On a hot and steamy October day I entered my aunt’s yard with caution. I had parked in the road since few people had room for a garage. The rusted gate creaked loudly. Two scrawny cats were playing in the tall weeds by the runoff ditch. I could hear hens cackling in the back yard and the occasional grunt of the pig. A mild wind was blowing and the fetid smell of farm animals mixed with outhouse odor hit me as soon as I stepped inside.
