The Forgotten Eden (9 page)

“
The veins on the side of his neck looked like they’d explode. He turned toward the kitchen door and ran over to it. Just before opening the door he turned to face me.

“‘
Where exactly did you find this thing, Jack?’ he asked. ‘If you’ve got it in your mind to tell me anything but the truth, don’t do it! I need to know the specific spot where you found it.’

“‘
It was lying in the dirt, just in front of the sphere,’ I replied.

“
He strongly discouraged us from going near the sphere, but far too late to lie about it. After all, he’d found me standing next to it, clutching the mysterious object in the rain.

“
A dark cloud of sadness settled on him as he heard these words. For a moment, he stood near the back door as if reconsidering his reaction to the situation at hand. He started to say something, but suddenly the rage returned to his face in full force. He threw open the kitchen door and stormed out onto the back porch. The screened door slammed behind him, the sharp crack of wood on wood piercing the air around us. Before either Jeremy or I could react, we heard his heavy footsteps going down the porch steps and out into the backyard. Alarmed, we ran outside in pursuit, the old screened door slamming again—twice this time—to announce our intentions.

“‘
Stay right where you are, boys!!
’
he yelled back at us.

“
He’d already reached the trunk of the majestic oak and was about to disappear from our view. He motioned angrily for us to go back inside, yet without waiting to see if we obeyed him he continued on over to the sphere.

“
Jeremy and I ignored his orders and followed him out into the backyard, where we pursued him from a safe distance. Moving quietly as possible, we closed the gap between our agitated grandfather and us. We came around the base of the oak in time to see him stoop down in the mud before the sphere.

“
He stood back up and turned toward the farmhouse. The fading sunset formed a weird silhouette I’ll never forget, with the sphere and the glowing object before it. He started to come back toward us, but then stopped. In one fluid movement, he went back and scooped the object up out of the mud, hurling the damned thing over the stone wall toward the woods. We heard him shout something like ‘Stay the hell away from here!’

“
Neither Jeremy nor I wished to face any more of his wrath, so before he turned around again we bolted back to the porch. We didn’t stop running until safely inside the house.

“
The kitchen’s stifling heat had cooled considerably during our short absence. Jeremy moved over to the window above the sink and peered through it in order to gauge Grandpa’s progress. I stood on the tip of my toes to get a clearer look over his shoulder just as Grandpa climbed the last step up to the back porch. He swung open the screened door, the door swinging back with another loud ‘snap’ against the door frame. Still quite upset about the situation, tears streamed down his face.

“‘
What’s wrong??’

“
Alarmed, I tried to broach the subject as tenderly as possible. Shocked and saddened to see him cry, I could tell by the appalled look on Jeremy’s face that he was just as surprised to see this. I couldn’t recall a time when I’d seen anything like this, though I imagine he privately shed tears from time to time when no one else was around.

“
Grandpa shook his head and continued weeping. He closed the storm door for the first time that day, turning the latch and deadbolt until they clicked into place. He glanced through the door’s window to the backyard, and seemed apprehensive, as if expecting something to happen outside. I wondered if he’d seen the lizard or one like it previously.

“
Motionless next to my brother, we watched him peer out the storm door window again, wiping his face and eyes with his shirt’s sleeve. After several agonizing minutes, he finally backed away from the door and looked over at us.

“‘
Jeremy, go get the Winchester from the living room,’ he instructed. ‘I’ll get the shotgun from my bedroom. We’ll need to bring them both out here in the kitchen.’

“‘
What in the hell for, Grandpa?’ Jeremy asked.

“
He eyed us both tenderly, shaking his head. For the moment, he refused to answer Jeremy.

“‘
Well??
’
my brother persisted. ‘Grandpa, you’re starting to freak me out with this shit!’

“‘
Go upstairs, Jack, and close all the windows. Oh, and turn on the a.c. on your way back here,’ Grandpa told me, continuing to ignore my brother.

