The Post Sunday Experiment | COMPLETED 2020

Chapter 5

His brow creased in confusion as he folded the letter back up and placed it in the drawer. His mind told him it was fake and that this was misinformation. Yet for some reason, after he read the words, his heart beat faster.

Was it possible that someone had forged Devlin's handwriting? He soon shrugged that thought off. No, it was Devlin's and Ody knew it. Deep down he knew that this was not a lie and that's what scared him.

Climbing off the bed, he headed downstairs to look for some food. Doing his best to stuff the thought of the note deep down in his mind, he walked through the crowd of people who all whispered softly—creating a hum that made the hairs on Ody's skin prickle up.

Putting in his earbuds —volume five—he pulled his hoodie up over his head. Making his way to the kitchen, he took a sandwich off the table and snuck out to the front porch. He was relieved to see it empty of people.

Walking off the porch and into the garden, he gazed out over the many rolling hills of Cazenovia. As far as the eye could see were trees and hills and the beauty of this place pulled on his heartstrings in memory. The once common sight of the sunset over the hills now stunned him with its colors.

Birds soared above the beds and beds of exotic herbs, flowers, and trees. The estate had always been odd to foreign eyes, but as Ody gazed at the familiar aisles of plants, he smiled as he recalled the names and origins of all of the plants in the garden.

People were beginning to head back home now and the cars in the grass across the street slowly drove away—all the people going through every motion of their day with no idea of how lucky they were because of what they still had in their possession.

Ody recognized several faces of people he made eye contact with, but he could not face them. Each pair of eyes he watched drive away were puffy and full of pity directed toward his sister and him.

He knew what they were thinking and how they felt. He knew how much they wanted to help the two Winter kids but all they could offer was pity.

It wasn't long before nearly all the cars were gone, all but the old red pickup truck of Devlin's which sat alone in the grass lot. The last few rays of sunshine fell behind the hills.

Tomorrow's the ceremony so I must suffer through one more day of crowds and pitiful whispers, he reassured himself.

Walking back to the house, Ody found Eric sitting on the porch, staring at the dimly lit sky. The man looked almost porcelain as he watched the clouds. His countenance was unreadable. The way he stiffly sat on the wooden chair that used to be Mae's mother's gave Ody the chills.

"Eric," Ody whispered as he sat down on a bench next to Eric who sat back holding a beer. "I... have a question for you."

Nodding, Eric turned to face the boy whose expression hid itself in the dark.

"You worked with my father, Devlin, right?" spoke Ody and Eric nodded. "Do you know a guy called 'Ammon' or something like that?"

From where Ody sat, he could see Eric's knuckles grow white on the side of the chair. His face was still unreadable but the stiffness in his body made up for his lack of expression.

The man was clearly thinking hard of what to say to the boy, but his mind fell short as he responded with: "Where... did you hear that name?"

Knowing Eric knew now, Ody smiled in the dark. "You know him, don't you?"

"Yes, I do but-"

"Then you can help me," Ody interrupted.

"No."

"But why not? At least tell me why not."

"I said my answer was no. I won't take you to her and it would be best if you forgot the name."

"Her?"

"Ody Winter, forget it. The answer is no. Wherever you read that name will be gone soon. Don't worry about it, son. Forget it."

"But I-" Ody began but was soon interrupted as the girl in the sunflower overalls entered the moonlit patio with a cup of peppermint tea in hand.

"Whatcha talkin' about?" she forced a smile.

Eric went back to watching the sky. Ody simply shook his head and muttered "nothing."

Aggravated, Ody stormed off the porch, slamming the screen door behind him as he loudly made his way up to his bedroom.

Back on the porch, Eric sat silently and Penny sat herself next to him—not a word exchanged between the two of them.

Ody didn't know Eric well, but Penny knew him like a second father. He often hung around the Winter's estate and would even spend the night some days to get away from his wife.

The man was very sweet and caring yet had a rough backstory. After his girlfriend threatened him that she would break up with him if he did not marry her, they got married before Eric was ready. His wife changed after that.

After her mother passed away from leukemia, the woman lost all softness. She would constantly yell at Eric. She could always find things to nit-pick about his life. Some nights he just didn't come home from work at all.

Penny pitied the man, yet she knew now that he was one of the only men she had left in her life so pity was not the type of respect she wished to give him.

He had volunteered to watch her until after the funeral where he would escort her to the city to live with Mae and Ody.

As much as he wanted to preserve her innocent, wild spirit, there was no arguing with the law. He would have adopted her with open arms, but that was impossible.

"Mr. Eric," Penny's sweet voice finally broke the silence.

"Yes, dear?"

"Why is Ody like that? I miss Pa too, if not more, but I'm still not like that!"

"Pen," Eric sighed, preparing one of his speeches he often gave the girl. "People handle grief differently and your brother is angry. You were content because you couldn't have asked Devlin to be any closer to you. Your brother, he wanted to visit and to be your father more than his mother's wallet allowed. I can see it in his eyes. He wants something and is angry because he now thinks that he'll now never receive it."

"I guess that makes sense, but what does he want?"

"That, my dear Penny, is what we must find out," Eric smiled. "He might not know. An uncontent mind will search for something deeper and I doubt that that something was just a father.

"Penny, I promise you that if you called your mother up right now, she would tell you that your brother had an attitude even before the incident. He must feel incomplete and the only way you and I can help him, is if we learn what he needs."

Penny nodded as she understood and looked back out at the stars. As the moonlight lit up her face, Eric could see the little girl's expression change as she choked and her eyes turned back to his—full of tears this time.

"Mr. Eric," Penny choked as her voice cracked, "but why does he hate me?"