A story by Leo Gonzales

Image: Untitled by Leo Gonzales

I. A white collar criminal wonders a reason to enjoy the yard as he continues to gain a proper education. He rests in his cell and considers the lump sum in his bank account, an amount that would not be there had he not gotten caught in a money laundering scheme. Later on, a cat has found a hole in the fence – a part of the yard ignored by the prison guard. The cat scratches a bird and brings it to the prisoner, a hunt worth smiling about when the prisoner slumbers on a stolid cell bed. In the morning, an officer tells the white collar criminal he has received a promotion, an easier job. And he wonders a reason to use his lump sum leftover in the bank. In the yard, he looks over at the land, the flowers the wind brought to him. He thinks he will purchase land.

II. After a few months, the prisoner is refreshed with a keen incentive to leave. He’d discussed over the phone with his parents the desire to purchase land, and his parents couldn’t be more pleased. On a flowery curb, flowers from a bouquet are tossed from something, and his parents arrive. His parents are glad to have their son. They turn the dial of the radio and sigh about the A/C being out but that isn’t a problem since it’s the morning. They wait at a street light as the freed prisoner looks over at land; purchased, unpurchased. They continue moving through street lights, each turn on the way home leading him toward a meandering tone.

III. His parents decide to stop and get fast food, and they eat in the empty parking lot with a view of a hilly overpass. A few cars pass and the now freed prisoner opens one of the many ketchup packets his father asked for. His mother puts away unclipped coupons, and the now liberated white collar criminal starts to remember the most frequent quality offered at each chain versus the most frequent quality offered at each franchise. He begins to weigh types of incentive; accrued like fast food or simple like land. And then he tries to not argue and sits back, enjoying an overpass that keeps moving.

IV. He walks into the spare bedroom of his parents and then a window lights a stack of papers. Potential land options beside a radio, with love. Each printed view of property offers details on square footage and how are from home. Good ideas atop good ideas, he sits and decides between a few real estate recommendations. He finds himself lucky to be searching land amidst a lull in the market and after several weeks of identifying each detail of each property, he finds the perfect balance.

V. He considers what of the land with doubt. He sits in the back of his truck with a cup of lemonade. He is alone. Birds and bugs make the arid ambiance mean but he wants to watch the sun set over the distant river. A cat similar to the prison yard, but seemingly healthier, moves through a field brush with mouse in view. The land owner suggests the cat bring the mouse over to him once the hunt is over, and the cat of wild upbringing refuses. And it goes away. The man remembers when he hunted with his father; sad times he would miss aim of a bird and happy times in the pick up. Then of the current land, whether he will use the rest of his earned sum for a turned profit or for something all to himself.

This work was featured in issue #11