“‘
Yes, sir.’

“
His voice full of worry, it only acerbated my brother’s growing frustration. I alternated glances between the two before turning to leave the kitchen. Jeremy reached out and grabbed my arm, preventing me from leaving just yet.

“‘
What the
hell’s
going on here, Grandpa?’ he demanded. ‘Why do we have to close the windows, and what the fuck do you need a shotgun and rifle for, anyway??’

“
Grandpa shook his head. Only a minute or so passed, but seemed like forever. When he tried to answer Jeremy, he seemed at a loss for words. The uncomfortable air around us thickened.

“
He walked over to the sink, closing the kitchen window and securely latching it. Then, he walked back over to the storm door and peered through that window once more, carefully scanning the porch and backyard for a second time.

“‘
It’s the ‘Season’, boys,’ he said, finally.

“
Jeremy and I looked at each other for clarification as neither of us knew what he meant.

“‘
The
‘
Season’?
’
Jeremy asked, incredulous.

“‘
Yeah, Grandpa,’ I chimed in. ‘What kind of ‘Season’ do you mean?’

“‘
Just go close all the windows first and make sure the doors are locked upstairs, Jack. Jeremy, you and I’ll check everything down here on the main level. Once we’ve got the place completely secured, I’ll tell you both a little about the ‘Season’,’ he said. ‘Oh, and Jeremy, remember the Winchester. Make sure it’s loaded.’

“
He motioned for us all to move out of the kitchen.

“‘
We’ll all meet back here when we’re done…. Jack, don’t forget about the ac, now.’

“‘
I won’t, Grandpa,’ I assured him.

“‘
Jeremy, be sure to check the windows on the north and west sides of the main floor,’ he reminded my brother. ‘I’ll check the windows everywhere else down here.’

“‘
Got it, Grandpa,’ said Jeremy.

“
The three of us left the kitchen, with Jeremy shrugging his shoulders after I gave him a look asking if he had any idea why we were doing this. Bewildered by our grandfather’s peculiar behavior and strange request, at least the air conditioner would soon cool the old house.

“
I ran upstairs and hurried to finish my task. Meanwhile, Jeremy started in the dining room and worked his way to the living room, where he grabbed the Winchester and ammunition from the gun case.

“
Grandpa waited at the kitchen table with his shotgun by the time Jeremy rejoined him. He told my brother to set the rifle next to the back door after first confirming the weapon was loaded. They heard me running down the hall toward them right after the air conditioner kicked on.

“‘
All done, Grandpa!’ I proudly announced.

“‘
Very good, son,’ he said. ‘We’re all set to defend ourselves should we need to.’

“
Though always a handsome man, he looked like he’d aged several years since dinner. His light gray eyes were still red from his recent tears, but the calm steadiness one could usually expect was rapidly returning.

“‘
Defend ourselves?
From
what
??’
Jeremy demanded again.

“
He truly hated Grandpa’s vagueness and was in no mood for any more mysteries. Just the facts, and only those that explained why we sat in the kitchen with a pair of loaded weapons and every door and window in the house closed and secure.

“‘
Let me begin by saying I’m truly sorry for breaking down like I did in front of ya’ll,’ said Grandpa, dabbing at his eyes with a hankie. ‘This evening’s events have truly upset me, and if something bad were to happen to either of you boys….’

“
He paused to take a deep breath, and then regarded us both very seriously.

“‘
I want your promise to stay away from the woods. For now, this includes the backyard as well.’

“‘
Why,
Grandpa??’ asked Jeremy, even more irritated. ‘First of all, you go throwing that thing Jackie brought in here tonight out into the woods somewhere—which could be worth a fucking fortune for all we know. Then, you bring up some shit about the ‘Season’ and whatever the hell that is. Now, you’re telling us to stay away from the woods—which, if you’d stop and think about it, you’d realize neither one of us has ever even visited the woods out back.’

