Mother Nature Built a Coffin (A Short Story)

Weeds. Everywhere.

There were vines and grass and weeds everywhere. I put my hand on my head and breathed out heavily, like a bull about to charge. I looked out into the tall grasses and tapped at the glass door between me and the deck. I squinted my eyes and for a moment, thought I saw someone out in the grass looking back at me.

Foolishness.

I locked both my screen and glass door just in case. That same evening I called the landscaping company and told them what happened. I didn't know what else to do. They said they had no idea how that could happen, but they would send a few guys over tomorrow morning to check it out. If it was overgrown, they'd do it over again for free. I was relieved that I wouldn't have to pay for the job to be done a second time, but uneasy about one fact.

The weeds seemed twice as tall as yesterday.

That night, I locked all of my doors and windows. I kept thinking about how Horus bolted out of the house and the weeds and that person I had seen in my backyard. Well, the person I thought I had seen. I didn't sleep very well that night. The shadows from the trees outside moved strangely around the room. I couldn't help but think I heard the sound of something pushing, moving through tall grass.

The next morning, I awoke to the sound of lawnmowers and edgers once again. I sighed and sat up, relieved that the yard would be clean. I left for work, not concerning myself with paying the landscapers. I made sure to watch them cut the grass a bit this time.

Work dragged on. All I could think about was those damn weeds. Suddenly, my cell phone buzzed in my pocket. I ducked down in my cubicle. It was the landscaping company. Maybe calling to say they were finished? I was horribly wrong.

"Hello?"

"Yes, is this Mr. Grey?"

"Speaking, who is this?"

"This is Jeff, from Hillside Landscaping."

"Yeah, is everything alright?"

His tone of voice made me uneasy and I shifted in my rolling chair.

"Um, it's about your cat, sir."

"What about my cat?" Something turned in the pit of my stomach.

"Your cat is dead Mr. Grey."

I stopped breathing for a moment.

"H-How did he die?"

"I think you should come see this, sir."

"Right, I'll be there in a few."

I hung up the phone and adjusted my tie. I told my boss what happened and he let me go early. I drove exceptionally slow. I feared what I would find. I thought one of the men may have run over Horus with a mower or caught him with an edger. The thought nauseated me.

I cringed as I passed my neighbor's home. Tall, overgrown weeds adorned their front yard. I turned into my driveway, to see the grass trimmed neatly. That relieved some of  my stress, but it soon welled back up as I exited my vehicle.

"Mr. Grey." One of the men came up to me. "Your cat-"

"I heard." I said sullenly. "Where is he? What happened?"

The man didn't speak, he just motioned for me to follow him into the backyard. I walked around the side of the house, staring at the vines and weeds that forced their way between the dividing fence. We walked until he stopped abruptly, motioning for me to look down. I stood at the foot of that Willow tree. There was Horus, brutally strangled and tangled up in...vines?! They wrapped around his small body, his black and white striped fur and skin protruding between where the vines wrapped around him. His eyes were wide open, as if he had tried to cry out before being crushed.