The Orphanage

Welcome to Gold Peak

    It was a long, dreary ride as Gregory struggled to keep himself awake. He had just received the call that morning and it was fresh on his mind as he pushed through traffic during the seemingly endless swarm of cars and busses. He had left his cozy home in Wendell in a rush, having packed only a few days worth of clothing and his suit. His father's words still ringing in his ears.

"Son, I...I'm not sure how to tell you this but your mother is gone. She passed this morning on her way back from the store. I'm told it was a heart attack, which caused her to crash." His father's voice had been the softest Gregory had ever heard, full of sadness. His parents had been together for the greater part of fifty years, twenty-five of those before Gregory had even come along so he was sure it was hard on his dad. 

    Night came quickly once out on the interstate, he would have to pass through Tennessee and part of Alabama to make his trip as quick as possible. His mind was anywhere but the road as he wondered if his mother had shown any signs or been feeling unwell in the last few weeks. His stomach turned a little as he remembered the last time he spoke with his parents. It had been an argument, they wanted him to move back to Gold Peak for awhile and brought it up any chance they could get. He was happy with his new home however and was even talking to someone new. He had recently been promoted to journalist at his job, a local paper which focused on the local sports teams and mostly minor news. He let out a low sigh as he replayed the conversation in his head.

    "No mom, I'm not coming back out there, things are going well here. I was just promoted for Christ's sake." Gregory called out, the freshly polished oak walls and floor surrounding him reflecting light from the nearby window into his eye. He walked over, tugging the blinds closed in front of him as an older sounding woman responded. "Oh, I know you don't want to but your father and I are getting up there in years. We can't quite take care of ourselves like we use to." Gregory let out a sigh, "I know mom, but I've offered to move you guys out here with me. I mean, I've worked toward a nice house you two can stay in while I'm working or I could set you two up with a nice apartment or something of your own here." 

    "I know sweetie, but we like it here. I grew up here and this is where we spent our whole lives together. All our memories are here in this house and around the town." Gregory knew she was right, of course, but felt bad he had left them in such a hurry to pursue his career. To make matters worse it was shortly after moving that his father had injured his leg and lost his job. "I'll think about it, okay mom. It's getting kind of late and I have work in the morning. We can talk about it more later on, okay?" He yawned a little and wished his mom goodnight before hanging up and setting the phone back on the charging dock. He looked at the clock on the wall. Eight-thirty, not quite time to head to bed yet but he decided to go anyway.

    A loud honk from a car behind him pulled Gregory from his thoughts, he looked in the mirror to see several cars had pulled to a stop nearly thirty feet back. At the front of the line was two cars that had ran into each other head on. Gregory guessed they had each thought they could get through the exit and sped up, causing the incident. This is gonna be one hell of a day he thought to himself as he brought his focus back onto the road. The rest of the drive remained uneventful and Gregory spent most of it listening to the news on the radio.

    As he turned into the last exit he saw the sign "Welcome to Gold Peak" it read in old decrepit letters that were slowing starting to fade and fall from the sign. Gregory shook his head and sighed as a cold chill ran down his spine. He hadn't been home in nearly five years and certainly never expected to come back under such circumstances. The town itself was small, most of it surrounded by forest on all sides. It was an easy half hour drive after the interstate to the center of the small town where an old run down mechanic shop and the town hall were set up. The roads were bumpy and uneven as he slowly drove past and to a side road barely big enough for one car and surrounded by enough trees that you could miss it easily if you didn't know it was there. Gregory slowed to a near halt, parking in front of an old house. The building had once been a beautiful birch wood, which was now mostly darkened and decayed with age and weather damage. He couldn't understand what it was that kept his parents in such a place. With a long sigh he opened the car door, stepping out into the cool air. Mom, I'm home he thought to himself as he shook his short dark hair, trying to fix it before stepping into his parent's home.