The Stranger

Prologue: I don’t remember the night he disappeared.  I was not born yet…

May 2018… It was an unusually warm, sultry May afternoon.  Although not summer yet, the humidity and temperature were hot enough to keep people indoors, except for two young girls who had just finished swimming. No one really noticed the stranger as he approached…

The girls’ parents didn’t know what to say or do when the girls brought this stranger to meet them.  Although they had been repeatedly warned to be careful, it seemed to not have had any impact on their recent decision to befriend a stranger.  The dad, not really knowing what to do, decided to allow the stranger to stay the night in a storage building close to the house.  In the morning, a decision would be made in how to handle this stranger.  At least for now, food and shelter could be provided.

Early morning came and the stranger was still there.  Not knowing where this stranger came from or what the stranger’s intention was, the family allowed him to stay.  As strange as “strange” is in “stranger,” the family got to know him, caring for him as if he had always been part of the family. 

Spring changed into summer. The garden growing. Flowers blooming. Hens brooding. Time came and went.  Unfortunately, the stranger was alone.  The parents, believing he was lonely, decided to set him up on a blind date.  The female turned out to be more long term than a once in a lifetime meeting.

No one knew if this relationship would last.  But last it did.  And before this family knew it, the stranger and his “blind date” became a family of their own, enjoying the kindness and selflessness from the family who allowed them to continue to stay in the storage building.

The story has it that the love between these two was immense.  The family adored the sweetness shown between these two.  While some called this family crazy, the family called themselves blessed.

Although some may say this was “luck” or “fate,” the family knew that this stranger was no “stranger” that randomly showed up with no purpose in their lives.  This stranger had a purpose for the story yet to be written…

April 2019… To this day, no one really knows what happened.  One minute she was here; the next, gone.  The family who grew to love these strangers had no explanation concerning her disappearance. There was no consoling the stranger whose beloved disappeared as a thief in the night.  The family did what a loving family would do – stepped up to take care of the stranger’s young family, caring for each with a tenacious love and with a fragile care only a mother could provide.

You may be wondering what happened to the stranger after his beloved disappeared.  The stranger adapted only as good as one may expect.  A few weeks after his beloved disappeared, the stranger is never heard from again.  No one knows why he disappeared.  There are rumors, of course, that a mysterious attack occurred in the night.  No evidence was ever found of this attack.  The family searched and searched but to no avail.  It was as if he had never existed…except for the ones he left behind.

Epilogue:

It has been six years since this stranger walked into this family’s story – a story that originally never included this stranger but one that was altered for the better.  A mystery remains as to what happened to this stranger and his beloved.  However, THIS story doesn’t end with the disappearance of the stranger and his beloved.  This story is about the selflessness and love by a family who befriended this stranger, a story that continues today…a story that included fourteen reasons.  As the sun rises and the sun sets, the memory of this stranger is still seen through the ones left behind…the ones cared for and loved by the family who had planned a different path.  This story is about the legacy left behind by a stranger who mysteriously appeared one warm, sultry day in May…a legacy left behind by a duck named Bill.

Side Note: This story is told by Buffy, the offspring of Bill and Betty, Bill’s beloved. Buffy, now five years old, chooses to stay with the chickens in the chicken coop, whereas her sister, Gangsta, stays with the other ducks in the duck coop.  Gangsta and Buffy are the only remaining offspring of Bill and Betty (13 of the 14 eggs hatched).  At the time of this story, Bill and Betty has one grand-duck.  

Edit: Right after this story was written, Gangsta went missing.