Akisen
Legacy Name: Akisen

The drive back to town was smooth, probably the smoothest my Ram ever ran before. Boogey’s dad must have put a black magic spell on that old truck.

The whole day felt weird to me. There was something liminal about that day, overcast and misty, the fight with my girlfriend, the weird interactions between me and a guy I had no idea existed before that day. It was sad that Boogey made me wonder more about him as my truck hunkered back towards the city limits. I didn’t even know his real name and I was curious about him. Why hadn’t I seen him before? Why was he… like that? Strange guy. I’d reckon his dad was just as strange. Weird family. It rubbed me the wrong way that he not only saw and knew me, but also knew my girlfriend.

Oh, jeez.

I met Anna in high school. She was home schooled up to freshman year so that was a big deal since we hardly ever got new students, especially pretty girls. Anna was pretty just fine, maybe a little plain, but nothing wrong with plain. She was a natural girl, effortlessly gaining a following of guys at the school. I never bothered with her much. Figured if she had her pick of the litter, it wouldn’t have been me. I wasn’t not cool, but I wore my hair too long and my truck was older than me, so it never crossed my mind that Anna even noticed me. Up until junior year, she didn’t try to talk to me until it came time for me to grow into my dad’s shoes and get another girlfriend. Anna started talking to me in passing, and she called me stupid for not “picking up on her signals” and asked me to junior prom.

We’d been good together, strong up until now, two years after graduation, and Anna was frustrated with what seemed like everything and all the time. I just started walking out during her temper tantrums because they were always about dumb shit like a coffee cup in the sink or that I was spending too much time at work and picking up more hours than our bills required. That’s what the fight was about that day. It was my fifth night shift in a row, completely by my own choice since I didn’t mind night shift at the factory. The pay was good and I mostly just rode around in a forklift all night pretending to look busy. My official title was Automation Technician, thought Professional Forklift Driver was more accurate.

Anna wasn’t taking well to my night shift pickups. She worked during the day as a diner waitress, and she hated every second of it. She had a habit of misdirecting her anger. She took her shit out on me regularly. That day wasn’t any different.
“You think this is normal for a couple? I work all day, you sleep all day.”
“Yes, Anna. Because I work all night.”
She threw a dishtowel over her shoulder and leaned on the kitchen counter, her grip so tight on the ledge that her knuckles were white.
“We never see each other anymore,” she continued without missing a beat. “We’re just roommates at this point.”
“I wouldn’t go that far.”
Anna’s lip curled in disgust. “It’s like you don’t even care.”
I was tired. This lady woke me up after only a couple hours of sleep just to bitch. My patience was very thin.
“What do you want me to do?” I challenged. “Just stop working? Stop sleeping? Anna, really.”
“You can switch back to second shift.”
“As if we could afford that.”
Anna looked ready to rip my head off. “I work too, Akisen. I work my ass off and all I ask is to come home to a boyfriend who, say, I don’t know, pays attention to me.”
My patience wasn’t thin anymore. It was gone completely. I just turned and walked out.
“Yeah, walk away, Akisen. It’s what you're good at!”
I slammed the door behind me.

When I pulled up to the house, I stayed in my truck and lit a cigarette. I smoked and thought wistfully about the better days with Anna, and how now I hoped she had already gone to work so I didn’t have to see her until I was leaving for work that night. Maybe she had a point. We didn’t see each other much anymore, but deep down, I might’ve thought that was a good thing.“Dumb,” I whispered under my breath and stubbed out my cigarette in the ashtray. I was hiding in my truck smoking my lungs into impenetrable tar pits because I was tired of fighting with her.

