A Secret Place

Day 16 of the 30 Day Writing Challenge

A Secret Place

                Cold steel clanged through the forest in no particular hurry. The train stretched far into the distance, through miles of dense forest. Not a living thing could be seen on board except one man. He was propped up against a stack of boxes loaded with cargo. Jeans streaked with grime and beat up gym shoes stretched out before him. A t-shirt clung to his limp figure. His face was worn and tattered. His chin was littered with grayish white stubble. The man was completely relaxed and nearly motionless. Beside him lay a dirty red backpack. At some point, unremarkable to all but him, the man stood up, grabbed his backpack and jumped off of the train. He landed lightly on the ground and headed into the forest.

 

                He walked silently and with purpose. After a while, he came to a small clearing with a fire pit, a fallen log, and a small tent. It wasn’t much, but the man was home. He sat down on the log and opened his backpack. After removing a can of beans and a crude tool of his own design, he set to work opening the can. When it was about to pop open, the man stopped. There was an unfamiliar sound. Slowly, the man lowered his can, and carefully stood up. He stepped silently toward the sound, and listened. A branch cracking here, a leaf rustling there, the sounds were getting closer. The old man peered into the woods. It had been quite some time since anyone else had happened by this place. Most of the time when people saw him, they just looked away. And then he saw him. A young boy covered in dirt, slowly making his way through the forest. The boy was thin and tired. The man enjoyed the solitude of the forest, but realized there was only one thing to do.

                “Hey, you there,” the old man called.

                The boy jumped. He hadn’t seen the man. “Hey,” said the boy nervously.

                 The man looked around. The boy was all alone. “I have some beans,” the man offered. “You’re welcome to have some, if you want.”

                “Beans,” the boy said. “I don’t like them.”

                “Well, that’s what I’ve got,” the man replied. “Take it or leave it.”

                “Ok,” the boy responded. “My name is Kevin.”

                “I’m Horace,” the old man replied, as they walked back to his secret place in the forest. It was the first of many happy meals the pair shared together over the years.