Winter Blossoms

Chapter One: Lonely Man:

I am a simple man. It’s how I have survived these crazy times. Most of the people have left this town. I live in what you would call a ghost town. It doesn’t really bother me. I like the quiet. No one bothers me anymore. I do have plenty of food and water to survive. It does get lonely out here but there is a little dog out here. I think he used to be the neighbor’s dog. He just came sniffing around one day and I just gave him some food. Since then, he wouldn’t leave. I tried to shoo him away but he didn’t take a hint. I ended up giving up and letting him come around. I think the dog’s name is Marshmallow. Or something like that.

I’m not a fan of technology. I do have a cell phone but what’s the point of keeping it around? Nobody calls me. I don’t even know if mum is still alive. Even if she was I wouldn’t know how to contact her. I have an old model computer that still works. Sure, I have the internet but I barely use it. I don’t even have an email anymore. (I closed that down years ago.) So how do I pass the time? I manage. Trust me.

However, this isn’t just about me. This is a love story of some sort, believe it or not. Yes, there will be more people here. Three more people actually. Before I go any further with this, I am going to go back to how we met.

It all starts with a walk into town. At the time, I was running out of food again. How can one person go through so many canned goods? I looked down at the little dog sniffling my ankle. Oh yeah, that’s right. I reached down and pat Marshmallow.

“You’re eating me out of house and home,” I said. That mutt looked up at me, whimpering. I shook my head. Why did he have to look so cute? I stood up and grabbed my bag.

“I’ll be back,” I said. I turned and walked out the door.

It was dim that morning. The normal quiet greeted me as I stepped out onto the front step. I looked down at my trainers. I keep meaning to replace them. I mean, it should be easy to do. Money was useless and no one ran the store anymore. I don’t know why I don’t go ahead and do it. I shook my head and started walking.

There wasn’t much to talk about with my shopping trip. I just got the usual canned foods that were left. The shops were going to be empty soon. Still, I don’t leave. I’m not sure why.  There’s nothing for me here anymore. Everyone is gone. This nightmare is going to be an endless one. The news keeps reminding me of this. I pretty much stopped watching after that. I don’t listen to the news on my radio either. I just want one time when I can just shut up everything, sit around, and do nothing. Without the dog would be nice.

I finished up my shopping for the morning and started walking home. I hadn’t expected anything else to happen that day. Not like there were going to be bombs dropping or anything like that. No, this empty little town was nothing to them out there. It’s me and the dog.

And then I saw them on the road.