Wild Avalon

8

I woke up the next morning not well rested. I had tossed and turned the entire night. Unable to fall into a deep sleep while my mind went wild, my mother's words echoed over and over in my mind. Wondering what Aaron could have told mom. Or had she even spoken to him? I didn't have enough time before the call quit. I wasn't ready to remember all the details. I needed more information and time, a chance to consider all the different sides. I always wanted to understand things.

My mind had raced the entire night. Unable to quit mulling the details of the call over and over. Until nothing made any sense anymore from overthinking. How much more did she know. I hated not knowing all the information.  I tried to call mom again.  The satphone wouldn't connect. What was the point of paying for it if it didn't do the one thing it was supposed to do and make sure I had communication available.

I had decided on one thing as I crankily washed my face in the morning with cold brook water. If Aaron's mate had died, it wouldn't change anything for me. Or why he was on the run, that made no sense at all to me. Aaron would never hurt anyone. If his mate died, it had to have been an accident. Something tragic and sudden. My life no longer went around his. 

I had one not nightmare dream while I tried to sleep. Aaron had come back to me. We were in the small apartment we had shared for years, in bed together. A dream indistinguishable from countless real nights we had shared together. My small frame caged under his body. Where I used to feel safe and loved. Waiting for him to fill my slick pussy with his cock, to make me feel so good, so full of him. 

Except as I looked up into his eyes in the dream. It was suddenly very different from a memory; Everything felt wrong. I didn't want him. I didn't want him touching me. What used to feel so wonderful before now felt dirty, tainted. This was wrong.

Aaron wasn't mine. I didn't love him anymore. We would never be together again. The ache in my heart was dull now. Barely noticeable. My shattered broken heart working so hard to pull itself back together. I had loved him once. I loved me much more.

I was eager to get started on today's hike. Hoping if I kept my body physically busy, it would help keep my mind distracted. Perhaps the phone would work better at a higher elevation too. I had cold breakfast and hastily took down my tent. Getting started earlier than most mornings. The sun still low in the sky as grasshoppers jumped out of my way. Dew dropping like rain to the ground as I moved through the grasses. The air was heavy and humid again. Oppressively pressing down on me. Making me certain it would rain again today.

The uneasy feeling that had prompted me to call my mother in the first place was still there. Now I could ascribe it to my mother's worry coloring my heart. We always had a strong mother daughter bond, this wouldn't be the first time her worries infected me. It was impressive considering the distance between us. Then again, maybe it wasn't. I had been raised in her anxieties. The feeling was very much like how things had felt after dad took off. Like there was a wrongness in the air itself.

Doing my best to ignore the feelings I was now pretty sure weren't my own I pushed my body to move faster over the terrain. Barely even pausing to admire the beautiful vistas around me. Noon found me cresting the peak of a comparatively small hill. giving me an excellent view of the wider land around me. Under a clear an open sky, I tried the phone again. Same as before it was like the device couldn't connect. I had been pretty thorough in my research, it should work over all the area I was hiking in without a problem. I would try one more time, if it still didn't work I was going write a very upset review and email over the poor service.

There were mountains along all sides except ahead of me. A beautiful sign from mother nature. My chosen path straight ahead was clear, with sunshine lighting the way. Every other direction right now showed dark clouds moving over the distant peaks. It was raining so hard over two of the mountains that I could literally see the water pouring from the sky in sheets. Watched the patterns of the wind as it stirred eddies and mist free from the main bulk of the storm. Lightning lit up the bottom of the clouds long before the rumbling thunder reached my ears.

Message received, mother nature. Behind me are storms and darkness. Ahead of me are brighter, clearer times. Feeling certain in myself I had a quick lunch without bothering to light a fire to heat anything before setting off down the opposite side of the peak I had just climbed. Singing little tunes to myself as I moved swiftly over the easy downhill terrain.

I was in a river valley now, I wanted to reach higher ground as quickly as I could. In case the rain behind me caught up. The thunder continued to roll and crash even if I could no longer see the storm. Thanks to high rock and mountain walls of the valley making the thunder echo I couldn't clearly tell what direction the storm was moving.

My path became rougher, a steep granite walls began to close in around me as I followed the brook. Using the path water had ground down over millions of years as it wove through the land searching for the sea.

I even had to use some of my rudimentary climbing gear to get over some walls of stone when the brook ended in a pool. The lines of currents on the surface letting me know the brook continued under the rocks and would surely emerge from the underground again on the other side. I said a quick prayer every time I had to trust my weight to an anchor I had set myself. I knew what to do, but I had never climbed alone before. My experience had been limited to indoor climbing walls before today. I had never been prouder than when I rolled my body over the stop of the sheer wall of rock. Laying on my back looking up at the blue sky with a smile as I caught my breath.

After my climb I was briefly on higher ground, full of confidence from another accomplishment. The thunder was still echoing, sounding from all directions. My path brought me lower once again. About an hour before I was scheduled to make camp. I found where my stream rejoined the world of sunlight. A fresh spring gushing out in a waterfall down some rocks, feeding the new tributary.

The air was still and warm, the grass lush and verdant underfoot. The purified spring water was cool and refreshing as I filled my water bottle. Ducking my head under the waterfall until I felt brain freeze start to creep in. Freshly cooled and hydrated,I continued to follow the trail I was blazing. Eager to make camp and rest after another long, physically challenging day.