The Secrets of Silver Leaf

The town of Silver Leaf was still in the throws of slumber when the orange pickup rambled over main street, the sun barely teasing the sky with its rays of morning. The song birds chirped as the truck slowed to a halt, the young driver rolled down the driver side window as a chilly breeze swept over the landscape.

Kevin eyed the town he hadn't seen in nearly ten years, yet it was just as he remembered it. Though, he was pretty sure places like this was not capable of change. Kevin rubbed his tired eyes and realized he had stopped in the middle of the travel lane. He laughed at himself and let his head fall against the steering wheel, he tossed his long black braid over his shoulder. He was tired from the sixteen hour drive, he was on the home stretch. He put the manual transmission into first gear and rolled the truck forward.

"I am not sure why you are so worried about your place," he whispered, with a shake of his head. "Time seems to have forgotten how to touch this place." He continued through the town turning north onto Birch street and headed out of town, he picked up his notebook and re-read his scribbled notes on how to get to his Uncle's house.

Five miles later, Kevin hit the brakes, the tires of the old orange pickup slide on the gravel road before coming to a complete stop. He turned and peered at the mailbox before putting the transmission into reverse and eased the Ford backwards. He blinked his blurry eyes at the number affixed on the mail box, he backed up a little more and turned down the driveway which the ruts were aligned for a smaller vehicle. Low branches scraped against the sides of the truck and toyed with the cargo in the bed. The quarter mile long driveway twisted down around some muddy spots before the log cabin came into view.

Kevin parked the truck near the large porch that covered the full side of the modest house, the place was in disrepair. The lawn was over grown, the garden wild and not used for many seasons. The outbuildings appeared they would fall over at any moment. He wrinkled his nose as his brown eyes shifted back to the house, he prayed it wasn't as bad as the rest of the property. He stopped for a moment and gazed upon the placid lake just a hundred feet from the porch, the dock needed some attention and the dingy was half sunk.

Fishing out the key, his boots hit the steps and thumped over the wooden porch. A twist of the lock and the front door swung open, the hint of rotting food slammed against him and he covered his nose falling back a few steps. Kevin took several breaths before charging inside, the kitchen was covered with unwashed dishes, pots and pans. He swallowed hard not ready to see this level of untidiness, he paused to open a few windows to help with the stench.

The rest of the house was not so bad, he leaned on the wall and rubbed his eyes again. He returned to the truck and grabbed several things from the cab and sat them in the front room. He plucked out the several boxes of food and put them away, shoving more disgusting green fuzzy projects from the refrigerator and sat them with the rest. He locked his truck and shut the door to the house, dragging his luggage into the guest bedroom. He dropped his five foot ten frame on the bed with a grunt. His eyes shut his body willing to sleep for hours, his mind was busy running after its own tail. "What if it rains," he whispered.

Kevin pulled himself off the bed and finished bringing the rest of the boxes, bags and tools. He glanced up at the cloudless sky and shook his head at himself, he was really to tired to sleep. He found the wheeled garbage container near the house and started tossing in the containers he was unwilling to open. He washed and dried all the dishes over the next hour, and figured out where everything went. He finished his detail by washing down the counters and table thanks to his years of practice of being a waiter while he put himself through college.

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