The Sequoias

Chapter 17

"Awesome." I led her back to the car and got us headed on the way down the mountain. "So, what did you think? Have you had time to process it all?"

"I think this place is wonderous. I am sure the full magnitude of this will hit me later, but I am just in awe of the beauty."

"I can barely remember what this place looked like the first time my pappa ever brought me here. I can only remember that it felt like home to me. Like I was rooted here somehow, planted, you know?"

"I totally get that. It's not that feeling for me. It's not a part of me like it is you, but I feel a sense of peace. My mind is clear here. My thoughts are positive." I didn't feel like I was adequately describing my feelings, but I didn't have any other words.

"I understand that." We traveled in silent reflection until we reached our destination and I parked in the pretty much full lot. "There's going to be a lot of people here but you have to see this tree. You ready?"

I nodded knowing what being in the public could mean. "I'm ready. Are you?" I took a few deep breaths as he came around to let me out of the car.

"Yes." I opened her door for her like I normally do and waited for her to get out of the car so I could close and lock the door. I could see the people nearby and hear little snippets of the conversations that were being had as families walked to the top of the trail. "We'll need to stay on the path. It's a long way down but it is so worth it."

I watched the people as they made their way down the trail. "I'm going to be tired tonight." I giggled and stretched. "Ready when you are."

I gestured for her to follow the line of people. It was much easier for me to watch her to keep us together than for her to try and watch me. "Follow them. I'll follow you."

"Okay." I held his eyes for just a moment and then followed everyone else. The trail was a little steeper than I expected, but it wasn't hard to follow. The scenery was beautiful. I got distracted by a couple of girls giggling in front of me. They kept looking behind me and pointing and then I heard Avi's name. I rolled my eyes and hoped they gave him his privacy.

I kept my eyes on Lizzie and the path ahead of us. She seemed to be doing fine and enjoying the scenery. I was enjoying my view. Some girls were pointing back over their shoulders I looked to see who was behind me.

I caught the eyes of one of the girls and shook my head. She blushed and whispered to her friend. They stopped turning around and focused on the trail. I felt very accomplished. It was a much longer walk than I expected, but I gasped when I saw the tree we were walking too. Your perspective changes when everything around you is so much bigger than you are.

I watched Lizzie with the girls and took note of the clothes they were wearing. But kept on walking. They remained near which was pretty cool. We stopped and looked down at the tree first and I pointed it out. From the vantage point, it was hard to see just how big the tree really was. We stopped and the smaller trees and the twin trees to take pictures along with all the other tourists. I didn't bother with getting mine but insisted that Lizzie did. I took a lot of them in a matter of seconds on both of our phones. The girls were still near when we got to the tree. "It's funny. This tree dropped a branch that took out some of the railings down there. It was as big as a tree. A normal tree that you can't put your arms around. A branch. Can you imagine that? The tree has stopped growing up, but it is still the biggest tree in the world because it gets bigger around every year. It's insane." I spoke loud enough to be heard. Then I dropped my voice as I moved closer to Lizzie so that only she could hear me. "Were those girls bothering you?" I smiled and put my hand on her shoulder. They hadn't bothered me. It took me a long while to notice them. I was honestly very distracted walking behind Lizzie as I was. "I didn't notice them until you shook your head at them. I was watching you."

I was learning a lot as we made our way down. I shook my head in response to his question. "No, they just know you and were pointing and giggling. I was just letting them know that they shouldn't bother you." I leaned over the railing to get a better look. "That's a big branch."

"Yup." I looked over at the girls and smiled when the one looked back at me. "It is only a bother if they linger too long." I smiled again. "Hi." They were still right there. I figured they weren't going to go away or do anything stupid. I turned back to the tree. "This tree is magnificent. It's so old. I can't believe these trees were around over 3000 years ago. Can you imagine that?" I was speaking loud enough to be heard again. I watched the girls move out of the corner of my eye. "Give me a second Lizzie. I'm going to go say hello." I turned to the girls and addressed them directly for a moment. They both blushed and said hi back. I got an I love your music from them a small hug and they finally wandered off. I returned to Lizzie. "Problem solved. I am so happy they were just normal people. Now they can really enjoy the trees and the things around them."

I loved watching him with fans. This was no exception. I giggled behind my hand. Those girls smiled so much. When he came back to me, I wanted to wrap my arms around him and kiss him silly, but that was entirely out of the question. "We can too. You are so good with them."

"Thanks. I like having fans. It feels really good and I can sing them a song and make things better for them while I'm singing a song that helps me too. I can finally do that and it feels good." I touched the back of her hand. "Picture? Go stand by that plaque thingy there and I will take one of you and the tree. You'll need to hold still until I get past you in the frame."

"As you wish." I moved to where he indicated and gave him my biggest, cheesiest, grin, and struck a silly pose.