ONE
"Where are we going?" she asked, out of breath from trying to keep up with my quick, long strides. I didn't answer her. "Why can't we take the car?" she added after a few minutes.
"Just watch and learn, kid," I said. She'd never pick it up, though. She didn't pay close enough attention to pick it up. She fell silent.
We had parked the car just inside the city limits at a gas station. You had to leave town on foot. That was the first step. Luckily it was a lovely fall afternoon, good weather for a walk. I'd picked this direction out of town because there wasn't a lot of sprawl to the west. Once you got outside of the city limits it was all scattered houses, trees and rolling hills.
Much to my relief, we hadn't walked far when I heard the first call. It was just behind us and high overhead, but it was unmistakable. I fought my instinct to look and kept my eyes on the road.
"Where did you say we were going?" the kid asked again.
"I didn't say," I answered. "Don't talk, kid. I need to listen." As I was saying it I heard the second call almost directly in front of me and not far overhead. I caught a flash of black in my peripheral vision, and it took everything I had not to look, but I knew better.
"Did you see that?" she asked, startled. "That thing almost hit you!"
"Shh."
"What kind of bird was that?" she continued.
"A raven. Now be quiet. I've got to listen." She stayed quiet after that, walking along beside me as my pace slowed.
After a little more than an hour my legs started to get sore and I started to get worried. Had I missed the third call? I didn't have time to start over. We needed to hurry. I looked over at the kid, wondering how she was doing. Her cheeks were a little red, but she seemed fine. She was young. She could probably walk all day.
That's when I heard it. It was high up and over my right shoulder. I stopped and turned quickly, staring into the sky. There! There it was! The road we were on had veered slightly northwest, but this thing was headed slightly southwest. We'd have to leave the road. I looked to the southwest, but the road was cut into the side of a small hill that rose in that direction. I couldn't see anything past the hill.
"Come on," I said, crossing the road.
"Where are we going now?" she asked, running across the road.
"Up this hill. This way." I looked back, but the raven was gone. I got this suspicion that I didn't correctly remember the direction it was heading, but I what could I do? I had to go with what I remembered.
There was a barbed fence a few feet from the shoulder, but it was easy enough to pass through and we were soon standing at the top of the small hill. I was winded from the short climb after the long walk. The terrain past the hill was more flat, and I could see for a good distance. There it was, looking just like I remembered it. It was still a good walk away, and I was a little discouraged. We weren't going to get there before nightfall.
"What do you see?" she asked.
"Aphter," I said.
"Where?" she asked.
"You can't see it yet."
"Why not?"
"Because you don't know how."
"Can you tell me how?"
"No. You can't tell someone. They have to watch and learn for themselves. Let's go." I started walking down the hill.
"What is Aphter?" she asked, catching up with me.
"A town."
"And we have to go there?"
"Yes."
"Who lives there?"
"Lots of people."
"People who can help us?"
"I hope so."
We walked without talking for a few minutes, listening to the cicadas start their evening song in the trees. A cool breeze blew in from the northwest.
"What sort of people live in Aphter, Simon?" she eventually asked.
"Dead people."
This is really a good little tale. I often mean to re-read it and never seem to get to it, but it was really good.
Posted by: J | July 02, 2008 at 13:29