THE OLD MAN & THE LION
CREAK… The old rusty tin door to the cooking shack closed with Pa tending to the bear cub.
The frantically struggled cries reverberated and echoed inside the metal tin shack. Pa’s calm words soothed the agonizing cries of the cub to silence. “You sure Pa is ok in there? There’s an awful lot of chemicals and flammable liquids in there.” Jasper’s concerned question was met with a skeptical eye roll from his twin. “We gave the cub a tranquilizer, right? It takes time for it to kick in you know that.
Besides, Pa can handle himself. He has been handling wild animals since we were diapers.” Cephus’s reminder of Pa’s ability to handle animals softened Jasper’s worry.
Wiping the sweat from his forehead Jasper motioned to Cephus, “Hopefully we didn’t hurt it more helping Pa get it in the cooking shack. Too bad Big Hoss showed up when he did. Pa wasn’t happy to see him returning from the wood pile so soon and empty handed too. Could have used him to carry and subdue the cub, right?” Cephus nodded as Jasper continued, “Hopefully, Pa finished the cooking. You know how Pa is?” “If Pa said that he finished it then he did. As soon as he’s done in there, I’ll weigh it and wrap it for the lion. Hopefully, whatever Big Hoss needed to say to Pa was important. You need to go down there and help him like he asked. If you don’t, he could stay down there all night just chopping wood. Speaking of which, you need to listen more when Pa speaks.
Maybe Pa wouldn’t be giving you such a hard time. And by the way, you need to stop with that nonsense that you’re spouting off to him. He don’t like it. The rest of the brood don’t like it, and the Kinfolk as a whole don’t like it.” Jasper couldn’t help but glower at his brother. Cephus’s eyes pierced
his brother as he rummaged for a potato in his side pouch. “I don’t know how many times I need to tell you all. The world is changing! The world is evolving, and we are getting left behind. Gripping onto a town that is dying all and all to keep alive a motto that NOBODY follows anymore. As do people change with time language changes too…words change.”
CRUNCH… Cephus had bitten into his potato and began to chew with a loud jaw smacking CRUNCH, CRUNCH. He waived it at him, “Words don’t change Jasper! A word is what it says it is.”
“That’s the problem Cephus. You are helping to exemplify the problems in the social injustices. You need to have more appropriation to the culture. You and Pa’s toxic masculinity and misogyny are on full display when you sit here and argue with…” “Toxic masculinity…” Cephus repeated with a look of utter annoyance. His eyes narrowed as if his twin was unrecognizable. “Yes, Cephus you and Pa need to be more inclusive to the marginalized people of this country. It’s called being progressive.
Your bigoted and hate filled rhetoric is EXACTLY why there is a systematic oppression going on in this…”
CRASH… Jasper’s rant that seemed to be turning Cephus face bright red was silenced. A black Dodge Tradesmen van pulled up the dirt driveway. The red striped design on the van jostled as the boxed frame swayed from side-to-side. It balanced itself slowing its speed as it passed under the wooden archway. “Is that the supposed lion?” Cephus asked as the van pulled up towards the front of the house. It seemed to crawl to a stop unsure of being in the right location. Seconds passed as Cephus and Jasper’s eyes never left the mysterious vehicle. The tension seemed to mount as the driver behind the vehicle eyed back Cephus’s suspicious glance.
The engine rumbled to a stop easing some of the mounting tension. CREAK… The driver door opened and out emerged a man that seemed unfit for the vehicle he was driving. Thin and gangly the man’s bony figure made his towards the twins. Despite his uncertainty, he walked with a swagger that radiated no fear. Dressed in worn dark blue jeans and sporting his Satan’s Outlawz Club vest, Cephus
and Jasper’s alertness melted away. Gray ponytail swinging behind him, the man’s face and neck were covered in a thick graying beard. It paled in comparison to Pa’s. His voice seemed hardened from years of smoking and long nights of cheap whiskey. “Are you Cephus and Jasper?”
The tension of the moment had now deflated as the numerous and multi-colored patches stitched over his vest brought a comforting authenticity to him. “You must be the lion?” Rafael smirked running his hand through his beard again, “Name’s Rafael, Lion is my nickname within the club and used when conducting club business. I’m replacing Axel just for the exchange. He had club business to handle with in town.” “What happened…” asked Jasper to which Rafael gave a contemptuous stare before sneering, “club business.” “Why didn’t Sydney come then?” Rafael turned to Cephus, “because Sydney is involved in said business.” Cephus eyed the near frail man up and down before smirking. “Pa don’t like strangers. You don’t look like any lion I ever seen.” Rafael’s eyes shot towards Cephus with glaring eyes. “You ever been beat with a ratchet?” Cephus’s eyes met Rafael’s and with a murderous glare, “keep disrespecting me with that tone and you’ll find out.” A frowning face of disbelief spread over Cephus. However, it was soon wiped away by Rafael’s hand moving towards his belt. His unkempt gray beard seemed to flare up like a porcupine preparing for defense. A large flashlight hung from his belt as Rafael seemed prepared to remove it. Cephus saw no fear in the man’s wrinkled face and the tension began to mount.
