A blonde-haired little girl played in the front yard of 29 Neibolt Street. A summer breeze rustled the leaves and flowers creeping up the side of the porch, instilling the fondest memories in the child for years to follow.
Neibolt Street, a dead-end street with six houses on it, embodied paradise.
The universe seemingly decided one day that expansion beyond the end of Neibolt Street was forbidden. The Kersh family moved in three years ago with their daughter Teresa when she was two years old. They fixed the house within the first two years and worked their asses off to pay the mortgage on time each month. One of the first changes made brightened the house infinitely. The wallpaper, gone, replaced by drywall and happy colors that inspired harmony and cohesiveness. They replaced the damaged windows, gutted the basement, and put in a new furnace. The outside was next – if they were approved for the personal loan after paying off the current loan.
Will worked as a banker. His wife, Lori, managed the movie theater in town. A historic landmark, The Aladdin chugged along into the future stubbornly despite the modern world pushing aside the remnants of the past.
They adopted the puppy a month ago. The golden retriever brought sunshine into their lives and gave Terri a reason to play outside during the summertime. Will brought the puppy an orange collar because Terri loved orange and said that 'Cosmo' wanted an orange collar. Will laughed it off at the time, but he swore that Cosmo and Terri had a stronger bond than he and his wife, Lori, at times.
Cosmo laid next to her and watched her play with her barbie dolls. The sun baked them, but neither minded and they moved to the shade after Lori tried to put sunscreen on her little girl. The puppy crawled up into her lap and laid down, falling asleep as she pet it head to tail over and over.
"I see Cosmo is asleep." Her father said as he moved in for a kiss to the forehead.
She smiled up at him. "Cosmo said we are safe here."
Her father scratched Cosmo behind the ears. "I have to go to work, Sweetie, and your uncle will be over to watch you. Your Mom and I won't be home until six, okay?"
"Okay, Daddy."
"I love you."
"I love you too, Daddy." She waved after him as he hurried to the car parked in the driveway adjacent to the house.
No more than ten minutes after her father left to work at the new strip mall, a shiny silver car pulled into his spot. Uncle Bradley stepped out and scanned the yard quickly. "Terri, we're going to play inside the rest of the day. It's too warm outside. Pick up your toys and get inside." He ordered grumpily.
"Okay, Uncle!" She called out and lifted Cosmo gently off her lap.
He picked up the Ken barbie by the head and carried him after his favorite little girl in Derry.
She held the door open for him. "Thank you, Cosmo."
The puppy looked at her strangely and dropped the doll at her feet before running off to his puppy bed and curling up into a ball. Her uncle carried a plastic bag full of snacks and drinks into the house, letting the screen door smack shut.
"Is that you, Will?" A tightly wound voice called out.
"It's Bradley." He called out. "Will already left for work." He pat Terri on the head and placed his bags on the kitchen counter.
They updated the house when they moved and got rid of the wallpaper, a wise decision, Bradley thought. Now if they only install hardwood flooring and turn the basement into a livable space, his brother might be able to move out with a profit to buy a house in town.
"When do you plan on painting the kitchen?" He asked as his sister-in-law. "Are you still going to paint it the red?"
"Will said he didn't like red. We decided on a neutral gray blue." She answered as she pulled on a short-sleeved button up over a white tank top. "I need to get to the theater before my head is put on a platter. Thanks for watching Teresa for us."
He smiled warmly. "I love spending time with my niece."
"I hope your job hunt goes well." She thanked him again on the way out and snagged her keys off the hook by the door. The door locked and he turned his head toward the dog bed nestled in the corner of the living room. Cosmo stared him down, eyes reflecting the universe or so it felt like.
"Terri, what do you want for a snack?" He asked as he opened his bag of chips and poured some into a bowl. "Mac and cheese? A cheeseburger? Hot dogs?"
She appeared in the kitchen doorway. "Hot dogs!"
"Hot dogs? Are you sure? I didn't hear you right- "
"Hot dogs." She beamed at him.
He shooed her off again.
She ran off to the living to turn on her favorite cartoon, The Giant Turtle, featuring a galaxy vomiting turtle that liked to say "Chud got your tongue." whenever someone tried to lie. The DVD player turned on and he listened with an inward grimace. He hated the show. It made him feel like an ant in a world of humans.
Cosmo stared up at him.
He peered down at the dog. "What?"
Cosmo cocked his head, as if in reply.
"Your food is the bowl." He gestured to the two shiny metal bowls in the corner of the kitchen. "No table food."
Cosmo crept forward with his begging face.
"No. I won't say it again." Bradley put his chips back into the bag and searched the fridge for his niece's favorite food – hot dogs. Cosmo watched him the entire time as he cooked the hot dogs, cut them up, and then piled the ketchup next to them on a plate. He delivered it to her in the living room in the middle of her favorite episode – where the Giant Turtle tried to tell someone who insisted on repeating a tongue twister over and over to calm down and try something else -and the person stuttering over their words before being swept off by the stars into a dance number about being confident.
