Journey's Child

11

I walked up and down Main Street hoping to catch a glimpse of the stranger and his dog. I circled around several blocks before taking a side street and heading back to the cottages. I came out about a quarter mile from where they stood. Looking at them from up higher, I realized they looked like the remains of a ghost town.

The ocean, laid out in front of me, gently rolled onto the shore spreading white foam over the wet sand. I stood where the lower lava rocks met with the hillside. Tall grasses and wildflowers stretched out like a bridge between the rock floor and the beginning rise of the hill. There, the grasses gave way to ferns and succulents that carpeted the ground. Studying the lush green covering, I realized that it rose to become a forested area. As the landscape climbed, pine trees formed a curtain between the top of the hill and the lower slope.

My hunger pushed me harder than my curiosity. I decided to head back to the cottage for some lunch, then maybe I would see about climbing up the hill.

*

Lunch was a disaster. My mom was sitting at the kitchen table when I came in. Papers, binders, pens, and pencils were spread out all over. An ashtray sat on some of the papers and was overflowing with cigarette butts.

"Oh Gilly," my mom said, looking at me through watery eyes. "I think I've got a good start on my story. I'm definitely making progress."

I would have felt better about it if she hadn't slurred her words.

"That's good, mom." I stood in the doorway feeling awkward and uncomfortable. "I came in to get a sandwich or something."

We hadn't been shopping for a while so it was slim pickings. My mother had found a liquor store a block up from the cottages and began getting her wine and cigarettes there.

"We'll go shopping later, okay?" she asked.

"Sure." Everything was always later. "I'll make a PB and J."

I got out of there as fast as I could, taking my sandwich with me. My lungs sucked at the cool sea air while I walked back up towards the hill. My eyes filled with useless tears and a sudden deep sob startled me. I needed a distraction.

I climbed further than I had earlier, feeling like I was entering another place more wild and forested. Not too far ahead I saw what looked like a path. It led around the hill towards a grove of trees then climbed towards the top. I was about to start walking the trail when...

"You better not go up there."

OMG! I looked up at the sky feeling irritated then down at Debbie and her crew. Rory was looking at me with his mean squinty eyes and Ben was shaking his head with a startled look on his face.

"Why not?" I asked, taking a few steps towards them.

"There's a hermit who lives up there. He killed someone once," Debbie said. "He's real mean and so is his dog."

"His dog?" I asked. "Is he a painter?"

"Yes," she answered, "and a murderer!"

I don't care," I said with a show of false courage.

"It's true," Ben added, "he lives up there with his dog and he'll kill anyone who goes up there."

"How do you know?" I asked.

"My parents," Debbie said, glaring at me. "Look, Gilly, you don't live here; if you did you'd know to stay away."

I really hated the way she said my name. "I don't believe it. He's just an artist who has a dog. I was near his dog in town and he didn't even bark at me."

"Well if you go up there," she said pointing towards the trees, "you'll never come back."

With that, the three of them walked away. I watched as they moved down the hill. Ben glanced back and gave me a concerned look before I lost interest and turned my attention back to the path. Okay, I found where the stranger lived, now what? I was losing my courage. If I hadn't run into the beach bullies I wouldn't have known not to walk up the trail. I decided to walk a little way; I would turn around as soon as I got scared. The problem was - I was already scared.

The path didn't take long to lead me away from the view of the cottages. I talked myself into going just a little bit further. I pretended Linda was with me. The thought of her made me braver. I often carried on conversations with her in my head. At times I really believed she was with me, especially on the beach where we spent so much time together. Now, as I entered into the trees, Linda agreed that we should go a little bit further. Moss grew on some of the tree trunks in a thick blanket of emerald green. It felt like I was in an enchanted forest. Some large rocks edged the path as I ventured along, then I came to a huge tree. It had needles and pine cones, but was different than the fir trees, growing out of the rocks with its own coverlet of moss. Gnarled and twisted, it reminded me of a tree in a scary Disney cartoon.

A sudden movement up the trail caught my attention. I couldn't see anything, but I knew it was time to leave. I traveled down the path much faster than I had gone up. I breathed a sigh of relief as soon as the cottages came into view. No matter how bad it was with my mom, I had had my fill of investigating, for now anyway.

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