A quote: “The condition upon which God hath given liberty to man is eternal vigilance.” ~~ John Philpot Curran

I’ll start with a story …

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Something had been bothering Grandpa Ethan all winter. After the hard work of fall harvest, the downtime of winter was a welcome breather, but …

Rachel wasn’t the only one to notice. Family gathered at the table for supper, small talk, laughter, and a fork of food would stop halfway to Grandpa’s mouth.

“Dad?” Joshua’s voice edged with concern, “Everything alright?”

Ethan would shake his head, “Just winter worries, son.”

Some days he’d put on his snowshoes, grab a rifle and disappear for hours. Which itself wasn’t too worrisome except he rarely came back with game. Ethan always came back with game.

Evenings he’d talk with Rachel. Things were too smooth. The City had been quiet too long. Townies getting complacent and farmers less alert. Ethan was no gossip, but he was apt to tell his neighbors not to be forgetting Black September.

But everyone was.

Winter into spring, spring into summer and Ethan continued to stop and listen.

Until one red dawn, the family woke to Ethan’s yell … rushing outside to the porch as he ran to yard pointing to smoke in the distance. Running to meet the lathered horse that stumbled up to the house and catch a small figure that slipped off its back.

Ethan cradled her, wiped soot off her face. Rachel cried out, “That’s Jenny Butler!”

Jenny opened her eyes and whispered “Gray men!”

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Now, it’s your turn.
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. featured image, cropped, Adobe Stock standard license.