Monday Sparks — Writing Prompts: What’s the Mystery?

What’s the mystery about this quaint photo? The scene looks so peaceful. An elderly man reading a book on the porch of his small cabin. With a rifle across this knees. Things can’t be as peaceful as they seem. Here’s my opening. I’d love to hear yours.

I trudged up the dirt and spotted a man sitting on the front porch of his cabin, reading, a rifle balanced on his knees.

I stopped. Most people kept a cup of coffee or tea close by when they read. Not a gun.

The man looked up from his book, scanned me from head to toe, and then smiled. “Need help?”

“Yes. My car broke down, and I can’t get reception. Do you have a phone with a land line?”

“Only kind of phone that works around here. C’mon in.”

I thanked him and walked onto the porch.

As I pulled open the screen door, a large SUV ground up the road and parked in front the cabin.

The man set aside his book. Any trace of a smile gone, he swiveled the rifle toward the vehicle as a tall man slammed the driver’s door.