The Hitchhiker

1

There is a very old legend of an even older man. They call him The Hitchhiker.

He's not a horror story. No, not exactly. Although he may be a ghost; he has been around for hundreds of years.

They say he crosses Britain, horse to cart to car, with no real destination, just making his way all around the counties.

No one is sure what he looks like. Or who he is. Or why he just travels. But everyone knows what he does.

He introduces himself as The Hitchhiker. Tells you to take him anywhere. He tells you a bit about his life, in exchange for a story of yours. He collects these anecdotes, tales and accounts, and in return offers you a tiny snippet of his life. And then he thanks you, and is on his way, ready for the next part of his journey.

You never see him again. No one finds him on purpose. He passes from life to life, never stopping, leaving only memories.

He crops up all over, from right down in Cornwall to the far north of Wick and everywhere in between. Stories of him date right back to the 1100s and are still told nowadays.

Of course, this is all just a legend. A fantastical story told to children before bed. None of this is real.

Of course.

Hallie Green walked out of her school for the last time, shaking out her messy blonde hair and shrugging off her uncomfortable jumper with the annoying Chelton Girls' School logo. She smiled at the thought of never having to wear uniform again. Generally, school had been fun. She'd learnt stuff, made friends, kissed people and had a good time. And she was fairly confident she'd got good grades; she'd worked hard enough. All the same, it was good to be- for want of a better word- free.

So now she had a whole summer ahead of her. A couple of friends had offered to take her on holiday, but she had turned them down. This summer was hers and she wanted to do something new; something interesting. The sort of thing she could tell her grandkids about. She was 18 now, and youth is for making memories.

She wasn't entirely sure where she would go, but she had to get out of this town, away from her life. Sure, Darton was a decent town with decent people, but she was so bored of it all. She knew everyone in her small village, and she'd done everything interesting years ago. There was simply nothing to do, and England is a big enough country. There had to be something new and exciting to do. Something worthwhile.

She was walking along, thinking of all of this when her phone buzzed. She dug it out of her pockets, switching it on. She hopped into her car as she read the message.

With Grandpa Joe- meet us here. Xxx

Hallie sighed as she turned the key in the ignition. The car started- first time, no less. She grinned proudly.

The car was a Ford Focus 2005, complete with dodgy tires, questionable air conditioning and a sticky gear box. Hallie loved it with all her heart and had named it Lee.

Her home was about half an hour away, but the hospital where her Grandfather currently resided was only 10 minutes. She took the shortcut round by the river and green, an old narrow country road rarely used by anyone. It was bumpy and winding and you had to hope no other cars were using it as it wasn't quite big enough, but it was amazing.

Sure, Hallie was tired of the town and had seen it all before, but the way the sunshine streamed through the tree branches and reflected back on the river never failed to stun her. She drove slowly, trying to look at the road and the lovely countryside at the same time, stopping for the occasional squirrel. She remembered once, when she was very young, they'd waited for hours to watch the ducklings cross the road. That had been when her Granddad could still get about easily. But nowadays she was all alone, with just her thoughts and the occasional duck.