Mockingbird

Part 1

   Life was strange and different in Maycomb; the people were different than the ones Madison had always known, and were much more- what's the word?- secluded, than they were farther up north. And each family seemed to be labled by a stereotype. The Ewell's were filthy and drunk; the Cunningham's were poor, the Crawford's were nosy; the Radley's were eerie and creepy. As Madison looked out her window she realized, the houses that belonged to these families seemed to match what she'd heard, as if the house had aged and evolved along with the family it held for all those years.

   After her father had gotten a new job and was unable to spend as much time with her as he used to, Madison decided that at her it was time to go off on her own and see a place she'd never experienced before, and she just so happened to chose Maycomb, to her father's slight dismay. He had warned her the people were much different than in the north and was sorry to have her so far away, to which she had replied "Father, please! I'll always write, and I'll be fine, I'm a grown woman now!" Her father had said she reminded him of her mother before she left; he still wasn't quite as quick to give her up when she left as Madison was.

   Madison tied her long brown hair in a bow and ran her hands down the front of her dress that ended at her knees, and she straightened her posture before heading out of her front door. As she walked down the sidewalk, she was greeted by a few of her neighbors; a man of about forty years waved from a swing on his porch and on the other side an older lady watering flowers by her windows. The neighbors waved a greeting to her, but didn't start a conversation at the sight of her obviously having a previously set destination.

   An eerie darkness flooded the yard of the house three doors down from her and on the opposite side of the street. A shiver ran down her spine as she looked over the dead grass path leading to an ugly porch of chipped gray paint. A Miss Stephanie Crawford on her street had identified it as the Radley House. Madison took a quick breath and moved on her business.

The town was alive and busy with early morning shoppers, hardly letting her into the grocery store. Madison fixed her hair behind her shoulders and ran her finger down shelves, checking to see if anything stood out. She didn't really need anything, except maybe a thing to do, but she thought it worth a check. Suddenly she realized a pair of eyes were burning a hole in her back.

   She turned to find a tall, well-built man with a curled hat and leather vest that matched his boots. He leaned comfortably against a shelf and gave her a suave look, lifting his eyebrows when he looked at her.

   "Howdy, little lady."

   As much as Madison would have preferred to ignore him, he had spoken to her, and it was only polite to respond in some way, shape or form. Pretending to read something so as not to merge eye contact, she gave a slight nod and a "G'Morning."

   "Name's Jack. Jack Starly. I ain't never seen you 'round here b'fore. Got a name?" His dark green eyes searched deep into the depths of her.

   "Uh, I'm Madison. I just moved here from up north." She answered and looked for any means of escape. She began to walk in the other direction, but she heard Jack's footsteps follow. With a slight moan, she turned back around. "Would you like something?" She said as authenticly as she could possibly pretend.

   "Why, yes." Jack gave her another grin and stepped a bit closer. "Mind if I walk with you a while?"

   Words escaped her. "Er... um... no, I mean yes. I do. I'm sorry, I'm sort of in a hurry." She looked sheepishly around. "Maybe some other time." With that, she rushed out and home.

   Although Jack was far behind her now, Madison seemed to keep her feet moving swiftly instead of her normal pace. She passed by the Radley house, and something caught her eye. A curtain moved in their window. She stopped and looked again, but now it was still. Not sure why it intrigued her, maybe because she wanted to see the culprit, she kept on her way.

   "Miss Madison!"

   Madison looked to see a Miss Maudie, the older lady who had been watering her flowers earlier, waving to her from her yard. Madison walked up to her and bowed her head in greetings. "G'Morning."

   The lady gave her a sweet smile. "The other ladies on the street will be having tea this afternoon - we do so every Saturday and Wednesday - and it would be absolutely LOVELY if you'd join us!"

   "Sure thing!" Madison clasped her hands together happily. "I'd love to!" It was great to have others notice her, she didn't want to feel alone.

   "Excellent! We meet at one!" And Miss Maudie was back inside.
Madison looked at the sun. She decided it was only about ten in the morning, and she decided to walk around the block. She liked to walk.

   The houses were very diverse, as she had realized earlier, and rather interesting to look at. She admired them even.

She looked over into the older man's yard to see two children, one boy about seven, the other maybe younger than four. The smaller one threw a baseball at the other, and a bat cracked as the older smacked it as hard as he could. It landed straight in the Radley's back yard.

   "Nice shot!" She called to them, but realized they weren't so happy. They looked around as if they'd just killed a man, and began to sneak off.

   "Hey, wait a minute!" Madison ran up to them, their young faces looking up at her, startled by her sudden harshness. "Aren't you kids going to get your ball?"

   To her surprise, one of the boys laughed at her like it had been a joke. When he realized her question was serious he narrowed his eyes. "You... You're not from 'round here, are you?"

   Madison felt on the spot, but she couldn't pinpoint why. "Well, I just moved in, a few days ago. Why?"

   The older of the boys stood up to her. "That's the Radley yard, and everyone knows that whatever comes into the Radley yard never comes out."

   That was an odd thing to say. Madison looked skeptically at the house, dead plants scattered about, the wind creating an eerie creek. "Don't be silly! I'm sure if you asked they would give it back."

   Madison took a deep breath and walked across the street, then looked at the kids, who maneuvered their way next to her. She shivered and took another step forward, past the sidewalk. Her feet crunched through dead leaves, and it seemed as if she had stepped into another dimension. What the children had said swirled in her brain and created a sense of fear. She went to the base of the patio and looked behind her again, but the young boys had stayed frozen at the gate, wide eyes watching her every move. Madison suddenly realized she was shaking, so she straightened herself up and stepped onto the first stair.
The wooden planks creeked as she escalated up and to the door. She glanced back one more time, then held her breath and knocked.

   No answer came.

   She heard the boy sigh and she knocked again. This time the door cracked open. A face slid through the opening; an old, unwelcoming face. "Whatd'ya want!?"

   Madison pulled back from his intensity. "Oh! I uh... these young boys hit their ball in your yard and-"

   "Who'r you!?" He eyed her angrily.

   "My name is Madison, I just moved in and-"

   "Well, Madison, if them boys had the nerve to hit their stupid ball in mah yard, so be it!" With that, he slammed the door.

   Madison took another deep breath, and let it out. "I'm very sorry, boys but-" She turned around to see that the boys were gone. They'd ran off. Madison grumbled and started slowly out of the yard.

   A thump made her jump, and she saw that the baseball had been tossed at her. When she turned around all she saw was a closing door. "Ugh!" She looked at the baseball, but left it where it was. It was their problem now.