The Death of 1977 (Book 3)

The scenery, at least in Lynnette's eyes, was drastically changing. She honestly could no longer tell just where in the city she was. On one hand, it made her feel somewhat relieved that Cypress was no longer under the hex of economic and social collapse, on the other, however, after so many years, not being able to recognize one street after another only made her realize that not only could she and Isaiah be lost, but that perhaps her moving to another city may have been ill-advised altogether.

"Mom, the GPS is going haywire." Isaiah poked an irritated finger at the digital console inside his vehicle's dashboard. "West 7th is around here somewhere, but this thing keeps telling us 100 yards. We're coming up on 100 yards and all I see is 5th Blvd."

Lynnette said nothing; she just held her breath in anticipation of something, anything. She watched in dread as the numbers on the street posts changed until "the" right one appeared right before her skittish eyes.

"Right there," her shaky right index finger dreadfully pointed at 7th Blvd.

"Finally," Isaiah huffed as he turned right on the road.

Lynnette saw the sign as they entered onto the Blvd that read Eastern Estates on a pristine all white board that was posted right at the corner. The woman gawked from one side of the street to the other where one floor cottages all resided. There were white people of varying ages either walking or jogging up and down the freshly paved sidewalks. Shaved lawns and colorful flower beds made for a picture perfect, unrecognizable landscape, while expensive vehicles sat idly by in front of the homes.

"Stop here." Lynnette's tongue fumbled.

On a dime, Isaiah stopped the jeep right in front of a specific home. All around could be heard birds chirping and a couple of dogs barking in a nearby distance. Isaiah couldn't help but to sit and watch his flabbergasted mother soak in the lavish atmosphere.

"I can tell by the paleness in your face that this neighborhood looks a whole lot different than it did way back then." He smirked at his mom.

Lynnette couldn't even answer at first, she just sat with her mouth wide open and her eyes bugged out like she was visiting another planet.

Clearing her dry throat, she replied, "Back then, the only time we saw white people in this neighborhood was when the police drove by."

Looking past her, Isaiah pointed and asked, "Is that where we first lived?"

Lynnette gradually turned her head and muttered ever so softly, "Yeah. Yeah it was. Of course it didn't look like this back then either."

"I can imagine."

Lynnette couldn't move. She couldn't even sweat. She was freezing cold from her head all the way down to the soles of her feet. She figured she would have been a mountain of emotion, but just sitting in her seat was all she could do.

"The last time we were here, you had a sinus infection." She stated with her eyes still directed at the home. "I had to walk all the way down to the corner store, in the freezing cold morning, just to get you some medicine."

Isaiah leaned back in his seat as his eyes shifted back and forth, from the house and to his mother. Then, without any kind of thought whatsoever, Lynnette pulled the latch on the door and proceeded to get out.

"You're going in there?" Isaiah blurted out in astonishment.

But Lynnette didn't reply. She simply began walking towards the house like a led zombie. Isaiah got out on the other side and shut her door behind him before taking off in the rear.

"Mom, are you okay?" He whispered into her ear.

Lynnette would not answer. She kept walking and walking until she met up with the porch where she stepped up the stairs and finally stopped short of the front door.

All of the sudden, everyone and everything around her were no longer present. It was just her and the pearly white door with the golden knocker in the center. Lynnette stood for at least two whole minutes before her eyes caught sight of the doorbell down to the right of her. Once more, her thought process was vacant. She just pressed the button and waited. Beyond the door she could hear footsteps coming closer and closer. That was when she began to shake. The door swung open to reveal a young, bearded, white man in a pair of shorts and a white undershirt.

"Can I help you?" He asked.

"I...I'm here." Lynnette struggled to say. "I mean...I'm sorry. My name is Lynnette Glover. I know this is gonna sound strange, but, I used to live in this exact house way back in the seventies."

Appearing amused, the man remarked, "Really?"

"Yes, sir," she held her breath. "This here is my son, Isaiah." She pointed behind her. "We didn't come to bother you or intrude; I would just like to take a moment to see inside, if that's alright with you."

The man carefully studied both Lynnette and Isaiah before he smiled and nodded. "Sure, c'mon in," he stood aside.

With as much energy and bravery as she could accumulate, Lynnette stepped inside the clean smelling home.

"Oh, we have company." A young, perky, white woman appeared from out of the kitchen.

"This is my wife, Leia. And by the way, my name is Austin."

"It's good to meet you both." Lynnette smiled from ear to ear.

"This is Lynnette and Isaiah." Austin presented. "They used to live here years ago."

"Is that right?" Leia, with an oven mitt on her right hand asked. "We actually moved in here two years ago when they built the Estates."

"Yeah, it's pretty nice here." Austin added. "What was it like back then?"

