Raking the leaves was turning out to be an arduous task. It needed to get it done but the wind kept coming up and was undoing my handiwork. I just wasn't able to keep them in the neat little piles I had them in before for gathering into bags. Other breezes would come and once again spread them all over the lawn.
"Hello Mr. Johnston", a nearby voice disturbed me from my frustration which I was grateful for.
I felt by now I needed a break from my exertions so it was a rather nice disruption. "Hi, how are you doing today Mr. Walters."
"Better than I was", the old man's voice turning into a growl, "those damned doctors don't know anything I swear."
I nodded as I tried to keep him talking a little longer before I got back to my pyrrhic task. "So, what did he tell you to do this time?"
"That I needed more exercise, like I can with these old worn out knees and body." He held up a single hand a moment indicating he was leaving and headed the rest of the way into his house.
I kind of felt sorry for him because it looked like he was totally alone at his age. Rarely, his adult children would come around to visit and they never stayed long. They seemed always in a hurry to leave once again. It occurred to me they were just awaiting their inheritance.
After Mr. Walters disappeared from view I returned to gathering up leaves again. Now I took one of the bags and held it to the ground before it blew away. Holding up the top of it with one hand I tried to use the rake to pull up the little escape artists.
Just as I got ready to shove them in another eddy of wind came. It began to rise in force for only a moment before all of the detritus began to swirl around me. In a matter of seconds it was as if I were in the middle of a small tornado. Scarier still, my heart skipped a beat or two as I began to feel like I was rising off of the ground.
Over by the fence a couple of shadows began to take shape and move towards me. At first I thought they were walking and yet that wasn't the right word. They combined with the small maelstrom to lift me further up into the air. Soon, I was looking down at my yard where I had been diligently working. A little more and I was also seeing the roof of my house.
I really didn't like this as I wondered what would happen to me. Would the wind stop blowing and then I would be dashed against some rocks somewhere?
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