Swingset

This story is based on a dream I had a few years ago.

Swingset

Tabitha stomped down the street. She was fuming mad at her kid brother. He and his little friends just had to ruin such a sweet moment back at their driveway. She huffed and sat down on the curb. She shouted, "Get back here, Matt!" Silence. Of course he would hide. The little twit knew better than to respond. Especially not after the little stunt he pulled earlier today.

About three hours ago, Tabitha and Pete just pulled up in the driveway in his car. Since the weather was so nice this Saturday afternoon, her boyfriend surprised her with a picnic in the park. He packed some of her favorite food including a block of feta cheese, a box of crackers, blueberry juice, a couple of chicken salad sandwiches with sliced grapes, and a container with two slices of chocolate cake, each topped with a single cherry. He truly did spoil her. Full from the picnic and content with being with Pete, Tabitha smiled at him. Pete leaned over and kissed her. It was supposed to be a quick peck so she could head into the house and resume her Saturday's chores around the house. However, the kiss lasted a bit longer than she anticipated. Still, she did not mind one bit. She heard a faint, low squeak. Almost as if someone was wiping a window with their hand. She ignored it though. This moment was quite sweet. Pete pulled away and asked, "Hey, who's that on my car? What is he doing to my car!?" Tabitha froze. She didn't want to see. She didn't want to confirm her fears. But she had to look.

Right there, pressed against the windshield was a pair of small white buttocks. It moved from side to side. Now that she was no longer distracted by some... other things... She could hear a group of kids laughing and giggling. At first her face turned pink with embarrassment then it deepened into a dark red. She was filled with rage.

"MATT!!!" She screeched. The ten-year-old boy jumped off the hood of the car and shouted, "Kissy, kissy! Mwaaaa!" He stuck out his tongue at the two young adults still sitting in the car, mortified with the fact that a group of kids just interrupted their little moment. He faced his friends and grinned with victory. All the kids laughed. A car door slammed and the children were suddenly silent. Matt still raised his hands into the air and danced about in one spot. One boy lightly tapped on Matt's shoulder, "Matt.. Uh.. Matt.." The kid brother hooted with glee, "Did you see their faces? Did you see them? Haha!" A young girl quietly spoke, "Matt... You might want to run right about now." He stopped and asked, "Why, Cynthia? What's wrong?" She rose a shaking finger behind him. He slowly turned around and saw Tabitha standing outside of Pete's car. She was still too enraged to move forward. She huffed and puffed, like an angry bull. He screamed and ran down the street. She ran after him, leaving Pete behind. He was still checking his car to make sure the kid didn't leave any scratches. As he looked over his car a few times, a nine-year-old boy said, "... TV Tag at my place!" All the kids nodded and ran in the opposite direction, hoping that the scary lady wouldn't change her mind and tackle them instead.

So, here she was, sitting on the curb. The sun was going down and she knew she had to retrieve her brother or else her parents would kill her. But why does she have to take care of him? She is freaking twenty six years old! The kid came around when she was halfway through high school. Since there was such a high rate of teen pregnancies, everyone that didn't know her actually assumed Matt was her child. Still, she shouldn't let other people's thoughts and assumptions get to her. It wasn't her fault that her parents decided to act like rabbits without any protection one more time. She sighed. She got up and continued walking. She called out, "Hey, Matt, you can come out now. I'm not mad at you anymore. I'm sure Pete isn't mad anymore either. That is, as long as you didn't do anything else to Madonna besides putting your sorry butt all over the windshield." Yeah, her boyfriend really did give his car that name. He once said it was because of the way the engine purred. It was like music to him.

Silence. "Matt? This isn't funny anymore." She continued to move forward. The sun is down, the streetlights flicker on. She hears a squeak. She jumped and looked to her right. It was just a swing. It was tied to an old Cherry tree. As the evening fog rolled through the suburbs, it seemed to add a slight eeriness to this swing. It had a strange pull on Tabitha. This tree was located between two houses. It seemed like nobody has cared for this tree for years. It grew wild. The roots were gnarled and tore through the edge of the sidewalk. She moved closer to this odd sight. She touched the seat of the swing and realized someone was just on it. The seat was still warm. Knowing her brother and his love for swings, she would bet a hundred dollars that he couldn't resist giving this new swing a try. Well, it wasn't actually new. Judging by the chains and rope, this swing has been around for quite some time now. It was amazing how it was still here. Nevertheless, this tree and its swing was still new to her. She didn't understand why she has never noticed it before.

