A Lost Traveler

This was one of the nights that Richard was really pleased with his decision to move from the hustle and bustle of the city to his new home in the quiet and peaceful countryside. He had a small farmhouse and empty meadows surrounding him. No more were the sirens piercing the night, replaced with the occasional howl from a coyote off in the distant hills. No more were the streetlights spotlighting the streets and alleyways, only the gentle casting of the moon and the brilliant stars in the night sky. When the wind would gently blow through his open windows, no longer was there the worry of who might try to come through it, or the awful stench that always seemed to drift through the city, overrun with cars and pollution. Now the only invasion from his window was the beautiful fragrance of damp grass and the lavender he had planted outside his bedroom window.

The adjustment from the city was not an easy one, but he soon began his life anew, doing things he never would have dreamed of doing in the city. Due to costs, he had always had roommates to share the expenses, not affording him even the simple pleasures, like walking around in the nude, which he now enjoyed immensely, often times, walking outside on nights like the one he had tonight. The breeze enveloping his body and the sensations as it caressed his bare flesh was like an old, familiar lover.

He closed his eyes, head tilted slightly back, letting the world around him bring him to a deeper sense of peace than he had known in his entire life, when the sound of crunching gravel came from the road in front of his house. Not accustomed to traffic this time of evening, especially on the road in which he lived where houses were generally about a mile apart and inhabited by older couples whose families had lived there for generations. They were never out and about, so hearing the car approaching startled him out of the trance he had placed himself. As the car slowed and turned into his drive, headlights invading the night, his heart raced as he first wondered who would be coming to his house in the middle of the night, and second, they were coming to his house and there he stood, naked as the day he was born.

In a rush, he ran to the backdoor of the house and made it to his room where a robe hung from the back of the door. As he slipped it on, he heard a slight rap at the door. He made his way to the front room, his curiosity piqued. In the city, there would have been the peering through peepholes and a chain lock to try to give some sense of protection. Out here, the only barrier to any unwanted intruder was a flimsy old screen door and his wood door, which at the moment was open, allowing the breeze to filter through the house. He wondered if he should grab a bat from the hall closet, but it was in plain sight of the visitor and if he needed to rush to get it, he hoped he could make it.

“Can I help you?”

Standing at the door, stood a hulky silhouette of a man, the moonlight lightly cascading a faint glow to