I walk my dog around a lake near my house. Very few people know about it. The development is only about 15 years old and I bet no one can see the 200 yard lake through the trees. I walk in between two houses through the brush to get to the ancient trail around the lake. Once on the trail the vegetation and trees silence the area. I can't hear cars or people. It's like going into a Twilight Zone episode of solitude. I have seen eagles, egrets, duck and geese there. Other critters like deer, snakes, turtles and foxes roam the area. I walk the dog there and in many years I think I have seen three people. No one goes out there. It has an intake stream that fills the lake and an over flow steam. It's depth is a mystery. On one side it gradually gets deeper. On the other side I can't see the bottom. One time I saw a beanie Harley type helmet floating in it ominously. I always carry my .38 snub in the woods.
To walk around the lake you have to cross the two streams. It seems someone long ago chopped down trees and made a make shift bridge to cross them. It becomes a real stress to balance myself across the slick logs to cross it. So far I haven't fell in the water yet but my time is coming. What I find weird is sometimes I see signs of someone living in the woods. There is a tent that is collapsed with a folding chair. There's also a fire pit. On a couple of occasions I caught a glimpse of an old guy walking in the deep woods and he was very hard to see. I have the eerie sense he's watching me on my treks with the dog but he leaves me alone and just observes me as a passer through on his land. I told a neighbor who has a long history in the town that he thinks it was old man Murphy. He went mad after his house burned down killing his wife and family. Rumors fly that he has been living in the woods for decades. Every once in a while you hear the crack of a .22 long rifle. Most say it's kids with fire works. My neighbor says it's Murphy getting a meal.
At one spot walking around the lake there is a mound of dirt that doesn't fit in. It rises out of no where. It has vegetation growing on it likes it's been there for a really long time. It just doesn't fit in with the mainly flat terrain. For years I thought something has to be buried there. Then I think it's just my imagination. About a month ago I packed my folding shovel and took the dog. I put the spade in about three times and hit something solid. It was a wooden box and it was very decayed but intact. It had a cheap lock on it that looks like it was made in the 40's would be my uneducated guess. I carefully looked to see if anyone was around. There in the shadows I could make out the old man. I would lose him in the trees and growth but would catch a part of him as he moved between trees. If it is Murphy he is very skilled at blending in with his surroundings. I took the box to my garage. It took one wack with a sledge at the lock and the bracket it was attached to just fell off. Wrapped in rubber like thin material was old bills. Not a sick amount of money. Maybe 2K. I didn't even count it. In it too was a rotted bible with folded papers that I was afraid to read because of fear it would deteriorate. Lastly there was an old single key.
I felt it had to belong to Murphy. Why it was buried is a mystery. What else is buried in the woods? Why was that motorcycle helmet floating in the lake that time? I took the box with a brick of .22lr ammo and box of all things an Entenman's cake. I went back into the woods and put the box, the .22lr ammo, and the cake leaving it on the folding chair. He was no where to be seen.
I walk the dog like clock work most days for a woods adventure around the same time. Going around the trail. I noticed something hanging from a tree that fell across the trail. It was a skinned squirrel that had smoke coming off of it. It was still hot. Did Murphy give me a gift? I gave it to my dog and he ate it up like it was the best meal he ever had. I couldn't bring myself to take a bite. Walking by the make shift camp site the embers were still hot on the fire pit.
It's been awhile since I've seen the old man. Somehow I feel protected when I walk around the lake with my dog now. Even though I walk armed I feel his .22lr is protecting me. I look for him through every shadow.
