CHAPTER FIVE: SPECIAL TREATMENT FOR THE SQUIRREL
Except for rescuing injured animals, I have always been a good observer and have never interfered. This time it was different. The white squirrel was not injured like the other creatures I rescued.
But if I did not give it special treatment, the beautiful snow white creature would surely have fallen to the hawk. I had rescue him and give him special treatment. Do you understand?”
The old man who called himself an ‘observer’, was speaking to a middle aged man in a black pinstriped suit who sat across from him in the cafeteria of an assisted living facility.
The hard faced man in the suit was listed in the facility’s records as the head of the HR department of the firm that had once employed the 95 year old retiree. He had been summoned to the home because of the old fellow’s pets. The rules prohibited residents from having dogs or cats or even small birds.
“I am leaving now old friend,” said the man in the suit. He spoke with a quiet raspy voice that did not seem to be compatible with his oversized, muscular frame. “I don’t think the Boss will be angry at you for saving the white squirrel. Good luck. I will see you soon.”
The man in the suit walked briskly from the cafeteria to the building’s main office, where the facility’s manager was waiting to speak with him.
“Mr. Shade, I am sorry that I had to call you but it’s really becoming too much. We let him have the bird and the turtle. Then he got the cat and the dog. Now we simply cannot have the squ…….”
“Just a moment superintendent Carter. Has he caused any problems with other residents?”
“No. He’s fine with everyone. He doesn’t say much he just watches everyone.”
“Yes, yes. He’s under some sort of a delusion that he is something called an ‘observer’. He thinks he has a directive from a secret organization to watch people. I would suggest to you that this is a harmless thing. Your company is being paid for the services you provide. I strongly recommend that you allow him his eccentricities since they do not affect anyone but himself. I trust this settles the matter. Good day.”
Something in the manner of Mr. Shade and the quiet, confident way he carried himself, prompted the manager to abandon his prepared arguments and simply nod his assent.
Shade let himself out. The manager watched him leave and remained at his desk for a time, wondering if perhaps he had been silently threatened by his visitor.
It wasn’t so much what Shade said as the grim, forceful look on his face. His countenance was like that of a skilled warrior who could appear calm on the surface yet with little provocation, instantly explode into a maniacal fury. The manager decided that he had made a wise decision in agreeing with Mr. Shade.