Dying Embers

In the end it didn’t matter. Her relationship was over. Peter had found someone else, someone better. Four years of a loving and faithful relationship down the drain. She couldn’t get those images out of her head: Peter up against the bar-counter talking to that perky little blonde making her smile and laugh and kissing her. Tracey had witnessed it all from only a few feet away. Of course he tried to tell her it meant nothing and that he was too drunk to even realize it wasn’t her, but she didn’t believe him. In fact, he didn’t even know Tracey was at the bar that night. But regardless, he was caught red-handed and now the past four years of her life were a waste.

            This is what she needed though, she needed to get away. Tracey was driving home from work, while she was talking on her cell phone, “Yes, I would like to reserve a campsite for this weekend.”

            There was a moment as the clerk on the other line asked her a question, Tracey responded, “Yes, just me. Only one this weekend,” Tracey gave a quick “thanks” to the clerk and hung up her phone as she pulled her Audi into her driveway. She got out of the car and crossed her driveway to her mailbox. She got her mail and proceeded into her Colonial house. Tracey put down her coat and purse and walked into her bedroom. She made her way over to her nightstand to re-set her alarm for the next morning and there it was: the ring.

            Peter had proposed only two weeks before the night at the bar. The ring was beautiful; a one karat princess cut diamond set in an eighteen-karat gold ring. She placed it back on her finger and admired it once again. As she looked at it, tears began to well in her eyes. She quickly removed it and placed it back on the nightstand. She couldn’t wait for Friday night. Two days in the woods surrounded by nothing but wilderness was just what she needed to move on from him. She closed her eyes for a moment and imagined the beautiful pink and blue sky as the sun was setting behind the tall pine trees. She could hear the songs of the birds and the rustle of the leaves on the trees when a small breeze would come through. She loved it at the campsite; Tracey would always take a ride out there when she felt she needed to get away whether it was caused by her dysfunctional family, or stress from work, and now Peter.

            The next day at work seemed longer than usual. The minutes seemed to feel like hours. At around 2:30, her cell phone rang. It was Peter. His smiling face popped up on her iPhone’s screen. She remembered the day that picture was taken. It was in January after a snowstorm. He came over to shovel her driveway and he built her a snowman. But that was almost seven months ago now. She hit ignore on her cell phone and it immediately stopped vibrating.

            A few second passed and her phone lit up again, this time notifying her she had a voicemail and from whom else but Peter. She didn’t even listen to it; she unlocked her phone and deleted the message. There were only two more hours until 4:30 when she could go home. She was, surprisingly, able to focus on her work.

            At 4:35 on Friday afternoon Tracey left the office and headed to her car. She had packed everything she would need the night before prior to going to bed. When she arrived at her car, she stopped and looked for a moment and chuckled to herself. Her car reminded her of those college move-in days when her 1997 Toyota Camry was packed to its fullest carrying everything she “needed” in her dorm room.

            She got into her car and drove out of the parking lot.

            She arrived at the campsite around six. I made good time she thought to herself as she began to unpack her vehicle. She pitched her tent and unrolled her sleeping bag. An hour later, she came back with some fire wood and made herself a warm fire where she would cook her food for the next two days.

            Tracey sat down on a log near the fire and looked around. The sun was setting and the sky was that blue-pink color she thought about earlier in the week. She heard the birds chirp and the wind rustle the leaves. She took a deep breath, taking in the smell of nature. She was in her paradise.

            “Perfect.” She said to herself and she smiled a little bit to herself. She was right; a trip to the campground was just what she needed after her break up with Peter. The day turned into dusk and dusk into night. Her roaring fire now provided the only light around her tent. It didn’t faze her though; she was used to being surrounded by a wooded area with only firelight to see.

            Suddenly, there was a noise, a tree branch cracked and the leaves crunched. Tracey stood up, “Who’s there?!” there was no response. She asked again, “Who’s out there?!” Still nothing. Another tree branch snapped under the weight of something�"or someone.

