Author's Note:79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqbryyJi2g8
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.79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoP938k3MDG
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz4LshKjWU8
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.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD4YgX8SByB
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.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡURzgm2PoTw
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.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvRHFuouy4O
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.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNJ4ZsOC1N0
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbAIijpxBfD
Zeph interrupted the clamor of dinner preparation. “Uuuh, do you have any clothes by any chance?”
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFLGjZe0TsF
The man didn't face him to reply, apparently addressing the kitchenware.“Nothing for nothing.”
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkqgDzHAF55
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.”
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVRrQg054m1
“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.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1BmZ9JPfAy
The pot wiggled.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡns9jWVPr6F
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.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtr9AWFl6ki
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.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwpAnS3QxqS
“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.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBYuBDgS8vp
“Well, I guess I don't.” He spoke again. There was a long pause as the man intently listened to the toadstool.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtxFeNobohI
Zeph slapped both knees. “Welp, I guess I should be going.”
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5gTNzXamY8
He started to roll forward in his chair when the man continued raising an insistent hand for Zeph to stay put.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡohdEVEFTKm
“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.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFQtor5VVDN
“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.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5GQQaXgKvP
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.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTEaRYSGsFn
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.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡODuVyiJYH2
“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.”
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKePKEnYoYG
“Who’s Baker?”79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO8euudup5w
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmyoMypZ6bN
“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.”
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFGDHGt7JJZ
Zeph caught a stare from the man as he pulled the ragged shirt over his head. “I don’t want trouble.”
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡikTGUcwtSh
“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.”
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSArxHe5RYF
“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.”
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO6luHXfk9d
“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.”
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvsU7KWdQDu
“It has to be a mistake! Dylan is a good boy!”
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqV9IIc4y4J
“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.”
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkYsCGcQzwv
Zeph’s arms dropped.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaX1KmFlhDZ
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.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk0cbWb4eCW
“Which way is Baker again?”
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg7D00evbSX
Mushroom man simply pointed and Zeph left once again.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsfU4hRmpPr
“See you tomorrow,” he shouted after him and the mushroom pot jiggled in agreement.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcw7RLveZbO
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.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCTZGOeHvEL
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.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1hFfZsmrUL
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.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9rRyVEUVjJ
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.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1YKORRZfvy
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.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfrLsExjnnT
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.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ530WRLBMLy
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRjNs7F1wqm
Zeph interrupted the clamor of dinner preparation. “Uuuh, do you have any clothes by any chance?”
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOrpr2mDtfD
The man didn't face him to reply, apparently addressing the kitchenware.“Nothing for nothing.”
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfiuKJiwniS
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.”
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiVk4oCHQ2b
“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.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQCsnBOsuRw
The pot wiggled.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmoD4FTVFcB
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.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN9S4dwzwZT
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.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCrI6rspaTW
“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.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkDxKlHabP4
“Well, I guess I don't.” He spoke again. There was a long pause as the man intently listened to the toadstool.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHLn5c18aHx
Zeph slapped both knees. “Welp, I guess I should be going.”
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzvuLJoCbKX
He started to roll forward in his chair when the man continued raising an insistent hand for Zeph to stay put.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4ToC8ucafD
“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.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9UYxUFP8Do
“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.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6mOnXzSBAi
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.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9Vwnw0DCJB
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.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Mea4dPsJH
“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.”
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk9Ik0az8ZB
“Who’s Baker?”79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM0c7e1R73c
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ73NUKtEgfe
“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.”
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHOmksEWFzB
Zeph caught a stare from the man as he pulled the ragged shirt over his head. “I don’t want trouble.”
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoaPJFNXZ6h
“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.”
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXmzQSb0AJU
“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.”
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1wBsf3oIAQ
“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.”
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡShfXrzgnY9
“It has to be a mistake! Dylan is a good boy!”
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAa2mzKWoac
“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.”
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbyHsgSZQdT
Zeph’s arms dropped.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ39sr4vs6TY
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.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHsCkG24JUh
“Which way is Baker again?”
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfXcjSJLSW9
Mushroom man simply pointed and Zeph left once again.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgZh7G6cdg3
“See you tomorrow,” he shouted after him and the mushroom pot jiggled in agreement.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNKorYwyPIC
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.
79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6wqSSOTB2o
Instead, he sprinted toward Baker, a middle of nowhere two to save Dylan from whatever horrible misunderstanding led to him being a wanted boy.79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡriEmSUnFrZ
and then Add to home screen.