Bogweed Alternate Ending

Grabbing his knife, he rounded the corner of his porch and saw the buckets clinking against one another. It was just the wind. His discovery was a quick relief to a sudden jolt of fear. So he placed them back where they belonged, catching the runoff from the roof to drink, this time further apart so the rims wouldn’t rattle. The Speaker went back and sat on the edge of his chair and stared into a forming puddle in front of his home. The running water was soothing to hear. Along the murky surface of the water he regarded his reflection as he took a drag of his bogweed. The plant eased his anxiety. Before long Elmer melted comfortably into his chair. Thank you, Montague, he said, laughing. He exhaled a cloud of smoke into the night sky. …show more content…
He looked around but could see no one. “Fire starter,” the voice said again. Then, the whisper turned into a growl and shouted, “Fire Starter!” Elmer jumped. “Who’s there?” he yelled. Dogs barked in the distance. Birds flew out from the surrounding trees. But there was still no one in sight. The Speaker’s closest neighbor was at least fifty yards away and across the street. But then everything became quiet again, oddly quiet. Although he saw the ripples, he could no longer hear the sound of the drizzling rain splattering in the puddle. It seemed to stop completely. Elmer continued to puff on more bogweed, hoping to settle his beating heart. After an hour of silent night, slowly, he again started to feel more and more relaxed. The soothing effects of the bogweed eventually turned and intense paranoia revived. Once again he heard the soft voice. This time it sounded like his son. “Daddy?” it asked. But, Elmer thought, Fervan should be sleeping. He went to bed hours ago. And he hadn’t called him ‘Daddy’ since he was five. “Hello? Who’s there?” “Me,” the voice