Blood Flower by Tim Eagle (Part 1)

Welcome to FREE FICTION FRIDAY!

I give you the very old, circa 2016, version of Blood Flower, a macabre tale that I rushed through back in my young impatient years. Please enjoy, and please don't be too harsh, it's fiction from my beginnings, while raising a family, working full time, and grinding daily...the genesis of an ambitious writer. If you want the properly formatted version of this in print and don't want to wait every until Friday to continue reading for free, please buy a copy in print here: Blood, Dreams & Tears or purchase the eBook here: Blood, Dreams & Tears

Moonlit walks, carriage rides and the local saloon were all attributes within the village of Stevats. Confined in that history, deep inside the core were lies, sin, and punishment. The punishment of accountability always ended on Sunflower Row.

Before the lane had become street, before it was paved, and lined with homes nestled in a tightly knit neighborhood, Sunflower Street was a death sentence. Planted on both sides of the foot-path were acres of vast radiant sunflowers that lilted on cloudy days and tilted upwards on sunny days. Sunflower Row, the path, was a bruised trail that led to an old sprawling oak tree. It was a channel designed specifically for criminals to walk death’s lingering stretch to the hangman’s noose for execution. Stevats was an arcane society in its beliefs. 

It was on Sunday that the Death Walk would come for those to be executed. Sunday’s were days of church, family luncheons and at twelve noon a spot along Sunflower Row. Waiting in line to pay with his death was Jake Heathcowski. His stomach crawled with anxiety; it felt like a bag of angry snakes that writhed like mad creatures trying to make an exit. Sheriff Daniels arrested Jake for purportedly raping a grieving widow. 

Widow Schmitz was at her husband’s grave and Jake Heathcowski allegedly took advantage of her sullen demure. It was said that he bent the widow over her husband’s gravestone and violently sodomized her. The attack was seen by a small seven year old playing in a sandbox in his back yard. The boy reported it to his mom, who then reported it to Sheriff Daniels. Jake Heathcowski was apprehended and arrested for the crime and sentenced to hang.

His parents, two illiterate Polish immigrants, could barely comprehend the English ways and American life, let alone teach their son, so Jake grew up learning life from peers and the cold arms of school and neighbors. Jake never hated his parents for it. He understood their struggles as immigrants and their indifferences to the world around them. He blamed no one for the society of ignorance that often shunned him and his family.

Jake stood in shackles at the entrance of Sunflower Row. He shivered inside. Despite the humidity, despite the lemon yellow sun glowing overhead, a cold crisp winter chill froze the marrow in his bones. The day was melancholic. It crept slowly and gave Jake an opportunity to reflect on the past, on the present and of the future awaiting him. If he was going to meet his maker he needed to clear his conscious. 

The early birds set up their seats along the path in the center of the two fields of sunflowers. The first people to arrive made a morning event out of the hanging; these were the non-church goers. This group was sullen and their faces were drawn. Not the typical crowd of people who showed up for an execution. The true spectators wouldn’t arrive until church let out.

Thanks for reading! Sign up for my monthly newsletter and/or buy me a coffee, (click the coffee mug on the top) and help support all these goodies I give away! Stay tuned for Thankful it's Monday (TIM) Updates, RV There Yet Tuesday, WOW Wednesday Movie Pick, Thirsty Thursday Indie Book Reviews and of course Free Fiction Friday! Come back often and support my writing journey!

Tim Eagle

Tim Eagle is an author of the novellas Stolen Seed, Life Ship, and the Vasectomus Collection. He lives full time, on the road, with his wife, Maria and their dog, Cocoa. He grew up in Michigan and is inspired by the dysfunction of America. His books are available on Amazon, godless and this site timeaglefiction.com 

Blood Flower by Tim Eagle