Song: Wild Love - James Bay
Henry's skin was luminous, covered in sweat and grime he glistened bathing in the light. How could someone make unwashed look so pretty? His eyes were piercing in the golden glow, the patch of brown beamed a small pine standing proud in a sky so blue. He held the forest in his eyes.
We just stood there looking at each other. The crashing of the falls filling the space where words should have been.
He parted his lips with a face full of regret I didn't want to hear whatever he wanted to say, whatever it was... it couldn't fix this strange void between us.
Walking away and towards the cave I sent Henry to find fire wood threatening if he wanted to eat tonight he had to put some work in. Each crunching step tossed dust and pebbles aside, each meter parting us felt empty like I'd forgotten a life line.
What the fuck is wrong with me?
***
"You're a really good teacher when you're not being a smart ass."
She made one of her signature smirks as she tended to the crackling fire. She'd taught me how to start a fire at least five different ways with different resources. I knew most but I let her explain every step, not making a fuss or interrupting her. If I'm being completely honest I just liked the sound of her talking.
She threw a few barbs in there every now and then but I think this is the longest we've held a conversation. She talked about climbing explaining how to plot out your route, how to spot your footholds and what equipment we had and how to use it.
Between mouth fulls of dried meat and tinned fruit in syrup, she gave me her compass and explained how to use it, how to spot signs in the forest to which way was north and south. Her whole face lit up when she told me about how in the northern hemisphere more often than not lichen will only grow on the northern side of a tree. How she uses the pockets of wild flower growth as trail markers, reading her natural surroundings to determine weather, direction and safety.
We swapped hunting stories mine being from back home stuck in tents or laying on my belly waiting for bucks. Hers began that way... she opened up about her hunting trips as a kid with her sister and some old timer uncle that I guess introduced the wild to them at an early age.
Then the stories grew a little darker the bucks and rabbits turning into survival situations her versus rotters or equally as dead inside humans. My blood boiled hearing how she escaped certain scrapes what people had wanted to do to her... non of them appeared to have a lasting effect on her, she recited them too easily like she was reading a shopping list.
"How do you do it Tink?"
"What?" She looked up with big doe eyes like our conversation wasn't about the darkest parts of humanity.
"Go through all this shit alone and not loose your god damn mind?"
"Who says I haven't lost it already?" Her maniacal smile was almost cute if I didn't know what she was capable of.
"Do you feel anything anymore? When you kill a man... what do you feel."
"At first it drove me to the point of giving up, it felt all types of wrong. I couldn't forgive myself for what I'd done... but that was so long ago now that all those thoughts just don't come naturally anymore. It sounds twisted but I enjoy it now." She carefully thought out her next sentence as she probably noticed the horror on my face.
"When it's just you and them and only one of you is walking away from the fight. There's a sort of adrenalin rush that runs through me, I enjoy being challenged it's entertaining to me now. Now that I can trust in my instincts and my ability its easier.
YOU ARE READING
Evergreen
Adventure"It wasn't long now, time had ceased to exist. The world had become impoverished, crops have shrivelled to dust, wildlife slowly died out. There were only survivors now; groups of warriors scavenged to stay alive." My name isn't important, my stor...
