Horseshoe Road

When I was ten years old my family moved to a farming community so my dad could find work. I wasn't happy about any part of it. I remember fighting a lot with my mom during the day while my dad was working. That first summer I would leave everyday and wouldn't come home till I thought my parents were worried sick. There were few kids around, and the ones I saw looked miserable. All of them except Johnny. Johnny was like me. After the first round of staring at each other without saying a word like kids do, it was almost like we were brothers. We played all day and all night. I had no reason to go home until after dark. Let the parents worry. Might not make sense to kids that are happy where they're living, with mommy and daddy giving you everything you want, but when you hear all the problems your parents are having because the house you live in is smaller than a shoe box it's nice to stay away. Trust me.

The following day was like picking right up where I left off. I ran back to the old barn where I met Johnny. How did I know he'd be there? I don't know I was only ten years old, but there he was. Johnny asked me if I wanted to see something really cool. I wasn't sure that was even possible out in the sticks but, I was like "why not?" We walked to the other side of the barn where the door was. It was heavy. It took both of us using all our strength to open it. It squeaked a little bit from the rusty hinges. The inside smelled like wet wood and hay. It was humid and besides the shade, not really a place that seemed cool to me. I asked what was cool about the barn. Johnny just gestured to me to be quiet and sat down. I sat down and stared at Johnny again wondering, is this why I didn't have brothers? I'm not sure this was my idea of cool.

At just about that time the barn door started to squeak. I turned and looked towards the entrance. There was a beautiful girl about nineteen years old standing there with the light shining around her like a halo around her entire body. I looked back at Johnny. He looked back at me and just winked. We both looked back at the girl. She walked towards us in that long dress she was wearing. It swayed like an ocean wave. She sat in front of us and asked "where am I?" Johnny just said, "you're here." I asked her what her name was and she said Sara. She stood up and started to undress as she walked towards the horse stall. By the time she entered she was totally nude. She turned and said "see you later," before entering. I could see parts of her as she walked towards the far end and then there was a bright light that made me turn the other way. When I opened my eyes and turned back around, she was gone. I ran inside to see where she went. I looked up, down, all around. She was gone. All she left was her clothes.

That was cool? Johnny just sat there and leaned his head to the side then stood up and walked back out. I followed him and waited for him to explain. He just sat there staring at some birds that flew into a nearby tree. Johnny, where did Sara go? He shrugged his shoulders and stood up and walked towards his home I guess. I was either asking too many questions or he had to go home. I was thinking to myself, "I really need to find some normal friends." Maybe just some that talk a little bit more. I wasn't ready to go home but I didn't really know what else to do. My mom greeted me with a big hug and said she didn't expect to see me this early. Still upset with her, I didn't have much to say but wanted to tell her about my experience, but knew she wouldn't believe me, so I just kept it to myself and ate lunch. My mom asked if I was still hungry after I devoured my grilled cheese and pickle sandwich. My favorite. I said, "no" and ran back out. My mom screamed, "be home before it gets dark please!"

I ran back to the barn. I looked through a crack on the side wall. Not sure what I was looking for but just in case, I had to look. Just when I began to focus I saw the same bright light from earlier. It was so bright it knocked me on my back. When I got up, I ran inside and Johnny was sitting there in the same spot as before. I asked him if Sara came back. He shook his head no. Then what was the light for? He pointed at a pair of pants, some suspenders, and a shirt. Who was it? Johnny just shrugged his shoulders, got up and walked back out. I ran outside and grabbed Johnny by his shoulders and shook him. What the hell Johnny? Are you dumb? Why don't you talk to me? And why are you always wearing the same red shirt? Johnny just put his head down like he was in trouble. I figured since I didn't like to be yelled at, this probably wasn't the right way to get anything out of this mute friend of mine. I let him go and he headed back towards his house. It was towards town and that was the last direction I could let my dad see me heading. I yelled, "see you tomorrow Johnny!" Johnny didn't even turn around. I headed back home thinking about how I probably hurt his feelings. Maybe even scared him. Johnny was my only friend and I was a little worried I wouldn't see him again or anything "cool" as he referred to it, again.

When I got home my mom asked if I was ok. Of course. Why would you ask that? You never come home early, let alone twice in the same day. "I'm fine," I said. She asked if I wanted to go to town tomorrow morning to get some food and things. No, I'm good. I was going to meet my friend Johnny tomorrow to play around. Well you can meet him after you go to the store with your mom. "Come on mom, I don't want to go to the store." I always had to keep track of how much mom was spending and push the cart. It was like work for a kid. Plus old ladies always wanted to squeeze my cheeks. My mom would just stand there and let complete strangers disrespect me. Well, I'm sorry but your friend can see you when you get home. After we get home from the store. Ok. Mom? I think I may have hurt my friend's feelings earlier. How love? I just yelled at Johnny because the barn we play in, well, he showed me some lights and some people and then they disappear. He just doesn't explain what is going on. It's like a magic trick or something. I feel a little confused and it bothered me. So I yelled at him and he didn't tell me anything. What should I do? Just see him tomorrow and tell him you're sorry and I'm sure everything will be fine. Go to bed and get some sleep now. Ok. Goodnight mom.

The next morning we went to the store and just like I said, pushed the cart, kept count of everything mom bought, and yes, the lady at the register pinched my cheeks and said, "how cute?" Never met the lady before in my life. As, my mom reached into her wallet to pay, something on the board behind the cashier caught my eye. It was a poster of a boy that looked like Johnny in a red shirt. I said to my mom, "that's Johnny!" Where? Right there in that picture. The cashier asked where I saw him at. I said at the barn down Horseshoe Road near the big pine tree. The lady said a few adult things to my mom. You know, the things that are so quiet and rude that you don't even try to hear. When we got in the truck, my mom said it's not good to make up stories. I said, "what stories?" The one about that boy in the picture. I wasn't making any story up. That's my friend Johnny. That's who I've been playing with the last couple of days. My mom said that the lady in the store told her that was a picture of the owners' son that went missing about a year ago. Then about two months ago they found his body at the bottom of a ditch. He was killed and his body was dumped there. By the time we got home I was scared but even more confused. I didn't believe it was the same Johnny that I just shook the hell out of just yesterday.

When we got home my mom told me to help her put the groceries up and she would go to look for my friend with me. I didn't really want her to, but since her story was a little scary, her support was appreciated. We walked there the same way I do. It felt weird having my mom out here with me. I didn't want her to see what I have, because adults don't deal with things like that without getting everything shut down. When we got to the barn, I peeked inside the crack on the side again. I couldn't see anything. I ran around to the back yelling for Johnny. He wasn't out back. I ran to the front and my mom helped me open the door. I yelled for Johnny again. He was no where around. I slowly entered the horse stall. I almost choked on my own tongue when I looked down and saw his red shirt and jean shorts laying on the ground. I didn't tell my mom. I just turned around and said I was just playing. My mom grabbed me by my ear and pulled me about half way home.

After being locked down in my room for the next week for lying and embarrassing my mom in front of complete strangers at the store, I went back to the barn. I didn't go inside this time. I didn't want to draw any attention to myself or the the magic that was inside. I play with some more talkative friends now, that change their clothes. Not to say that this is for the better. I'm pretty sure Tommy is color blind. But every now and again when it's quiet and I'm sitting back by myself near the pine tree thinking about Johnny, I can still hear the hinges squeak.

The End