FIVE: A Novella (Ebook)
$4.99USD
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<h1 class="center" id="c1">PROLOGUE:<br/>Brookline, Massachusetts 1960</h1>
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<div class="indent">“Mrs. Simon, can Billy come out and play?”</div>
<div class="indent">Kathy and Lizzie Napolitano lived directly across the street from the Simon Family. Beautiful twin blondes, the girls were four years older than Billy, age five. But since there were no other young boys for him to play with in their neighborhood at that time, June Simon replied, “Sure, of course. Billy! Your little girlfriends are here!”</div>
<div class="indent">The Brookline, Massachusetts, suburbia that housed the Simons, the Napolitanos, and dozens of other similar middle-class families living within a stone’s throw of Boston proper was an idyllic setting for young parents planning to start their families within range of several, top-notch elementary schools. With the region serving as a commuter’s mecca for teachers working at Boston’s myriad colleges and universities, the setting made for the ideal location for Jeremy and June Simon – science and art teachers, respectively, at Boston University – to raise their only child in peaceful surroundings.</div>
<div class="indent">“Billy, stay close to Kathy and Lizzie, now, okay?” June advised. “Girls, be sure to keep an eye on him. And don’t run off too far from our street… no further than the corner, okay?”</div>
<div class="indent">“Yes, Mrs. Simon, of course,” Lizzie responded.</div>
<div class="indent">The three children proceeded down the steps in front of the Simon house, then began walking west on the sidewalk. Billy turned to wave. “Bye, Mommy!” he shouted. “I’ll see you soon!”</div>
<div class="indent">Robbins Rexall was the popular drugstore at the corner of Adams Street and Poplar Place. Not only did the neighborhood adults get their prescriptions filled there, but the store also offered an aisle of small, rather inexpensive toys for the area’s kids. Lizzie, Kathy, and Billy made their way inside the store, browsed the toy aisle, then strolled along to the candy shelves. “Let’s take these!” Kathy whispered, grabbing three sticks of strawberry Turkish Taffy, then handing one each to her sister and Billy.</div>
<div class="indent">“Hey you kids! I see what you’re doing!” shouted Scott Robbins, owner of Robbins Rexall, from behind the pharmacy counter. “Put those back immediately!”</div>
<div class="indent">Thrilled but concurrently frightened to death, Kathy, Lizzie, and Billy quickly fled the store and ran outside. Turning around, Lizzie saw that Mr. Robbins was bringing up the rear. “Kathy, he’s coming!” she cried to her sister, now in a panic. Kathy, the craftiest of the lot, said, “Come on… follow me!”</div>
<div class="indent">Kathy led the others outside to the enormous, three-story tall billboard sign that promoted Robbins Rexall. The trio scurried behind the public-facing side of the sign—entering the interior wooden lattice comprising the sign’s skeleton. “Up here! Hurry!” Kathy called to her cohorts as she began climbing the dozens of cross-beams that suspended the sign, moving at the speed of a Doberman Pincher chasing a squirrel. Lizzie and Kathy were world champion climbers—there wasn’t a fence, tree, or post anywhere in sight they hadn’t previously conquered with their mountaineering skills. And not wanting to be caught by the angry pharmacist, Lizzie and Billy began to climb the wooden beams on the opposite side of the billboard from where Kathy had perched.</div>
<div class="indent">And thus, the entirety of the remainder of Billy’s life was decided in that moment.</div>
<div class="indent">Now livid, Mr. Robbins scurried behind his own sign and looked up at the three thieves who’d just robbed him of 15 cents worth of Turkish Taffy. “You kids are in BIG trouble, do you understand me?” he shouted. “I know your parents, and believe me they’re going to be hearing about this!”</div>
<div class="indent">Billy and Lizzie began trembling in fear, while Kathy simply scoffed. “Mr. Robbins, my mom says you always stare at her big boobies every time you see her! She calls you a ‘perv,’” the child shouted mockingly. Now mortified, Robbins slid his proverbial tail between his legs and silently slithered away from the scene. The kids laughed.</div>
<div class="indent">“Kathy that was so cool!” Lizzie called to her sister. “That should take care of old man Robbins for a while.” The three kids were now comfortably situated nearly thirty feet off the ground, sitting on prominent sections of wood where the beams naturally presented logical seating.</div>
<div class="indent">“I’m hungry. Can we eat this now?” Billy asked his co-conspirators, his stomach growling. “Sure, that’s a good idea,” Kathy responded.</div>
<div class="indent">The children sat inside the billboard sign for a good ten minutes, chewing their taffies and rejoicing in their victory over the scary Mr. Robbins. After they finished eating, they sat in silence for a little while longer.</div>
<div class="indent">“Hey, Billy. You wanna hear a secret?” called Kathy. “Okay,” the young lad responded innocently. Lizzie, however, had a quizzical look on her face.</div>
<div class="indent">Kathy smiled broadly and blew a kiss in his direction. “I love you so, so much, Billy! You are SO cute! I’m gonna marry you one day and you’re gonna make babies inside my belly!”</div>
<div class="indent">Startled, shocked, and embarrassed beyond measure, Billy began to slip from the static position he’d secured on the crossbeams. Realizing he was going to fall, he reached up to grab a lower beam with his right hand, but the pull of gravity quickly overcame him. His hand never made the connection.</div>
<div class="indent">Kathy and Lizzie screamed while they watched their closest, dearest friend, delightful little Billy Simon, plummeting to the ground. His face looking skyward, Billy silently realized there was nothing his girlfriends could do now to save him.</div>
<div class="indent">He hit the dirt with a loud, sickening thud.</div>
<div class="indent">The girls quickly made their way back down to Earth, and simply stood over Billy’s now limp, lifeless body. Raised as strict Catholics, Kathy and Lizzie each kneeled beside their friend and began to pray. “Dear Sweet Baby Jesus, please help our friend Billy in his moment of darkness. Please don’t let him die. He’s our special little friend and we love him. Please bring him back to us. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen.”</div>
<div class="indent">The girls crossed themselves, stood, held hands, then slowly began to walk back home in silence.</div>
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