The Chair in the Shadows

Marshall leaned over toward me and held out a photograph of a place outside of town.  The photograph looked new but the corners were a little ragged.  “Look,” he said, “and tell me what you see.”

“Well, there’s a chair on a patio.  It looks comfortable.  And it’s underneath a big rosebush or something.  Sorry, I don’t know about plants.”

“What else.”

“There is a stone wall, and a garden.  And it seems late in the day because of the colors and because the sun is low.”

“Good,” said Marshall.  “Keep going.”

“The shadows are long,” I said.  “Hey look.  The shadows.”

“Right.  The shadows.”

“They are going the wrong direction.”

Marshall said quietly, “Have you ever sat in that chair?  For any length of time?”

“No, I've got no reason to.”

“Well, don’t,” he said.  “Don’t do it.  It’s not for you out there.  In the shadows.”

“But they’re just shadows,” I said skeptically.  “Maybe they are some kind of reflection.  Or the picture is backwards.”

“Listen to yourself,” said Marshall, “that doesn’t make any sense.”

“Sometimes things don’t make sense,” I said.  “In fact, nothing makes sense, and you are at the top of the list.  Sheesh.”

Marshall just shook his head and pursed his lips.

“Besides," I said, "that farmer that sits out there seems to own the place.  I don’t want to bother him or anything.”

“Farmer?  What farmer?”

“You know, the old guy with the old-time sideburns.  I see him out there in the garden sometimes.”

Marshall looked at me steadily.  “There is no farmer.  Nobody lives near there.  Nobody tends the garden.  Not for all of the years I have been here.”

“What do you mean?  I saw the guy just two days ago with a big pair of clippers.  I remember, because he wouldn’t wave back at me when I passed by!”

“That garden belongs to the Satine sisters,” said Marshall slowly.  “They have owned that land for a long time and they live in town.  They never go out there.  They never get out of bed, see, because of the fever that came through town in '63.”  Marshall seemed to make up his mind about something and said quickly, “You listen to me, if you know what’s good for you, don’t go out there and don’t sit in the shadows.”  Then Marshall picked up and walked off like he was in a hurry and he never looked back.

“Honest officer, that is the last thing he said to me, word for word.  Now are you going to tell me where you found him or what?”



(Photo: Bob Drake)