In Parched Gardens: Book 1

Chapter 20: Into the Unseeable East

They stood on top of the smooth rock surface. Ripples of stone snaked along the rock like small dunes on a gray beach. Fin looked out and up, his eyes following the trail along the spine of the mountain. It wasn't particularly steep, but looking back now, the slope of the ridge was very noticeable. The trail behind then slithered its way along the arch of the mountain, down into the valley below. Slowly they had climbed it. They had talked along the way, but more than that, they had looked out into the valleys around them and taken in the world.

Fin stepped up a small stone ledge, like a stair step, on his way toward the peak. He looked down to his right and saw the rolling of the earth, like great waves of the distant ocean, rolling and rocking to the north. They flowed like water and in their flowing, the deep green of summer mixed with the first fruits of fall. Golden yellow, bright red, and dark orange dotted the hills. Fin thought he could even see the babbling of a small brook, winding its way between the waves.

To his right, Fin could begin to see the immense splashing, the rippling white, of Rankine Falls. The water cascaded down the heart of Mount Rankine toward the wayward river below. The Wagner River rushed south, winding its way to meet the Morninglass, somewhere to the east. And at the foot of the mountain, where the white water crashed, Quartz Pond gleamed. The whirling waters pooled there, before slipping into the Wagner River, and the crystals of quartz almost danced around the pond like a fairy ring.

They neared the peak now, where a small lookout was built for hikers. It looked almost like a small porch, just off the peak of the mountain, where there were a few tables and benches. It was positioned high enough, and in such a way, that on clear days, you could see for many miles in every direction. To the southwest, you could see Allbrook clearly. If you knew the city well, you could point out almost any landmark from here. The town looked so small from the peak of Mount Rankine. Like an ancient fishing village around a lake, you could easily take in the entire city.

Fin and Isaac sat down at one of the benches now. They'd been here many times before. It used to be almost a summer pilgrimage for them. Rankine was like a monument to the coming and going of the summer sun. Now, they looked down together on Allbrook and examined it.

"It feels like it's been so long since we were there, doesn't it?" Isaac asked, pointing at the high school and middle school complex in the northwestern corner of the village limits.

Fin nodded. "Yeah, I guess it does. Depends on how I think about it though. If I'm thinking about everything since high school, it does. But I can also remember it like yesterday."

"Yeah," Isaac answered. "Same for me, I guess."

"Now that really seems like a long time ago," Fin said, pointing much closer to them, at Mill Lake Elementary on the eastern side of the village.

"What grade do you think you liked the most there?" Isaac asked him.

"Hm..." Fin started. "I've got to say third. I really liked Ms. Moore."

"You would really like Ms. Moore," Isaac responded, chuckling.

"She would have really liked you too if you weren't always trying to be such a show off to the rest of class," Fin said, smiling.

"Hey," Isaac started, "it's not your fault if you're years ahead of the rest of the class."

"Yeah... ok," Fin answered. "Hey," he continued, pointing to the Allbrook Dog Park south of the high school. "Remember when we took Truffle there in the ninth grade and we almost lost her forever?"

"Truffle," Isaac said, slowly, smiling. "I haven't thought about her in a while. Nobody ever expected a shepherd when they heard about Truffle."

"Kinda makes sense they wouldn't," Fin said. "She did always smell weird though."