It's Always Sunny

A short story about an outdoor adventure with a slight Cinderella twist.

It’s Always Sunny

Spring has sprung, and it was finally time for Hannah Baker to get back on the AppalachianTrail. On the first day of her first hike almost exactly a year ago, the rain was pelting her so hard it stung. She and a group of experienced hikers huddled together in a shelter, soaked and shivering. Despite the nasty weather, Hannah kept on smiling her weird, awkward, cheery smile, even as the fierce wind and frigid deluge lashed at them. That's when she was anointed with her trail name, Sunny. It’s tradition, they told her. All new hikers have to have a nickname. 

She didn’t want to seem like the amateur that she was, so she left before the storm subsided just to get ahead of the group. Instead, she ended up on her rear, caked in mud, after sliding down a sloppy hillside. The group eventually found her and helped her to safety. She certainly didn’t feel sunny anymore. She didn’t finish the hike and she vowed never to return to the trail as long as she lived. 

But she changed her mind completely. She read numerous memoirs, watched documentaries, and prepared herself by hiking every weekend at different areas and terrain around her home. The dream of becoming one of those “through hikers” - the ones who go from start to finish without stopping, the kind who hike from Georgia to Maine over a few straight months - took hold of her. 

She wanted the whole experience. 

All of her friends turned her down when she asked them to join her, claiming, I can't, I'm busy or I'm not able to get the time off of work. That's code for I’m afraid to be in the middle of the woods with lions and tigers and strangers and who knows what else. She didn’t prefer to go by herself, especially through some of the more treacherous areas, yet she wasn’t going to miss out on this amazing attempt and the chance to redeem herself. 

Sunny had something to prove, not just to herself, but especially to her evil stepfather who didn’t believe girls - women - were equal to men. Even though she graduated at the top of her class in high school, received her college degree with honors, and had a fancy high-paying corporate job downtown, it wasn’t good enough. Nothing compares to his perfect son, who can make no mistakes. Although Sunny didn’t grow up with him, and she has never actually met him face to face, she feels that she’s always been in competition with him, and always ends up in last place. 

Sunny thought back on a time when her stepfather made her wear dresses, black patent leather shoes, and colorful bows in her hair. Every. Day. She hated it. That uncomfortable feeling of not knowing if, or when, a boy would try to flip up her skirt and leave her exposed, embarrassed. He would often tell her that girls should be seen and not heard, and that women aren’t capable of doing anything but cooking and cleaning. And that was just the tip of the iceberg. If her mother hadn't passed away from cancer, things might have been different. Very different. It’s been almost a decade now, and Sunny is by far an adult, but it’s hard to forget and forgive. 

She was more than halfway through her trek as she continued on one of the toughest stretches of the trail in Northern Pennsylvania. For over two hundred miles, it’s considered the rockiest part of the Appalachian Trail. At first it’s breathtaking, but most are fooled by the small pointy rocks that appear at their feet, ones that bust boots and bruise soles. Beyond that are much larger rocks just waiting for the right opportunity to grab an ankle and roll it, like some kind of troll hiding in the bushes ready to take you down. Further along are giant boulders that are at first entertaining, until they become exhausting to climb. 

At the peak of the first treacherous traipse, Sunny took out her earbuds to enjoy the silence. It’s so quiet that she could hear her own heartbeat echoing throughout the peaks and valleys. This is what heaven must be like. The air is thin, and the sky is an endless, deep azure as far as the eye can see. She could taste the sap of the pines reaching out their branches like fingers, as if to grab the nutrients right out of the atmosphere. The aroma of flora and fauna penetrated her nostrils, a new sensation for her, as if down below, her nose is confused by smell pollution. Is there even such a thing? Thousands of feet up, is the freedom to breathe, rather than being suffocated by thick, greasy, grimy air pumping from fast food restaurants, factories, or truck exhausts. 

She closed her eyes and allowed nature to hold her for a while, until she was interrupted by some type of bird she’s never heard before. 

Heeeeelp! Heeeeeelp! 

