Dreamchaser

• Alisha Jeanpierre, Grade 12, St Peter's Catholic College
• Short Story
• 2016

Excellence Award in the 'Top Secret 2016' competition

The spectacular display of colours forces the man to cover his weary eyes from the blaring sun. The wind whistles past his ears, singing a tune still unknown to him. This is where he feels most at peace. The crops that are now his livelihood sway to and fro in time with the cool breeze and the sheep are grazing peacefully. He loves it here. Nothing would, or could, compare to the freedom and happiness of the rural lifestyle, with its lush landscape and the chorus of mooing cows. All his life he had wanted this, to experience this euphoric feeling he had now. Raising the corners of his weather-worn lips he reminisces on the events from the previous year, good and bad, which had led him to this point.
“You’re late with your payment yet again. What more can I do for you Joe, when your payments are always late?” Phil said.
It had been a few rough months for the man, his job as an accountant went from a steady income to a rare payday in a matter of short weeks. The possibility of achieving his lifelong dream seemed to be slowly slipping through his aging fingers. At the mature age of 55, Joe’s clientele were receding, much like his hairline and unfortunately his dream of retiring early and buying a farm was no longer short listed. But he had a plan to change all that. Unfortunately, having had an unusual childhood Joe never really experienced a typical home environment. So, the foolhardy plan to blackmail fellow accountants and high end clients seemed like the morally correct thing to do, when actually it was quite ambiguous.
Several clients and accountants later, all of them regretted ever trusting him with their tales of previous fraud and embezzlement. In order for him to stay quite he had taken large sums of cash from each individual, in order to gain a slightly higher net worth than required. He knew no one could threaten him now, he had all the power. All his life he had ‘kept it clean’ never exploiting clients or money, and it had finally paid off. Literally! His struggles were finally over; he could breathe clearly once again and start living the life he had always wanted.
It went without a hitch.
No one suspected a thing!
Joe trots back to the farm house with anticipation. Even only one week in, the euphoric feeling hasn’t faded since the day he bought it. He pushes back his solid oak door and for the second time that day takes in the exquisite decor and aroma that consumes the living room. The dying fire smoulders in the corner, giving off the scent of fresh pine leaves. The armchair facing the fireplace looks cosy and inviting; he rushes to sit in it, and takes in a deep breath of the woody scent. A sudden tightness overwhelms his body, he clutches his chest and the pain increases until eventually he feels nothing.