“Festival!” He heard the calls echoing down Main Street. There wasn’t much to stop echoes, these days. The shops, diners and small businesses that had once operated along the road had all closed, one by one, when the Walmart opened in Colby. In the past there would have been people going back and forth, and trucks and cars parked all along the street. Now it wouldn’t have looked odd if a tumbleweed had blown down the length of the old downtown.
“Festival!” He heard another call, insistent, alluring. What was the cause of all the hubbub? It was that Baker boy, he guessed. There was something wrong about it, but it was the right time of year, he supposed – the Full Moon after the Equinox.
Some kids – boys about twelve ran past him, laughing and making a ruckus.He sighed and shook his head; it wasn’t right letting kids watch some things, but times were changing. He followed them, slower and more sedately, toward the square in front of the courthouse. It was all decked out with corn-sheafs, pumpkins, and bunting. Perfect for a festival.
In the middle stood the gallows, and the Baker boy was climbing up the steps.
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