The drive from the train station was depressing. The sky was shining bright with every shadow retreating back to the depth. The road was decorated with pnts on the cracked pavement. As though saying they are rebelling against the concrete jungle by trying to regrow the forest one tree at a time. This almost put a smile on my face. A simple defiance against the established order. We stopped at the only diner. People wearing heavy work clothes walked out. A pregnant dy pushing a pram walked in yelling at her husband for not getting a job to get them out of here. The bar seats were dotted with two firemen, sheriff and his two deputies. where a wiry red haired woman wearing horn rimmed gsses greeted us. A young man in his te teens was eating scrambled eggs and toast as we approached. His name is Hondo. He was introduced as my brother. The other was in college in the city nearby. She shook my hand before she cheerfully read the contents of my Aunt Cassandra's will. It states a house on this dismal town has been left in my name and I am to reside in it till death cims me. I had to sign several documents dictating my ownership. I made sure to read it in case it was a document permitting my wyer to sell the pce. Thankfully she wasn't stabbing my aunt in the back. My stepdad mentioned that he moved here a week ago and he rented a house. The wyer requested that any other living arrangements had to be cancelled since we didn't have to worry about a roof over our heads. His demeanor and clothing dictates he was a soldier. A marine perhaps. He looked like he had seen combat and wished he could turn back the clock. Any sudden sound had him searching for IEDs and he was searching for enemies that didn't exist. The diner owner came to talk to my family about employeeing them. He was thin balding with a kind face with a trusting smile. He wore a stained apron and he looked like he was about find exactly what he was looking for. He gave my stepbrother the job as a cook. Mom got a job as a waitress. Apparently my new dad was going to work in the sheriff department. I chose not to get a job till I understood the pce inside out. The wyer ate with us and gave us directions. She drove ahead as she took us to the house.

  It was at the end of the road. Guarded by wrought iron gates with thick walls and gargoyles as sentinels. The gate had a crest. A grinning skull with a raven perched on top. The bottom read we feast on those who dare harm us. The gates moaned as they opened as though forewarning something dangerous. A few acres away was a five gothic mansion with two towers painted bck with gargoyles on the ledges standing guard as though they were ready to pounce on a moments notice. The windows were painted over. The path leading to the house was decorated with headstones. It was an actual cemetery. I can see ghosts floating on top. Some were eyeing us curiously. Others flickered in and out of existence. A few assessed me saying that I was too thin so I needed to fatten up so they could eat me. A few had several recipes. Some of the headstones were smoothed over time. One read was killed by her second because she tried to eat him. The next second said she danced alone till she joined in the next life where they danced together. The next simply read Uncle Vd's tomb Don't open unless absolutely necessary. The next one simply inscribed was that he came and he saw and he conquered the enemy. The ravens and vultures flew above. There were spiders the size of dinner ptes. There was a love maze and an actual swimming pool. A swing on a poison oak tree and a group of trees had been meticulously grown to shape a bizarre gazebo. It felt like a protected space where a person runs to hide from certain death. The back garden was decorated with night blooming flowers. The front was decorated with bck roses. The estate was on the end of the town and it occupied every inch. There were no neighbors on either end. On one side was the town park and on the other was the mortuary and the town cemetery. So I own property that was actually one third of the nd mass of this town. As we got closer I got see a cliff decorated with leafless trees situated like going in-between would be going through a portal. Beyond the trees was where I heard the river flowing with an agenda to smash everything on its path like it was a mere sand castle. Beyond was a bck mountain guarded by huge trees with vigil like none I had ever seen. I was enjoying it very much

  .