For years now, Leapston town surrounded Laura with a green forest on one side and a river on the other. In the middle were houses built so close together that they formed a tight embrace. But despite the choking abodes, Leapston somehow offered silence, long bouts of it in nothing but nature echoing.

Laura walked out of the house, closing the door behind her, and wandered until she was stood beside him. The man, wearing a cowboy hat, sat on a chair facing the lake, a crate of empty bottles beside him, staring out at the lake with his hands clenched between his thighs.

“Good morning, Sir Jabari.”
He turned his head slowly at her and put on a cheek-cracking smile. “Good morning…” he stammered, “I have been seeing you around here lately, right?”
“Yeah, I just finished my studies a couple of months ago, and started a job near here.”
“Gotten your degree? Your parents must have been so proud.”
Laura nodded and sat on the ground close to him, her hair slowly moving with the wind. “What are you looking at, sir?”
“Oh… I’m just… looking at my fortune.”
Laura chuckled, “Your fortune’s in the fishes and crabs?”
“Yes… maybe. I’m not so sure.” He jerked his neck and rubbed his hands together.
Laura placed a thick wrapper on his hands.
“That’s so nice of you,” he said, smiling.
Laura smiled back before returning her gaze to the lake.

Sir Jabari glanced around him, and then leaned in, whispering, “Should I tell you a story?”
“A story?” She looked at those eyes, bright with excitement, and nodded for him to continue.
“Many years back, when I believe you weren’t born yet, I was just a boy growing up in an industrial-waste filled village on the edge of Africa. The people lived their lives breathing in air spiced with the most foul of smells. My father told me becoming rich was the only way out, the only way to become a real man and not a man trapped by the shores. But I was just the son of a coast guard back then,” he scoffed. “How do I acquire wealth from such a status?”
“But you did?” Laura asked.
“Yes, yes, I did. Got myself into a position of power through a really crooked road, played the long, dirty game and won. But all happiness came at a price though, I learn that along the way.” Sir Jabari shook his head. “I put a lot of bodies in the ground, it’s…” He took a long breath, and then continued, “The most overwhelming of wealth comes from making the weak suffer, young lady. People cried for mercy, they were starving but I didn’t even glare at them. My ship had set sail toward the treasure cave and there was no stopping it.” His old eyes fell to the ground as he paused.
Laura took a moment before she managed to speak. “You have done terrible things.” “Yes, yes, I did.”
“So,” Laura raised her chin, “how did you get here, with all your fortunes in the lake?”
He sighed, “You know, when I was gathering all that money, I sent my wife and four kids to the best and most comfortably country that came to mind. That was smart, wasn’t it?”
Laura firmed her lips and nodded.
“I was sending that money to my wife, too smart to keep it in the local accounts. Time passed, and when I was done feeding off the weak and my belly filled, I traveled to where my family was, where they were supposed to be… It was a three-day flight, but my heart was filled with happiness. I achieved what my father could never had dreamed, shattered that chain of stink and sorrow. I arrived there…” his voice slurred and he looked back at the lake.

Laura touched his arm, and she felt him tremble. “You were saying something, Sir Jabari,” she said softly.
“Yes, I was.” He cleared his throat. “I got there that night, and met that house as bright as the clouds of the setting sun. There were so many people, so much water, I don’t… I don’t know.” His eyes began to jolt around. “I think… they said there were no bodies.”
“You did things, terrible things to become rich, and it just disappeared?” Laura asked, not minding the pain those words carried.
Sir Jabari shook his head and scratched his white beard. “They… They just told me they found nothing, and I couldn’t find my family. I couldn’t find them.”

Laura stared at the old man, drained of any words that could ease his pain.

“I was able to find one of my kids left in an orphanage. The cops said maybe my wife ran off with the rest of my children and all my money. I couldn’t tell the cops to investigate.”
“You looked for them though?”  Laura pressed.
“Yes, yes, I did. And after a long while, a friend advised me. He said I would be able to meet them again. He said humans are like water, and whether as rain or any other form, we are bound to meet again.”
“So, that’s why you stare at the lake all day,” Laura said.
He nodded and kept looking ahead.
Laura sniffed and smiled, “It’s surprising you’d still believe they are coming back. All these years, you’ve been waiting, right…right?” She touched him, and he slowly turned to her and smiled.
“Good evening, young lady.”
Laura raised her chin, and stared into the sky as a long sigh escaped her lips.
“Is something bothering you?” he asked again.
“No…” Laura looked at her wristwatch and got on her feet. “It’s getting late, dad. We should head back to the house.”

 

 

 

 

 

Photo by Anne Nygård on Unsplash