Shelters Place

A Short Story

Written By Jordan Zesch

Inspired By A Local Neighborhood

Fictional

Multi-Genre Final
 1

Prologue

Shelters Place, by Jordan Zesch, Is a brief description of the families and their

stories that live in each house of a cul-de-sac located in a small town. The street, Is the first

road off the main drag of a small town in Missouri called Wildren. Wildren has a population

just over 2,000. Other than two gas stations, a local grocery store, and a park, wildren

doesn't have much to offer, but there are plenty of stories to be heard.

Each of these stories are based of real people that have undergone an immensely

diverse set of circumstances. Some stories share their hardships, while others share their

success. This stories can be perceived as a regular form of entertainment, but they are

meant to be passages of advice, a testimony of matrimony, and a lesson for all to interpret

and take to heart.

 2

Shelly & Tom Baker

Shelly and Tom live in a light blue house with white trim and a two car garage that

can only fit one car because the other half is for storage. They are rarely home because they

are busy trying to find any way to pay off their debt. Whenever they both manage to be at

home at the same time, the house continues to be silent. Tom only speaks to Shelly

whenever it is necessary, he could care less to talk. For he has lost interest in his spouse, as

did Shelly.

The constant weight of uncertainty bearing down on their shoulders, not knowing

whether there's going to be enough food for this month or if they can pay the bills on time,

crippled their marriage from the start, at a degree that has kept them from any chance at

recovery. The first few years they held onto hope, unable to see the damaging future

through their young, bright eyes. They tried marriage counselors, online courses, and spa

treatments, but nothing could hold them together. The stressor of money has destroyed

their marriage.
 3

Franny & Murlock Jones

Franny and Murlock are Tom and Shellys next door neighbors to the west. Their

house is the most prized in the cul-de-sac as it has beautiful brick siding with colors

pleasing to the eye, along with large windows and mosaic glass designs. Franny and

Murlock live a relatively simplistic lifestyle as they have already retired and don't leave

home very often. They have been married most of their lives, but as time passed, they begin

to distance themselves. As Murlock spends most of his time reading or watching television,

Franny is often in the garden throughout the day end knitting during the late afternoon.

After so many years of marriage without any new, exciting experiences, cracks in

their marriage begin to appear. The distance between the two of them led to a negative

atmosphere and a shock to the community, as Franny and Murlock were once the nicest

people in the town. The constant physical distance between the two of them leave

something to be desired in their marriage.

 4

Ron & Jeremy Buckler

Ron is a decently wealthy man for his age of 47. His house is across the street from

Franny and Murlock and the empty plot that came with the house is across the street from

the Bakers. Ron's son, Jeremy, lives with him and is often seen repairing cars with his

father. The two of them have a close bond and live happily together. Jeremy's mother sends

a text or a voicemail every once in awhile, but is majoritively absent from his life. The

constant drug use from Jeremy's mother, even after his father went clean, led to a toxic

relationship between the three of them. The growing drug problem lead to a divorce after

many years of failed help for Jeremy's mother.

This was a sad story that even appeared on the news, but was not a surprise to

anyone in the community. Sounds of aggressive violence and clear cases of alcoholism and

drug abuse were not hard to find when traversing the neighborhood. Word spread fast,

faster than a wildfire in a dead forest. Stuff like this doesn't happen often, but when it does,

you can bet your bottom dollar everyone and their mother knew every detail of the

situation.
 5

Sammy Glover
Sammy lives in the neighboring house of Ron and Jeremy. She has a small house,

painted with an ugly color green, engulfed by an untrimmed yard. Sammy's life changed

drastically after she was critically injured at the age of 22. A costly car accident left her

paralyzed from the waist down. For three years, Sammy had lead a lonely life, until her

caretaker transferred to Montana to support her newly crippled grandparents. After

Sammy's caretaker left, a new, more mature caretaker by the name of Jake Swanson filled

her place. Sammy and Jake instantly connected and began spending extra time with each

other. Jake has been dating Sammy for the last four years and is considering popping the

question. Even though Sammy will never walk again, Jake sees through the outside and has

fallen in love with who he sees on the inside.

This was also a story that became the talk of the town, but this one was shown in a

different light. This incredible story of perseverance evolved into the happiest years of

Sammy's life. Sammy thought to herself that her life was over after the accident. She

couldn't play tennis anymore, which was a huge part of Sammy's life, and she could no

longer work for her previous employer. Even after this hardship, Sammy found happiness

through others.
 6

Molly & Dave Cormack

Molly and Dave are across the street from Sammy and next door to Franny and

Murlock. Molly and Dave have two boys at ages 9, Phineas, and 11, Thomas, as well as a

baby boy of 7 months named Alabaster. Molly is a stay-at-home mom while Dave is a

technical engineer. They consider themselves in a stable situation and keep healthy with

regular exercise and nutritious diet. Even though Dave is gone for most of the day, 5 days a

week, he still finds time to spend with his wife throughout the week. Even though there

may be an argument here in there, they look for Solutions and resolve the issue before it

gets out of hand. With good discipline to their kids, Molly gets help around the house from

her two oldest boys, which helps reduce stress on her. Molly and Dave are very kind to the

neighbors and are perceived as one of the happiest couples in the neighborhood.