Was it a turkey vulture? An eagle? Maybe a little catbird, they tend to make a very loud screech that sounds like a human baby crying. 

Heeelp! 

She heard it again. No way. It can’t be. 

Sunny tiptoed down the nearest offshoot, being careful not to lose her footing on the loose sediment and tumble down a massive cliff. She held on to some sturdy saplings and noticed a lonesome hiking boot half hidden in a cluster of ivy, the toe pointing toward a steep hill as if to say down here!

She picked up the boot, fairly clean and definitely expensive, nothing like the ones she was hiking in. 

“Hello? Anybody down there?” Sunny yelled. Her words echoed back to her. 

“Heeeeeeelp!” The voice returned a reply. 

“I’m coming!” 

Sunny looked in all directions to recruit more help, but nobody was around. What are the chances? She hadn’t passed anybody for miles, and there weren’t many names in the journals yet. It was still early in the year to be on the trail, but you gotta go when you gotta go. 

She tied the boot to her backpack. It didn’t add much weight, and she needed her hands free to grab onto roots and branches to get to whoever was down the hill yelling for help. 

She had been descending for almost five minutes around sharp, slippery, gravely rocks and probably a few rattlesnakes, before she realized nobody was there. Not another human in sight. 

That’s odd. 

She could swear she heard a human cry for help. 

And the boot? Who can hike in only one boot?

There were no signs of anybody in distress, no rocks sliding, no branches crashing. Suddenly, a redtail hawk caught her attention and her focus shifted up to the beautiful view from where she stood. She pulled out her camera. The sky was radiant and clear. Not a cloud to be seen, no fog or haze. Just crystal beauty for hundreds of miles. Looking through her lens with a filter was great, although nature is breathtaking all on its own. 

There were no more screams for help. Maybe she was hallucinating from the altitude. She trudged back to the main path carefully, with expert foot placement. She had to, her life depended on it. She looked around one more time before heading off, boot in tow. 

Sunny had planned to hike fifteen miles that day, enough to wear her out and get to the next waypoint. The sun was sinking quickly and dusk was settling in, even the robins and wrens were tucked in for the remainder of the night. A shelter, a hot shower, a bed, and some food kept her motivated to move a little faster. She wanted to run the rest of the way down the mountain, but she knew better. 

When she got to the hostel, her feet were throbbing, her mouth was dry, and her stomach was growling. She plopped her pack onto the floor, the weight of the world unloaded from her shoulders and back. It’s this feeling of satisfaction that gets her adrenaline pumping for more. She took a seat at the large oak table in the center of the rustic shelter run by locals, which most hikers call trail angels. This was more of an inn than a hostel, it was clean, cozy, and spacious. 

Eva, one of the trail angels, placed a bowl of steaming hot chicken noodle soup in front of Sunny, then whispered in her ear. “Eat up my dear, you are going to need it.”

Going to? I DO need it. 

“There is something you must do, somebody you must help. Eat, eat.” 

Desperate for nourishment, Sunny slurped up the salty broth, savoring each bite of homemade noodles, savory chicken, and sweet carrots. Mushy or not, it hit the spot. Hunger is no joke when you are pushing your body to do something it doesn’t normally do. Once Sunny was finished, Eva quickly took the bowl away and handed her a pair of gloves, an ankle wrap, an ice pack, and a headlamp.

“You are going to need these. Hurry! Up the hill you go!”

Eva directed Sunny back outside into the navy blue night. The sun had disappeared completely and wouldn’t return for half a day. She traversed up the trail once again, still thoroughly confused about her mission, until she heard that familiar sound again. 

“Heeeeeelp”

Aren’t all the birds sleeping for the night? 

Sunny continued while listening for the direction of the call. 

Is this what Eva was talking about? I need to help somebody? 

Further up the rocky path, the same way she came down, Sunny’s headlamp illuminated what appeared to be a bare foot sticking out of some brush. The rustling became louder, as did the call for help.

“Heeeeeelp me!”

Sunny ran over to the stranded hiker, who happened to be missing a boot from the left foot, the ankle bruised and swollen. 

“Hey! Hey, over here! I think I twisted my ankle,” a male voice said. 

