I thought about my next door neighbor as John and I walked home from school. Come to think of it, I always seem to think about my neighbor as I pass by his house, a light green ranch with big evergreens in front. But once I pass it, the thoughts I had about him disappeared. Now John was here with me and I pulled these thoughts out for discussion.
"Have you ever met my neighbor, John?" I asked, pointing at the house directly next to mine.
"Can't say that I have. I don't think I've ever seen him."
"Well, he's tall and skinny with jet black hair. There's something really weird about him."
"Oh yeah, why do you say that?" We were now standing in my drive way since John and I stopped to stare at my neighbor's house, examining it closely from top to bottom.
"I'm not sure, it's just that. . ."
"You think he's weird and you can't think of one good reason? Come on, Ko, you've got to do better than that. I mean, Jeez!"
I groped in my mind for something I had thought was strange about my neighbor, but for some reason I found it hard to focus on any one thing. "Look at his lawn. I mean, it's perfect."
"So?"
"No one's ever seen him do any yard work. At least I never have."
"Maybe he does it when you're at school."
"I don't just mean this year. I've never seen him do any yard work all summer and the grass remains perfect."
"Maybe it's astro-turf."
"No, I can tell that it grows and that it gets cut, but I never see anyone doing it."
"You're imagining things. Is that the only reason that you think that he's weird? Some great judge of character you are."
I stared into the sky as thoughts about the strange man next door flooded my mind. "He never leaves the house. His car is always there and he never leaves."
"He has to go out sometime or how could he buy food to eat?"
"That's what's so strange, he's always home, whenever I pass by, I'll see a light on, or he'll wave to me or something. And his car is always in the driveway."
"You've got a grocery store on the end of the block. Maybe he just walks up there and you just don't know it."
"But he's got to go to work doesn't he? And if he doesn't have a job -- and he must -- and he only walks to the store, then why the hell should he even have a car? What's the point of owning something if you never plan to use it?"
"Well, maybe he came into a lot of money and retired early, and never got around to selling his car. That's possible."
"If you had any money would you want to live here in Calumet Township -- the armpit of America -- for the rest of your life?"
"So, it's not the greatest place, but there are places that are worse. I think that you're just reading too much into this. So you've never seen him take care of his yard or drive around his car. Do you spend all your time watching him?"
"No, but it just seems odd. You'd have to meet him to see what I mean."
"I'd like to, just to see for myself."
"Well, it looks like you'll get the chance because there he is." I pointed at the face in the window, and my neighbor, Harry, waved to me from inside. The door slowly swung open and Harry stepped out. "And that's another thing," I whispered to John. "He never let's anyone into his house."
John seemed to ignore my statement as Harry spoke. "Mikey Ikey, how are you doing on this fine day?"
"Okay, how about yourself?" I asked as casually as I could. He was probably wondering why we were standing in the middle of my driveway, staring at his house.
"Fine. Fine. Who's your friend there?"
"Oh, I'm sorry, this is my buddy, John. John, this is Harry Risner."
"Nice to meet you, Harry?"
"The pleasure's all mine. Hey, wait a minute. Didn't you have your picture in the sports section of the paper a few months back? You played on the Calumet basketball team, didn't you?"
"Yes, I did," John answered.
"Yes, I knew it. Would you boys like to come in for a drink? I just bought a case a Pepsi from Wiseway this afternoon. It was on sale."
"That's okay, Harry--" I began, but I knew John wouldn't pass down this opportunity, especially after the big deal I made about my neighbor and everything.
"I'm kind of thirsty," John said, and we started walking towards the house.
I was kind of scared of going into Harry's house, since I'd never been in there before, but there was no backing out now.
"Come on in," Harry said as he opened the door for us.
The first thought that came to my mind was how beautiful the inside of the house looked. I mean, I'm not one to really notice how nicely a house is decorated, but everything on the inside of the house looked new. That is, from the China cabinet in the dinning room to the tile on the kitchen floor. Everything looked perfect, like he had just finished remodeling.
