Mister Elmer Mot had a problem with ants. It seemed to him he had a problem with most things since Mildred died, but at the moment, he had ants on the porch. He walked up and down the creaking wooden planks, a can of ant killer in his hand, and sprayed every crawling pest he could find. The nest had to be somewhere under the porch, but presently he felt too old and decrepit to crawl down there and do the job properly, so he sprayed and sprayed until the wood got soaked and the can became empty. And it is only June, he thought.

Elmer looked up at the sky and the early morning, rising sun. He always got up early when he worked, but now that he had retired, he imagined he might sleep in. It did not work out that way. He told himself he woke with the sun because that had been his habit for so many years, but the truth was he did not sleep well since he lost Mildred. He and Mildred barely spoke over the last ten years, but he missed her all the same.

Elmer sat heavily in a chair after he brushed it clean of dead ants and he watched the sun rise. He also watched the two cars pull up quietly in front of the Cape Cod house that sat a bit down the street to his left—in the direction of the rising sun. He leaned forward and looked toward the end of the street where it met highway 115. He squinted against the sun, but he saw the two police cars there, clearly parked, looking like lions at rest. He supposed he had not noticed them before because he got busy with the ants. Then again, it did not look to him that they were doing anything in particular.

Elmer sometimes saw two police cars parked side by side in the bank parking lot next to the supermarket. But those officers usually rested window to window and carried on a lively conversation. These two cars were bumper to bumper like they were waiting for a speeder to roar by on 115, or at least waiting for something.

His eyes got drawn back to the Cape Cod when he saw the people exit the cars on the street. There were six of them and three disappeared down the sides of the house. The other three headed for the front door, a woman in a black suit out front followed by two men who were also in suits. Elmer simply watched. He knew it should be none of his business, but he watched all the same.

A man came to the front door and they barely had time for a hello before the front door slammed shut. The two men pushed in front of the woman and pushed the door back open. They ran into the house. Elmer still watched, though there was nothing to see.

After a moment he heard a man’s voice, yelling. Elmer could not make out the words, but it sounded like angry yelling and then something like pleading. The police cars moved and pulled up to the house parked by the curb, facing the wrong way on the street.

“Daddy!” Elmer heard that scream, clearly. It sounded like a little girl being trapped in a corner. He watched a plain looking woman get out of the back of one of the police cars. The officers got out with her, and then, sure enough, the black suited woman came out of the house, a child in her hands. The woman in the yard rushed forward, but stopped short and went to her knees, her arms outstretched. The black suited woman put the child down and the child ran into the woman’s arms. Her mother, Elmer thought.

A moment later, a man got brought out of the house by the two men in suits. He walked in handcuffs and got handed over to one police officer who shoved him rudely into the back of one of the police cars. Elmer shook his head and stood as well as his old knees allowed. He saw a few ants on the side table when he picked up his empty spray can. He felt tempted to hit the ants with the can, but he knew that would not be wise.

Elmer paused at his front door. He wondered why people can’t be happy with what they have. Heck, he and Mildred did not much like each other those last ten years or so, but he still missed her.

~~~*~~~

It was late July and the battle on the porch had turned from ants to flies. Elmer drove slowly out of the supermarket parking lot and made his way down 115 toward home. He had a brand-new flyswatter and got anxious to try it out. When he reached his driveway, he saw the police, this time at the little ranch house directly across the street, the house that always smelled like rotten eggs. He wondered what it might be all about, and briefly wondered if he would be able to get into his driveway. He turned on his blinker, and a policeman waved him through.

While he sat in his car to let his knees rest, he watched the police surround the house. It looked like the swat team, or something like that. They even had a police van. Several officers walked up to the front door and banged on the wood. They must have knocked with a club because Elmer heard the sharp raps, even with his car windows rolled up.

Elmer got out of the car as his knees allowed. He wanted a better look than he got in his rear-view mirror. He went straight up to the porch with his new flyswatter and remarked softly that of course there were no flies present. But that felt okay, because he had his eyes on the house across the street.

The police busted in the front door and at the same time, Elmer heard a gunshot. He knew that sound from the war, and there were three more shots in response. Then everything got quiet for a time, and the officers outside began to shuffle around like they did not have the patience to stand still.

Finally, a young man and a young woman were brought out if cuffs. The police also brought out several gallon zip bags with white powder, and Elmer understood it as drugs. He briefly wondered why people wanted to hurt others with things like drugs. He stood and turned toward his house. Maybe he and Mildred did not like each other much those last ten years, but they never went out of their way to hurt each other.

Elmer left the flyswatter on the side table because if he put it away somewhere in the house, he knew he would never find it again. He turned his head for one last look at the ranch across the street as he heard the sound of the ambulance off in the distance. He shook his head.

The political season started heating up and Elmer dreaded the commercials. They were escalating to nasty levels, but he thought he might see if he could find an old movie on the television. He decided to find a good, old tear-jerker. He did not like those kinds of movies much, but Mildred liked them.

~~~*~~~

Come the end of August, Elmer heard a big commotion outside his kitchen window just before sundown. The world by then had turned from flies to mosquitoes, but they did not bother him much. He imagined his old, leathery skin was not very appetizing.

When Elmer stepped out on his front porch, he saw the street filled with cars. The people from all those cars appeared to be focused on the big old Victorian on the corner, in the direction of the setting sun. Men and women had all sorts of guns and equipment and were hunkered down behind the cars, like soldiers expecting a firefight. Some of the men and women wore black vests that sported FBI in big white letters on the back. Elmer remembered the war and recognized that this had to be a major operation.

The people moved quickly as soon as the helicopter came overhead. Elmer saw a number of his neighbors who lived around the Victorian. They were in the street, behind a rope, and staring as intently as he stared. Doors on the first floor of the Victorian got broken down, windows got smashed, and then something happened that made Elmer’s old heart skip a beat. The Victorian exploded, and FBI people got thrown in every direction.

Elmer ducked, though it did not appear to be a big explosion. The house collapsed, and the houses on either side got plenty of splinters, but that seemed about it. The FBI, of course, ducked behind their cars and went running even before the dust cleared.

Elmer saw the fire engine roar up from 115, followed by the ambulance and the television news truck, and he hurried back inside. He would not answer the doorbell if it rang. He did not want to be on the TV news, and besides, he could watch well enough from his kitchen window, whatever there was to see.

Terrorists, he found out later, once he had a chance to sit in his chair and turn on the news. First, he had cleaned and put away the dishes, and wiped the counters just the way Mildred liked. Then he sat and gave his knees a well-deserved rest.

It turned out to be a terrorist cell, and curiously three of four alleged terrorists survived the explosion. Elmer wondered why they called them alleged. And he wondered why do some people feel the need to kill other people? What can be that important? Why do people want to hurt others? Why can’t people just be happy with what they have?

A political commercial came on and Elmer made up his mind. He would vote for the person who promised he could live whatever days remained to him in peace and quiet. Mildred would want peace and quiet too.

************************

One brief note:

Beginning on MONDAY September second we will continue with the Kairos Medieval stories, Book 6 Before Sunrise. The book starts with the second part of the stories of Kirstie (and Yasmina) before the story of Don Giovanni… Meanwhile:

Avalon, the prequel, the pilot Episode, and the first six written seasons are available for purchase at your favorite e-book retailer. the final 3 sesons (7, 8, and 9) will be out soon. look for M. G. Kizzia or follow the links below find all of my available books.

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/M-G-Kizzia/author/B00C0JOS9

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/MGKizzia

Please remember, reviews are always appreciated. Thank you and Happy Reading

*