Eyes locked onto each other for several seconds as a soft CLICK could be heard from the flashlight holder. “No one is disrespecting you, Rafael. It’s just he’s right…Pa don’t like strangers.
But I don’t foresee any problem.” CLICK… The button to his flashlight holder snapped back into place. “Good…good…good,” he repeated in an intimating little mutter for a show of dominance.
“Hopefully…” muttered Jasper as Rafael seemed to hold his murderous stare at Cephus. Satisfied with Cephus’s lack of response his angry scowl turned into a smirk. “Well, I wouldn’t want to upset Pa. I do apologize Sydney and Axel got me driving all the way up here to pick up the club’s monthly supply.
I barely made it up here! The van nearly ran off the road several times because of this damn on and off rain. Not to mention the amount of mud I almost got stuck in. When he told me you Walkers live out in the middle of nowhere, he wasn’t kidding!” Jasper chortled softly and replied, “well like you and the Outlawz I’m sure you want to avoid law wherever possible. We got our own rule and laws up here just like you have your own rules down there.” “No kidding, I am surprised law even comes around here. Holy shit, is that the bear cub?” Rafael made his way towards the cage. The small bear became aware that it was receiving attention picked it’s head up in a hopeful plea for escape. “How you know about…” Rafael smiled at Jasper, who was in turn receiving an exasperated stare of annoyance from his twin. “Axel notified the table. Why do you think that he allowed the deal between Sydney, you, and X Soulja? X Soulja’s OUR client after all. We ran security for some of his shows.”
Finger ran over the cub’s head, “You ever met him yet?” Sensing that all walls had been broken down Jasper replied, “Sydney just said that he is a bit obnoxious.” Rafael gave an understated scoff, “annoying is more like it.” “Money good?” Rafael’s finger froze as if an internal conflict had taken over. His eyes seemed to search his mind before he shrugged at Jasper. “It’s more like is the money you asked for worth it…annoying little brat. I’m getting too old for this life. I’ll tell you this new generation my friend. I don’t understand it and it doesn’t make sense to me anymore. The road is the only thing that makes sense anymore.” “That’s a little discriminatory of you.” “Discrimina-what now?” Cephus rolled his eyes letting Jasper continue his typical conversation. “Well, I understand that getting older is no picnic Pa can attest to that. However just because something is different doesn’t mean that it is scary.” “Did I say scary? Did I? No, I didn’t. I said annoying! These God damn young Thundercats out there and X Soulja is a perfect example of it. Call me an old man, but the road makes sense…a lot more than being stuck in this crap hole of a town. Being out in the middle of nowhere surrounded by all this rusted crap lying around.” “Home sweet home,” replied Cephus dropping a Styrofoam cooler down in front of him.
Rafael gave a smile of comical disbelief repeating, “home sweet home he says.” “You got the cash?” Cephus removed the top of the cooler making Rafael notice that it wasn’t the right top. He removed it revealing several large, packaged bricks of a grayish white powder. Rafael removed a black duffle back from the passenger seat of his van. He handed it over to Cephus, “Can you put it in back for me? Erh, you know I’m an old man, my back and all.” “All I see is a hypocrite…” “A hypo-what?” Jasper shrugged, “well at first, I just figured that you were just an ageist, but now I think you have a sort of Generational Bigotry. You see how quick you are to condemn Millennials or Gen Z’ers or…young ‘ Thundercats’ as you call them. However, when it comes to something YOU need now age is a non-issue.” “I know your speaking English to me, but I don’t understand a word you just said.”
BANG… A man as large as a mountain emerged from Pa’s cooking shed. Rafael’s eyes moved to the little man at front of him. Dwarfed under the man’s stature his presence could have gone completely unnoticed. Although, his waving walking stick and fluttering graying beard surpassed his own by a foot or two. “Will you get away from me Hoss? Go on now Git…” “Ga, Ga…” The mountain of a man had a lopsided face with teeth that overbite his bottom lip. His wobbly walk was continued with another strange sound of “Ga, Ga!” “I hear you boy! I hear you, I ain’t deaf! Now go back down there and chop that wood before I put this stick across your backside! I need to get back to fixing up that bear cub in there! I ain’t got time nor the strength to go down there and see’em!” “Ga, Ga, Ge…” “He can stand there all day should I give a damn! Now go or find my stick across your backside!”
