Everything changes

Once there was an old barn. When this Barn was built the man who built her made sure the wood was strong and studs were the straightest available. They took great care to make sure every plank was aligned just so, and the nails were flush. They painted her the most beautiful red color with white accents. Every year they repainted and made sure she was weather proofed. They filled her with animals and tools. She keep all their most precious things safe. She watched the seasons change, winter covered her in snow, spring brought vines to her door step, summer brought sweltering heat, and fall brought brightly covered leaves to cover her floor. She watched as the horses grow old and new ones replace them, she watched as her builders grew old and their kids grew up and old. As the grand children of her builders grew they stopped painting her every year. The tools started to rust, fewer and fewer animals were kept inside her walls. Dirt began to collect in the cracks and never got swept out, the great grandchildren of her builders moved away from the house and new people moved in.

Her new people kept old things that they didn’t use. More and more things showed up, those things never got removed, they never painted her. Her beams began to warp and bend, the loft began to weaken under the weight of the stuff. She saw less and less of her people. She watched the seasons, and when the snow falls her roof sags and she groans under the weight. In the summer she can feel her wood crack and start to splinter. She watches from a far her people grow old and their children grow old. They move away, and her, and the house sit empty, each other’s only company.

Years pass, the plants start to take over, the bugs move in, she wonders how much longer she can stand before she falls over. As the time passes she begins to lean, slowly giving to gravity. No people have come to visit in many years, and just as she begins to let nature take her new people come. They move into the house. They pull all the old junk from her, they reinforce her walls with new wood, they sweep away all the dust and spider webs. They paint. She is brand new, and now she holds once again precious sentimental items. Her new people keep their old cars in her. She once again has old friends. Her new people come to visit often. They work on the cars, and paint her very year. She even got some technology she had never seen before. Air conditioning. She is new again, and watches this new family have kids, and their kids have kids, and those kids have kids. Like her the cars get older and older, and as the kids of kids grow up, the cars paint fades, and hers. Her old friends become warn, and she becomes warn. The children move away, and she watches as new buildings start showing up around her.

The new buildings are close and there are many. Every year she sees more buildings and they get closer and closer. She watches with her car friends. She feels gravity pulling on the walls again, and once more she begins to lean. New people come to look at her. They take her friends. They walk around her and bring people to look at her. The building encroaching on her space are not like her and they are not friendly. They are big and block out the sun. The new people begin to take her piece by piece until she is not a barn anymore.

In her place stands a new apartment building.