Bear Creek

"Yeah, I just got home from the interview… I think it went really well… I finally got the cable and internet set up, so I am just going to have a quiet evening in… no I don't need you to order me some food… I am going to sage the apartment, light some candles, take a bubble bath and then sit down so I can work on writing this bloody novel… " A young woman in her late 20s with long sun kissed blonde hair and eyes of amber freckled with brown was pacing around her small and relatively barren apartment while talking on the phone. “Don’t June me, you know I moved here so I could write… It’s just so stressful… It’s not about the divorce, I mean not really. It is a part of it, but mostly it's about the novel. I mean I am a writer who can’t write, and I think the change will help me… Well thank you for listening to me… I love you too sis… Okay Bye.”

June set down her phone and looked around the apartment. She let out a sigh as she flopped back down onto an old bean bag chair in the middle of the living room. Just as she was getting comfortable, she jolted up and darted towards the door.

June opened her front door to find a tall man with brown hair and blue eyes. She was taken aback to see someone waiting at her door. She just stood there staring at him waiting for him to say something. "Umm hi” she reluctantly said.

“Hey.” He smiled awkwardly as he waved. “I am Jay.”

Still stunned, she mumbled “I am June.” Awkward silence once again fell over them. After a moment she inquired, “Umm, Jay, what are you doing here?”

“Oh, right, right… I am above you.” He chuckled with embarrassment... “What I mean is that I am your neighbor, from above you. Your upstairs neighbor.”

“Okay…” June closed the door behind her, and she shuffled around him. “Well, it was nice to meet you, Jay.”

“Mail.” He stopped abruptly. “I mean I wanted to introduce myself to you and my momma always said to never go anywhere empty handed so I uhh, brought you your mail.” He held out his hands filled with mostly junk mail and a package.

“I think that means you should bring a gift, like food or wine.” She said, “Not their own mail… But thank you?” She grabbed the mail. “Wait, how did you even get my mail?”

“I am the superintendent of the building. Not just your neighbor, so that’s why I wanted to introduce myself.”

“Right.” She paused and turned back to her door. As she opened her door she turned back to Jay. “And thanks again… for the mail.”

“Wait!” He reached out and tapped her shoulder. She turned back to him. They just stared at each other for a moment. “Umm, may I come in?”

June was so shocked she couldn’t find any words.

“I promise I am not a serial killer.” His smile was awkward, but his eyes were sincere.

“Umm sure, I guess... Since you promised.” June led Jay into her apartment. She motioned for him to sit at a stool by the kitchen island. She dropped the mail on the counter as she walked into the kitchen “Would you like anything to drink?”

“Just water is fine. Thanks.” June set two glasses of water down on the island and he took a drink. “So, what brings you to Bear Creek?”

“What makes you think I am not from around here?” She asked.

“There is a population of like one thousand in this town. Everybody knows everybody. And I know that you are not from around here.” He said smugly.

“Valid point.” June began flipping through her mail tossing the trash into a bin beside her. “I honestly just needed a change of scenery. I am a writer, kind of, and I needed to change things up to help inspire my next novel.” She had gone through all the mail until the package was left. It was the size of a ream of paper. The package was wrapped in brown paper. It looked almost like it was wrapped with cliche lunch bags. There was no sender or return address written on it. Only June’s name and address. She pushed it to the corner of her counter.

“A writer? That is awesome. What kind?” He asked in rapid fire.

“Uhh… The bestselling kind.” June stated humbly.

“I can’t believe I am talking to a bestselling author. I am stunned, truly.” He praised. June quit listening to him as she stared intently at the package and used her pointer finger to fidget with the corner of it. “Why don’t you just open it?” Jay asked as he leaned in.

Startled by the question, June stumbled to respond. “No, it's fine. It is probably just my divorce papers.”

“I am sorry to hear that.”

“Don’t be. It happens… a lot apparently.” June said. “But I appreciate the sentiment… So, what about you? Are you married?”

“Widowed.”

“Oh my gosh. I am so sorry.” she uttered.

“Thank you.” Jay replied. “So, to get out of this morbid conversation. Please tell me what it is like being a writer.”

“Honestly, not great.” Jay looked puzzled as June spoke. “I currently have a severe case of writer’s block.” she paused before beginning on a tangent. “Do you know what it's like to be a writer who can't write? I have all these ideas rushing to me but none of them make sense, none of them work. And when I write I get consumed by the story. All the characters, all their feelings, their stories, I feel it, I live it, I believe it, and yet I can't escape it.” she paused. “The only peace I can find is getting the story out of my head and onto the page... AND I CAN’T EVEN DO THAT RIGHT NOW!” she sighed. “I am so sorry, that was a lot.”

“Hey, you don’t have to apologize to me. It’s okay, honestly.” Jay looked at her with sympathetic eyes.

She covered her face with her hands and grumbled. “I cannot believe I just had a mental breakdown in front of a total stranger.”

“Hey now! I am not a stranger… I am your neighbor.” he said supportively. “And as your neighbor, I am going to do this.” His hand quickly grabbed the package and ripped it open.

“Wait! What are you doing!” June yelled as she ran out of the kitchen. She tried to snatch it back from him. “This is definitely illegal!”

He took out a huge stack of papers banded together from the package. “What is this?” He paused. “I am pretty sure they aren’t divorce papers.”

“Give it to me.” June yanked the papers from him and turned away. She flipped it over to see a title page that read ‘Arianna and the Fountain of Youth by June Wilson’. “You are right, definitely not divorce papers.”

“So what is it?”

“It’s my first manuscript. My sister must have sent it to me.” June’s eyes began to swell. “I took this to probably 50 different publishing companies and they all rejected it. So, I decided to scrap the whole book and start anew. And it paid off because my next novel really took off. But I always felt that there was something special about this story.”

“So why don’t you try again?”

“What?”

“You know, read it, edit it, and rewrite it if you have to. You moved here to be inspired to write a new story but what if you need to rework the story that is still in your heart. You just need to polish it up and submit it again... But maybe to 51 companies this time, just to be safe.” Jay exclaimed.

June flashed a smile as she giggled. “Maybe you are right… Thank you Jay.”

“Of course, I am right! Haven’t you heard that small town apartment building superintendents are the wisest people ever.” He chuckled at his own joke.

June was still for a moment before grabbing Jay for a hug. “Seriously Jay, thank you. You have no idea how much I needed this.”

A moment passed and Jay‘s phone went off. He took it out of his pocket and looked at it. “Hey, I got to run. Mr. Harold in 307 is having problems with his dishwasher. And I am technically still on the clock.”

“Oh right… Let me walk you out.” they both headed towards the door. Jay opened it and stepped out.

“Hey when you are done reworking the novel, can I read it?” He asked.

“Of course! You will probably be the first!” She exclaimed.” You might even get a co-writer credit.”

He chuckled. “Cool… I’ll see you around June.” he said as he walked away.

“Bye.” She hollered at him before closing the door. June smiled and looked around her apartment until she spotted the manuscript on the counter. She grabbed a pen and sat down. She had work to do.