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The stagnant air was thick with humidity. Along with that, everything was slowly baking under the oppressive heat provided about the sun. The normally sound filled countryside was near dead silent. Very odd for the dead of summer in southern Indiana. The crickets were not cricketing, the birds not chirping, and the frogs not croaking. The only thing that seemed to care about living that day being the mosquitoes buzzing around.
In the midst of all this silence and heat stood an old brick school building. Once full of children and activity, it now stood abandoned. Part of the roof collapsed in, charred from a lighting strike that happened decades in the past. Most of the windows broken in with time, but few were caused by vandalism. The back wall stood strong, though vines crawled into every crevice they could make their way in. The second story looked mostly untouched by times, that is as long as you ignored the haunting emptiness that filled the space behind each window.
The building didn’t look violenced or violated. No. It looked more forgotten than anything. Surrounded by places also being forgotten. The road now just gravel, once asphalt. Not used enough to warrant fixing. The local towns falling into disrepair as the coal mines either shut down, dried up, or both. New schools built in wealthier areas poaching the student body in this once lively brick building.
A trembling could be heard in the distance. A small car, holding a family of four, rattled its way down the road. Everybody stepping out to stretch their legs. “Now this is where your dad and I used to go to school,” the mother said whilst looking at the building with sadness filling her eyes.
“Yup, plenty of good memories, but the lack of AC made the warmer months absolute hell. We had to bring out box fans and put them in each window just to make sure nobody collapsed from heat stroke,” the dad joked. “See that willow tree over there? That’s where your mom and I had our first lunch together. The last day of fifth grade. Oh good memories.”
The family took some more time to walk around and reminisce. Staying well clear of the building itself because it was the “largest danger for miles around. Probably ready to collapse at a moment's notice.” Or at least that's what the mother told the boys as a reason why they couldn’t poke around inside.
Once they all had their fill of memories and time out of the car, the family got back inside to drive away. Leaving the forgotten building to be forgotten again. Left alone until those still holding its memories died off so that it could disappear without a fuss. Ending its time in this world.