            Tracey moved towards the sound and spoke louder this time, “Is any one there?” There was a moment and then more leaves crunched and a tall man stepped out. His eyes were pale blue, his hair dark blonde. Behind his the scruff of his beard Tracey could tell he was in mid-twenties.

            “Hello, there. I’m sorry I frightened you,” the man said in a deep voice. “You see,” he continued, “I took a wrong turn when I went out trying to find some fire wood and I can’t seem to find my way back.” He stepped towards her. Tracey stepped back.

            “I’m sorry to hear that. Would you like some water…” her voice trailed as though she would have said his name.

            “Matt. Matt Palmer,” the tall fellow said. “And yes, I would.”

            Tracey made her way over to her small cooler, opened it and grabbed a water bottle. She tossed one to Matt. They both sat down on a log near the fire. Matt took a swallow from the bottle, “So you know my name, what’s yours?”

            “Tracey Campbell,” she said not making eye contact. She thought Matt was attractive. She couldn’t look at him because if she did, she would blush and she didn’t want that to happen. Tracey had a thing for guys with blue eyes and Matt’s two day old shave job was only adding to the fire.

            “What is a pretty girl like you doing out here all alone? Is your boyfriend in the woods somewhere?” Matt said, staring off into the distance.

            “Actually, there isn’t a boyfriend. Not that it’s any of your business.” Tracey retorted this time looking at him. She couldn’t take her eyes off those ice blue eyes. She could feel her face warming, she knew she was blushing. Suddenly, though, she didn’t care. She liked him and he seemed to like her too.

            “Wow, that’s surprising.”

            “What about you? Are you here with anyone?”

            “Nope,” Matt said with a smile, “I come out here almost every weekend during the season just to get away. I’m a writer, so I find inspiration out here.”

            “A writer?” Tracey loved guys who were into the arts whether it was painting, writing, music, even theater.

            Matt nodded. He stood up, “Well, Tracey. It was nice meeting you. Thanks for the water.” He began to walk away when Tracey suddenly stood up.

            “Wait!” Matt stopped and turned back around to face her, “Would it be totally weird for me to ask you for your number?”

            Matt chuckled and walked back over to the log. The two exchanged contact information and Matt ended up staying another hour and half before heading back to his camp. They talked about Matt’s writing career and Tracey’s job at the accounting firm. Matt asked about her favorite things to do and they seem to have a lot in common. He was kind and smart and not to mention had the built of an athlete. She could no longer hide it, she was definitely into him.

            Soon after Matt left for his own campsite, Tracey settled down in her sleeping bag. Her fire was dying, which was fine because it was a warm night. She looked up at the stars in the sky and admired them for quite a while. She hadn’t realized it until now, but Peter hadn’t even crossed her mind since she left work that afternoon. That had to be, what? Six hours ago now. Tracey stared up at the glistening stars until she nodded off to sleep with a smile on her face.

            “Tracey, Tracey…are you awake?” she heard a voice say as she was coming out of her dreamlike state. She sat up in her sleeping and looked around.

            “What?” she rubbed her eyes and saw Matt standing before her, she smiled instantly, “What time is it?” she asked as she yawned.

            “Almost nine. Here, I made breakfast.” Matt answered as Tracey got up and walked over to the picnic table that was filled with eggs, sausage, toast, orange juice, and even coffee. Matt sat down on one side, Tracey opposite him. He looked at her for a long moment as she spooned some scrambled eggs onto her plate.

            “What?” she asked playfully.

            “You’re just so beautiful. I can’t believe we’re together,” Matt took a bite of his toast, but not without removing his gaze.

            “And to think we met here, at this spot, almost five years ago,” They leaned into one another and kissed.

            “Trace, I love you so much. I don’t know what I would do without you in my life. You’re perfect, you’re everything I could have asked for in a woman,” he stood up, reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black box. He opened it, inside was a beautiful ring, “Will you do the honor of being my wife?” he asked as he took her hand and placed the ring on her finger.

