On the western side of the town where I live and work there is an area which was once considered very desirable.

I will call this area Shepherd’s Park as today it does not really have a name. It is still full of Victorian houses many of which can be seen from the main road that leads out of the town.

However for the last thirty years or so this area has slowly decayed. The once proud houses have been populated by people who do not love them and because of this they have become faded and in some cases have died.

My niece Jo-Jo-Jo likens this to the tragedy of a once beautiful woman ravaged by a terrible disease.

For the last six months my niece has been in hospital with an undiagnosed condition which initially appeared to be a wasting disease.

I populated her room with the sketches of famous architects and purchased many books on architecture but she did not respond and just stared at me with those hollow brown eyes.

Two weeks ago I witnessed a fatal accident as I returned from the hospital which is on the edge of Shepherd’s Park. A cyclist lit up like a seasonal tree for some reason turned into the path of a bus and was killed.

In my statement to the police I noted that I thought he had become confused with our road systems and had made his fatal mistake because of this.

The following day I received a call from the doctor who was treating my niece noting that she was now responding to treatment.

Although this is rather farfetched I consider that the improvement to my niece’s heath was connected to the death of the cyclist who I later learnt was a resident of Shepherd’s Park.

He had lived in a once proud Victorian house which had been converted into a number of scruffy flats.

I also noticed that when passing the house that it looked much much happier and I have made my niece aware of this.

After careful consideration I have decided that should my niece’s illness return again that I will kill a resident of Shepherd’s Park who does not respect or love the house in which he lives.

As the result of the bombing of the town during World War Two there was a golden opportunity to return the devastated areas to parkland. But this did not happen and ugly and obscure buildings were erected without love and faceless people began to inhabit them.

This was when the area began its decline.

Whilst on the subjects of parks I used to spend as much time as possible walking in these open spaces. I listened to the trees and the grasses breathe and watched the animals live without fear.

But this has changed now and these once happy areas are now frequented by criminals and whores who hide in the shadows where children used to play.

I was attacked last year and my wallet was stolen whilst strolling in my favorite park.

I have since killed my attacker by drowning him in what was left of  a ornamental pond. This killing had no effect on the health of my niece as I imagine that my attacker came from another town.

Jo-Jo-Jo who is now getting back to full health often accompanies me as we walked around the town looking for houses to love. We quite frequently spend time in the Shepherd’s Park area studying the houses and villas.

We ask the inhabitants of these residences to love and respect them more and are usually met by the hostile words of a distant tongue.

Jo-Jo-Jo is aware of how the killing of one of these faceless people benefits her health and often kills the person without love with a hat pin that she carries with her at all times.

Although in improving health like my niece I have not fully recovered from the injuries I received when I was attacked last year and am thinking about retiring from my post of a Modern Town Planner.