Greentown (eBook)

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Greentown

Life wasn’t easy for Aaron, at least as he saw it. He was born in Los Angeles – that fabled city that did not seem as amazing as people from other states made it out to be – and he had never lived anywhere far from there. Part of his lack of fascination with the city was that he never really lived in “Los Angeles”. LA was a land of movie stars and rich people; Beverly Hills, Malibu, and even Pasadena. Aaron was born in Silver Lake, not far north of Downtown, and moved to San Bernardino at the age of six. That distant side of the city which so many dreamed of was rarely open to him, and it all came down to one thing: money. Still, he liked his school, he had a few good friends, and his parents always seemed understanding of him. From day to day, his life was generally uneventful; a routine which he rarely acknowledged. He took very little for granted, but there was one thing he had that he never fully appreciated, and he discovered it at a young age. One day, his mother and father announced that they were getting a divorce. The thought of it was debilitating, and the realization that it was true tore at Aaron’s heart like a cold blade, not that he truly knew such a feeling. He didn’t want his life to change, not so suddenly and for the worse. He never knew why his parents “grew apart”, but since he was only eleven at the time, he didn’t want to understand. Over two years passed, and he had since learned that he had no choice in the matter. It was not about him.

The divorce left Aaron with his mother. Custody was granted entirely to her, with visits allowed. Aaron was old enough to wonder, and to ask, why he could only visit with his father, or why his father seemed less interested in being around afterward. Without his dad, Aaron felt empty and, more than anything else, confused. He never truly connected with his father, but Aaron still felt the man was fun to be around. Looking back, the relationship between them was never solid, and his dad, as much as he clearly loved Aaron, seemed oddly avoidant of him. When the man moved to northern California, it only solidified that perceived distance. He was, Aaron had thought, more of a friend than a true father, but Aaron had heard of worse situations. Even some of his friends had it worse. Regardless, Aaron was able to move on. The modern age of technology granted him the unique opportunity to develop a more worldly perspective. The majority of his time was spent looking into forensics and criminal justice; a personal interest.

The house he lived in was nothing spectacular, but he had always felt comfortable there, and he still had little appreciation for the fact that the home he lived in was a dream for some people. All that mattered to him was that things stayed the same, as much as they could. Change was inevitable. Aaron had learned that early on but, deep down, he feared it. The most significant developments in his life were, so far, negative ones. Not long after he got out of school, finishing his 7th-grade year, he would find things were about to get worse.

“We’re moving?!” Aaron said, half shouting in frustration. His mother nodded hesitantly before continuing on her path into her closet, where she was retrieving clothes. “W-why? Where?” Aaron asked, still gasping at the thought of leaving his home. “We’re going to a small town in Nevada. I’ll have a job there.” his mom replied. “A new job? You never told me about that!” Aaron questioned. “What happened to the Tax Management thing?” “Calm down, Aaron.” she said, trying to suppress her frustration, “I didn’t want to mention it until I was sure what was going to happen. The office made some cuts, and…this is a good chance for me. It’s similar to what I’ve been doing.” Aaron disappeared, for a moment, into his mind. Aside from anger, he realized that he was suddenly overwhelmed with sadness. He thought about having to leave his friends and the places he knew. It had already taken him a fair amount of time to forget the divorce, but now there was something else to plague his thoughts. “It’s called Greentown, Aaron.” his mother said, “I think it sounds like a nice place. It’s not far north of Indian Springs in Nevada.” “Indian Springs! In Nevada? Are you kidding?” Aaron said in a frustrated tone, “That’s farther than Las Vegas from here, and that’s like 4 hours away!” Aaron’s mom immediately gave him a look that brushed off his frustration, almost avoiding it. “It’s not that far. Not like we’re moving across the country.” “I don’t want to leave here.” Aaron said, “What about my friends? What about dad?” Aaron’s mom paused, now herself in a state of frustration. “Aaron, we…I need this job. I wish we didn’t have to move, but this is the best opportunity I’ve had in years.” She paused for a moment, lost in thought, and then continued. “We’ll have a couple of weeks before we need to move, so you need to start packing your things, but we’ll both have some time here.” Avoiding his mother’s comments, Aaron stormed off, angry and already full of grief. The only thing to dull the stinging pain he felt was a natural defense within him; a tendency to find something positive, even in the worst situations. From the hurricane within his mind, a single, somewhat-comforting thought came to him: At least it’s summer, and I won’t have to go to school there. But then, what would he do in the fall? Out of it all, going back to school was far from being his greatest concern. He had just gotten out two days ago and was ready for a fun-filled summer. Honestly, even a boring summer at home sounded nice. All that, now, seemed entirely unlikely.

Those last weeks seemed to fly by, but no time was enough to prepare Aaron for the move. With unending reluctance, he packed up his belongings. All the while, he noticed just how much stuff they had, especially how many loose items they owned, which were hard to pack. However, the day before the move, everything seemed to fit just fine into the U-Haul truck. Aaron’s mother had rented the truck and asked her brother and Aaron’s cousin to help with the move. Of course, Aaron had to move things too, and working with his older cousin didn’t make it any easier. His name was Mike, a college football player. Needless to say, moving heavy boxes was a bit easier for him, and his unintentionally condescending attitude towards Aaron quickly became an irritation.

That same night, everything was packed up, save some essentials that Aaron and his mom would carry with them in the car. Aaron’s uncle and cousin offered to drive the truck and bring it back since there wasn’t a U-Haul location in Greentown. Of course there wasn’t. What kind of name is Greentown for a place in the desert, anyway? Is it a joke or something? Because nothing is green? Aaron lay awake in the dark, his racing mind keeping him from relaxing and falling asleep. Subconsciously, he noticed just how uncomfortable your own room can feel when most of your belongings are gone. The walls were never painted, so the empty white color made everything look like a blank void with the occasional nail hole or that small dent in the wall that Aaron definitely wasn’t responsible for.

Although he tried to make himself angrier, Aaron realized that he wasn’t that mad. More than anything, he was distressed at the idea of changing so drastically. The more he thought about it, he was never really that close with most of his friends. They hung out, but he couldn’t think of much that they had in common with each other. Right now, though, it didn’t matter. They were moving away, all so his mom could get a job and make money. Aaron never knew what it was like to struggle, but he always had a distaste for money. Of course, he knew it was important, and it got him things, especially food, water, electricity, and all that. Yet, the fact that money was the cause for this whole move – that neither he nor his mom really wanted to go, but it was the “best opportunity they had” – made him hate the fact that money even existed. What could he do, though? He didn’t know. Ultimately, he didn’t care. It wouldn’t change the situation. It wouldn’t change the emptiness he felt right then in his dark, blank room.

On the drive to Greentown, Aaron’s mom constantly talked about various topics to try and cheer Aaron up, but he simply stared out the window and watched the sand and brush fly by. His mom said things any parent would say, such as “you’ll make new friends” or “there are all kinds of things to do”; things Aaron knew were not worth his departure from what was, generally, a normal and calm life.

With few landmarks, even while they were still in eastern California, there was not much of a sense of distance. When they finally reached Greentown, Aaron found himself surprised. The trip seemed so short to him, almost abnormally so. As they passed the large sign by the side of the road that read “WELCOME TO GREENTOWN: Population 2,041”, Aaron got a feeling inside of him. The initial shock of the population was part of it. How small is this place? he thought. At the same time, though, there was something more than that. It was something he didn’t quite understand; a feeling of some unknown horror which rested in that place. Perhaps it was the slight detail that he didn’t consciously notice; that the sign seemed too old to be accurate. Why wouldn’t they change it? Multiple questions came to mind, but...