The Trail

Chapter 23 | Maple's

Morning light hit my face as the sun's rays extended over the line of the horizon. It was the break of dawn and the sky was painted in a light purple whereas thin clouds covered what stars remained. Small specks of light which still clung to what was left of the night. Mist hovered over the ground, sweeping over the burnt landscape like lost spirits of the land. The stench of smoke and destruction still hung thick in the chilly air.

I turned to my side, and to my surprise, found Owen already awake. He sat with his back turned, looking out over the black field. Juniper lied next to me, and rose her head to look at me, as I stiffly sat up. By the sound of my movements, Owen turned his head.

"We should get moving before the sun is up", he said and rose to his feet.

Ever since his strange and sudden change in behavior the night before, he had been oddly quiet. To my knowledge, he barely ever shut up. Except for when he was dying of smoke inhalation, that is. Now, he began to pack up the tarp in complete silence, while I gathered the rest of my things.

Not even fifteen minutes later, we were, once again, traveling across Australia's expanses. Owen walked a few metres ahead of me, while Juniper kept close to my side.

The chill of the night still hung in the air and so I had wrapped myself in my flanell. New blisters had appeared on the skin of my feet, and I found that my left knee had began to play tricks on me. It hurt by pressure, which caused me to limp as I could not support myself on it fully. The odds were already against us, and it had not even been two days since we had set off on our journey towards the mountain.

We passed succulents, rocks, withered bushes, spots of brown grass, and once in a while, a lonely tree. It made me think of the day when I had drifted off to sleep in the shade of the eucalyptus tree. Then, the sandstorm which had forced me in the direction of the forest. All a series of events which had led me here. To a moment where strange worlds and minds collide.

Come to think of it, I thought, not a whole lot had changed. Only that it was no longer just Juniper and I, but another stranger on two legs. We were still walking, all I ever did these days was to walk. It was like being stuck in an alternate dimension. Perhaps it was purgatory, awaiting your sentence stuck in an endless limbo. Life was nothing but one moment fading into the next one. A blur of memories marked with emotion. Separated into folders, usually sorted in two boxes labeled before and after.

Owen had stopped atop a small slope, Juniper and I joining his side. Before us, the land broadened. Woven in aureate dust and specks of light that shone through thin veils of morning mist, a small drive by town lie intertwined with a black asphalt road.

"This must be it", he said, his voice hoarse and toneless.

When I did not reply, he turned to look at me.

"You okay?"

I flinched, not used to shown concern.

"I'm fine. We should hurry, the sun is almost up. You never know who might show up", I said and put a leash on Juniper.

That way, I could keep her close to me. It eased my mind, not being able to bare the thought of losing her again.

"I can go alone if you want", Owen said.

It seemed as if he could sense my concern. I had never understood how one could be so perceiving of others feelings.

"Don't be stupid", I said and grasped the ends of the flanel's sleeves before I began to walk down the hill with determined steps.

He followed in silence.

All that was heard was the crunching footsteps as our boots clashed against the grit. Cold mist found its way in under the fabric of our clothes, seeping in under the skin before hungrily gnawing away at narrow bones. The cold air was strange. It almost felt as if a frost was approaching.