Lost Souls

23

Jimmy was sitting outside the Grocers shop drinking from a can of cola. He crossed his legs, and settled back into the bench. The collar of his brown leather jacket flapped gently as the late morning breeze picked up intensity.
​Jimmy pulled the jacket zip up, and took another sip of his drink, as he surveyed the village before him.

As was normal for the time of day, only a few regulars shoppers had bothered to venture out.

He spotted Mrs. MacDonald, who was hunched over to protect her face from the elements, slowly walking along on the pavement opposite, awkwardly pushing her shopping trolley before her, as if it was much heavier than she was.

​Jimmy sighed. Why did the elderly people in Auchdermuir persist in coming out only to struggle the whole time? When his time was at an end, he'd already decided, he would just sit at home and wait for the grim reaper to come calling.

​As he watched Mrs. MacDonald amble away, he heard footsteps approaching from his left. Turning sharply, he saw Christopher Scott bounding towards him, full of energy, and with that beaming smile he always wore, which Jimmy frequently wanted to hack off.

​Jimmy flinched as Christopher dropped in beside him and placed an arm around his shoulders. "

"Morning mate," Christopher announced cheerily. "You'll never guess who I was mistaken for the other day?"

​Jimmy rolled his eyes and lent his head back against the bench. "Pray tell," he said sarcastically.

​"You, you great big lay-a-bout. Some pretty little chick thought I was you."

​Jimmy's attention rocketed. "What was her name?" he asked, trying to sound disinterested.

​Christopher looked deeply at him.

​"What?" Jimmy said, growing agitated by the silence between them.

​"You know her don't you?" Christopher realised.

​"You haven't told me her name yet Chris."

​"I don't have too. You've got this weird habit of knowing just about everything that happens around here. You've already met her. Haven't you?"

​Jimmy wanted to laugh. He knew he'd been playing a dangerous game with Christopher. Telling him little things he'd guessed in the past, or had been privy to before Christopher had found out was one thing. Admitting that he knew everything was completely different. "She told me she'd met you," he lied.

​"Really! When was that mate. She told me she was going home with her folks, and wouldn't be out again any time soon."

​"I went to see her at the Manor."

​"You went up there? Are you mad?" asked Christopher.

​"I don't know why this village is so spooked by Dovecot. It's just a bloody big house for goodness sake."

​"Yeah, but it's also the big house lots of children went missing in," Christopher pointed out strongly.

​"They died Chris. They died. Nobody went missing. That's just a scary tale some idiot made up to make the village seem interesting," Jimmy said, bored by the conversation and wanting to be alone.

​Christopher pulled a doubtful face. "Whatever. It's in the past anyway. What I really want to know is are you after the girl?"

​"After?"
​"Yeah, are you going to ask her out?"

​Jimmy laughed loudly. "No, I'm not going to ask her out, and neither are you."

​Christopher looked stunned. "Why the heck not?" he demanded to know.

​Jimmy moved in closer, so that his face was inches away from Christopher's. "Because if you do ask her out. I'll have to show you something that'll blow your mind," he whispered, before standing up and leaving Christopher to wonder if he'd heard correctly.