help me

19 5 4
                                    

"You are not Krall Jones."


"Then who am I?"


The old lady stared at me.

"You don't know who you are?"


"What?"

I shook my head, frantically.

"Of course I know who I am. I am Krall Jones."


I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was Officer Seaman.

"I knew Krall Jones and you are not him."


I turned and was about to say something, when I saw the sad look on his face.


"I was the one who found Krall," Officer Seaman continued.

"No one had heard from him in about a week and Mrs. Parsons telephone us, concerned about his whereabouts, since she had not seen him in so long."


I was speechless.

Old Lady Parsons hardly even recognized me half the time and I am sure there were more times than not, that she even forgot I rented from her.


"His work was concerned too. His manager called us ..."


His voice faded off as my mind went in a different direction.

Now I knew this was all bullshit.

The manager of the Canadian Tire, where I worked, did not even know my name, or that I even worked there.

My own supervisor would even ask me who I was.


"... and I found him, laying in his bed. A needle sticking out from his arm."


"WHAT?" I yelled.


"He died of a heroin overdose," Officer Seaman said sadly.


I had never done any drugs in my life. I loved my booze and beer, but drugs never interested me.


The old lady spoke up.

"My sister found a letter from him saying to sell all his things and donate the money to the Catholic Church."


I was Salvation Army by birth.

I was in a daze. I had no idea what to do or say.


"So you from around these parts?" Officer Seaman asked.


"Yea," I nodded.

"I bought the old estate outside of town that Baron von Curtainbach owned."


Officer Seaman offered me his hand.

"I heard the old house had sold."


I shook his hand.

"Yea."


"So," the old lady said.

Home Sweet HomeWhere stories live. Discover now