"Have a seat, boys," Harry said as he walked to the kitchen to get us the soda's that were promised.
"This is the first time I've ever been in your house, Harry." I said, to break the tension.
"I don't believe that I've ever been in your house either," Harry answered.
I felt kind of silly, making a big deal about never being in his house, when from as far back as I could remember, me and my father had never invited him in. And since that was true, should I expect not to get an invitation in return? "Well, you'll have to come over sometime," I said. "I never realized."
"Thanks, I'll take you up on that someday."
"This is a really nice house," John said.
"Why thank you. I take pride in my home. After all, I do have to live here."
John and I had our Pepsis and Harry gave us an open invitation for visiting when we left. John mocked my paranoia, but after leaving there was still something that was not right in that house. I couldn't quite place my finger on it, but something bothered me.
John and I had a bite to eat and then kicked back to watch some TV. It was going to be a laid back afternoon. Thursdays were like that. John and I, usually had a typical weekend that we liked to start on Thursday night. We'd go out and pick up a few beers, and party till about ten or eleven on Thursday as our warm up for the weekend. We may come into school on Friday a little hung over, but we usually tried to restrain ourselves on Thursday night. It was only a warm up anyway. Friday and Saturday we would be out till sometimes three or four in the morning.
Today John and I were not up to this usual routine. For one thing, we really didn't have the money for beer today, nor did we feel like going through the hastle of finding someone to buy it for us. We just stretched out to watch a little TV.
I glanced out the window and looked at Harry's house. "I feel so stupid about that Harry thing," I said. "That's what I get for thinking out loud."
"Don't worry about it," John said. "I guess we all can make big deals out of nothing at times." That's the thing I really liked about John. Somehow he always knew what the right thing was to say. He was always there for me when I needed him.
I was still looking out the window and scanned the trailer park that was across the street. "Maybe I just want to be out of this place so bad, that I see something wrong with everything," I said. "I'm so sick of Northwest Indiana."
"Just think, Ko, in another year we'll be out of Calumet and then on to bigger and better things."
"Have you given any thoughts about going to college, John?"
"So far, I know that I'm going," John said. "I'll worry about the details later. How about you?"
"I've filled out the applications for Purdue Lafayette. My brother wanted me to get an early start. I'm probably going to follow in his footsteps and major in Computer Science."
"You don't sound very sure of that."
"I don't know. I like computers and everything, it's just that. . . I don't know. . . it seems like all I'm trying to do is get myself out of this shithole, instead of trying to go after what I really want to go after."
"Which is what, Ko?"
"I don't know. I'm not sure yet."
"Well, I've seen the way your brother lives. He's making decent money, and you took me out to see his apartment in Naperville. It's beautiful out there. If you can follow him in that direction, I'm sure that you couldn't do much worse."
"I know, I've been to his place and he seems very happy. It's just that, I don't know if I'd be happy living his life-style. Programming a computer for the rest of my life. That's one hell of a commitment, you know?"
"Yeah, it's tough making that decision for all of us. That's why I'm focusing on going to college right now and thinking about what I'm going to study over the next few months. But I know it's not going to be an easy decision at all. What I've got to spend a lot of time thinking about is what I like doing and how I can apply that to a major in college. Then take it from there."
I thought about John's words, but somehow typical jobs did not appeal to me. At least I hadn't found anything that really appealed to me. And the clock was ticking on making a decision that affected the rest of my life. It just wasn't fair to have this much pressure put on me to make this type of decision.
How much simpler it would be to live in the future, in the worlds of Star Trek, where you could journey through space and into the unknown. If all the things I'd read about in science fiction or watched in movies existed now, it would be easy to make a decision, but what I was left with now were ordinary, boring career options. I consoled myself by saying if I got a degree in Computer Science I could possibly get a job at NASA and maybe work on a software for a satellite being flown off into space. I'd be stuck in an ordinary job, but still get a glimpse into the unknown that I sought.
Somehow, overwhelming all of my thoughts remained the feeling that I did not belong here. I could never figure it out.
