Young and Hungry

This was the advice and counsel from Jessica’s parents—she was Alfred’s first candidate evaluated to join his team. Jessica was an aspiring journalist familiar with the story of the Boy in the Shadows and his parents’ legacy. She admired their work and wondered where the boy went wrong.

Surely, he would have had access to the resources to become a fantastic author, she thought. And with the mentorship of two legends in the field, it should have been a guarantee that the boy would rise to the top—if she were a gambler, she would have doubled down on that.

In any case, there was a story there that needed to be told. Something needed to be exposed. That excited her—breaking news on a never before told story. A “Whatever happened to?” Or a “How did a recipe for success turn into such an utter failure? Where did they go wrong?”

Mark and Sara’s goal of having a plot of land to raise a family wasn’t a dream anymore, it was a necessity; they were no longer motivated by the excitement to achieve it but by the fear of what could happen if they didn’t.

If they didn’t find a plot of land to live off, their privacy would be in jeopardy and their lives would forever be the epicenter of daily tabloids. They packed their things and left home in search of what would later be dubbed Paradise Manor.

They moved from town to town exploring their options, staying a couple nights here and there, talking to locals, prospecting outskirts, and discussing ideas. They needed isolation, and fertile soil with a water source.

They settled on a quiet place well out in the country, tucked away in the mountainside. They made sure the land they chose received plenty of rain and a healthy dose of sunshine. About a hundred acres in total, cloaked in trees and webbed with creeks. Spring water flowed in abundance. Vegetation sprouted in groves.

As they drove to the property, the dirt road winded and climbed through the woods into an everlasting tranquility. Time stood still when they were immersed in the landscape. Maybe it was because land is the timekeeper of the past and holds the future.

When they immersed themselves in the land, they saw the bigger picture—they were observers of the natural world order. They came to understand that land had existed long before humans roamed, and it would exist long after they died.

Take away all the nonsense that consumes people today—the pecking orders of society, the need for wealth and power—and let Mother Nature control the rest.

If the world is a cruel place, let it be at the making of her hands. If protection of the youth is a concern, let the concern be raised by the dangers of animals or weather. Mark and Sara sought the need for isolation from the hand of man, not the hand of God, with hopes of a better future for their children to come, a future free of the cruelties they experienced growing up.