May 25th, 2019 7:19 p.m.
The woods are so pretty, it's strange how you don't notice the obvious until you've been gone a long while. I missed this town and the history and stories behind it, every corner is a memory from the person I used to be. Eight years, running on the trail away from the big bad wolf that was my cocker spaniel. Thirteen years, walking down that worn path with the group of people i'd been obsessed with at the time, laughing at something beyond my memories reach. The colors of winter, spring, summer, fall all recorded on the track of things remembered. The leaves are as green now as they were went I went away. When I was taken. The air is dirtier than I remembered, thick with the stench of dog. Must be a pack of mutts roaming somewhere in the boundaries of the trees. I walked the trail for a bit and exited at the old skateboard park that was just as vandalized and unused as it was when I went. Little details. I can't exactly tell when I first realized why I was there, but after stalling and mindless walking I realized I was following your path. You must have been here within the last day or two because your scent was strong and I could imagine you standing here next to me, wandering the woods, thinking about life. I might not have been here to experience things with you but I've kept up. You're doing great now, your grades are better than they ever have been, footballs going amazing, amazing enough for you to get a scholarship, you're healthy, you seem happy, which makes me happy but it also is a disappointment. You bounced back pretty quickly from what I've observed, a few dark moments here and there but other than that you've been your usual positive self. Shocker, remember, always smiling, turns out you weren't exaggerating.
