Page 5 of Crazy Thing

It’s a visceral reaction so sudden and so violent, it grips me to my core. Even after all these years, my body still reacts to her.

But despite her magnetic pull, I mentally scold myself.Goddammit, Darius. You shouldn’t be reacting this way. Not to this woman.

Because Ziggy Beaumont made it pretty clear a long time ago—she fucking hates me.

3

ZIGGY

As soon as the waterfall comes in to view and I make it past the treeline, I’m greeted with commotion. Aunt Rainbow and a bunch of her friends rush over, crowding me and shouting all at once.

“…So horrible…”

“…Selling the land…”

“…Won’t be able to come here…”

“…Don’t have the money to buy…”

“…Oh dear! The waterfall…”

“Ziggy, you have to help us!”

None of it makes sense. My head swivels back and forth as they all struggle to explain. I desperately try to follow what’s happening here but they’re making my head spin.

Aunt Rainbow didn’t provide any details when I called earlier, only begging for my help and asking me to meet her here as soon as possible.I’m not sure what I was expecting, but I definitely didn’t think I’d find half the town down here, deep in the woods at the beloved waterfront.And I definitely didn’t expect all these ladies shouting and panicking in my face.

Before I can figure out what to do, several uniformed deputies from the sheriff’s department push past the clearing and start commanding attention.

“Hello! Folks! Hello, there!” The tallest of the deputies starts waving his arms around. “Listen up, everyone! I’m sorry to break this up, but I was given instructions from the mayor’s office to clear everyone away from the waterfall.”

“The waterfall is public property!” someone in the crowd shouts.

“Yeah! You can’t kick us off of public property,” another voice asserts. “We aren’t breaking any laws.”

The deputy holds his hands outward in apology. “Look, I get it. This news comes as a surprise to us, too. But the waterfall has actually always been on private property. But nobody seems to know the owner and the guy has never enforced his rights. Anyway, now, the land is being sold. Unfortunately, that means everything is about to change. No more public access to this waterfall.”

I thought people were rioting before but things quickly reach a fever pitch. Shrieks, complaints, and shouts echo around the valley. Including my own.

“You can’t do that!”

“This place is practically a historical monument!”

“Yeah! Aren’t those protected or something?”

“This whole thing stinks of corruption, and you know it!”

The waterfall is a part of our town’s history. Kids spend their summers swimming down here. Families picnic on the bank. Couples come here to fall in love.

And now someone is taking all of that away from Starlight Falls? That’s not going to sit well with the residents.

Arguments escalate. The locals aren’t having it.Someone starts talking about staging a sit-in, which is something I could get behind. Peaceful protests are my jam. But at the moment, this protest is on the way to becoming anything but peaceful.

The cop pulls out his megaphone, speaking into the mouthpiece so that he can be heard over the yelling. Even then, half the crowd refuses to acknowledge him.

“Folks! Folks! Look, I’m just the messenger here. Just doing my job. Y’all know I don’t have a fancy law degree or anything. So anyone who doesn’t like the situation should take it up with a lawyer.”

The grumbles don’t subside, but the shouting quiets down as people seem to realize that their complaints are falling on deaf ears. The cops can’t change the situation today any more than we can.

---