Barn full of Memories

She never thought she would drive this narrow winding hill road again. No lines on the sides of the road, just the faded solid double yellows down the middle where the little square reflectors had gone missing over the years. As she passed the old tree, scared from a deadly crash. The caution tape was almost completely white and breaking down. She knew she was half way there.

Looking up the bare hill and seeing the run down mobile homes that looked like they had been abandoned for years, a place where friends once lived. Only a few more turns till the head of the dirt road. Pulling up to the final turn she saw the sun damaged metal mailboxes that were her highschool bus stop. Making that tight final turn she crested the hill and turned onto the dirt road.

It hadn’t changed too much. Looked a little nicer but also the same. Stopping and stepping out, her heels crunched against the gravel. Leaning on her car she lit a cigarette and just took in the place. So many years spent sitting here waiting for the bus while growing up. Elsie would sit in the bed of their old pick-up truck, as she waited for her brother's bus to drop him off. Turning her head and looking at a well kept single wide, her mothers old boss used to live there; she had been in it a few times. Elsie wondered how different it looked by now.

Finishing her cigarette she climbed back in and a few people outside watched as the expensive car with out of state plates rolled slowly down the unkept rocky dirt road. The road seemed worse. No one had graded it or filled holes for what seemed like years. Driving by this old dump with a multicolored garage door fence, she prayed the owner wouldn't see her car. He used to be one of her brother's closest friends, he was the type of person who wanted to know everyone who came down the old dirt road. Elsie didn’t want to see or talk to him.

After what felt like an hour of carefully navigating the old road’s potholes and rocks, she stopped at a gate. Several people looked at each other concerned when a matte black custom Lamborghini parked in front of their gate. All of them stood at attention and watched cautiously as the doors lifted straight up and tilted outward slightly. Relaxing some seeing a woman get out. Standing close to her car door, Elsie scanned the front of the house. A man approached the gate and waved to get her attention. She didn’t even look at him but a smile crept onto her lips when she saw a plump old grey cat on the porch to the house. “Nala!’ She called

The man grew even more confused as the cat trotted up to her. “How? We can’t even get too close to that cat.”

“I grew up here. My parents built this house and property from scratch.. This was my cat but she went missing when they moved. Good to see she's been ok all these years.” She stretched a hand out. “My name is Elsie. Pleasure to meet you. Last time I am ever coming back to this town. So I wanted to see a few places, this being one.”

“Oh, my parents bought this place from yours then. What brought you to town?”

“Highschool reunion”

“Oh Nice, I manage the Marigold Manor. I will be there helping that day. Hey, if you want you can bring your car in and look around for a bit but we are heading out soon though. So you can hang till then.”

“Seems like you’d have to move cars. I can leave mine there. I doubt anyone will touch it.” She picked up the old grey cat and carried it with her and walked through the gate he now held open.

“Hey Miss, can we look at it? Maybe take a few pictures? We have never seen a car like this or have had the chance to be close to one.”

“Sure and when I come back I will let you sit in it for a moment as a thank you. Letting me see this place means a lot to me.”

The man smiled and nodded with excitement and went back to his friends and family. Who all walked up to it and took pictures with it and of it, checking the whole car out. She walked down to the old barn, standing outside it and looking up. Then placing her hand on the old doodles carved into the wood by the door. Her smile was sad. Oh the trouble the two got into at this old barn. Taking a few pictures of the carvings, Elsie continued around the building.

Looking up a little she saw the crappy patch job they did still there. It got there after they were playing with their dad's old rifle and shot the barn. The spanking they got for that one. She tried to hold back tears. How she missed those days. Back when she still had family. No heart break or responsibilities, no loneliness.

Going to the old hitching post her and her ex fiancé's initials were still carved into the post. The black mark and scorched wood, still there from when a wildfire almost took this old barn. The grey cat wiggled free to chase a rodent that had scurried off. As she opened the barn door.

Going in she turned the flashlight on her phone on. Looking around she sighed and smiled. It still had that same old musty smell. They had made no changes to it besides patching up a few old broken boards and added a few little stalls. Slowly walking through she remembered falling and hurting herself; and the times she nearly gave her mother a heart attack after going missing, only to be found sleeping with the baby sheep and cows.

Or how she would eat the chopped hay with molasses alongside the ponies, and watch her father and farm hands dehorn and brand the cattle. Sitting on a bale of hay in the dark she wished she could buy this place back. The tears shed over lost animals, the sleepless nights with horses that had colic or horses giving birth. Playing with the baby goats. She leaned her head down and began to cry. Why did life have to go on? She wanted to be a kid again in this old barn so badly.

Standing and walking out, Elsie locked the door behind her. Dust in the old barn caused some mild congestion, putting a thump to one side of her nose and blowing a snot rocket. She began to laugh, every little thing made her feel at home here again. She had blown her nose that way so many times after mucking stalls, stacking hay, or brushing horses.

She was still tearing up and reminiscing. When a shout snapped her back into reality. “Miss! We wanted to take off here in a moment.”

Taking a few more pictures she waved bye to the old grey cat. This was the last time she would see her and trekked back up the little hill to her old house. Like she had done so many times in the past when she would come back up after feeding the animals. Stopping at the top of the hill she looked over the land and the valley. A view she had cried to, laughed to, dreamt to. She could almost hear her mothers laugh and her brother's shouts of excitement. Getting up there she smiled “Sorry, was just seeing how many old little things were still there from when I was a kid.”

“We haven’t changed much about that old barn.”

“Yea, I saw, Thanks in a way. I needed to see it one last time.”

“You seem like you've been crying, you ok?”

“A lot of my family has passed. So some memories reopened, wounds not yet healed is all. Well let me show you the car before it gets dark.” She turned and opened the doors and back letting them look at it, take pictures and sit in the car. Playing some bass heavy music and watching the boys squirm with excitement as it rattled. While they all ogled her eyes just scanned the place. This was it, the last time she would come here. Her attention was pulled away again by one of the men speaking to her.

“You bought this?” One man asked.

“Yes” she turned back and wiped her eyes.

“What do you do to afford this?”

“That's a secret but it is all legal.” Elsie smiled at him then climbed back into her car. Once everyone had backed away. She did as well then. began to slowly maneuver her car back down the long dirt road. Passing back by the old junky house, gates were now open and the man she was hoping not to see earlier watched the vehicles pass by but he didn’t walk out. He just watched three cars and trucks follow the fancy car out. Once the tires hit pavement she was gone. They couldn’t keep up.

She coasted slowly through the roads in the little old town that had grown greatly since the fires from years ago destroyed neighboring towns. Heavy bass rattled her car as she cruised around seeing what had changed over time. What new stores opened, which closed. Stopping at the Panda express along the main road. Stepping out and looking around. For a long time this had just been an empty lot covered in weeds. It was still nothing like the big city she lived in now, but it was also no longer the same town she grew up in. Pulling on her black face mask going in. Some stared and some backed away from her. Her presence made people uncomfortable. You didn’t see many people that dress up and carry themselves like her in this old town.

After she finished her meal. She took the long way back to the casino pulling up to the valet. The two boys checked the car out. Elsie held out a larger bill. “Please make sure she is tucked away somewhere safe please.”

The boys nodded “Yes, Ma’am.”

After they took her keys she headed to her hotel room.