Walking through the front door , Ern took off his dirt covered boots . He didn ' t much mind tracking mud and such through the house – floors had to be cleaned regardless – but fifteen years with Enid had burned the habit into him , and convenience alone didn ' t seem to be enough to get it out .
In the kitchen , Ern poured himself a glass of water from the faucet and took it with him back outside . He preferred the fresh sound of birds chirping and the wind rustling the stalks to the muted versions of those sounds indoors , reminding him how empty the rest of the house was . When he was finally settled in one of the two chairs out on the house ' s front porch , his brow furrowed as he tried to think of what to do .
There wasn ' t a single person Ern could think to confront about this ; not a soul he could deem responsible . He didn ' t have any neighbours , save the Manchesters down the road a ways , but he hadn ' t seen or heard anything from them since their last Christmas card back in December . Charlie Manchester hadn ' t even come by to check on him recently , as he tended to do every few months , and Ern didn ' t much make it out to town anymore , except to do the shopping when he really needed it . It was times like this that Ern wished he had someone to bounce ideas off of ; the likeliest scenario he could cook up on his own was a few teenagers , reveling in the last days of summer , daring each other to steal from the hermit farmer while he slept .
If that was the case then , he ' d have to do something about it .
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