Olifina: Love And Trouble

10. Shadows On The Mountain

I joined Oliver at the front porch at exactly thirty minutes past six. We passed through the shorter route but didn't resume at our usual location. Oliver took me further to another spot.

It was already seven o’clock when we got there. Sitting down beside Oliver, I tried to listen to what he was saying despite the noise of the creatures that lurk at night.

"So if your dad has company, there's a route we can follow out of here in case you don't want him to see you yet."

I used the binoculars to scan the area every once in a while. A mosquito hummed past me. Another one followed and yet another until they formed a choir around my head. I waved in the air furiously, trying to chase them away. Oliverio seemed unfazed by their disturbance. He had his full attention on watching the area, only waving in the air a few times.

I kept my eyes peeled all through the night, stifling the sleep that threatened to win me over. The moon was bright so it was easier for us to watch the area from where we were behind the bushes. At one o’clock the next morning, a shadow passed by.

I wanted to stand and check who it was but Oliver stopped me. He placed a finger on his lips signaling for me to be quiet and follow him.

He stood up and moved with the stealth of a cat. I followed him, trying to be as quiet as possible.

We stopped at another spot where we could catch a glimpse of the shadow disappearing among the bushes. Afterwards, we went back to our former spot and picked up our belongings.

"Let's try to be as quiet as possible. We don't know if they are close," he whispered and I nodded. n

We quietly walked back to the house. Due to how exhausted and sleepy we were, we went our different ways, leaving the discussion for the next morning.

                                            * * *
It's day four of our search. I woke up at midday and freshened up before going downstairs. I took my plate of rancher eggs and corn tortillas and sat at the table to eat. Oliver came into the dining area to take some water.

"You haven’t told me about yesterday," I said to him and he turned in my direction.

"Yeah, about yesterday, although the place was dark, I could figure out two persons in the distance."

I shot up a glance at him. "Two?" I asked, and he nods. "What genders? Was there a man?"

Oliver shook his head, "I can’t tell… The second person was more hidden from sight than the first."

"But you’re sure the first is a man."

"I'm hundred percent sure."

"How did he look? Can you describe him a bit?" I asked eagerly.

"He was significantly taller than the second person walking with him. He is big, but not fat. I’d say... he’s huge. And…. He had straight legs, that's all I can say."

I listened to him intently as he spoke, but I couldn’t get any significant thing from what he said. Dad had those features; He was tall, a little bit huge, and had straight legs, but anyone could have those features.

"I can’t tell by your description if the person you saw was my dad or not. I’ll have a look myself, today."

Oliver shrugged. "But I’ll have to look for new routes and hideouts for us."

"Why?"

"So we can see where they're coming from and stay in a position where we can see their faces without them knowing."