The Truth About One-Eyed Uncle George Part 3

At the Library
The Truth About One-Eyed Uncle George

A serial story

Part 3 by Luke Hertzler

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ When Lila first took on the task of getting to know Uncle George, it was merely out of curiosity. She wanted to learn more about this enigmatic brother of her mother. As time went on, her curiosity bred suspicion. Suspicion of his motives for coming back. Suspicion of what he wanted out of their relationship. Suspicion of who he even was. It’s as though he blipped back into this timeline at the exact moment of the funeral.

Granted, Lila had been out of the loop for a long while herself. An unidentified illness suddenly plagued her mother. Having never had a family of her own, Lila took on the responsibility of being the caretaker for her mother, until there was nothing else she or the doctors could do. A void filled her life. Throwing herself back into work, in that tiny cubicle, took her mind off things momentarily.

But now this new distraction of Uncle George had begun. One moment in particular really piqued Lila’s interest. She overheard Uncle George cryptically muttering under his breath, “Why Sandra, why?” while holding the cavity left of his nose. And his call today during work hours was odd. His voice sounded panicked as he slurred words together, his mind working faster than he could talk. He rattled off some kind of directions urging her to join him immediately, but she could only make out a few words here and there. The words “scheme” and “invitation” definitely caught her attention. Unsure of his mental state, Lila called in sick the rest of the day, packed her things, and hightailed it out of there. On top of being concerned, her inquiring mind also played a role in her actions: There’s got to be more to him then he’s let on about. Admittedly, this was the least mundane things had been for a long time.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Taking a moment to reflect upon the experiences of the past months and what Uncle George just said gave Lila a respite from her debilitating anxiety. But there were still so many unanswered questions: Why had Uncle George returned to Sandyville? What were they doing here at this mansion? What was with this obscure hare? Which path was correct? And why was Uncle George so obsessed with me knowing about his eye?

“Lila? Earth to Lila?” Uncle George summoned as he waved a hand in front of her face.

She shook her head, clearing her thoughts, but her mouth remained clamped shut, uncertain of how to proceed after her daydreaming.

“Hmm this path has budding daisies, but this one is just so verdant. I can’t decide which one brings me the most happiness, and I promise, I’m telling you the truth,” the old man wondered jokingly.

 

While Uncle George tried to rate the paths by beauty, Lila took a deep breath: inhale in through the nose, exhale out through the mouth. Although at first Lila was timid about things, she rode the sudden surge of confidence that led her to jump over the wall and rush through the morning glories in the first place, the surge of adventure, the surge of desire to find some answers and do something for herself for once.