The Traveler

 

Such a clear morning keeps the temperature low and though the sun is streaming through the branches of nearby trees, there is no warmth. Surviving on internal heat alone, he is not surprised that the thin boned kid has not said a word when out of the blue the scent on the breeze changes to being a rich musty smell of rotting wood. Adding to this is Lilly falling off in taking the time to read the posted sign that has her telling him, “It was just last year that we had our company picnic here in this tiny little town. Up about a mile or so is the entrance to the park that at the time had lemonade coming out of the faucets. Man, I’m telling you, there was hamburgers and hotdogs galore, had all the relish and sides too. Live music, plus a beer garden for the adults, you know, the works. Nice sunny day, too. Man, good times.” Looking off in that whimsical way, Lilly shrugs her shoulders before she looks over to him and says, “Pretty sure those days are gone.” Nothing to add, without a word, he gets to walking while Lilly does her best to keep up with him.

Not long after, he sees a fly and not liking it so much that the girl named Lilly has fallen behind, what strikes him is imagining Izzo glaring at him with her arms crossed. After exhaling slowly through pursed lips, he half turns in waiting for the girl Lilly to catch up.

Once close to him, Lilly stops short. “What?”

Not sure how Lilly is going to react, he keeps his lips closed as he points out the dense cloud of fly. Following along the length of his arm, a fraction after jumping off, she is hit with the stench of rotting carcass that has her crying out, “Oh s**t!” Off the road she goes, and fighting her way through chest high grass, there is no fear in Lilly’s step as love is fierce. So is loss, and with this in mind, he changes his view by looking to the flat land pockmarked with withered trees whose limbs house not even a crow. Far from a postcard moment, he grows restless and after taking a few steps forward, he walks back and after looking out, he sees Lilly returning. Drawing to a stop, he watches her climb over the barrier and once she is by his side, he can see that she is visibly shaken and when their eyes meet, Lilly says to him, “Worked the poor thing to death.” Pausing a moment, she adds, “Gives reason why those three took mine.” Lilly wants her anchor, that needed weight that helps her stay in place. He gets that and starts walking slowly as if Izzo was by his side. Quiet is the time now, the passive approach of healing from the inside out has him sorting through the categories in discarding everything irrelevant when he sees a huge billboard welcoming all to The Woods.

An odd name for a town, the girl Lilly points to a moss covered building that has her telling him in a low voice, “That’s the administration office. If you wanted to stay here, that was your first stop.” Taking this as being old news is better than no news, the scenic view of nothing to be seen gets interrupted when the girl Lilly goes to exclaiming, “See that big tree over there, that used to be where us kids would hang out at night. Had fun we did.” That said, onward the two go and with him liking that it is beginning to warm, once around a slight curve both he and Lilly see the tree lying across the road.

“Stay next to me.” Quick she is. “Stop walking so fast then.”