Harry waved to me again the next day. My hands were full of books since I had a lot of homework. It was an eighty degree May day and I wasn't looking forward to going home, since we didn't have the air conditioner in the window yet. Even when we did, my room was on the second floor, so an eighty degree day was ninety in my room. This small signal of summer would disappear in a day or so anyway.
I waved back to Harry, and thought I'd stop in and maybe get another Pepsi out of a visit. I don't think my dad had time to go to the store since yesterday. And when he did, he bought generic soda, not Pepsi.
The door swung open as I reached the bottom of the stairs to Harry's house.
"Looks like you've got a load of homework, Mikey Ikey" Harry said.
"Yeah, why is it that I don't have homework for a couple days in any of my classes and then tons of it in all of them on another day?" I asked, not expecting an answer.
"I guess it's part of life. Life is never easy, you know. Would a Pepsi make it any easier to do your homework?" Harry asked.
"Sure would," I replied.
Harry let me in and went to get a Pepsi from the fridge. I noticed that his air conditioning was already on, because it was only about seventy degrees in the house. He must have central air, because I didn't see any air conditioners in the windows. "So how's your dad been doing?" he asked.
"Pretty good, I guess. He never really says."
"I would tell you to say hello to him, but he thinks I'm a crackpot anyway."
"What makes you say that?" I always got the feeling that my dad never really cared for Harry, but I didn't see any way that Harry would be able to tell that.
"Doesn't everyone. I live alone, seldom go out, so everyone assumes I'm crazy."
"Well--" I began feeling bad about my harsh words to John the day before.
"It doesn't bother me -- what other people think, that is."
"Well, I wouldn't say that people think that your crazy, just a little. . . odd maybe."
"Thanks for being truthful," Harry said as he cracked a smile. "It's nice to know there is someone around that I can talk to who will tell me things as they are. . . . How are things going at school?" He motioned towards my stack of books.
"Okay, but I wish I had a computer. When I do my homework for my computer class, I'm not sure that programs are going to work or not until I punch them in at school. It would be nice to have one at home. I know that my dad really can't afford it though."
"I have a computer," Harry said with an excited tone in his voice. "If you ever want to come over and test out your programs, feel free to stop by."
"Thanks, Harry," I said. "I'd really appreciate that."
"Are your grades still pretty good?" Harry asked.
"Yep, all A's and B's."
"Good, good. I like to hear that. Especially when all you hear about today is that children are doing poorly in school."
It was really strange. Yesterday I had thought that Harry was so strange and now I felt so comfortable with him, like I could tell him anything. I felt more comfortable talking with him than anyone else I had ever met before, even John, my best friend. I didn't understand it.
"In fact, I've done some programing myself in my time, and I could help you if you have any problems. I have a pretty neat system. I'll have to show it to you."
"Can I see it now?" I asked.
Harry's face slightly tightened. "Well, my den is rather a mess right now. Why don't you give me a chance to clean it up. I can show it to you tomorrow." Tomorrow would be Saturday so it would be fine with me.
"That'd be great."
"Come on by anytime."
"Y-Y-Your a little late, M-M-Mike," Dad said when I walked through the door.
"I stopped next door to see Harry," I said.
My Dad's nostrils flared immediately. "What are you doing going over to that kook's house, huh?"
"He invited me in. That's all, and he gave me a Pepsi."
"I told--" my dad trailed off, and spit out some incoherent words.
"What's that?" I asked.
"I just don't like you going over there. A guy. . . like that. . . just do me a favor and promise me you'll stay away from there. Will you?"
I knew there would be no further discussion of the matter. When my father's mind was made up, there was no moving him. I would just make him a promise that I wouldn't keep. My father had done that to me several times during my life, so it would be no big deal if I broke my word to him. "Okay, Dad. I won't go over there. I promise."
I tried to change the subject so that my father wouldn't stay angry with me. "Dad, I've been thinking about graduation and going to college, and I'm not quite sure what to do."