Big Hoss seemed to accept defeat as he gave a disappointed gawk of his mouth before lowering his head. He headed towards a dirt path that lapped around the house down towards a heavily trafficked grassy path. “Who’s this new face we got right here? What they call you sonny?” Rafael’s eyes seemed to cross as the old man thrusted his walking stick at him. A face determined for answers and immediately suspicious of every word. Rafael hesitated, “what the matter boy? The good Lord
struck you dumb or something? Or are you too stupid to understand the question?” The cogs of processing still struggling to align in Rafael. “I asked you a question or do I got myself another water head here?”
Rafael was about to turn to the brothers before Pa stopped him. SLAM… Pa placed his walking stick down underneath the palm of his hands. “Pay attention to me their sonny, I said pay attention to me! I am not just talking because I like to beat my gums! I asked who the HELL are you? What business do you have here on my land and with my brood? Now, I don’t like strangers.”
“Your…brood…” “Yerp, my brood…” Pa exclaimed, raising his stick and waving it at Cephus and Jasper. “Boy if your brains were dynamite than you wouldn’t be able to blow your nose.” He began to approach Rafael as his body shook on his cane. However, nothing could detour his determined suspicions.
Rafael was smiling, apparently now finding humor in the old man’s aggression. “Listen old man…” “Pa,” interrupted Jasper. Rafael shook his head, “whatever I am the contact for this one drop.
Sydney was unable to make it this time.” “Sydney is part of this community and as desperately as he tried to run away from Clint. He has a name and his name means something round these parts. Yours don’t…” “I am…” “I KNOW, I know, I know what you claim to be there boy! I don’t like strangers and I don’t like STRANGE people on my land. Now, why is Sydney not here…” “Club business…”
“THIS is club business, or did you miss what the definition of business was?”
Pa turned to Cephus and Jasper who both stood arms crossed appearing mildly entertained. “I told you boys! Don’t I keep telling you boys? You keep doing business with IDIOTS like this and you are going to jeopardize the entire Kinfolk.” “Listen Pa, I don’t take crap from anybody in my life and certainly won’t take it from…” Pa’s head snapped back towards Rafael. His neck hair began to stand on end as daggers shot from his eyes. “You want to finish that sentence boy? Do you? Not only do you NOT understand the word business but apparently you were also absent when they were teaching
you numbers. There is only one of you and three of us.”
The tension in the air grew thick like fog rolling down a mountain side. Rafael seemed to have sensed the tension because hesitation was visible behind his gray beard. Pa’s hand twisted over the top of his walking stick. “Now, we have an agreement with your table that should Sydney not be able to show. Axel is supposed to come personally in his stead.” “As I stated before old man, Axel had to handle business involving Sydney. And don’t bother asking anymore questions club code forbids me from revealing anything more. Now listen I brought the cash and drove my ass all the way up here to cop the supply for the club. So, can we do this before this supposed storm is supposed to hit?”
Five minutes later, Rafael gave one final smile as Cephus closed the double rear doors with a loud SLAM. Pa eyed Rafael as he scowled at him, “You got a problem their old man?” “Mr. Rafael should you come back again. You best be careful the way you speak around here! You got a mouth just like a cannon always shooting it off. So, in the future just you remember some of us still never agreed to a surrender at Appomattox.” Rafael turned to Pa who had now placed himself in his favorite chair draped with a worn Stars and Bars fleece blanket. His eyes landed on Pa’s cane as he pounded it on the ground. Pounding it as if reminding him of something he forgot. The message engraved deep into the surface, “what does that even mean? The South will Rise in the North.” “It means exactly what it SAYS it means with your smart mouth sonny! You’re on Walker Land here, remember that!
E’en law in Clint know that no matter what gov’nent call it… HACK PEW!”
Spitting on the ground with apparent practice, it hit the side of the banister running down into an ancient flowerpot. “You see this cane here now boy? You see this here cane? This ball at the top of this here cane boy is from the first cannonballs fired on Fort Sumter!” Rafael rolled his eyes before thrusting his finger at him. “Look old man, my business is with the product and the product alone. I didn’t come here to debate history!” “I ain’t talking about history their boy! I’m saying we go by OTHER law around here. You come round here claiming you’re replacing Sydney or Axel. YOU are
the stranger, and YOU are going to be even more of a stranger. I exile you from here, all Kinfolk land, and the town of Clint.”
“Pa…” protested Jasper as Cephus’s face hardened softly nodding in agreement. His intimating look immediately sent Rafael’s guard up. “No Jasper, this stranger is just like that town down there.
They forgot…they ALL forgot!” Pa straightened himself up with his walking stick underneath him.
“We’re tater farmers round here!” Pa’s hands if possible tightened over the ball on top of his walking stick. His feet hardened into the floorboards as he flashed the engraved message of his cane. “Now take your supply and I don’t want to see you within forty miles of this area.”