Walking the Gallows ✔️

Chapter 3

After waking up that morning in a state of shock, Andy couldn't fall back asleep. Instead, he waited in bed for six o'clock to come just like every other morning. When he managed to emerge from his room, he didn't bother checking up on Vin. Enough was enough. He decided that his responsibility started and ended with himself.

After discovering there was no longer any food in the house except the pizzas from the night before, he made plans to go grocery shopping later that day. He first tended to his garden. He took care of the tulips and trimmed the rose bush. He weeded the hedges and tossed any unwanted growth into a box with no covering. Its contents would dry in the sun after a few days and could be used for mulch. He didn't often find bugs or birds eating away at his plants and he never knew why that was the case. He was thankful that he had never had used pesticides or harmful chemicals. His garden was natural and that's the way he was wanted it to be.

The last plant he checked on was the mango tree. He beamed in delight as he reached as far as his limbs would let him. His fingers grasped at a perfect mango. It was tough to rip off the branches, but he managed to without much of a struggle. He brought the fruit to his nostrils and smelt it. It was slightly earthy and sweet. They contrasted each other in the most attractive way. Andy fell in love with the scent as he smelt it again. There was something a part of the scent he could never put his finger on. Despite the earthiness and sweetness, there a something else that made it different. A rawness and something slightly metallic laced its flavor. It wasn't at all bad in fact, it complemented its original flavor. Whatever it was, he desperately hoped it would stay that way.

He began watering the fruit tree with a green oversized watering can. He would always spread the water evenly and generously around the base.

"Hey. Back again, are we?" Andy instantly recognized the voice. The accent was unmistakable.

"Earl. Did your wife enjoy that mango?"

"Yeah, it was gone soon after ya left it on the fence. It was like she could smell it." The man over the fence said and laughed. The chuckling stopped and there was a moment of awkward silence.

"Did ah, did ya by any chance hear about that woman on the news?" Earl said in a worried tone. The one they found in the street, Andy had heard. There was no way to avoid news like that in a town as small as the one they lived in.

Clare Anderson.

"Terrible shame. What a waste. She was a looker too." The man said. He didn't have to tell him that. She was a very popularly known woman in town. Seen as one of the most attractive by all men alike. There was no doubt that many in the community were missing her. Somehow in the back of his mind, he kept forgetting she was murdered. Every so often he would have a sudden moment of recognition that what had happened was a grizzly killing. It was real, it had happened and worst of all is that someone had died.

"Ya know somewhere in this ol' head of mine I can't help thinkin,'" He started. "What if she'd lived? Maybe seen the guy, looked him in the eye and ran. Can't help but think that maybe if she was still alive, things wouldn't be too much different for people like you and me, ay?" It was an unusual thought, but Andy would have been lying if he didn't admit that it was an intriguing one.

"Are you a gardener yourself, Earl?" he asked to distance himself from the conversation.

"Nah. Haven't got the patience for that kinda mess. That's why I'm glad I got a neighbor that can keep the whole street lookin' snazzy. Ya should think about sellin' some of ya fruit." It was something he had always considered in the past but never fought for. There were many reasons as to why he never bothered to sell them. One, of course, was that there wouldn't be enough growing a day to sell regularly. Oddly enough, another reason he didn't want to sell them was that he didn't want to share with just anybody. His garden was his haven and its fruits should only be given to those he deemed worthy enough to have them.