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Goines continued to think about snakes on his walk. Snake lived in every house inhabited by humans. They were the spouse-abusers, the parents or guardians who abused a child, or discouraged it, or ravaged its spirit, the neglecters of dogs or cats, the thieves preparing to leave for their offices to steal some more, the over-users of plastic or environmentally destructive chemicals, the loiterers and other spoilers of public spaces, the vow-breakers, the betrayers of trust, the duty-dodgers....At one time or another, Goines had been one or more of those.
The garage that was usually open of a morning was open this morning too, darker than usual beyond the two cars parked on the driveway. Something made Goines not want to look into the garage this morning, as he often did, to check whether someone were sitting in there – to smoke or visit Facebook or whatever they did – someone, anyway, to wave to and usually to receive a wave back from. He couldn’t refrain from casting a swift glance as he crossed the gap between the two cars. Too dark to see anyone, anything but shadow.
“Help,” sounded a voice faintly. Goines stopped. The voice sounded again, a little louder: “Help!” Goines stepped back to the gap and slowly advanced toward the opening into the garage. No further sound emerged. Had he imagined it? Why was the garage door up? He stopped and listened. “Help,” sounded again, more faintly. Was someone lying on the floor? Had someone fallen? Goines proceeded as far as the front bumpers of the two cars. A few more feet to the garage opening. “Help.” Goines entered the dark cavern and stopped again to listen. The sound had come from the right back corner, opposite the door into the house. It came again, “Over here.” Carefully – he really couldn’t see; how could it be so dark in here? – he took a few steps toward the far corner. Another step, and Goines felt someone grab his elbows from behind and other hands cover his mouth, heard the garage door starting to lower....
As Goines entered his own driveway and reached for his phone to stop Runkeeper, he understood why he hadn’t wanted to look into that garage back there and would have been leery of entering it even if he really had heard “Help” coming from inside it.
| Copyright © 2019 by Moristotle |
To my son, who commented on Facebook, "This one is very intense! A riveting read!" thank you, beloved reader.
ReplyDeleteIt seems that Goines is desperate for something to happen to him, as is the reader at times. Maybe he SHOULD be kidnapped! But I need help with that last paragraph: what new thing did Goines "understand" about the garage? After all, the only thing that had happened was his fantasy.
ReplyDeleteGoines' fantasy was but the enactment of an explicit metaphor for all the human snakes that surround him (and everyone, all of the time), and what he understood was that he must always be wary what evil could always lurk nearby, especially in dark places.
DeleteAnd he's desperate for something not to happen to him, since so many things possibly could – dying, of course, being the one that often seems to be his main concern.
DeleteHe's also desperate for evil things to stop happening to so many innocent creatures, whose suffering he can no longer help from empathizing himself into.
Goines may also be struggling with the dilemma he has placed himself in by investing so much compassion in others, relative to himself.