He didn't understand the show at all, and he wondered why her parents let her watch the old television cartoon series. Will told him the show wasn't bad and that it helped teach Terri about the world without shoving her under the bus in real time.
Who or what was Chud anyway?
Shaking off his apprehension of the show and its characters, he placed her food next to her. "Maybe you should play with your toys instead of watching tv." He suggested.
She looked away from the screen. "Do I have to?"
"One episode and then go play with your toys." He ordered.
If he had to listen to the entire season for the umpteenth time, he might lose his mind.
"Okay." She faced the screen again and dipped her hot dog bites into the ketchup.
She watched the episode, asked to watch another, he told her no, and then she went to her room with Cosmo. He didn't hear a peep from her until her father arrived home from work, and shortly after her mother.
As he cleaned up, Will bitched about his day at work and the supervisors demanding quotas be met. "You'd think they would be more careful about what they strive for given the current affairs and how the government is cracking down." Will mumbled as he made himself a cup of coffee.
"Wall Street don't care. Never have, never will." Bradley said as he cleaned the chip bowl and placed it in the strainer. "I'm going to head out. She ate hot dogs with ketchup and had some juice and water. Your dog is strange."
"Is it?"
"Ever look into its eyes and see the universe?" Bradley said.
Will laughed at him. "I think you've been watching too much of the Turtle Galaxy cartoon."
"It's outdated." Bradley complained. The subpar graphics hurt his eyes.
Will looked his brother in the eye. "What about the cartoons we grew up on?"
Bradley threw up his hand. "I'm just trying to help out."
"I got it from here. Go enjoy your evening. Don't forget Sunday dinner." Will called after him.
He walked toward the car and passed Cosmo sitting on the porch. The universe reflected in its eyes and he speed walked the short distance to his vehicle, slamming the door shut before the puppy tried to follow and hop in.
"It's just a puppy." He whispered as he fumbled with the keys.
He glanced at the porch.
"It's just a puppy." He whispered again as he turned on the car.
The puppy started toward his car until Will called for Cosmo.
His heartbeat slowed to a normal pace and he backed out slowly, breathing out only once he was on hardtop again. His headlights illuminated the road in front of him. The light on the house across from him blinked out as he passed, and a dread leveled him.
Bradley.
Must be the wind.
Bradley. Bradley, Bradley…
It was his imagination.
Bradley, stop ignor-ING ME!
Red eyes flashed in the rearview mirror and he slammed on the brakes, taking out a mailbox and half a fence.
He cursed under his breath and threw the car in reverse.
"It's just a puppy." He whispered again. "It's just a puppy. It's just a puppy. It's just a cute, little golden retriever puppy with really, really creepy eyes."
BRADLEY!
He slammed the breaks again and caught his breath. "It's just a fucken puppy. Get your shit together." He punched the steering wheel.
A white clown face slowly revealed itself as if the darkness peeled away a layer and exposed the underbelly. The red eyes…
He grabbed at the car door, but the locks flicked into locked position, and a wind whipped up leaves outside. "I don't know who you are- "
The clown giggled. "You've been a naughty, naughty boy, Bradley."
"I don't know- "
"What I'm talking about?" The clown leaned forward, it's full body seemingly too big for the back seat but filling it anyway. "That's what they all say!" A red balloon floated up in front of the car. "Where's the originality? The lies. The excuses. It bores me to hear the same thing over and over." He clenched air and cocked his head unnaturally before snapping it back and fixing his red eyes and pointy teeth on Bradley.
"Lo-look! Whatever- "
"Begging." His breath smelled out of and death as he neared, and his yellowed teeth dripped saliva. "They all beg, Bradley."
He tugged at the lock again and succeeded in popping it, the door popping open. He ran for it, a straight shot into the trees and skidded to a stop across from Cosmo.
"It's just a puppy." He said, voice shaking.
Cosmo bared Pennywise's teeth.
He screamed for help. A lady appeared in the window and watched the golden chase a terrified man into the trees at an easy trot.
Minutes later a piercing scream punctured the night and the lady closed her bedroom window.
"Goodnight, Pennywise." She whispered in prayer before crawling into bed and waking to the morning news, police, and reporters on her doorstep.
The detectives puzzled over the death scene – relatively clean compared to the others. A little bit of blood on the road top, a severed arm and a bit of the neck missing, but otherwise the body was intact. They found the pornography stash in his apartment beneath a loose floorboard along with the laptop he used to access his child pornography. When it hit the news, Cosmo and Terri played outside as her parents handled the detectives, the child welfare department, and everyone else who dared to venture forth.
"Is Uncle Bradley in a better place, Daddy?" She asked Will after reporters left.
Her father knelt at her level. "Your uncle did bad things, but he's repenting for his sins."
"In hell?" Terri asked innocently.
Will rubbed her head. "You're a sweet child, Terri. Have fun. Play with Cosmo."
Cosmo curled up in her lap and watched Will walk away, falling asleep under the shade and no longer hungry until the next meal next week.