[Chapter 10] Youth is Wasted on the Young

Chapter 10: In the Garden

For the Halloween season, this is a story with some horror elements while also being science-fiction. A new chapter will be posted each week exclusively for paid subscribers. If you want to become a paid subscriber, I’m offering a 14-day free trial.

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Without further ado, here is Chapter 10: In the Garden

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Jonny sat in an cozy armchair watching leaves falling from an oak tree in his backyard. The low autumn sun cast long shadows across the grass. A woven blanket rested on his lap, keeping him warm in the cool evening. He was still thinner than his athlete days.

He reached for a mug of tea on a side table. His moved slowly and deliberately, keeping in mind the lessons he got from his physical therapist. He felt the weight of his mug around his hand when he picked it up. Not too long ago it wouldn’t have made a difference. But now he was still trying to learn how to live again, quieter and more careful than before.

He had taken his future for granted. Vanderbilt still held his admission sans scholarship, but he opted to skip a year so he could properly heal.

“Is your mug empty?”

Mia was tending to his family’s garden when she wasn’t buried in pre-med textbooks at Vanderbilt. A series of PVC pipes rose out of the ground at various angles from a central point with large holes where leaves stuck out. There was just a quiet chugging from a small pump which circulated nutrients through small tubes into their roots.