Dad didn't seem to hear me. I was going to repeat what I said again, but he finally answered. "I don't know what to tell you. Talk to your brother about it, he's smarter than I am about these things."
"The main problem is that I'm not sure about what I want to do for the rest of my life. How did you decide?"
"I had to work. It was a lot different when I grew up during the Depression. You had to take any job that you could get. --I've got to go take care of the pigeons."
"But I need your help. I need someone to help me think this through."
"Talk to your brother. He's smarter than I am anyway."
The conversation was over. My Dad got up and walked out of the house, back to his pigeon coop, where he raised racing pigeons. "I bet if one of his birds asked him a question like this, he wouldn't walk away," I muttered. My father was never able to help me with any of the difficult things in my life. Whenever I sought his advice, I usually tried when he was sober, he just pushed me away or didn't have an answer. It was like he didn't even care. When he was drinking then he would talk more, but could never be serious.
At frustrating times like these, I couldn't help but ask myself the question of why my father wanted to have kids if he wasn't going to be there for them when they needed him. I went to my room to take a nap before a Friday night of partying would begin.
John and Art picked me up at 7 o'clock and it would be a big night of partying I could tell. "I've got a treat in store for us tonight," Art said. "My brother knows another bouncer at a bar in Chicago that's working tonight. What do you guys say that we cruise out there and drink some beers?"
John and I looked at each other because we knew how it turned out the last time we went to Chicago for the same reason. Art's brother had gotten us into the bar all right, but neither Art or his brother had any money. John and I had to buy them both three dollar Corona's all night which added up to a lot of dough.
"No, that's okay Art," John said diplomatically. "I really don't feel like driving all the way out there."
"Me neither," I added to give John a little more support.
"Then what are we going to do?" Art asked, the annoyance showed by the way he squinted his eyes.
"Well," started John, "why don't we just pound this case of beer that we have, do a few loops on Broadway, and maybe pick up a few chicks."
"That sounds pretty cool to me," I said.
"But you know what the chicks look like in Chicago. They're a lot better looking than the ones that hang out on Broadway."
"Art," said John with a little irritation in his voice, "Let's just do what we originally planned to do. We can head out to Chicago another night."
Art slid back in his seat with his plans defeated.
"What's the deal with that party that Ron was supposed to be having?" I finally asked.
"I forgot all about it," John said. "Why don't we take a spin by and see if anyone's there."
"Sound's good to me."
Ron was good for having parties a couple times a year.They were always the biggest bashes that anyone would have at school. The house would be packed with people, and I don't know how much beer they went through, but it was free and that was all that mattered to John, Art, and myself. It surprised me that his parents continued to leave Ron alone for a weekend, because as big as these parties were, the neighbors had to have told his parents what went on when they were away.
It wasn't my job to worry, because it wasn't my party and I didn't have to worry about being caught. I was just ready to kick back and drink a few beers. We pulled up and could hear the music blasting from half a block away. It was a good thing that Ron's parents owned a decent amount of land with the nearest house being the equivalent of a block away on most streets. We parked the car and tried to walk into the party casually. The first person I saw was my buddy, Chuck. He could be the most obnoxious person when he was drinking, but he was also one of the friendliest guys that you could know. He was the kind of guy that was everyone's best friend. He was talking to a few girls from our class.
I moved in his direction, breaking off from Art and John who were moving in immediately for a beer. I motioned a hand to Art, and he immediately understood that he should bring a beer out for me.
"What's up, Chuck?" I asked.
He lifted a beer to his lips, and said, "Ron's finally having a party where he has some decent beer and playing some decent music. Yeah, Baby."
I understood immediately what he meant by the music, as I could here the Scorpions playing. Chuck and I both liked our music a little on the heavier side. At parties, however, they mostly played dance music and pop, which really blew. "What kind of beer did he get?"
"Michelob, finally a premium beer."
"I'd settle for a wine cooler myself," Dianna, one of the girls Chuck was talking to, said. "I hate beer."
"I hate beer," Chuck mimicked and laughed. "There's more for us then."
