixteen retirees from sixty-eight to ninety-one found themselves standing around in ill fitting clothes. The neighbor who spoke to the boy had seen his pants tighten and his shirt rip open as long lost muscle returned to his no longer stooped frame. Across the way, Jenny had gathered her robe tightly around her as it became loose and she felt her panties fall right to the ground. Old John felt his Baclofen pump fall to his feet. They all just stared at one another. Seven of the sixteen had to remove their glasses to even see clearly. And oh, could they see clearly.

”Yes Sir, Mam, thats when it happened, right when that boy sang.”

”Yes, but when exactly did it happen.”

”That’s the strangest thing. Not a one of us can remember exactly when it happened.”