Just like anyone else, Molly and Dave have gone through hardships, but they stood

together and persevered on through the years leaving no resentment to be found, and an

exciting life ahead of them. Molly and Dave are still young and have plans for their future,

but are not overzealous and are content with what they have.
 7

Lana & Ryan Reeds

Lana and Ryan live on the same side of the street as Ron and Jeremy and are

neighbors of Sammy. Lana and Ryan keep to themselves, apart from when their son visits.

Their son, Franklin, was conceived before their wedding. This brought shame to Lanas

family, whilst Ryan's family seemed undisturbed. These polar opposite reactions created

tension between the families. The initial tension started as an awkward conversation

starter, but quickly developed into a feud. This feud between their families causes Lana and

Ryan to separate themselves from their loved ones and live on their own, avoiding all

contact, just to have peace of mind. Sadly, they have never fully recovered to their early

days of happiness.

Franklin wishes nothing but happiness for his parents, but finds it difficult at times

to overlook the fact that half of his family wishes he were never born. As a child, this

caused quite a bit of problems for Lana and Ryan, but as Franklin matured he realized it

wasn't their fault, and they still love him no matter what. Franklin is now 21 years old and

is about to graduate from Harvard. His parents could not be more proud. Franklins success

led to an ease of tension to both sides of the family and a realization of their shameful

behavior. Even after all this resentment from multiple people in his very own family,

Franklin has broken the barriers of his family and brought them all closer together through

his achievements.
 8

Samson Parker
Samson Parker is a quiet man that lives catty-corner to Lana and Ryan. He owns the

empty plot neighboring his house and the cormack's house. He has been trying to sell his

house for a few years now, but the complications of the plot that comes with the house has

made the marketing process a pain in the rear end. Samson lives alone aside from Lacey, a

dog his son decided he didnt want anymore. After originally thinking of Lacey as a chore,

he found a place in his heart for her. Now you will rarely see the two of them apart. Lacey

helped repair the damage from his past marriage, which ended with dramatic trials at court

that favored her. Lacey help Samson more than he believes. If Samson were alone with

nothing but his own thoughts, he surely would have been crushed under the pressure of his

failed marriage.

Sampson views the whole situation as a waste of half of his life, but little does he

know, those 23 years drastically change to he was as a person. Now he's created his own

business and found success without risk , but by patience and new knowledge of life

lessons. Samson is a changed man, but he has changed for the better, whether he believes it

or not.
 9

Brianna & Teller Eshure

Brianna and Teller live across the street from Samson and are next door neighbors

to Lana and Ryan. Brianna move to Wildren, Missouri after she met Teller and decided to

remarry. Teller is the pastor of the first Assemblies of God Church, which owns the

parsonage he lives in. Teller has an 11 year old son, Aaron, who is very mature for his age

and runs his own lawn care business, and a 16 year old son, Kane, who is currently in a

boy's home for his previous actions. Teller also has a daughter that lives alone and never

visits, her name is Ashley. Brianna has an 18 year old daughter, Christina, and a 17 year old

son, Jake, they are very respectful and have a close-knit bond with each other. Brianna has

been a realtor for 15+ years and easily found a new realtor job in Missouri, that properly fit

her vast knowledge of the real-estate business. There are ups and downs in Brianna and

Tellers lives, but things settle down after Teller received full custody of his two boys.

Brianna and Teller are helping hands in the community and are extremely happy and truly

love each other. If you needed help or someone to talk to, the Eshures were the first to call

upon.
 10

Epilouge
This little cul-de-sac, in the unknown town of wildren, Missouri, is home to few, but

yield stories to an unknown amount of souls. There are inspiring stories of love as well as

crushing stories of defeat. All these stories create an open textbook for others to learn and

study to see what they can do to lead happy lives. This book is not over, and it never will be.

There will always be empty pages to fill.

Sometimes, when everything seems like it will be perfect, it ends in heartbreak or

disaster. Yet, other times, when complete failure seems right around the corner, we

persevere. Even with constant hardships, some strong couples can pull through with their

happiness intact. This one cul-de-sac has years and years of stories, not all of them good,

but all of them have meaning.

For this place is no perfect place, but it is Shelters Place.