"I don't recall ever seeing you or any of the girls in our class throwing parties," I said. "When you do, you can serve whatever it is that you like."
"We don't throw parties because we don't want our houses getting trashed," Dianna answered.
"Then you don't have room to complain," Chuck backed me up.
Art appeared with my beer and I started to sip on it. "Hey, Dianna," Art said. "I tried to call you today. How come you didn't call me back?"
I slipped away and into the house. When Art was trying to hit on girls, it was best to get away, because I felt sorry for the girls who would do anything to get out of there. Art always tried too hard.
I was feeling really good, having drunk about six or seven beers, and was sitting at the kitchen table. John came up to me. "Ko, we've got to do something wild. If we do something wild it will get the girls attention here, and if we do that, we've got it made."
"What've you got in mind?"
"Let's go streaking through the house."
"You crazy?" I asked in a slur.
"C'mon it'll work."
"Fuck you."
"I'll do it myself."
"Bet you ten bucks you don't?"
John's eyes flashed and he said, "You're on."
I waited and then I saw a shadow fly through the living room. No one was in the living room, so I went to see what was going on. I walked out the front door and saw John pulling on his jeans. "You owe me ten bucks."
"No one saw you. You didn't streak through the whole house. You fucker."
"So what. I still streaked."
"I'm not paying."
"Welcher."
"Oh, no," I said and pointed to front porch where Chuck was sitting on the swing by himself. He looked like he was pretty ripped, but I knew better. This was a stunt that he pulled at every party that we'd been at. He acted like he was really drunk hoping that a girl would come try to take care of him and he could make his moves. It never worked, and I wondered why he still tried.
As we started to walk over to him (it was more of a stumble for me) Chuck fell off the swing and onto the ground. "I'll sober'm up." I whispered to John.
"Chuck, you okay?"
"Okay?" He said, almost incoherently.
I glanced at my watch. "Hey, man, it's quarter `till eleven."
"Really," he said, all too clearly and he jumped up. I showed him my watch. "Shit, I've got to get going." He walked quickly towards my car and John and I started laughing. "That eleven O'clock curfew sobers him up every time," I said.
I thought that time had stopped completely. The ride home seemed to take a long time. A very long time. My head was spinning as I thought that it was years before John finally pulled into the driveway. I stumbled out and froze before my front door. John had already pulled out of the driveway and was gone, but another light hit me. It came from Harry's house. I looked over to see Harry was standing at the window looking at me and a blue light hit my forehead. I was scared, because there was a look on Harry's face that I had never seen him display before. A look that I don't think that I wanted to see displayed from anyone. My head slightly cleared and I felt disappointment in myself. I was disappointed at letting my drinking get so out of control. The funny thing was that I had no idea why.
I woke up early, to my surprise, with no hangover at all. It was seven o'clock on a Saturday, and I felt like I could take on the world. Usually on Saturdays when I stayed out as late as I did, it would be early for me to wake up at noon. It looked like today would be an exception. I felt very energetic. I got out of the bed and jumped into the shower.
After I sat down and had some breakfast, I walked out into the backyard. I noticed that Dad wasn't home. It was pigeon racing season, and he was taking the birds out for training. I would have the house to myself until noon, at least. The grass was getting long, and it would need to be cut in the next couple of days. Maybe I'd get an early start this morning. I turned to the house next door and I saw Harry out on his porch. I wondered if he ever sleeps.
"Up a little early this morning, aren't you, Mikey Ikey?" he asked with a smile.
"Yeah. I just felt great this morning."
"I cleaned out my den. If you'd like to come and see my computer system, you can be my guest."
I thought of the promise that I'd made to my father. I could be in and out of Harry's house before Dad even got back from training. He would never even suspect a thing.
"Sure," I answered and walked into Harry's house.
"Right this way, my boy."
