In Parched Gardens: Book 1

Chapter 1: Copper Dreams

He walked out of the grocery store, slowly, in no particular hurry, and made his way toward the side of the store. Glancing up for a moment, he saw the shaded side of the town's pharmacy, quiet and skirted in tall grass just a little ways away. Isaac had said he would meet him here when his shift was over, but he wasn't there yet. So, Fin sat at one of the seats attached to a table there, designated for the grocery store workers. Relaxing with his elbows leaned against the table, he scanned what he could see of the small town around him.

To his left was the side of the grocery store he had only started working at about two weeks ago. He was very thankful Isaac had helped him get the job. He needed to do something, anything - especially anything besides the housework that seemed to never end after a move. He had visited this same grocery store countless times as a child with his parents. Now, after the years away, after everything, it held a strange place in his heart and his mind. He felt a sort of nostalgia for the store which was practically exactly the same now as it had been when he was a child - same owners and all. Yet, it was hard for him to look through the glasses of nostalgia with rose colored lenses. So much had happened. So much.

Nonetheless, he was greatly enjoying the warm evening air. To the west, the sun was still shining brilliantly in its descent at his back. Cool wind occasionally whispered past him from the east, from the rolling hills, perhaps even sweeping down from Mount Rankine itself, namesake of the state park he hoped to visit soon as he'd done many times growing up. There was something mysterious and wondersome about the eastern airs, blown in from their high peak. They had long been a subject of the locals, all the way back to the original colonials if the old stories told around town had even a hint of truth. Mysterious or not, they were welcome in the evening heat.

Directly in front of him, Fin looked past his shadow at Allbrook Circle. Cars and trucks lazily made their way around its bend, likely all of them driven by long-time residents of the town. Fin was almost an anomaly in that - strangely enough. Though he had returned to Allbrook, most never left. Even stranger, of the few who left, almost none came back but to occasionally visit relatives or friends.

As he peered past the evening haze of the Circle, he heard the side door behind him open slowly. Though the noise didn't completely startle him, the metal made his hair stand on end. All noises, especially unexpected ones, seemed to make him vigilant these days. He knew it was likely Isaac, or another worker off for the evening or on a quick break, but knowing and feeling had become two very distinct things in Fin's life. And the lines between them were often blurred.
Turning, trying to seem as natural as possible, Fin immediately recognized Isaac coming through the open door. His tall, lanky frame was enough to give him away. Fin could see his blonde and coppered hair as well, the medium-lengthed strands brushed back slightly. Isaac was laughing as he came through the door, finishing some last remarks to a few coworkers still inside the store. Spinning as the door closed, he saw Fin, and quickly made his way to him. As he approached, Fin could see the almost mischievous mixture of green and hazel in his eyes, framed by the pale skin around his face.

"Evan was just telling us about how his other work's going," Isaac said as he approached. "You remember Evan don't you?"

"Of course," Fin answered, thinking back to his adolescence. "I've already had a couple rotations with him at the counter." He remembered Evan in elementary school, Mrs. Taylor's class especially. He even remembered him from tee-ball, just faintly. Certainly he remembered him from high school. They hadn't been especially close then, but close enough for many memories.

"Well the past couple years he's been tryin' to earn a little extra money," Isaac continued.

"Doin' what?" Fin asked, curious.