Echoes In The Woods

shadows of change

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   My second favorite thing about our trip up north was the lake jump. By the time we reached the house, after another 45 minutes in the car from our city, we'd be itching for a chance to cool off. That's why Taehyung and I always wore our shorts and tanks from home. We hopped out when the car crunched to a stop at the edge of the driveway. we would peel off our T-shirts and sneakers, then race across the yard, down the footpaths, and onto the pier.

     My mom would send Seokjin after us with a can of bug repellant, but we never slowed down, so he always entered the water too to spray us. We counted to three held hands and jumped together, landing with a huge splash in the perfectly cool water. Blinking my eyes open after surfacing, I would get my first real view of the house, perched above us on the gently sloping hill and surrounded by trees. My heart would always leap in joy. Then Taehyung and I would climb back out grab our towels, and actually help with the luggage's.

     Maybe after the donut awkwardness, I should have toned down my expectations for this year's lake jump. Maybe, I assumed, Taehyung's crankiness was just about food, which aside from the donuts, is not the finest food out there. My dad's scrambled eggs are way better, and they don't even come near Seokjin hyung's food, and their sausages are kind of rubbery. Okay maybe that explains why I still had my hopes up because I also hated the food.... Anyway, why would Taehyung not love our tradition of jumping off the pier anymore?

           The Kim's car had led the way for breakfast, so they were parked, and Seokjin had already stepped out to stretch by the time our car came to a stop. "Hurry, hurry, hurry!" I urged Jimin and Hyung woo, whose seats i had to fold in order to escape the prison called back seats. I nudged past them and their continuous video taking, I took in the scent of pine and cedar, the scent of spring enveloped me. I felt better than I had in weeks, better than that morning Taehyung left for his aunt's house. We were at Lake of shining waters as we named it five years ago originally known as Winniefred Lake, finally. Just us---- no Mi cha in sight. I pulled my T-shirt off and placed it on the car seat...

     "Ready to do the lake jump? " Mom smiled at me, reaching her arm out to ruffle my hair.... "come one, tae" I called out. Thanks to his head start he should have been bare feet already. I finally got my shoes off, taehyung then came out of the car. I shifted my weight from one foot to the other -- the gravel beneath my feet were hot due to the sun waves. Normally we never stood there long enough to notice .

   " what are you waiting for? " maybe it was the breakfast making my stomach hurt a little. Maybe it was something else. A hearty serving of worry garnished with anger and a side of impatience.

  Taehyung clutched his phone " sorry, I wanna go in and hook up to the Wi-Fi first. "  He paused,  then added with a half hearted to be, " Maybe a swim later? " Taehyung shrugged, like he even assumed that was doubtful, and then he turned to follow my dad yo the walkway to the house.

    A cloud passed over the sun at that exact moment, representing my sudden mood change. By the time we got to my third favorite thing, I had begun to manage my expectations. For dinner the first night of our trip, our dads cooked everything. They grilled, usually fish for all the parents, the rest of us had chicken and turkey. After dinner, we built a fire to roast marshemellows for our s'mores competition. Seokjin always won... Then we had outdoor karaoke. It felt perfect and real.

    Taehyung sat next to me on the bench, but there was so much space between us you could almost fit double Jimin in there. "You sure you got enough to eat taehyung? " his dad asked while gathering all the s'mores stuff. He replied with a nod and went back to texting the most important person ever "insert eye roll"

   We went in due to the crazy amount of mosquitoes.... I saw taehyung lay on the couch in the darkness, his phone illuminated by his phone, whoever he was texting made him smile, perhaps for the first time today.