Balancer's Soul

by H. Lee Morgan, Jr

  ***

  Connor’s eyes eventually opened in the dense woods on Monday morning as he began remembering this past weekend.

  On Friday he caught Sarah before she was injured in a fall. That night meeting her mother Jillian was odd as she made Sarah and himself sleep in each other arms that night. In the morning of the next day, he found out that not only that she is immortal, but also a Balancer.

  Looking up into a clear sky morning he smiled. “My fiancé…” Connor spoke softly to no one in particular. After showing Sarah his chest and asking her to be with him was one thing, but the answer she gave was all together something else. She actually tackled him to the ground and kissed him passionately. Every cell in his body screamed in excitement from her answer.

  It was pure ecstasy.

  Connor stood up from the tree that he slept in for a few hours and looked around the terrain. “This place is perfect.” He then dropped to the ground.

  Connor spent all of Saturday night awake, studying and making a list of all of the materials that are required for the cottage as well as drawing out a blueprint as a reference to the design of the home he’d make. Sunday morning arrived, and still feeling awake Connor took a quick shower and made some breakfast for himself.

  He left the list of materials at the end of the table as he ate the morning meal. David stretched as he walked in a little later and saw the list on the table. He picked the parchment up and whistled “Did you stay up all night to make such an accurate inventory?”

  “Yes sir, I did. Will there be any problems with the list?” Studying the items carefully David replied “Hmm… not a problem. I will have everything that you will need by tomorrow afternoon.”

  “Thanks, I really mean it. I will be back tomorrow Granddaddy and don’t worry I’m just doing a little scouting to look for the perfect destination for my project.” Connor stood, grabbed Tool off of his bag and slid it into his beltline.

  “Ha, I’m more worried about anything that might cross your path.” He patted Connor’s back as he was trying to leave. Rhoda entered the room during that moment, with a small bag and said “Wait a moment. I made you something to eat, just incase…” Connor took it and hugged her and his grandfather before waving goodbye. “I’ll see you tomorrow and everything will be ready when you get back.”

  After leaving his grandparents, Connor jogged easily for three hours down the road before cutting into the dense forest, teeming with abundant life. Now being so close to home and to Sarah made the situation somewhat dangerous to his future plans. Although being within five miles of Sarah lifted his mood and spirits he needed to remain focused and not discovered.

  Searching for the perfect place to build a home is never easy. The terrain around this area can be too thick with trees or the soil can be too rocky to support a home. The natural streams that flow around here can be tricky. Some rarely change in depth while others can become raging torrents after a slow rain shower. Knowing how to tell the difference is easy, the dangerous streams leave marks higher up their banks, to reveal a tree’s roots. Water erosion is always tricky business. Also those dangerous streams have river stones that are completely smooth from the rushing water.

  Connor searched the entire day and most of the night, only stopping to relieve himself. The only time he ate was when he needed to take a small break and rest. Then he began searching again.

  Almost losing hope in the search, he finally found the perfect place.

  During the night he came upon a small clearing that held a steady stream on the east side of it. Walking over to the clear stream and scooping a handful of sediment and rocks from the water, Connor noticed that the water was pure from just a simple taste. Now studying the stones, he came to the conclusion that the water moves quickly and steadily because the rocks are still somewhat rough. It was a great sign. He walked up and down the banks of the stream to notice that the stream was spring fed. It meant that the stream will not dry up nor that it held any pathogens to get sick on. The roots on the banks were still covered by soil meaning that the level of the water doesn’t rise too much after a rain. Taking a stick to see the average depth of the water revealed that it came up to his chest.

  The trees surrounding the natural clearing were not only thick enough to hide one’s presence, but they would also minimize any noises that he might make during the building process. The grass that covered the ground grew wild yet it remained soft and pleasant to the touch.

  Under the starry sky Connor checked the grassy ground where he would attempt to lay the foundation. He scooped a hand into the soil, trying to see how much reinforcement that would be needed to use for the framing of the structure. Surprisingly, instead of the usual rocky soil, it was hard packed dirt. Perfect as place as any for building purposes. He went to sleep not too long after being relieved to find the ideal location and also being so close to Sarah. Guessing at where he was, it would be a ten to fifteen minute walk from here to there.

  After Connor ended his reminiscing of the weekend he ran through the woods to avoid all traces of civilization.

  He burst through the tree line of his grandparent’s property around noon and then walked into their house.

  “Connor, is that you?” Rhoda called from the entertainment room.

