you discovered a spaceship in your neighbour’s garage?

I have moved into my parents house when my father passed away. It is a quiet suburb. It suits me. The hectic lifestyle of the city brought me only ulcers and a heart attack. Now I work from home as an accountant. I have a dog. Benny. He was my dad’s. He is twelve. I walk him every morning. It is usually dark when we go out. We meet the young kid from across the street with his puppy labrador. I think his name is Max. The boy, not the dog.  Sometimes we see the nurse who is renting a studio at the end of the road. She wears that ugly blue uniform that somehow looks really great on her.

I also help Mr and Mrs Parker to do their bills. Mrs Parker doesn’t talk much. Mr Parker even less. I go over to their house once a month to sort out their invoices and receipts. Their house is immaculate with tasteful decorations. It feels almost like entering a catalogue picture. Mr Parker always sits in the library, reading. The books there are arranged in rows and rows of librarian perfection. He barely lifts his eyes to acknowledge my presence. Mrs Parker always prepares a tea. Exactly the way I like it. The cup remains full and the liquid pleasantly warm during my whole stay in the study room. Mrs Parker must be keeping an eye on it. She has the gift of moving without a sound.

One day I finished the paperwork earlier than usual and went to the polished kitchen to find Mrs Parker. It was empty. I thought she must have just taken a cup of tea to Mr Parker so I made my way to the library. It was equally empty. I was not familiar with the rest of the house and it felt wrong to raise my voice to shout for their attention. I was lost in the eerie uncertainty of my next action, when I heard a noise from the garage – beeping and humming noise at the same time. I turned around and walked through the back door.

My first instinct was to scream and run but Mr Parker looked at me with his placid look that gave you no chance. My body was moveless, frozen in trance while my thoughts desperately fought the incomprehensibility of the situation, my sanity on a brink of extinction. He kept his gaze locked until I finally felt calm on the inside. After all it was not that crazy. It was actually rather understandable and most definitely really cool. Mr Parker owns a spaceship. I asked: ‘Could I have a ride?’

What if challenge January