Harry led me to a room that was filled with bookshelves. I glanced at some of the books on the shelves. A lot of them were physics and chemistry. Other books were science fiction with a great number of them by Isaac Asimov. In the corner on a work bench I saw a bunch of tools stacked up. Harry had obviously been tinkering with something, but I had no idea what. He pointed at his desk where underneath it was a huge computer case. It was the biggest computer I'd ever seen.
"That's you're computer?"
"Why, yes."
"The computers that we have at school are a lot smaller than that."
"Well, yes, but this computer can do more than the ones that you have at school can. This computer can run any platform, IBM, apple, you name it. Its computation speed would leave the computers you use at school in the dust. And I mean that modestly."
"I've never heard of a computer that can do all that. Where'd you get it?"
"Well, they don't exactly sell these in the store. I know some people that design computers and that's were I got it."
I turned and I saw that there was a second computer terminal on the desk. It displayed a pattern of stars that seemed to be slowly moving. "What's this one?" I asked.
"Oh, that terminal is linked to another computer in the basement. I'm running some astronomical software."
"Cool."
"It is pretty cool at that," Harry said after considering a moment.
Harry showed me several programs that I had never seen before. The graphics on these programs were the most awesome that I had ever seen. I didn't think that computers' graphics could be as sharp as the ones Harry showed me, but I was seeing them from my own eyes.
After about an hour, Harry offered me some tea, because it was much too early to start drinking Pepsi, he said.
"Are you going to be going to college after high school?" Harry asked.
"I'm thinking of going to Purdue either in Lafayette or the campus here in Hammond, but it all depends on money. My brother was able to get financial aid from the government when he went to school, but since then the government has cut most of those programs."
"Your dad hasn't really saved up for your education, has he?" Harry asked.
"No." I said and blushed.
"What does he say about college?"
"He wants me to go, but as to deciding on which college to go to, he's been no help." I thought of how every time I'd turned to my father to ask for advice, he'd never really tried to help.
"I don't really want to say anything bad about your father, because I know that he cares about you a great deal. I can tell. But it has always been my personal belief that it should be the parent's responsibility to educate their children. I wish he would have saved up for your education."
"I do, too. But it's too late now and it doesn't look like he can afford to send me to school. Does that mean that you don't think that I should get an education? It's not my fault that my father didn't save the money for me."
"I know, and I'm not saying that. It would just be a little easier if he had."
"You know, Harry, I feel sometimes like I don't belong. Like I'm a burden on my father and I shouldn't be here. Like I'm more trouble than I'm really worth."
Harry smiled. "We all feel like that sometime in our lives. I know this is a confusing time for you. It's just a matter of finding a place where you belong."
"But how do you decide?"
"That's a hard question to answer. So many things influence that decision. Sometimes people decide by acting on what most people think is the right thing to do. Others decide based on what their parents or family think is important -- and in that case a lot of the time the decision is made for them. Others make no decision because they are too afraid to choose the wrong thing. But there is another way that you can decide."
"And what's that?"
Harry stood up. "It's the easiest way and also the most difficult. . . . You reach deep inside yourself and act on what you know is right deep inside. It's the easiest because you are acting on your own vision of what is right for you. It's the hardest because that decision may defy everything that others think is the right decision to make, and you may doubt that decision because of it."
What Harry said really made sense to me. There was a moment of deep silence as I considered. "But what if you can't figure out the difference between the right choice as seen by others and the right choice that you really feel?"
"You'll know, my friend. You'll know. You just have to stop denying it."
"I'm still confused."
Harry tapped his foot, it was the closest sign of impatience that I had ever seen him display. "Try looking at it this way. If you were alone, no parents, no family, no one else trying to influence you. What would your decision be? Imagine that you could be taken somewhere where you'd have an exciting job and never feel out of place again."
"I don't know," I said after only thinking a few seconds.
"Well, now you have something to think about. And you'd better think about it, because a decision will have to be made soon."
I glanced at my watch. It was eleven thirty and my Dad would be home soon, and I knew that I had to leave."
Somehow I could tell Harry knew I was thinking about leaving, too. "I know why your father doesn't-" Harry stopped himself.
