Wild West - Chapter 2 - Part 13 - 5 minute freewrite challenge

“Burn it down.”

“What?” James’ words took Tom by surprise.

“Burn it down. I’m not coming back here.”

“Yeah, but, why not just let it be?”

“Same reason we bury corpses. You wouldn’t want to watch my body slowly decay in front of your eyes if I die, would you? No. You want a grave you can pay your respects to. Also why I don’t want to know my house is slowly rotting away on its own with no one to look after it while I live somewhere new. Burn it down, and there’s an equivalent to a grave. I want to remember it as glorious as it is now, not see it broken and rotting, infested with roaches and snakes, in case I ever come back to pay my respects,” James looked at the bottle in his hand that was now only a third full. “Here’s to a new life,” raising the bottle and leaving no more than a sip of whiskey for Tom, to whom he then handed the bottle to.

“To a new life,” Tom finished the remaining contents of the glass vessel and let go of it, allowing gravity to do its work.