But Lynnette was too enthralled with the chic living room that appeared two sizes bigger than what she once remembered.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Lynnette caught herself. "Well, to tell you the truth, it was a dump way back then." She giggled. "This whole city was that way. You guys are lucky to have been born when you were."

With a pair of cement feet Lynnette stepped through the living room, not wanting to prance too hard upon the pure white carpet on the floor. Austin, Leia and Isaiah all stood and watched as the woman carried on in a trance-like state across the house as though not one of them were even there.

"You'll have to forgive my mother." Lynnette could hear her son speak. "It's been years since she's last been in Cypress."

Lynnette first went into the newly remodeled kitchen that had been lengthened to twice its original size. She passed by the two boiling pots on the stove on her way to the backdoor. She looked through the glass to find that the old shed that once rested in the middle of the backyard was no longer in sight. From there she happened to glance down at the floor to see the basement door latch gone as well. Once she had had enough of the kitchen she made her way back into the living room only to venture

down the hallway and to the one and only bedroom. The door was wide open, but she didn't bother to go inside. She just stood and looked at the perfectly made king sized bed and plasma TV mounted on the wall in front of it.

Still, Lynnette could hear absolutely nothing. For all she knew everyone could have ran out on her and she would have never known it. She wanted to turn around, but something was preventing her from doing so. Lynnette fought against the force until she was able to twist her head to the left to spot one more room on the tour. She stood and stared down the hallway at one closed door. Lynnette was determined not to stand around and allow fear and hesitation to cause her to wait. It had been 42 years, there was nothing more to wait for.

The woman turned her immobile body around and slowly marched down the hallway until she finally came face to face with the bathroom door. Her right hand was trembling as it reached out for the knob. With her shaking hand she twisted and turned the knob until it unlocked and opened. At once, a rush of fragrant heat blasted Lynnette right in the face. It was so vicious that it nearly caused her to stumble over. Yes, the bathroom was still the smallest, most compact room inside the house.

The toilet and tub, while brand new, were still positioned in the same places they had been years earlier. All around were men's and women's personal hygiene products, as well as a small picture of Austin and Leia posing in front of Niagara Falls posted on the wall.

But all Lynnette could seem to focus upon was the floor. By then, her entire body was shaking so hard that her right foot started to tap on the linoleum. A few beads of sweat began to form upon her forehead, and her teeth were beginning to hurt. Lynnette just couldn't take her eyes off of the floor. She tried and tried, but the longer she stared, the more the images started to appear. From one end to the other blood, a baby, a detective and a thing was all around her. She recalled what Isaiah had mentioned about something big and loud. In her quivering eyes she could see it on the floor reaching out for her.

"Mom, are you okay in there?" Isaiah said out loud.

Lynnette shut her eyes and inhaled the fresh linen scent from the Glade plug-in that was fumigating the room.

"Yeah...here I come!" She cleared her voice.

Lynnette tightened her lips and balled up her fists before shutting her eyes for five seconds and re- opening them to find the tormenting image all but gone.

"Goodbye, Isaac." She whispered so pitifully as she turned and walked out of the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.

The instant Lynnette reached the living room she found all three persons still standing in the places they had been since she first left.

"This is gonna sound real weird, but, I, uh, I was just wondering if you two had ever experienced anything...unusual, since living here." Lynnette sort of snickered.

Both Austin and Leia gave each other odd, and amused glances before Leia looked back at Lynnette and replied, "No, nothing that would cause an alarm, I guess." novelbin

Nodding her head in approval, Lynnette said, "Good. I'm glad to know that." She then exhaled with a smile, "Well, I'd like to thank you both for allowing me to intrude on you."

"It's no intrusion at all." Austin smiled back. "We're always glad to have company over."

"We'll be leaving now." Lynnette remarked as she took Isaiah's hand into her own and started towards the front door.

"I miss 1977. Don't you?" Someone's voice all of the sudden spoke.

Lynnette stopped short of the door and spun around. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

Both Austin and Leia once more gawked at each other strangely before Austin responded, "Uh...we didn't say anything."

Lynnette just nervously grinned before opening the door and walking out. The two strolled hand in hand to the jeep where Isaiah opened the door for his mother and helped her inside. As Isaiah got in on his side Lynnette couldn't help but to keep her eyes steadily trained on her former home.

"Well, was it all that you imagined?" Isaiah questioned as he cut on the jeep and pulled away from the curb.

Just as Lynnette was about to answer, she suddenly felt something warm drizzle down out of her right nostril. With the tip of her finger she dabbed at her nose and examined her finger to discover traces of blood.

Lynnette turned to the street ahead of her and continued to grin, "No...I quit imaging things a long time ago."

Leaving

I left my parents. I left my son. I left my city and my country. I left Isaac. I left everyone behind...even myself.

Now, I'm leaving again, to never return. I have nothing more to say beyond this...please, God, don't ever let me return.

Ever again...