            Tracey began to cry and said nodding, “Yes, a thousand times yes.”

            Matt stood and picked her up into his arms and they shared a passionate kiss. Her life was perfect everything was just the way she wanted it. She was getting married to a guy who loved her and she knew she would finally have her happy ever after she had always wanted from such a young age. There was nothing more she could ask for.

            Tracey felt something wet fall onto her face, it made her twitch, and then it happened again, this time a larger wet object. More and more raindrops fell onto her face. She shook them off and opened her eyes. She looked around and she was alone in the rain. She looked down at her hand and there was no diamond ring on her finger.

            “It was only a dream,” she said. She was pretty wet from the increasingly heavy rains so she climbed into her tent and zipped up the opening. Tracey pulled out her phone and checked the time; it read 8:00 the next day. She shrugged a little bit and unlocked her phone. She pulled up her contact list and found Matt’s name.  

            She was conflicted. Should I send him a text? Is it too soon? She didn’t know what to do. Guys always contacted her first after meeting but then again it was still early and it hadn’t even been twelve hours since he left her campsite. Maybe she was rushing into this. She set her phone down beside her as the rains continued to get heavier and heavier outside her tent.

            At around noon that day the rains stopped. Tracey passed the time by reading a book. When the sun came out, she made herself something to eat and set out into the woods again to locate more fire wood for the night. Tracey was only about three hundred feet from her campsite when she spotted Matt.

            “Hey!” she called out to him as she began to walk towards him.

            Matt looked up and smiled, “Hey you. How goes it?” he said with a smile. “Did you survive the storm all right?” he asked as he picked up a tree branch that had fallen onto the ground probably from the storm.

            “I survived. You?”

            Matt just shrugged it off, “I’m used to it. I love when it gets stormy. It makes me feel closer to nature, you know, being in the middle of the elements and all.”

            “Oh, you must really like it out here then.”

            “Like I said, I’m out here almost every weekend,” Matt replied. He grabbed another branch and handed it Tracey, “Well, Tracey, I’ll see you around.” He flashed a smile and walked away.

            Once Matt was out of sight, Tracey began gathering her firewood and the headed back to camp. She grabbed a bottle of water from her cooler when her phone went off. She immediately grabbed it and looked at the cause of the alert. It was a text message from Peter.

            “D****t!” she exclaimed. Peter hadn’t even crossed her mind that day until now. She read the message “Can you give me a call when you get a chance?” She didn’t even respond. Tracey tucked her phone into her pocket again and picked up the novel she was now mid-way through and read.

            The day turned into night and there was no sign of Matthew. It eventually became too late for Tracey to stay awake so she climbed into her sleeping bag and fell asleep. The next morning, Tracey woke up and again debated on texting Matt. They had seen each other twice now and no texts or phone calls. He seemed interested and she was interested in him. Maybe he doesn’t believe in electronics while he’s out here, she thought to herself. She decided to just put it beside her. She had one more day out here and regardless of what happened between her and Matt one thing was for sure, he helped her forget about Peter even it was just for a little while.

            Soon 2:30 rolled around. Tracey decided to venture out into the woods one last time in hopes of seeing Matt again. She crossed the small stream and headed west to where she had seen him collecting firewood the previous day. But nothing, there was no sign of him.

            Tracey decided to head back to camp and start getting ready to head home. She made herself a small fire to keep warm as the day turned into night. She would put it out before leaving. She rolled up her sleeping bag and broke down her tent. She piled everything into the back of car just like she had Thursday night before heading out for her weekend of solitude.

            It was now eight. Tracey decided she should head home. She double checked her stuff to make sure everything was there. It was, so she got into the driver’s seat and drove off.

            Just then Matt came out of the forest one last time. He watched her drive away; he followed the car’s path with his eyes until it her car was out of sight. He looked down at the small fire that was still holding out in the fire pit. After a moment, he disappeared into thin air, leaving behind nothing but a cloud of gray-black smoke.

 

THE END

Author's Note

Reviews welcome!