John get's a visit.

John shaded his eyes from the summer sun as he watched the stranger make his way down the road. His body was hidden under long brown robes, and his face was covered with a hood. He carried a staff in his left hand. Which he leaned on heavily to make his way up along the dirt road. His pace was slow, and John couldn't help but wonder what he was doing here, or even how he'd gotten this far.

John's home was situated on the edge of a plateau in the middle of the Hiob desert. It was a desolate place, filled with nothing but miles of open red-rock plains, and half dead plants. John's home couldn't have been farther away than anything or anyone else, and that's just how he liked it. John rarely saw anyone, another thing he liked about his house, as it was over three hours with his Jeep to the nearest house, and another four after that to a town. John wondered what this man was doing so far away from everything, and on foot nonetheless.

John watched the robed figure slowly make his way up the road. When he was about fifty yards away John stood out of his rocking chair, and hollered "Hey! Old man, are ya lost?" The old man paused and looked over at John. John couldn't make out the man's face clearly underneath the robe, just a gray beard and a pair of tired looking eyes nestled under bushy eyebrows. He didn't say a word, but simply lowered his head again and began making his way from the road to the porch. John wanted to shout at the old man again. He wanted to drive him off his land and back out into the desert, but something in the old man's eyes kept him silent.

In only a few moments the man was standing on the first step of the porch. The man slowly raised his hand and pulled back his hood revealing a very old man. His hair was long and gray, blending seamlessly into the long beard which trailed down to his chest. His face balled up into wrinkles whenever he smiled. John however noticed that his smile never seemed to reach his eyes. Looking once more at them he saw what he recognized all to well, fatigue. Propping himself up on his staff the old man the old man raised his hand in salutation and said "Nope."

John had never been greeted by the word nope before. It took a moment for him to overcome his shock before he asked bewildered "Excuse me?"

The man shrugged his shoulders and explained "You asked if I was lost. Well I'm not. I've been actually traveling to see you John."

"What?" said John stepping back. He'd never met this man before in his life. "Who are you? And how do you know me?"

Leaning on his staff for support the old man levered himself up the last couple of steps. Until he stood for the first time on level ground with John. John was a big man and rarely did he ever look up to someone, but this man stood a good three inches taller than him. Looking up John tried to suppress his growing sense of unease. "Name's Ahmen." said the man "and I've always known you John." John thought he saw something flash in the old man's eyes, but quickly forgot about it as the man continued. "You've got quite the history, but such details aren't best spoken outside when a storm's a brewing. Shall we go inside." the man deftly grabbed John's elbow and slowly led him through the porch door "You wouldn't happen to have any Hot Cocoa would you?" He never gave John the chance to answer, and even if he would've John was too stunned to speak. He hadn't had a visit in over five years.