He shook his head in disgust.

“‘
I mean,
you’ve
never even taken us hunting back there, ain’t that right? We’re always going to some place or another near Tuscaloosa or Demopolis for that type of shit. And, what’s up with the backyard? Why in the hell do we have to stay out of there, too? Have the aliens finally come back for their fucking sphere, or something?? I mean,
come on
!!!’

“
I remember how Grandpa glared at Jeremy, refusing at first to respond to the barrage of insolent questions. He looked away from him and over at me, sitting wide-eyed in my chair, still overwhelmed by the day’s wonderful events and ever hopeful he’d somehow help make sense of all that’d happened so far. He smiled before turning his attention back to Jeremy.

“‘
Perhaps you’re right about the sphere, son, or maybe you’re not,’ he said. ‘I reckon I’ve spent thousands of hours wondering if it had anything to do with the ‘Season’, or if it did come from outer space, or any of a hundred other places—I don’t really know. All I do know is that the ‘Season’ has been an event around these parts for a long, long time. Long before that damned sphere showed up in the backyard, that’s for sure.’

“
He hesitated, as if worried he’d shared too much information.

“‘
The legend of the ‘Season’ is very old,’ he advised, speaking slower as if screening his words before they escaped from his mouth. ‘The foreshadowing for it is often some sort of token that’s recognized as not being from around here. That thing Jack brought in here tonight? Could be something like it, or maybe not. Regardless, knowing the ‘Season’s legend was all the reason I needed to get rid of the damned thing. It didn’t feel right, keeping it in the house…. I mean it felt
evil.
Even if ya’ll don’t agree right now, perhaps someday you’ll both look back and realize I did the right thing.’

“
Tears welled in his eyes again. The tip of the iceberg was all he’d divulged—I believe we both knew that. But, since this brought such obvious emotional pain to him, I knew he wasn’t going to reveal much more to us that night.

“
Not wanting to upset him further, I didn’t ask any more questions. But I was extremely curious about the ‘Season’ and its legend. I especially wanted to know whether any of this could be related to my parents’ sudden disappearance twelve years earlier. It made sense, but I wanted confirmation from him.

“‘
Grandpa...does this so called ‘Season’ have anything to do with what happened to Mom and Dad?’

Jeremy broached the subject, and obviously, I was only slightly disappointed he’d done so.

“
Grandpa regarded us both solemnly again.

“‘
Perhaps,’ he offered, ‘I don’t know for sure…. But, that alone should make a strong enough case to stay away from the woods and the backyard for the present time.’

He scooted his chair back and stood up from the table. He walked over to the back door and peered through the storm door’s window once more. Outside, the early evening light faded to twilight. It would be dark soon, and gaining the upper hand on something sinister was disappearing as quickly as the day’s light.

“‘
Jack’, he said, still staring out the window. ‘Tell me once again about the lizard you saw today.’

“
Before responding I glanced at my older brother. Being ridiculed once fulfilled my daily quota for embarrassment, I’d decided, willing to wait it out until Jeremy gave me his assurance he’d be merciful to the storyteller this time.

“‘
What??
’
he snapped, irked again by me staring at him. ‘What in the hell’s up with you now, Jackie?’

“‘
I think Jack’s expecting some common courtesy from you, son, before he starts telling his story again,’ Grandpa explained. ‘You’d be wise to let him finish uninterrupted. At least
I’d
appreciate it.’

“
Jeremy sighed and rolled his eyes. ‘Let’s just get this over with quick, all right?’

“
They both looked over at me, and this time my brother did seem more interested in what I had to say about the strange lizard in the backyard. I would’ve relished the moment had this been the first time I told my story. But I could hardly wait to finish. This only exasperated my grandfather, who made me repeat several points and give him more specific details. Finally, once I’d finished my second narrative, I leaned back in my chair at the kitchen table and awaited the critical reviews, fidgeting again as my audience stared back in silence.