Just as she was about to sit on the swing, an elderly man came from the woods behind the two houses and shouted, "Stop! Stop! Get off that swing right now!" Tabitha froze and tilted her head. "What do you mean? It's just a swing. I've been chasing my brother all afternoon. I'm tired and I'd rather sit here instead of on the curb." The man had long grey hair, a sunken face, and wore tattered clothes as if he got them from a dumpster. "Tabitha! Don't!" She stared at him. "How do you know my name?" She squinted her eyes at him. The man shook his head and rapidly said, "It's not important! What's important is that you don't sit on that swing! Please! You don't know a thing about this tree or its swing." She shook her head. "I'm sorry.. I think you forgot to take your medication." He grabbed her wrists. She shouted, "Let go!" He said, "No! Please. Tabitha, listen-" "There you go again! How do you know my name?" She asked. He sighed, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you." She squinted her eyes at him once more. "Try me." He released her hands, took a step back, and stated, "I am Matt. Your little brother." There was a moment of silence.

"You're crazy." "I am NOT! Just a few short hours ago I was on Pete's car rubbing my rump all over-" "Oh my gosh! Not only are you crazy, you are also a perv! Watching little kids from a distance." He growled, "I am not crazy, nor a perv! Well, Cynthia did complain once when I yanked on her skirt once-" "UGH! You messed with Cynthia? She's only nine!" Tabitha took a step back and the man grabbed her hands. "Careful! Don't fall into the swing." She batted his hands away and fell into the seat. "Nooo! Tabitha!"

Bits of rope from the swing pulled away and wrapped itself around the young adult. She stared at the old man. "What is this? What is this swing doing to me?" The old man had a look of fear and sadness as he whispered, "Tabitha... It ages people.. As long as you don't move the swing, it will have no affect on you." She stopped struggling. "How is that a bad thing? I bet there is a way to reverse the effect." He shook his head. "I tried everything. Once you age, you stay there. It seems to have a one-time use for each person. This tree appears to feed off of people's years... I'm sorry, Tabby.." Her eyes widened. "Matt... It's really you..." He sadly nodded. "So... There is no way out of this?" He looked at her. "Like I've said.. I've tried everything. Called people for help. Nobody heard me. There seems to be some kind of barrier around the tree. It only shows itself to certain people." She gulped, "How... how many years do you think it took from you?" He looked at the tree. "Eighty." She gasped and looked down at her bound wrists. "Eighty... That means..." Matt nodded. "I am so sorry, Tabby.. When the wind blows... That's when you'll... I'm so sorry." He leaned back against the tree and slid to the ground. His face distorted with pain. "Matt! What's wrong?" He groaned, "It's nothing... Just... I don't know... I can't breathe.." Tabitha's eyes teared up. The years must have finally caught up to her kid brother. "Matt? MATT!"

She struggled with the swing and gasped, "Oh no.." The swing wiggled.. Then moved back and forth. It swung higher, higher, until she was going over the branch time after time. The way the swing was tied to the branch allowed it to spin without the ropes growing shorter. She screamed until there was silence. All there was left was a pile of clothes and dust. The old man opened his eyes and stood up. "Perfect." He pulled out a vial from his ragged jacket and scooped up some of the ashes. "I may look old... But I am much older than anyone can really guess. Ah, Tabitha.. You were more difficult to fool than that pathetic kid Matt. But I still got you. How I love immortality. Especially when I can trick others into paying the price for me." He grinned and walked back into the woods. He lived in small cottage within the cover of the trees. There, he poured the dust into a saucepan on top of a stove in the kitchen. "Two for the price of one. Today's meal shall be quite a feast!" He cackled as he stirred.

Well, that was rather morbid, wasn't it? Come back tomorrow for the next story called Flickering Streetlights.