Beneath The Waterfall

moonlight

After having Cory's words replaying in my head over and over again, I couldn't get Colin off my mind.

I did my job and restocked, cleaned the bathroom, and swept the crosswalk, but not without thinking about how close Colin's face was to mine, or how his hand wrapped around my wrist when he caught me, or even when he signed to me. How did he even know I could sign? How would he have known that I'd understand? He didn't know anything about me or even my brother Leon when he was alive...at least not that I knew of.

"See you tomorrow, Cory," I called on my way out of the door. My shift was over and I was glad. I couldn't wait to get home.

"Later, Si!" Cory yelled after me. "Get home safe!"

"I will!" I walked out the door, going for my bike on the rack. I unlocked it and tucked the chain and lock into my backpack before slinging it onto my back and riding home.

The sun was nowhere in sight. It was nearing 9:00 p.m. but nights in Nantahala were frightening. The crickets were louder and the rush of the creeks nearby trickled faster. My home was less than ten minutes away on my bike.

I pedaled hard as cars passed by me. At one point, I was sure I had heard the rumble of motorcycles a short distance away, and pedaled even faster. The last people I wanted to encounter were the Maverick's. You never knew when they were bored and wanted to pick a bone with someone just for the hell of it.

Mama had told me many times not to take the trail home at night, but I needed to. It was quicker and it'd been a long day. I was exhausted. I just wanted to shower and curl up in my bed with the fantasy novel I had waiting for me at home.

I turned the handle of the bike, rolling down the rocky trail to get home. Not many lamps were on this trail. There was probably a lamp every two minutes, so there was some leeway, but not enough at night. I used the flashlight on my phone to guide me most of the way.

Another thing I liked about this trail was that I could ride past Gray Waterfall. Gray Waterfall was intimidating to most, so not many citizens visited this one. Most of them went to view the falls on Old River Road, which had flat land and a tourist area, where you could sit and watch the water, but not me. I found Gray Waterfall to be a lot more soothing.

There were days when I'd ride out and sit on a rock, allowing the rush of the water to calm me and take my mind away from dark places. I hadn't been to Gray Watefall since autumn. It was late winter here, about to roll into spring in a few weeks, and I couldn't wait for it to warm up so i could enjoy the sounds of silence and serenity again.

I finally biked past the waterfall. The roars were louder tonight. As badly as I wanted to stop, close my eyes, and listen, I didn't. It was too dark and I needed to get home. Hopefully Mama was off early and had cooked or ordered some take out.

Just as I was about to near the end of the trailer, there was a loud rustle ahead, then heavy footsteps, and I gasped, scanning the area. I saw the opening that led to my street, literally only a few seconds away. It's just an animal, I told myself, but it didn't make my heart stop racing any less. In fact, it felt like it was going faster. There were coyotes and racoons in this little town. That was about it. Hopefully it wasn't a coyote.

I pedaled harder, gripping the handles a little too tightly, in a rush to get home, but just as I was about to reach the opening, I saw someone walking through it and a shriek rushed out of me. I turned the handles to the left a little too roughly and Barbie jerked sideways and stalled, leaving my body no choice but to fly off and hit the ground.

With a hard oomph, I hit the ground and aimlessly rolled down the hill. Branches and leaves snapped and crunches, the tips of rocks poking me. I screamed loudly as I rolled, then the back of my head slammed into the trunk of a tree.