Hello, Little Sparrow by Jordan Jones (the reading list .TXT) 📕

around was aware there was a monster in the store, but they just didn’t care about it. They were not only accepting of it, they were all happy he was there.

They wanted more monsters to feel welcome in social gatherings.

Sure, Brooks thought as he entered the store. Come on in! We have everything a monster could ever need.

A woman waved and smiled at William several feet in front of Brooks, but did the same to Brooks as he passed. He didn’t acknowledge her. He was the same as the monster in her eyes, and Brooks knew he had to do something.

He thought again of Madison, as he often did. Was this man to blame? He could be. His beady little eyes could be to blame for something so atrocious.

William picked up some oranges and Brooks stood twenty feet away looking at discounted asparagus. He never paid full price for asparagus. It would always go on sale three days before it expired and when he planned to have asparagus with his dinner, he’d head over to Howlser’s and grab some.

He didn’t plan on asparagus tonight, though.

He didn’t have anything officially planned.

A toddler in a cart screamed some gibberish to Brooks and he smiled back. The child didn’t know what they do is wrong. It’s never their fault.

The grey bearded man, likely his grandfather, pushed the cart past William, but William didn’t give them any notice. This gave Brooks even more evidence William was a monster.

Children were precious.

They needed social interactions. They needed to be loved and cared for, be it strangers or not.

William was happy with his selection of mandarin oranges and made his way back up to a checkout. Brooks followed behind, displaying his most believable facade on the way.

The checkout clerk didn’t mention William’s crimes to his face, although he had ample opportunity. She barely looked at Brooks as he came through her line. She treated them both exactly the same.

Passersby in the parking lot didn’t treat them differently either. People on both sides waved and had gentle “hellos” to share. They didn’t care this monster went in the store and was now safely back in his car.

Brooks angrily started his car and put it in drive. William turned right in his black sedan and Brooks turned left towards his small, barely-two bedroom bungalow on the city’s east side. He dropped his keys in the ashtray on the entrance rail and sighed, looking towards his living room.

There was a feeling of dissatisfaction.

His day had passed him by and all he has to show for it was a four-hour long shopping trip and a ten-minute stalk-session with an enemy.

He sat at his computer and turned it on. The tower fan moaned on, and the screen lit up. Brooks was unsure what he intended to find, but he was sure he was going to find it.

He opened Google from his home-screen, and went to his saved web pages.

William’s offender’s page was number thirty-six from the top, though there were nearly a hundred more below him.

William’s rancid face came across the screen and Brooks had to look away for fear he might vomit. His face was unpleasant, yes, but his actions were much worse. Brooks fixated on searching William’s page as though new clues would arise each time it reloaded.

Then, Brooks had a revelation.

Brooks had to meet William to talk to him. It’s what they both would want. William would probably feel better about what he did if he just told Brooks everything. He had to have known Brooks was the only one in the grocery store that knew his true nature. If he couldn’t tell Brooks, then he wouldn’t have a chance at living a productive life.

His address.

His address was one thing that was posted on his page, other than the victim’s age.

There was also a map of the city with tiny red dots indicating all the sex-offenders, but Brooks thought that if he was able to talk to William about how terrible his crime was, maybe William could talk to the others and explain it all to them, too.

Brooks wrote down the address and had a new sense of hope. He could really make a difference in the lives of these monsters.

Maybe they weren’t monsters at all; maybe they were just misunderstood.

Brooks started his car back up and looked over in his passenger seat at the picture of William Hensen he printed. He needed it as a reference in case he forgot what he looked like.

It all made so much sense now. This could also be part of what Brooks was meant to be.

Brooks flew down side streets in order to make it to Pinewood Avenue before dinnertime. He knew William probably had a recipe for those mandarin oranges he wanted to try tonight for the first time, and Brooks didn’t want to interrupt him.

Maybe…he could interrupt him. Brooks knew all sorts of dinner recipes for oranges, and he was ecstatic about sharing it with a potential friend.

Pinewood Avenue was on the other side of the city, but Brooks didn’t mind the sites. He rarely saw them from his office at Fasten Biofuels on the edge of town. His work was a very short drive from his house, and this was quite the change.

Brooks pulled into the driveway at 2844 West Pinewood Avenue in Lincolnshire, Maine, and got out of his car. The front door was shut and didn’t look too inviting to Brooks, so he walked under the carport and into the back.

The sliding glass door had no blinds, but the setting sun didn’t help Brooks see inside. Brooks knocked on the glass. The picture of William was still in his hand as a reference.

He was ready to clear up a simple misunderstanding.

William appeared from the darkness on the other side of