“Hi, I’m Sunny. Let me look at it,” Sunny said as she reached for his leg.

“Ouch! No, don't touch it!” He said 

“What’s your name?” Sunny tried to distract him. 

“Maverick…”

“Maverick? What, your mother doesn't like you or something?” she asked. 

“Ha, ha funny. It’s my trail name. Don’t ask! My real name is Chad.”

Chad? She knows a Chad...

Sunny was curious now, but she didn’t let it show. Her stepbrother’s name is Chad, but she didn’t believe in coincidences. 

“Chad Owen,” he finished. 

Sunny couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Is this THE Chad? Son of her stepfather? THE one and only can-do-no-wrong perfect son?

 Well, she couldn’t just leave him there…

“Okay, Chad, here’s what we’re gonna do...”

Sunny realized why Eva the trail angel - more like fairy godmother -  had given her the specific items she was still squeezing in her hand. She wrapped Chad’s ankle with care in a neat, compact and tidy bundle. She secured it with pins and smiled at herself proudly. It looked as if a professional had done it. 

“Now, we stand you up and we get you down to the hostel.” She braced her hands around his upper arm in an attempt to lift him off the ground.  

“Ha! There’s no way you can help me up!” Chad said. 

“Okay then, bye!” She waved and started waking away from him. 

“No! Come back, I’m sorry, it’s just…”

Sunny came back and helped him stand up. 

“It’s embarrassing, what happened. My friends thought I was joking and they all left me here. I thought they’d come back for me,” Chad explained. 

“They obviously didn’t,” he finished. 

“Alright, upsy-daisy!” Sunny helped him stand up and allowed him to put his arm around her neck for added support. 

She hoped he couldn’t see the smirk on her face. 

Together they hobbled down the path, stopping enough to catch their breath or chug some water. They even managed to laugh a few times. She got them both back to the shelter safely. Chad found the last available bed and sunk into it after carefully elevating his leg on some couch cushions. Sunny, too exhausted to fight for a place to sleep, took a seat at the table and pulled a small blanket out from her pack. She stuffed it under her head and fell into much needed slumber.  

The sensation of drool trickling out of the corner of her mouth woke Sunny up from a deep sleep. She had been out for hours, and according to the silly cat clock on the wall it was time to get back at it again. After clearing away little crusties from her eyes and putting the world into focus again, she checked on Chad, careful not to startle him. His face was covered by an arm, a key sign of do not disturb. His boots were neatly sitting at the foot of the bed where she had left them, a happy pair again. There was no way Chad could continue, at least not for a few days. 

Before leaving, Sunny hugged Eva and thanked her for pointing her in the right direction. She also wrote a note in the traveler’s log that sat on the mantle over the fireplace, another tradition. 

Maverick, it was really nice to finally meet you. Maybe someday we will cross paths again. Be sure to tell dad I said hi. -HB

Sunny intentionally signed her entry with the initials of her birth name, Hannah Baker, hoping that Chad would recognize who she was. 

Sunny grabbed her pack, threw her arms into each loop and strapped it snugly onto her hips and chest. She was ready to tackle the rest of “Rocksylvania” and would never again doubt herself or her intuition. She made a note in her own journal before stuffing it away for the next milestone -

On the trail, you reveal what you want to reveal and you choose who you want to be. Yesterday, I chose to be a helper, a rescuer. When I get back home, I might even quit my job and try a new profession, one that is meaningful, fulfilling, and a true service to society. Strength, confidence, and resilience. That’s what I choose from now on. 

Author's Note

I wrote this story for a contest for an online literary journal for new writers, in which I didn't win, out of 3 pieces to vote on. No feedback was given (which I was aware none would be given) and my friends all seemed to have good things to say about it. (I didn't tell them which one was mine, I told them to pick the best - they all knew which one was mine, and told me what they loved about it, so it's good to know I have a voice.) Needless to say, I was very disappointed. I'd love some feedback from this talented group if possible. If not, that's ok, too! I'm just trying to wrap my head around the rejection, I guess. Thank you!