It’s a late afternoon in August and the shadows are growing deeper under the trees.
The drone of cicadas blankets the otherwise silent and empty neighborhood. Earlier that day you found a strange metal artifact under your deck when the swimming pool burst; your next door neighbor says it’s from an Indian burial ground and probably cursed. She also says that she saw a white van driving down your street with a crazy looking clown inside. The two events may not be connected, but a couple years back some hikers were found murdered in the ravine behind the park.
You’re sick of playing pogs and hungry for supper but your mom is out grocery shopping and she’s been gone a long time…too long. Dangerous looking clouds loom on the horizon and thunder begins to rumble in the distance. Your neighbor runs home as the cicadas drone louder to compete with the thunder. A dog barks angrily in the distance–could it be an escaped pit bull or rottweiler? Could it have rabies and be coming for you? You dash into the cool house and your eyes take a long moment to adjust to the gloom. You hear a bump in the basement–was it the cat or the creature that may or may not live down there in the strange wood lined hole behind the heater?
You turn on the TV but it’s just a dull cooking show or a news reporter talking about money. A loud rumble like a tornado touching down suddenly fills your ears–but it’s just the garage door opening and your mom coming home with groceries. Your dad is close behind in his roaring diesel truck, smelling of sun and grass clippings, and soon taco meat is merrily sizzling in a pan on the stove. As the dusk rain falls and fills your darkening backyard with the sweet scent of wet leaves and dust, you breath a sigh of relief; It’s another summer evening with your family and all is right with the world.