"Why my father doesn't what?" I asked.
"Never mind. We can discuss it another day."
"I've got to get going anyway, Harry."
"I know."
I walked out the door and it looked like I had stayed too long. I was no sooner out the front door and onto the porch when my father pulled in the driveway.
"You stupid fool!" My father yelled once we were in the house. "I told you to stay the hell away from that guy!"
"I know but--"
"But nothing. When I tell you to do something, you'd better do it, Mister. Do you here me?"
"Yeah."
"I should put you through a knuckle drill for not listening to me. Now you get your ass up to your room, and don't think that you're going out anywhere tonight. You understand me, boy?"
Grounded on a Saturday night. My Dad really knew how to hurt a guy. That was the biggest partying night of the week. I'd rather have my dad pound me. At least then I could get some sympathy from any girls that we would run into this evening.
I walked up to my room to lie down. Thinking of the words that Harry said. One thing echoed through my mind. And you'd better think about it, because you'll have to make a decision soon.
"My son! My son!" Reggie yelled as he gripped his five year old son in his arms. His son's neck was broken, and the gurgling of blood could be heard as he was slipping away. "I told him to watch crossing the street. I told him. Speak to me son!"
A twisted piece of metal that used to be his son's bike laid off to the side of the road. The hit and run driver had sent the boy flying but had run completely over the bicycle, crushing it.
Reggie knew that in seconds his son would be gone, long gone from his life, but he couldn't let that life slip away. There had to be a way to break the rules of death. And he knew that he had only one shot at it.
He carried his son to his neighbor's house and kicked at the door. The door swung open and Harry stood there. "My God, what's happened?" He asked.
"My son was hit and he's dying."
"I'll call an ambulance," Harry said moving into the house towards the phone. My father followed him.
"There's no time for that. He needs help now. He's dying!"
"There's nothing I can do. I'm not a doctor."
Reggie set his son down. "I saw you do something amazing once." Reggie recalled when his neighbor was cutting some trees down to make room for the garage that he would be building. The tree had fallen and crushed a squirrels' nest and the baby squirrels that were in it. Harry picked them up, Reggie had seen that he was crying but didn't dare let him know that he was watching him. Then a bright light glowed at Harry's palms and the squirrels were alive and hoping away. From that day forward, Reggie did everything that he could to stay away from Harry.
"I ask to you to do for your son what you did for those squirrels."
Harry understood. Reggie knew. "What you ask, I cannot do. It is entirely different."
"How is it different. Please, my son is dying. I don't care who or what you are, just help him, please."
"You have to understand. When I saved the squirrels' lives, it was because a direct action that I had made had caused their deaths, and I could not allow it. I could not interfere with their lives. The same is true for your son. I cannot interfere in his life either. He must live by the rules of life bound by your kind."
"You bastard. How dare you stand back and let my son die. I'll do anything. Anything that you want. Please."
Harry was touched and leaned forward, unable to refuse the man's request. His hands began to glow and in an instant the boy was back on his feet. "Where's my bike, Dad?" He asked.
His father filled with joy and hugged him tight. "I'll buy you ten new bikes."
"Be a good parent," Harry said. "Take care of your son the way a a good parent should. For if you don't, the day may come when he may leave you forever."
Reggie didn't understand exactly what Harry meant. He was grateful for the man's action, but at the same time, feared him greatly.
At the end of the dream, I knew that the small boy was me.
I awoke drenched in sweat and my mouth as dry as cotton. I started to shake when the repressed memory that I had witnessed in my dream surfaced. It was three in the morning and there was nothing more that I wanted to do but get out of the house and talk to Harry. To hell with what my father said. I was out the door in a minute and no sooner had I reached the first step of Harry's porch, then the door to Harry's house opened. Harry looked down at me and motioned inside.
"Who are you?" I asked.
"Come in and we can discuss it."
I probably should have been scared to death, not knowing who or what this man was. He could probably have been some sort of demon for all I knew. But I wasn't scared. As it had been the last few days that I talked to Harry, I was calm and comfortable as always. I stepped through the door.
