Free Something in My Eye: Stories by Michael Jeffrey Lee Page A

little community until nothing is left, because if there is one thing I cannot tolerate, it is injustice.”
    â€œAgreed,” said the little man, and they both slept, the young man on his bed, and the little man beneath.
    That night snow began to fall, and in the morning a heavy layer blanketed the ground. After tea and a light breakfast, the young man and his little friend entered the lonesome vehicle, and although the little man’s legs hardly reached the pedals, they were soon on their way. But on the interstate, they soon hit a stretch of black ice and found themselves in a ghastly accident. There was no hope for the young man: he died at the scene.
    News of the accident spread quickly, and soon all the young man’s neighbors arrived, followed by the authorities and the towing man. The little man gave his statement to the authorities and watched as the towing man towed his vehicle to the junkyard. He was then placed in chains and returned to the forest, where his community, having heard news of his deed, welcomed him as a hero.

2. THE GREAT HOUSE
    Once, in the east, a newly married couple shared a great house on a large plot of cleared land, which was bordered by a dark forest. The couple had no children, and would often promise one another, after exercising or lovemaking, that there would never be any children.
    The forest beyond the house was populated by the destitute and abject, and so to keep them from the great house the married couple employed several of the destitute to build a fence that protected the property and hired several of the abject to stand watch, equipping them with large firearms.
    Often, on summer nights, when the couple would entertain, their guests would become frightened by the drumming and chanting emanating from deep within the forest, and so, as the nights passed, the guests, one by one, failed to accept their invitations, until the day when the couple was left, save for the guards, to themselves.
    One night over dinner, the husband, who had swallowed several glasses of wine, suggested to his wife that they might have some children to brighten the empty rooms of the great house.
    â€œWhen the forest has overtaken our great house,” said the wife, “then we will have our children.”
    The couple soon retired to bed for lovemaking, but the husband in his disappointment and the wife in her portentousness could only manage an awkward embrace, and soon they fell fast asleep.
    The next morning the husband wandered down to the property’s edge and approached a guard who stood shouldering his rifle toward the woods.
    â€œLet me ask you,” said the husband, “how much has the forest moved today?”
    â€œNot a grain of an inch,” replied the guard.
    â€œVery well,” said the husband. “Have there been any sightings today of the dwellers?”
    â€œNot a coattail of a garment,” replied the guard.

    The husband kept this information to himself that night at the dinner table. “How was your day?” he asked the wife.
    â€œMy day passed as any other,” she said.
    â€œIn time we might change that,” he said, lovingly patting her hand.
    The next morning the husband returned to the same guard, whom he now favored for his honesty. “How much has the forest moved today?” he said.
    â€œNot a hair’s width from yesterday,” replied the guard.
    â€œWill the forest ever consume my great house?” the husband said.
    â€œPerhaps in the time of your grandchildren’s grandchildren’s grandchildren,” replied the guard.
    â€œVery well,” said the husband, who was about to return home, but hesitated as a faint noise caught his ear. “The drums,” he said. ‘The drums and the loud lamentations. Do they seem closer to you?”
    â€œI hear no drums nor loud lamentations,” replied the guard.
    â€œVery well,” said the husband, and he returned home.
    That evening, the