The first sighting of the man in the boat, was by Hector Rainwright, on Thursday afternoon at 2:47. The exact time was known, because Hector had just finished the first lap of his neighborhood mile, and he was paying attention to his splits. As he rounded the corner, and was about to mark the start of the second lap, his peripheral vision alerted him to some movement in the side yard of the house located on the corner property. He experienced a distinct sense of something on the tall end of human sized, standing up, rising out of the trailered boat that had been waiting for warmer weather to make it’s annual trip back to the lake. “That was a man, in that boat.” He remarked to himself, as he focused on the pavement a few yards in front of him, and purposely lengthened his stride just enough to shave a few seconds off the second lap. Hector Rainwright also made a mental note to pay close attention as he neared the end of lap number 2, to be ready this time, for what had taken him by surprise at 2:47.
It was not usual for Hector to be distracted by events such as this while he ran his daily mile. 2:30 to 2:50 was a notoriously quiet 20 minute time slot in his neighborhood. The elementary school at the end of the street did not let out until 3:00, and anyone living in the area who worked a traditional 1st shift schedule would not have had time to get back home yet. There had been some uncertainty in his mind as to the impact that neighbors working a second shift schedule would have on the tranquility of the streets that made the quarter mile loop he followed, but he assumed that it would overall be a less popular work schedule. It had never appealed to him anyway.
The boat would be coming into view within seconds. Hector was not one to alter his pace for anything but a substantial interruption, so following up on the initial sighting for confirmation of the presence of the man in the boat was making him a little bit anxious. Seconds before he was going to have to make the decision to slow down, or to stay on pace, the man rose up again, and put a hand to his forehead, as if shielding his weary eyes from a relentless sun while scanning the horizon for any sign of land ahead. Hector’s surprise registered all the way to his hyper cushioned trainer encapsulated feet, resulting in a narrowly missed collision with the neighborhood mail collection box. As he regained his composure and posture, he shot a quick glance back at the boat, in time to see the man sinking down out of sight below the deck.
It struck Hector that the man was reminiscent of an inflatable holiday yard decoration he had seen on one of the side streets near downtown. Santa Clause slowly rising out of the chimney, waving to the world for a moment, then descending back down into the chimney at the same unhurried pace.
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