Free Earth Man by Richard Paul Evans Page A

Danny’s story of sleepwalking during the night. Greg dropped him at the nearest gas station and even gave him a pair of old flip-flops a woman had left in his truck a long, long time ago. The way Greg spoke of the woman made it clear there were still open wounds, it made Danny miss and appreciate Helen even more. As he waved goodbye to the man Danny couldn’t help but feel a small kinship with him. There were few things in life as memorable as love, or more painful. Danny had to call the house collect; he didn’t have it in him to ask the heartbroken trucker for money, not even a quarter. Helen sounded tired when she picked up.
    “ Hello?”
    “ Helen, it’s me. I’m okay. Everything’s fine.”
    “ Why aren’t you home?”
    “ Something strange, something wonderful happened.” Danny replied.
    “ Well where are you?”
    “ Edmonton, I think.”
    “ How the hell? Never mind you can explain when you get home. You’re okay?” Helen’s voice had changed and he could tell she was awake now, probably angry too, but she was doing her best to be understanding.
    “ Yeah. Helen I’m great, don’t worry about me. Are the kids okay?”
    “ Yeah. They were worried and didn’t sleep much, wondering where the hell you went, but they’re at school now. Morgan was pretty upset but I gave her cookies for breakfast.”
    “ Okay. I’m at a gas station right now but I’ll be home really soon.”
    “ How soon?”
    “ I don’t know. How fast does a bird fly?”
    “ What?”
    “ Nevermind. I’ll be home soon, I promise.”
    The moment she closed her phone Helen broke out into tears. Her sobs lasted only a moment before she regained her composure. Chastising herself, she grabbed her tool box off the table and headed for the door.
                  Later that day while in the middle of her work, Helen suddenly felt upset, the emotions she’d experienced earlier coming back twice as strong.
    “ I’ll be back in a few minutes Mr. Swelter. Just taking a quick break.” She shouted.
    There was no reason to even tell the old man, he was oblivious to what wa s going on, but he was a client and Helen always treated them with decency and respect. It was her livelihood and even though it had been one hell of a tough week for her, she had to keep them happy. Reputation and reliability was the most important part of her job; people needed to know she had the skills required and that she was reliable in getting the work done.
    In her entire life she had never cried as much as she had recently.  Helen had been in love with Danny since the day they’d met in junior high. No matter how irresponsible he’d been she could always forgive his mistakes because she’d always known he had it in him to change. Now that he was finally changing, she found herself more afraid of what the future had in store than she’d ever been before.
    Once she was in Mr. Swelter ’s backyard she opened her toolbox and took out the pack of cigarettes hidden beneath the top tray. As soon as she took the first puff she immediately felt better. With all the things that had happened, from the accident in the woods to the strange events that followed after, Helen knew she was in over her head. The cigarette was her little secret, her act of rebellion against the organized chaos of her life. As relieved as she was Danny was safe, she had a feeling it was not over. A primal, maternal instinct seemed to have awakened in her. She could not shake the idea that her family was in danger. Not just Danny but her children too, Raymond and Morgan. There was only time to smoke half a cigarette; she had to have the Mr. Swelter’s pipes repaired in time to pick up the kids from school. Looking around for a place to toss it, she finally leaned over and buried in the garden next to the back stairs. Just to be safe, she stepped on the soil and pressed down gently. Just like her feelings she kicked dirt over it and forgot about it, burying it just enough to be