Eddylines

things can only get better

A few hours later, the Vanagon began the grinding climb up the twisting grade of Whitcomb Hill Road as both boys savored the victorious exhaustion of a good day on the river. The mid-afternoon sun reached through the trees to mingle with the gentle breeze as the engine labored and groaned, but progress was steady, and neither of them felt any particular reason to hurry.

As they rounded another curve, Daszé let out a long, content sigh, turning down the radio and slumping down in the seat. "How's your new threads?"

Marek snickered, then upshifted. "No need to be so smug."

The 'oyar just grinned, turning his gaze to the valley beyond the veil of trees with his arm out the window. 

Oh, yes, yes there was.

His thoughts drifted away, buoyed by a new sense of peace as the wind ruffled his hair through the open window. The whole world felt fuzzy around the edges in a good way, and as the air danced across his open palm, he sensed a change on his horizon. All was right now, righter than it had been in recent memory.

He felt motivated to act, and fished his phone from his shorts to tap out something he'd been meaning to say for a long time. 

"Damn, kuvano, what're you typing?" Marek asked a few minutes later, and Daszé looked up in surprise. "Are you sending that to...?"

"Vha. Maybe. I don't know yet, but it feels like the right moment." The van came to a stop, turn signal clicking, and he had an idea. "I want you to read it first, if that's alright. I just want to make sure it's not... too much."

"'Course I will, I just don't know how good my advice will be. I mean, shit, dude, look at how I met Suge. I don't know how to do the whole courtship thing."

Daszé hummed thoughtfully, studying the block of text. "That's true, not everyone finds their significant other in a hole in their backyard."

"That is literally the creepiest thing anyone has ever said ever."

"It's true, though!"

Marek sniffed in amusement. "I guess it is, isn't it?"

They lapsed into silence until Daszé  slowly turned to him, eyes wide. "THE EARTH WANTS HER BACK," he croaked, doing his best to maintain his fearful visage until he crumbled into giggles.

"Holy fucking shit," Marek wheezed as he collapsed around the steering wheel in mirth. "I take back what I said."

As they began to regain their composure, a mountaintop meadow opened around them as they rounded the bend, featuring a cluster of cabins, a small tower, a sizeable hotel, and a curious fenced-in monument topped by a statue of an elk. It was a delightfully pretty place, and Daszé soaked it all in as the van growled to a halt in the pull-off. A few others had stopped to take in the view, and an older couple stood by the monument, reading the inscription and chatting.

"Gonna go take a look," he announced, then passed his phone to a surprised Marek as he hopped out.

"Sure you don't want me to go with you?"

"Vha, I'm sure," he replied with a confident grin. "I'll be back in a few."

The gravel crunched beneath his sneakers as he approached, alerting the couple to his presence. They regarded him with the usual alarm and whispers of surprise, but his small, friendly wave and smile sparked a reply in kind.

Something felt different, and he pondered it as he leaned against the fence, idly reading the plaque at the base. 

Maybe it was just luck this time. He'd stumbled onto nice people before, plenty of times. Not everyone was suspicious or afraid or downright hateful.

But maybe it was more than that.

Maybe it was in the way he carried himself.

The dead weight of his fears and anxieties had been scoured away from his shoulders, and in their place, he had been given wings. Maybe not the physical wings of the Caaratiige, but wings nonetheless. Whatever these people really thought of him didn't matter anymore and-

"Excuse me, young man, I don't mean to be rude, but... do you speak English?"

He turned with a startle. "V-voya, er, yes, yes I do!"

The elderly couple regarded him with relief. "Oh, thank goodness, we don't want to intrude but we were wondering if you could do us a favor," the woman asked with a hopeful smile, nervously holding her cellphone with both hands. "Would be willing to take our picture? It's just a little thing, a quick thing, if you've got the time..."

"I... er, of course, I'd love to," Daszé replied with a flush of relief, running his fingers through his hair.

***

"Okay, so, first off, what happened back there?" Marek asked, slipping his shades out of the center console as they bumbled down the Mohawk Trail and left the summit behind. "I thought they were gonna yell at you for a second, and then..."

"Vr'davaii, not at all, they just... they wanted me to take their picture." He smiled, studying his hands in his lap. "It... they treated me like a person, is all. And it felt good. Really good."

"'Bout fuckin' time, right?"

"Vha. It doesn't usually go like that, and never with old people." Daszé rubbed his stomach, suddenly beset by a ravenous hunger. "Tas'grutaa, it also needs to be food time, like, now."

Marek cracked his neck. "We got that on lock, homeslice, we're almost at the grocery store. But first, feast your eyes on this," he grinned, slowing for the hairpin above North Adams as Daszé's eyes went as wide as the view.

***

"I sent it already."

"Seriously?"

"Vha."

Marek chuckled, then subtly motioned to Daszé to conceal his beer as a young family made their way past the campsite, dragging a little red wagon full of firewood to chase away the growing cool of the evening. "Just as well, I didn't really have anything to add to it. You apologized, explained yourself, and... said yes, so..."

"Now we just wait and see if she forgives me for being a tuvaschi, right?"

"I guess, you're the expert here. You've had all the girls chasing you since like, day one."

Daszé snorted, leaning back in his hammock and taking a sip. "That's not true." Even though it was.

"You're a shitty liar, Daszé Simurgh."

"Voya, I am." He sighed, picking at the label on the bottle. "I don't know, I just... I knew, but I wanted to pretend I didn't because I was scared of what might happen." He shrugged. "And I mean, I still am, but... it's not the same now. It's a good scared, like..."

"Like Hangover Helper scared."

"...exactly."

Marek winked and clicked his tongue. "The river is life."