"Would you like a Pepsi?" Harry asked.
"That would be nice." I said, because my mouth still felt like cotton. I slipped onto the sofa as Harry went to obtain the beverage.
"I think that there is a lot that we have to discuss."
"You saved my life, didn't you?"
Harry thought a moment. "Yes, I did. I allowed you to recall that memory so that you'd believe me when I told you who I am."
"Who are you?"
"I am an alien from another world. A world far from here."
"Point the star out to me in the sky that your planet orbits."
"I only wish that I could. Right now, as has been for the last fifty years, my star cannot be viewed from earth. It is blocked from one angle by the Horse Head Nebula in Orion, and when that does not block it, the dark matter pockets in that part of the galaxy do."
I believed every word. I didn't exactly know what he meant by dark matter, but I'd heard of the Horse Head nebula in Orion. Astronomy was my part time hobby, when I wasn't out drinking with my friends.
"That's why I've been stuck here," Harry continued. "Since a ray of visual light cannot reach earth, my homing beam cannot reach here. In one week that barrier will be gone, and I can return home. If you want, you may come with me."
"I can't believe this." Although I said the words, I did believe them. That was why Harry seemed so different. He couldn't fit in here.
"Why me?"
"I give you that choice because I interfered where I should not have interfered. I saved your life when it was not my responsibility to. By the laws and rules of your world, you should have died twelve years ago. And by the agreement between your father and I, he was supposed to care for you in the proper fashion. His not supplying you with the necessities for the future has displayed that he has not met his end of the bargain. He has not cared for you in the way a parent should. In that case, I give you the opportunity to come with me and see my world. To see a hundred worlds. To be anything that you want to be. To do more than this planet can offer."
"I don't know what to say."
"You have one week to decide. But remember if you decide to go with me, you will never be able to return. That's the price."
I swallowed hard.
I gave the matter a great deal of thought, but it was a difficult decision to make. On the one hand I would be taken somewhere that no one on this planet had been before, and not being limited to the dull life here. How could I or anyone turn down that opportunity?
On the other hand, how could I leave my family, especially without saying good-bye? It would be like dying, except that they would never really know what happened to me. What should I do?
It was too big of a decision to make. My Dad must have wondered why I was so withdrawn this week. I usually just came home, ate dinner and went to my room. I didn't even use the phone to call my friends. I just sat in my room thinking. I didn't bother to turn on the lights when it got dark, it would have required too much effort. I just sat in silence until I'd fall asleep.
Finally, it was the last day. I looked out my bedroom window and saw Harry wave to me. He held up a hand to ask if I were coming or not. I shook my head. His smile faded somewhat, and I could tell he was disappointed. He turned and walked into his house, and I thought that would be the last time that I'd ever see him.
At this time of the year Orion was hidden in the daylight. I was not exactly sure what time the transport beam would arrive for Harry. All I knew was that he'd be gone, and my only chance of ever leaving this planet with him. Had I made the right decision?
About an hour later I heard a high-pitched humming. The transportation was beginning, and I changed my mind. I ran down the stairs and out my front door. I was at Harry's front steps in seconds. I didn't bother knocking on the door, but turned the door knob and opened the door. Harry was nowhere to be seen. I didn't hear the humming sound anymore. I'd missed my chance.
I turned to go, when the humming began again. I found that I couldn't move, my feet stuck in place. It became difficult to breath. The room I was in was beginning to fade away. I heard Harry's voice say, "I knew that you'd change your mind."
I looked out Harry's window, and I saw my house fade from my sight. I'd never see it again, and what was strange was the fact that it was fine by me.
"I'm a system's engineer for a company in Chicago. In my spare time I collect cards, comics, and Star Trek/Star Wars collectibles. I also find some time to write, although not as much as I'd like. I grew up in Calumet Township Indiana which is part of Gary. I like to incorporate some of the things I experienced while I was growing up there in my writing."
E-mail: mykekos@mindless.com
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