The Forgotten Eden by Aiden James

he studied him, perhaps debating again whether or not to rebuke him for his smart mouth. Since he received the general response he wanted, he turned his attention to me.
    “‘ What about you, Jack? I want your sworn word you’ll stay away from the woods and out of the backyard until further notice.’
    “‘ I swear it, Grandpa,’ I promised. Didn’t seem like a big deal. I’d never visited the woods behind our home, and spent less time lately in the backyard.
    “‘ Well, I reckon we’ve reached an understanding then!’ he announced, quite pleased.
    “ I returned to my cereal and Jeremy to his coffee and newspaper.
    “ After breakfast, my brother went to Demopolis to spend the day with Freddy Stinson. I helped Grandpa load up the dishwasher and went upstairs to finish getting ready for my day. After combing my hair and brushing my teeth, I ran back downstairs and was about to run out the front door when he called to me from the kitchen.
    “‘ Where are you off to, son?’
    “‘ I’m going over to Lee’s house.’
    “ Lee Horne lived less than a quarter-mile up the road from us and I hadn’t hung out with him for the past few days. My closest buddy, I looked forward to spending the day with him. I glanced at my wrist to see the current time… where the hell’s my watch!
    “‘ I’ll be right back, Grandpa.’ I told him as I ran back upstairs. ‘I forgot something!’
    “ Where the hell did I put it? As I ran up the stairs again, I remembered missing it the previous evening, too, but forgot where I’d last seen it. Checking everywhere and tearing my bedroom apart, the watch was nowhere to be found.
    “ I should’ve looked harder for it the night before. Less than a week old, the watch was a birthday present from Grandpa. I’d had my eye on it at a Sears store in Demopolis. Loaded with all kinds of gadgets, Lee admired it so much that he asked his folks for one just like it when his birthday rolled around the next January. I prayed I hadn’t lost it.
    “ I gave up looking for it and prepared to tell Grandpa the bad news when I suddenly recalled jumping off the swing when I last saw it. It must’ve fallen off my wrist somewhere between the swing and the sphere. Relieved, I ran back downstairs. Sitting in his recliner, Grandpa smoked his pipe as he read the newspaper.
    “‘ Well, did you find what you’re looking for?’ he asked without looking up.
    “‘ Yep,’ I lied. ‘I’ll see you later.’
    “‘ Supper will be a little early tonight, so make sure you’re home by four o’clock,’ he told me, looking up from the paper just as I moved out of his direct view.
    “‘ Four o’clock? Okay, I’ll be back by then,’ I confirmed, and swung open the front door, letting it slam behind me as I ran outside.

    ***

    “ Noticeably cooler that morning, the previous day’s downpour had cleared much of the stifling heat and humidity from the air. I stood for a moment on the front porch, admiring as I often did the front yard’s neatness. Unlike the backyard with its littered variety of junk, the front yard looked like it belonged on the cover of some home-improvement magazine. The lawn was perfectly manicured with several flower gardens, including two small gardens that encircled a pair of large maples. A long walkway led right up to the Lelan’s Way, the graveled road that ran along the front of our property.
    “ I set out immediately to retrieve my watch from the backyard without Grandpa finding out about it, worried he might be watching. I followed the normal route to Lee’s place that he’d normally expect, and then scurried past our vegetable garden adjacent to the Palmer’s front yard. Then I quietly climbed over the wall to the backyard, avoiding the wrought-iron gate since the latch always squeaked.
    “ So far, so good…. Cautious, I moved over to the giant oak, listening to birds chirping even louder than they had earlier. Just as I reached its outer branches, the birds flew