Late one autumn afternoon a U-haul rumbled down a dirt road and made its way to a log house.

It was a fairly old log house that looked in dire need of work.

“Looks run down,” Jon observed from inside the truck.

“We can get it fixed up in no time,” Ralph, Jon’s dad, jumped out of the truck.

“I don’t know,” Robert ran his hand through his thick curly hair. “Looks pretty bad.”

“It isn’t as bad as it looks boys. Just needs a little TLC.” Ralph hollered as we went into the house.

“What’s that smell?” Jon sniffed the air when he got half way to the house.

“Not sure,” Robert shrugged it off and went inside. Jon followed close behind.

They spend all that night cleaning and the next day doing electrical.

“I’m running into town to do some errands.” Ralph said as he ran around picking up stuff he needed before heading out the door.

“We will stay here and work on the roof.” Robert and Jon made their way out the door.

“I really want to know what that smell is. Just don’t seem right.” Jon stopped at the edge of the porch and looked around.

“How is it not right?” Robert asked standing at the driver’s door of the U-haul. He sniffed the air. “Smells…flowery.”

Jon walked off the porch and made his way to the back of the house. Robert shrugged and followed him to see where he was going.

They both stopped at the edge of a dirt path. Mushrooms lined each side of the path. It seemed odd. Neither one of them seen mushrooms grow in a line unless, maybe, someone planted them like that. Still, they got an uneasy feeling about it.

“I ain’t going down there,” Jon stepped back.

“Sissy!” Robert grumbled and started down the path. Jon stood a moment and decided to follow because the silence made him uneasy.

After a quarter of a mile they came upon a brick wall over grown with weeds. The wooden door looked as though it was about to fall off its hinges. It was rotted through and the door knob was on the ground.

“Been here a while.” Jon observed as he pushed the door and it fell the rest of the way off its hinge.

Jon and Robert stepped through the door and were shocked at how alive the plants and flowers were.

“Wow! It’s a… garden?” Robert scrunched his nose in confusion.

Jon did say a word; he just took in his surroundings. It reminded him of their mother. She loved gardens and had a garden oddly similar to this one.

“I can’t believe this place is so alive.” Robert glanced around. He wondered why it thrived so well when out side the door seemed so dead. The realtor said that no electricity and water had been serviced to the property in ten years.

“Is there a river or any other source of water near by someone would have access to?” Jon asked as he ran his fingers across the dirt at the edge of the walkway.

“River about half mile up!” Robert waved his hand towards the back of the garden.

“Hmm! Dirt feels wet like someone just watered it today.” Jon wiped his hand on his jeans.

“It seems oddly like moms,” Robert frowned at the familiarity of it.

“Exactly what I was thinking,” Jon replied as he walked up to a shed and played with the lock for a moment before it came off and the door swung open.

He stepped back screaming and Robert ran up to Jon and saw what he was screaming about.

It was…their mom. She was as dead as could be. Her throat was cut and blood stained the floor of the shed. Robert was frozen in horror. He just stood there holding Jon as Jon screamed. Their mom’s body looked like it may have been there a few days.

After a moment they darted out of the garden and down the path back to the house and dialed 9-1-1.

Their dad never came back home and never saw again by anyone.