A Walk in the Park

A 500 word short story by Scott A. Gese

Buford Rangle sat at his desk with his fingers on the keyboard. He was going to write another chapter of the book he was working on. An idea was on his mind that would change the direction of his storyline. He would write a word or two, then have second thoughts and delete it.

As he sat there, perplexed, one of his fingers started to twitch. As hard as he tried, he couldn't make it stop. Soon, several others started to twitch as well. Thinking they were just tense, he flexed and shook them. They felt better. He went for his keyboard again and started typing. He quickly pulled his hands away. The typing was an involuntary action. He hadn't meant to do it. What he had typed was not what he was thinking. He deleted it and tried again. Once again, his fingers took over.

“You should go for a walk in the park.” Buford looked at the screen in disbelief. Again, this was not what he wanted to type. He had no intention to go for a walk in the park. It was after dark and the park at this time of night wasn't safe.

Buford decided to try something. He typed a reply. “Why would I want to go for a walk in the park? It's dark and unsafe.”

With his fingers still on the keys, a reply was instantaneous. “YOU SHOULD GO FOR A WALK IN THE PARK.” was the reply.

Buford replied back. “Rather forceful, don't you think?” Again a reply was instantaneous.

His fingers were on their own. “YOU SHOULD GO FOR A WALK IN THE PARK, NOW!”

Buford stopped to think about what was happening. He didn't believe in spirits, so he figured there was something deep in his subconscious that was imploring him to go to the park. Against his better judgment, Buford put on his coat and headed for the door. As he walked down the street he noticed one of the neighbor kids had left a baseball bat in their front yard. Something told him to pick it up and take it with him. He thought it was a good idea.

When he got to the park he stopped. “Now what? Left? Right?... I'll go left.”

He turned to the left but then had an urge to change his mind and go right. As he walked deeper into the park he heard a muffled sound in the bushes along the path. Something was there. For an instant he thought he was about to be mugged, but nothing happened. He was curious and decided to investigate.

He stepped into the brush and came upon a man dressed in black who was about to force himself on a woman he had dragged from the path. Buford swung his bat and caught the man in the head. It laid him out cold.

He stooped to see if the woman was hurt. To his surprise, he was looking at his next door neighbor.

© Copyright 2019 by Scott A. Gese All Rights Reserved.