Prologue

David hated the city. Actually hated it. While he’d lived in one for many years, actually enjoying his time there and appreciating its rich cultural diversity, he eventually grew to despise what it represented. How it had a tendency to suck the life force out of people, to push people to extremes, to make them do things they’d otherwise have no real desire to do.

His dislike of the city was actually tied more directly to his dislike of his previous job, but he’d managed to entwine it with everything the city, including his previous chore of traveling to and working in it every day, encompassed. Thus he was more than anxious to get the hell out of there—as fast as he could.

There was only one thing that would get him to venture back there again, and that was his daughter. He loved his daughter, but his ex-wife insisted on making his time with her as difficult as possible. She refused to meet on middle grounds, never once visiting his house, and always insisting he come all the way into the city to pick his daughter up from her school so that he would not imposition her. If he didn’t hate the city so much it might not be such a great imposition: he could always make a day of it, possibly taking in a play, or visit a coffee shop until Alice got off from school, but because of that vile hatred, he was forced to sit impatiently, waiting anxiously for his daughter to appear from the teaming crowds of students being released from her middle school.

Even though the sight and the love he felt when looking at her filled his mind with an easy peace, it wasn’t quite enough to keep him from grinding his teeth as he waited for her to finally reach his car. His SUV, another relic of his time spent in this soulless barren wasteland of man’s desires. Man, did he hate this city!

“Hey, Dad!” Alice chirped happily as she opened the door, tossed her book bag in and climbed in the back seat of the SUV. “You didn’t have to wait too long, did you?”

“Nah,” he lied, hurriedly shifting the SUV into gear even though his daughter hadn’t finished getting settled and fastened her seatbelt. “You know I’d do anything at all for you.” He hated lying like this to her, but then, what are little white lies, anyway? They’re the social glue of relationships, the things that the other person never sees or notices, and that eases the normal frictions of life. His lies wouldn’t impact her, and she’d be unlikely to ever notice them. He was just glad to see her again, since he got to see her so infrequently. Telling the same little white lie over and over again was just a small price to pay. Just like his having to visit the city every two weeks was. Twice every two weeks, actually, once to pick her up, and once to deliver her back to her mother’s.

David was already driving off, not giving either of them enough time to start on their normal pleasantries, as he’d attempt to discover what she’d been up to, while she’d dance around the answer, trying to distract him by asking about what he’d been up to in the country.

As he sped off, he almost ran into an old bearded man who suddenly crossed in front of him with little warning. The guy, wearing a dirty T-shirt and jeans, and bearing a scruffy thick white beard and long hair, had just appeared out of nowhere, not looking where he was going, staring off into the sky as if he had nothing better to do; like possibly looking where he was going.

Chapter 1 »