Tell you ‘bout Maynard Cherry, my neighbor what shovels slop. Wakes up first hint of dawn and shovels slop ’til the sun ain’ nothin’ but a distant mem’ry of the day what lay behind him. Bastard of a man, Maynard. You hate to look at him and e’en more you hate to smell him and that’s mainly on account of the slop which he shovels.

Now, I weren’t had considered myself much dissimilar but for my curiosity what keeps me up most nights starin’ at the moon and stars. Keep a notebook of my observations what I can plainly see. A man oughta know the patterns of the stars and celestial bodies. Moon pulls the tides, directs the land. Maynard don’t pay attention to nothin’ but slop. Why we’re dissimilar.

Winter came like a freight train. Snow covered the land quick; and heavy like an old quilt. Stitched of memories; some good, some they dig int’ your chest tug at y’r heart. Either way, it’s familiar and you know you’re gonna be in it for a while.

‘Course there went Maynard shoveling slop. Rain, sleet, snow there he goes.

 Went for a winter stroll; assess the property, clear my head. Moon’ld be full soon and you gotta prepare for that kinda thing. Nail things down if that’s what’s needed.

As the sun began settin’ found myself further from home than I meant to be. Sometimes you start walkin’ and you let y’r legs take over ‘til you’re way out past the property line and you start hearin’ coyot’s.

Light of the moon, be my guide.

And my guide she was! Saw a shimmerin’ on the side-a the road. Seemt’a reach out at me as if’ta grab me by the collar, say “c’mere you. I got a deal for ya’ a nice brand new sparklin’ shimmer-in-the-moonlight kinda deal!” What it was, it was a damn bell. Like a sleigh bell sorta and when I picked it up sure as shit it rung out. I tied it to my belt loop and sauntered on home.

Made it back ‘out any beastly encounters. Guess the ring-a-ding-ding in my step stopped them coyot’s comin’ too close. Went ta bed with a big ol’ grin on my face, I did. G’night moon! G’night coyot’s! G’night bell! Good night Mr. Cherry ya old freak, sleep tight!

Next day walked into town. Bell on my hip. Skip in my step. Tune on my lips just a whistlin’. Winter’ll have ya up and down. Goddamn, she will. Well I was up as I’d ever been. I was the talk o’ the town, mhm.

Then about a day n’ a half later, things took a dive. ‘Cause I heard somethin’ which I thought was on the roof. When I went to investigate, weren’t nothin’ there. Thought maybe t’were a bird. One of them barn owls. But I started gettin’ paranoid then. Noweveryone in town knew ‘bout my bell.

So I stayed up the next night. And the next night. Then was the full mo0n. Big and orange like a ripe juicy ol’ peach. It seemed’ta stare down at me from it’s position up there in the sky, judging. I just found a dang bell. Ain’t like I stole it. But that’s when I saw a face across the lawn. Somethin’ what weren’t human. Though, it weren’t a beast neither. Somethin’ in between a beast and a man. More of a lizard-like critter but what stood on two feet and just as tall as you or I. Looked right into its eyes and then it slithered away. Grabbed my rifle and ran outside, just started firin’.

Next day, Maynard didn’t e’en ask me about the noise. Prob’ly didn’t e’en notice. Dreamin’ ‘bout slop.

So I sent for my cousin Hugh come stay with me. Big fella, Hugh. But silent as the prairie most days. Loyal as hell, and I knew he’d had my back. He agreed to spend a fortnight. 

Well, wouldn’t you know ain’t nothin’ happen in all of two weeks. Me and Hugh played games or wrestled in the snow. But ain’t nothin’ come bangin’ on the rooftops or peerin’ through the glass. That is, ‘til the final night.

Hugh had his things all packed and ready to head home come daylight. Sleepin’ sound in his sack while I looked out at the vast sky above. There goes Venus, a bright star sayin’ howdy to the moon. Saw the big dipper, too. But then I saw something what I ain’t never saw before. Up in the hills, somethin’ glowin’ brighter’n Jupiter in August it was.

Well, figured I’d take a gander and let the big man rest. Grabbed my rifle and a few extra rounds and headed out into the cold night. The heavy snow grabbed at my ankles like hands reachin’ from ‘neath the earth, slowin’ each step as if warnin’ me not to go on.

I was thinkin’ Lord only knows what could be up in them hills shimmerin’ in the night jus’ like my bell were them some weeks ago. If it were anything like my bell, I’d had’ta have it. The coyot’s was barkin’. I took a look back behind me, could see the house there sittin’ peacefully, could see Maynard’s too. Somethin’ beyond myself, some kinda force what can’t be explained is what told me to continue on toward the light.

When finally I did reached the source, I found myself stunned. A picturesque scene lay before me: a waterfall what poured gracefully to a pool of the clearest water I’d ever saw and just ‘neath the waterfall was a woman beautiful as a summer rose.

I said, “‘scuse me… ahem… ma’am, pardon. I saw a light from yonder, came to take a gander and… I didn’t know you was…”

I couldn’t believe it, she just grinned and sorta seemed to beckon me into the water. Well, I wasn’t feelin’ too cold no more so I thought hell and kinda slid right in. ‘Fore I really know it she’s kissin’ on me and I’m kissin’ on her. Well, anyway, that goes on for a while ‘til she gets out and kinda meanders into the woods a bit. I guessed I oughta follow.

It was hard keepin’ track in the dark and I was feelin’ a bit dizzy by that point, but I managed to follow her to the mouth of a cave what looked dark and forbiddin’.

Crawling on my hand’s n’ knees into the cave I started noticin’ a sticky sorta substance. Felt myself almost sinkin’ into the ground. I crawled like that for a good while ‘fore I came to a small openin’ in the cave’s interior. It was dark n’ I was dizzy but I came upon a small pool of some type’a liquid what looked brown and seemed to bubble. I scooped some up n’ it seemed’ta fizz in my hands. It had a sweet odor ‘twas undeniable. Somethin’ came over me like it had before and I just slurped it up, much as I could. Submerged my whole head in it and swallowed hard. I swear’ta god I don’t know what came over me.

Next morning to my astonishment and confusion I had awoken alone in my own bed. Took me an awful while to finally climb out. When I stumbled to the other room, I found it empty. Hugh had already packed up and headed out.

What I noticed then, my bell had gone missin’.

The thought that Hugh mighta taken it hadn’t even started to cross my mind before I heard a thump on the roof. I lurched toward the window, my body ached too much t’run. There I saw five or six’a them lizard-like men slithering away and I swore I could hear the sound’a that bell ring-a-ding-dinging along with ‘em.

And there goes Maynard, shoveling his slop.