I have always loved Willow Bend in the fall. The bite in the air; the way the trees seemed to catch fire as their leaves burned a mix of red and orange, yellow and purple; the crunch beneath my feet as those same leaves adorned the sidewalks across town, reminding everyone that nature had the best decorating style of all. I never expected to return to this sleepy town, and yet, it seemed that God or fate or destiny - or whatever you wanted to call it - had still found a way to bring me back.In the early hours of a chilly September morning, I stood staring up at the storefront of the bakery I'd purchased before making the move back to my hometown, feeling disappointed that I'd been tricked into buying a building that looked more like a haunted house than a business. The boards covering the windows were broken in spots, revealing splintered glass behind them, and the vegetation in front of the brick edifice was wildly overgrown. The bricks themselves were worn and weathered, badly needing to be replaced or painted. The "o" was dangling from the "sold" sign hanging on the door, which was nothing more than a large slab of plywood. I could practically hear my mother's voice in the back of my mind, scolding me for buying the bakery before seeing it's condition in person. Well, I was never one to give up easily - especially when a large portion of my savings was involved - and I wasn't going to start now.
It took nearly half an hour of pulling with as much strength as I could muster at 6 in the morning to get the stupid plywood door out of the way. It fell with a loud 'thud' onto the sidewalk, stirring up a cloud of dust and dander in its wake.
Despite the sunlight that was finally peeking over the mountains behind town, the inside of the store remained dark and dank. A mixture of stale bread, dust, and something rotten assailed my nostrils, and I resisted the urge to throw up on ye old plywood door.
I took a few deep breaths of fresh air to steady myself, then pulled up my big girl pants and walked inside, feeling brave.
While the edifice was reminiscent of a haunted house, I was surprised to find that the inside looked almost the same as I remembered it from years ago, except with a lot more dust bunnies and cobwebs. Spiders had definitely taken advantage of the empty store, making their homes in every corner of the ceiling. I looked around for the light switch, finding it next to one of the large windows that overlooked the street. I flipped the knob upward, not entirely surprised that the overhead lights did not respond. I could hear the buzz of electricity behind the switch, confirming that it wasn't due to lack of power.
