Pear Man

A shiny new Porsche made its way down a winding gravel road, leaving a trail of dust behind it. It looked entirely out of place as it sped past broken fences, dilapidated buildings, and rusty old vehicles. The car, not meant for anything other than smooth pavement, slid on the rocks as it drifted through the turns, just on the verge of being out of control. It came to a sudden, skidding halt as it reached its destination. In front of the car was a large, gray house, which had likely been incredibly beautiful at one time. That time had passed though, and the house was in a state of disrepair, with missing shingles, a broken window, faded paint, and much of the front porch overgrown by plants.

The driver’s door opened, and a man stepped out of the car. With his sunglasses and expensive suit, he looked to be a stereotypical Porsche owner. He gave the house a quick look and then surveyed the surrounding area. The noise of another vehicle approaching caused him to turn around to find an SUV pulling up behind his car. The newly arrived vehicle stopped, and a woman jumped out. She wore jeans and a T-shirt, looking much more suited to the surrounding environment than the man did.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” There was no anger in her question, but she was still looking for an answer.

“What do you mean?” the man asked, feigning ignorance.

“John! Were you trying to get in an accident? I saw your car sliding around on that gravel!”

“Julie, I was in complete control. It’s not my fault If you can’t keep up.”

“So, I guess it’s true,” Julie sighed. “Brothers never stop being annoying.”

“And sisters never stop whining.”

“What are you wearing?” Julie asked as she looked John over.

“A suit,” John answered defensively. “What about it?”

“We’re here to go through mom’s stuff, not have a business meeting.”

“I came straight from work, and there’s nothing wrong with wanting to look good.”

“Yeah, me and the squirrels are very impressed,” laughed Julie.

“Whatever. Let’s just get this over with.” John started walking towards the house but stopped when he came across a pear on the ground. He bent over and picked it up, staring at it.

Julie came forward and joined him in looking at the piece of fruit. It must have been on the ground for a while, judging by how brown and mushy it was. “I’ve never been able to eat pears thanks to mom. Are you thinking about her stupid story?”

John let out a laugh. “Yeah, I am. Isn’t that crazy? I’m almost forty years old and I still think about it when I see a pear. Only pears off the ground, never pick them from the tree.”

“Or the Pear Man will come take them back while you sleep.” Julie shivered. “What kind of psycho scares her kids like that? I hate this damn tree.”

“It’s so dumb. I mean… Pear Man? What the hell is a Pear Man anyway? That’s not scary, but… I don’t know, maybe it was something about the way she was always so serious about it.”

“I know what you mean. I can’t explain it either,” said Julie. “Let’s just get inside and get this over with, and then we’ll never have to see this place or this pear tree again.”

Julie began walking towards the house while John remained behind with the pear in his hand.

“I’m not scared, if that’s what you’re thinking,” John called out.

Julie stopped and turned around. “That actually is what I’m thinking. I know that story scared you just as much as me.”

“Not anymore. It was a stupid story, and we were stupid kids for believing it.” John dropped the pear to the ground. “I’m taking one from the tree.”

“John, don’t.”

John reached up to the nearest branch and grasped the first pear he found. He looked at Julie and smiled. “I’m going to do it.”

“Really, John? Just leave it. Let’s get this done and get out of here.”

John pulled, and with only a little effort, the pear broke free of the branch. “Uh oh, Pear Man’s going to be mad at me.”

“Are you done?”

John dropped the pear to the ground and stepped on it, crushing it under his shoe. “Now I’m done.”

It was many hours later and the sun had already set, when John and Julie finally emerged from the house, having completed their task. Each of them was holding a box of items they wanted to keep.

“That took forever,” John complained. “I thought I’d be home by now.”

“Yeah, me too, but at least we finished.”

They both walked to their own vehicles and placed the boxes inside.

“There’s a small part of me that will be sad to never see this place again, but a much bigger part of me can’t wait to see this house in my rear-view mirror,” said Julie as she stood by her SUV.

“There’s not a single part of me that wants to ever see or think about this place again, especially since I upset Pear Man,” John joked.

“Let’s never talk about that again. It was a stupid story we can put behind us and forget.”

“Agreed,” said John.

“You know, we should see each other more often. Why don’t you come over for dinner next weekend?” asked Julie.

“Uh, yeah, I can probably do that. Give me a call sometime this week.”

Julie’s phone began ringing and she pulled it out of her pocket to check the call screen.” Oh, wow, it’s late. It’s Sean calling, probably wondering why I’m not home yet.”

“Alright, well, you take your call and I’m going to get out of here. Let’s see Pear Man keep up with a Porsche.” John smiled as he got into his car. “Sorry, last time. We’ll never talk about him again, starting now.”

“You be careful on those roads, John. It’s dark out.”

“I’ll be careful. Talk to you later.” John shut his door, started his car, and took off with a quick spin of his tires.

Julie shook her head and answered her phone.

Finished with her call, Julie drove her SUV cautiously along the gravel road that would take her back to the main highway. She didn’t like driving at night at the best of times, and an unpaved road in the middle of nowhere was hardly the best of times. As she rounded the next bend, she noticed a pair of taillights up ahead. She assumed John must have stopped for some reason, but as she got closer, she realized John’s car wasn’t even on the road.

“Idiot. I told him to be careful.”

Julie stopped next to John’s car, which appeared to be undamaged. It looked like it just drove off the road. Julie got out of her vehicle and walked over to talk to John, ready to berate him about his dangerous driving, but when she reached his car there was no sign of him. The driver door was open, but the car was empty.

“John?” Julie called out, looking around. “John, where are you?”

When there was no answer, she began to panic. She checked on the other side of the car and found nothing.

“John! This isn’t funny! Where are you?”

As she expanded her search of the area around the car, she noticed a dark object on the ground, just at the edge of the car headlight range. She moved closer to investigate and quickly realized it was John. She could tell by the small reflection given off by his suit material. She ran over and dropped to the ground, kneeling next to him.

“John! John, what happened? Are you okay?”

He was lying face down and she was struggling to roll him over. Finally with one last push, John rolled onto his back. Julie screamed as she stared at John’s lifeless body, his mouth stuffed full of crushed pears.