  “Yes ma’am, I’m back.” he walked in after taking his dirty shoes off.

  “Are you hungry? Did you find what you were searching for?”

  “Always and yes ma’am I did.” He flashed her a smile and she smiled back.

  “Good, now come with me.” She stood and he followed her into the kitchen. She started making a ham sandwich as Connor made a glass of ice water. “Tell me what you found.” Handing the sandwich over, he told her everything about the natural clearing while eating.

  “Sounds like a very romantic place. Oh I almost forgot, David called not too long ago and said that he found, and was able to buy, everything on your list. He will be home in the late afternoon.”

  After the meal vanished Connor said “Then I’d better get started on my end of the agreement.” Drinking the last of the water in his glass he stood and asked “What do you need done around here?” She handed a list of things over that they needed help on. She waved as he went outside.

  The first thing on the list was to fix the leak in the cattle’s barn roof. Grabbing a ladder, some shingles, tar and roofing nails, he climbed up to the top of the roof. After stripping the old warped shingles off and using the hammer side of Tool, Connor repaired the leaky roof. Coming down the aluminum ladder he saw the hay in the barn had the faint odor of mildew. A quick look revealed it to be beyond any opportunity to be salvaged as a food source for the cattle. He went on to do that task, even if it wasn’t on the list.

  After scooping all of the unusable hay out of the barn and putting it in the compost heap, he heard his grandfather’s truck pulling into the property.

  Now finished with the first task on the list, Connor jogged over to take a look at the supplies that just arrived. Pulling off the green tarp of the trailer, David spoke. “I triple checked and made sure that I acquired everything to the exact specifications to your list.” Now he stood right beside his grandson. “What have you done since you left yesterday morning?” Connor told him about the clearing and finishing the barn and removing the hay he chuckled. “I didn’t realize it got wet. Thanks for clearing it all out. If you didn’t my cattle probably would have gotten sick. On another note, when are you going to start building your cottage?”

  “Looking at your list Granddaddy, I would say that after it’s complete… about a week. That will give me three weeks of solid working time.” He was still scanning over the trailer as he answered his question.

  “One week!” David shook his head once Connor looked up at him. “Are you even going to sleep at night, Son? It will take me a month to do all the chores on the list your grandma and I made together.”

  Connor smiled and tapped the paper. “I will do everything on the list, this week
.” He returned the list back into his back pocket. “I’ll rest when I need to, but any other part of my day will be focused on these tasks.”

  He smiled proudly. “Well if you are that determined, I won’t stop you, good luck and don’t kill yourself.” After patting his shoulder and going inside the house, Connor noticed a box that wasn’t on the list.

  After taking out the box that was placed into the trailer, he took the letter off the top. Opening the letter it read ‘Connor this is my gift to you. All of these supplies didn’t cost any more than nine hundred dollars, I got these supplies at a great bargain. I know that you still feel obligated to work off this debt, but you need to think about you and Sarah. I only ask that you do only the top six assignments and your debt is paid in full. If I hired someone they’d charge twice what these supplies cost. In this box is a gift I bought for you… P.S. don’t let your grandma see it or I’ll get another goose egg added to my skull.” Setting the letter down and opening the box, Connor laughed. Inside the box were a case of condoms and a brand new chocolate brown silk bed sheets. On the condoms wrote “Good luck. You’ll need it, Son. I expect great grandchildren one day, but not just yet.” “You sly old dog, I’ll get you back one day.” Connor covered the cottage supplies back up with the green tarp and smiled upon entering their house.

  Within five days, the six assignments were completed. On Tuesday, he repaired the cattle’s fence and feeding troughs. Wednesday, he cut the entire sixty acre farm with the tractor and bush hog and weeded his grandmother’s garden. Thursday, Connor cleaned every room in their house including the ceiling and attic. Friday, he cleaned the forge barn and all of the tools and equipment. Finally on Saturday, he helped his grandfather load a quarter of the cattle and take them up to the market to be sold.

  Sunday morning his grandfather sat alone with him eating breakfast. He sighed “Looks like you are finished with everything now aren’t you?”

  “Yes sir.” Adding a smile, Connor said evenly “By the way, thank you for your generous gift.”

  “So you like them do you?” His sly smile crept in and his blue eyes twinkled mischievously.

  “It was generous and a little twisted, but yes I liked them.”

  “Good, now Connor, on to business. What else do you need?” He became all businesslike once again.

  Folding his arms over his abdomen Connor said “I will require one last thing. Your truck for at least part of the way.”

