Thaw Fickle Buskin

Fickle

We continued walking slowly down Sol Trail, Kanoa tightly gripping my fingers. She must have been scared to let go. If she did, the pain could potentially come back. I had no idea why it came in the first place, but I had a suspicion that Kanoa knew why. How else would she know that her touch would bring me back?

    Kanoa squeezed my hand. It sent a tingle up my arm, hot and burning. There were symbols crawling up her arm, shifting and moving like stars twinkling in the sky. She would give me worried glances, but I would just smile back at her. Our closeness brought more relaxation for me, but the situation was still scary. The voices had stopped since she had used her magic on me, though. I wasn't sure if I should've mentioned that to her.

    Garrett looked over his shoulder at us. His eyes widened at our fingers interlocked, but he didn't comment on it. "The trail looks like its getting pretty sketchy. How much farther?"

    Konoa used her free hand to flip open the map. "It shouldn't be too far. Just past these rocks should be what we're looking for."

    Giant boulders made a wall in front of us, similar to the rocks at Crater Lake. They jutted out menacingly, hiding anything behind it from view. Chokeberry bushes tried to break through the cracks, but they were left dangling and dying. Garrett put his hand on the rock face and observed them.

    "So what's your plan to get around them?" Garrett asked.

    Kanoa studied the map. "If this is right, then there should be an opening over there." She pointed towards the north. "C'mon, gang."

    Garrett fell behind Kanoa and I as she lead the way. We walked against the boulders for what felt like ages, listening to the sounds of the birds echoing between the trees. Garrett was singing the song from his car--something about strawberries and cigarettes--and Kanoa was rubbing her thumb against the back of my hand.

    A crashing outburst of emotion swept into my chest. I focused on her long fingers between mine, her pulse lightly tapping against the skin. It was a little selfish, but I wished Garrett wasn't with us. I wanted to stop and turn to Kanoa, to share more than just a hand hold with her. I wanted to run my fingers through her thick hair, to feel her soft lips pressed against mine--

    Kanoa skidded to a halt and her eyes widened, erupting with curiosity. I looked back at her. Garrett stopped mid-note and froze. Kanoa shakily said, "There's something wrong about this place..."

    That just made her grip on my hand tighten. I pulled her closer and asked quietly, "Are you going to be okay?"

    She thought about her answer. "I'm not sure. It's how I felt in the church that day. I feel powerful. Like I know there's something inside me that's trying to dig its way out." She held up our hands and let mine fall out. To my dismay, there was no pain left. I wanted an excuse to hold her for longer. "You'll be fine for now. Just let me know if it comes back. But I'm not sure I'll be in total control of my powers once we get to the other side of this wall."

    Garrett stepped forward, breaking our close distance. Kanoa gave me one last nervous glance before smiling at Garrett. "Don't worry, it's not a big deal. Just keep singing. You have a beautiful voice, you know."

    Kanoa trudged forward, not waiting for Garrett's reply. He appeared to be a little surprised, but in the end he just shrugged it off and picked up the song where he left off. I was empty without her warmth leading me through the autumn forest. I followed her nonetheless, giving her the space she needed. I was watching her carefully, though, in case something bad were to happen.

    We reached a small break in the rocks. Kanoa took one step forward before smiling mischievously. She tucked the map into her back pocket and pushed onward. As she made her way into the opening, the rocks began to pound like giant hearts palpitating the ground, sending loose rubble tumbling towards the forest floor.