maybe it was at the angle he was looking fromhis state of mind  musing   but from the sidewalk beside the main street looking up the cutaway hill above the massive concreteblock retaining walleasily twentytwentyfive feet high  growing out of the hill at the northwest corner of the towns ignominious porn shophe could call it by its business name but he rather enjoyed watching the townspeople flinch when he said porn shop  they had tried real hard to stop it from being located there heaping unprecedented amounts of cash press inversed advertisement which benefited and enriched the porn shop owner who brilliantly blindsided the town  it hadnt a municipal statute to restrain its opening 

one more time  porn shop

growing out of the hill at its northwest corner was an enormous digger pine

from below it he marveled not only at its towering presence  but alsohe wasnt wronghe wasnt seeing it wrong  its bemused countenance  the light turning in its crown  the wind pushing its limbs

an intelligence stirring  

they made eyecontact

he could have sworn it winked at him

there was a brief nod  to its left

he looked to his right

an old man walking with a cane

a young boyperhaps his grandson leading him

he looked back to the tree

it smiled  maliciously

a branch laden with pine cones swayed  sizing up a toss

he looked again at the obliviously pair  the boys lead growing  the old man calling to him Stop this is a parking lot theres cars that might not see you STOP 

he looked back to the tree

another wink

the branch swished backthen forth

a pine cone separated

it arched out then down towards the parking lot

he had an acute perception of depth and trajectory 

No shit he saidhis breath escaping him

the sizable pine cone caught the kid on the his right collarbone chest 

he went over like he was shot  only for the shock of being struck he hadnt started bawling yet 

  

and now the tearsthe cryingthe screaming

the old man had stopped on the asphalt

                              then still unmoved he yelled over the boys sobs I told you to stay with me I told you to walk beside me  his voice trailed off  Youd have been safe beside me

Goodness he muttered

he looked back up at the digger pine

it winked at him again

then it seemed to regard the old man still standing there

a moving target is harder to hit

it seemed to be contemplating a twofer

he didnt stick around

1224,  Twosday,  5  12. 17

1106,  Day-between-Two-Ts,  6  12. 17