  “Part of the way?” His bushy gray eyebrows furrowed together.

  “Yes, when I tell you to pull off the road, I’ll do all the rest ok.” He nodded, still looking slightly uncertain.

  Rhoda packed a large cooler full of food for his day and Connor set the cooler in the trailer. “I will see you tomorrow and have more ready for you then.” She kissed his cheek as he was about to leave. Before Connor left with David, he grabbed some of his tools; a shovel, post-hole diggers, sledge hammers, a machete, a sharpened scythe and a few other necessities.

  As they drove along the road, Connor spotted the best place to pull off. A hidden trail he knew well sat just large enough for the trailer to fit through and Connor knew that it came very close to the clearing he discovered. Connor eventually pointed “Right here Granddaddy, this is far enough.” David decelerated and pulled off the road and came to a complete stop. He put the truck in neutral and said “Out here huh? It’s quite close.” After he smiled he said. “If you need me, I’ll be home all day.” He shook Connor’s hand for good luck.

  Getting out of the cabin, Connor unlatched the trailer off the ball hitch of the truck. He waived at his grandfather in the rear view mirror saying “That’s it Granddaddy. Goodbye.” David pulled away without another word, but he waved back before disappearing.

  Pulling out the chest harness and attaching it to a loop in the frame, Connor pulled the slack out and felt just how heavy all of it was. Struggling to get it moving, he used almost all of his leg strength to get some forward momentum. Finally gaining a firm foothold, he pulled the trailer and its weighty contents onto the hidden trail. The resistance of the grass along the path wasn’t cause for much concern.

  Pulling nonstop for over an hour, Connor eventually needed a moments rest and sat down on the still trailer, he opened the cooler and took out three bananas and a granola bar. After relieving himself and noticing the spring temperature climbing hotter, he took off his shirt and continued to pull for another hour and a half, up and down the winding trail.

  Knowing that the first hurdle was over, he stopped on the trail and pulled out the machete and started hacking the foliage in one clear direction. The perfect clearing that he found last week laid about a five minute’s walk from where he stood. Needing to get the trailer closer to it meant that he needed to clear a path wide enough for it to fit through. Lucky he only needed to hack at some shrubs and saplings rather than solid and mature trees. It took around two hours to properly clear and clean out a new path. He finally got the trailer as far in as possible due to the clearing being only a minute’s walk away and surrounded by trees and streams. The trailer couldn’t go in any further because a deep stream flowed in the trailer’s path and couldn’t be avoided.

  Finished with the pulling of the trailer, he walk into the clearing and headed for the stream to cool off and get a decent drink. After resting for a short while against a shady tree, Connor stood and walked back to the trailer and grabbed the scythe and shovel.

  Returning to the clearing again and using the scythe to cut the untamed grass, took about an hour to complete. Using the shovel, he cut into the soil and made a shallow outline of the entire cottage. When that was finished he made multiple trips, carrying the post-hole diggers and all of the posts over his shoulder, an empty five gallon bucket and three bags of concrete. After digging the post’s holes at each of the four primary corners and walking to fill the bucket with water, he mixed in several bags of quick-dry concrete and poured it down the holes to set the posts. It was getting dark as he headed back to his grandparent’s and let the concrete harden. There wasn’t anything he could do until tomorrow anyways.

  It was a great start for the first day of work.

  Over the next week, Connor put up all of the outside walls and hammered in the trusses for the roof.

  Working late one night, during the rise of a crescent moon, Connor suddenly felt a presence watching him from the darkness. Working shirtless on the roof while hammering in one of the trusses all of the fine hairs on the back of his neck stood up. “Someone or something is watching me, but I didn’t hear anything make the approach. I know it’s not my imagination.” Knowing exactly where it was, with Tool in his hand Connor spun around instantly and intentionally threw it to the closest tree where the watching visitor hid.

  Slamming deeply into the tree, Tool stuck in the trunk by its hatchet side. The creature stood from moving from the sudden strike…“Wait stood… It is a person…?” “Who’s there? You’re very good. I didn’t hear you sneak up on me. Next time try and hide your presence!”

  “Very good Connor, you missed me on purpose. Did you not?” A familiar voice said from the shadow.

  “It couldn’t be…could it?” “What are you doing here, Jack?” The shadow walked over and pulled out Tool from the tree and he threw it back up to Connor. Catching it by the handle and sliding it into his belt loop, Connor jumped off the roof just as Sarah’s silver haired father entered the moonlit clearing.