I still half-hoped she wouldn’t be there when I walked in, and felt a disappointed twinge in my gut when I stepped in and Anna was there, lounging on the sofa with a book in her lap.
She glanced up at me then back down to her book, making it a point to not care that I was there. I wondered back to pinpoint exactly when it all started. It was useless though. What really mattered was that Anna was bitter now.
I felt bad then because Anna looked so frail and washed out and she was probably right. Roommates. Right.
The conversation was forced.
“What are you reading?” I asked, sitting down in the armchair across from her.
“Why do you care?” She snapped.
I sighed and stood up. “Alright.”
“Wait, Akisen,” she tossed her book down. “Look, I’m sorry, okay? We don’t have to fight.”
Rich of her to extend the peace offering to me after going for my throat first, but I was too tired to start in on her. I sat back down and the room fell silent.
“Where were you?” Anna broke the silence.
I almost laughed. It was as ridiculous as it sounded when it left my lips. “My truck broke down past the highway. Had to hitchhike to someone who’d fix ‘er up.”
“Oh?” She leaned forward. “Who was it?”
I shrugged. “Some guy named Boogey.”
“Boogey?”
“Yeah.”
“Never heard of him.”
“Me neither,” I shrugged. “Weird guy. His dad was nice though. Changed my oil for me too.”
Anna narrowed her eyes.
I was taken aback. “What?”
“Boogey?” Anna asked, this time more accusatory. “Why haven’t I ever heard of him?”
“I don’t know.”
“I’ve lived here my whole life and never heard of a guy named Boogey, or anybody living out past the highway.”
My ears got hot then. “You think I’m lying?”
Anna clenched her jaw.
I laughed a bitter bark of one. “You’re a real treasure, Anna. Truly.”
“It’s just weird,” she was starting in again. “The late nights, now some bizarre story of a guy named Boogey you hitchhiked to?”
I was grinding my teeth. “What are you accusing me of?”
She shook her head slightly.
“Say it, Anna, so you can hear how ridiculous you sound.”
She got to her feet and jutted her chin out to me. “Take me to this guy’s house and I’ll believe you.”
I was so mad then, I really wanted to make Anna feel stupid so I got to my feet, grabbed my coat, and pulled her out the door behind me.

The drive past the highway was about an hour, but 45 minutes if you’re pissed off enough. The drive went by fast and blindly enraged. We went back and forth the whole time. I couldn’t believe how absolutely stupid it was that I had to drive an hour just to prove a point.

When I finally pulled up to the long, winding drive, I didn’t see Boogey’s dad’s truck outside. The closer we got, the more I felt sick.
What the hell?

My truck jolted to a halt and Anna jumped out, storming forward towards the farmhouse.
But the farmhouse wasn’t like I remembered it. In fact, it was charcoal. It was charred and decrepit like nobody had lived there in decades. Maybe longer.
My heart sank into the pit of my stomach as Anna stormed around the property trying to peer into the broken windows. She whirled around and put her arms out.
“Really great, Akisen!” Anna shouted. “This place is totally abandoned!”
I shook my head wordlessly. I was just there, yet, the house loomed before me, a burnt out shell of a farmhouse. I was just there. I couldn’t have… There is no way… The peeling wallpaper. The taxidermy heads. I could still smell Boogey’s cigarette smoke. Boogey. I had a conversation with him! I couldn’t have the wrong address. The house was this house. I was absolutely certain…
“Anna,” I tried to grab her arm as she raced past me back to the truck.
She shook me off and shoved my back. “You are a liar, Akisen. You wasted my fucking time, and for what?”
“No, I-” I stared at the house as a new wave of shock passed over me.
“This is stupid,” Anna hurriedly wiped angry tears from her eyes. “Take me home now.”
I didn’t know what else to do. We got back into the truck and I drove back towards town, leaving the burnt farmhouse behind me. It leered at my back until it finally disappeared behind us.

Anna told me to pack my shit and get out the second we got home.
I wanted to plead with her, make me believe me, but the drive gave me enough time to work past my shock and settle on that I might have been insane. I hadn’t been sleeping well lately with Anna in my ear all the time, all those night shifts in a row… Maybe I made it all up.
There wasn’t any other half decent explanation. The burnt farmhouse was glaringly vivid in my mind, yet no more vivid than when I was there in that basement with Boogey. What was I supposed to say? I swear I was there? I could describe everything but it wouldn’t help none and would just end up being the ramblings of a madman.
The only thing I could do was pack my bag.
As I was going out the door, I pulled Anna close by her arm.
“I swear I wasn’t doing anything wrong to you, Anna. I would never.”
She had a blank look in her eyes. “Just get out, Akisen.”
I didn’t have a choice.
I left.