QUIET COMPANY

High Grade Jay came across a patch of ground where the trees were bare, the fog stayed low, and a cemetery fence warned most sensible folks to keep moving. Jay studied the place and built a broad wooden home right beside it, with a deep porch and enough lantern light to guide a weary traveler through the mist.

Inside, he kept the rooms dark and orderly. Old pictures, worn furniture, strange machines, and Halloween decorations fill the place without making it feel careless. Even the scarecrow on the porch looks as though Jay measured twice before giving it a place to stand.

I reckon a man who has traveled from the Commonwealth to Appalachia learns that quiet company can be better than bad company. The graveyard may unsettle some folks, but Jay built with a steady hand and left every candle where it could push back a little darkness. There is sound sense in that, and maybe a small reminder that light still has work to do in this world.