My other half

Cradle Mountain was a beautiful part of the wilderness in Tasmania. It was in the Lake St Clair National park. The Overland track was a six day walk that few of the day trippers to the park attempted. It was a hard trail and at the beginning of winter, few would attempt it without adequate rations. It would be relatively deserted. It would be perfect.

Graham had everything he would need in his backpack, but he didn’t intend to use it. All he planned to consume was two bottles of tequila. His mind was a jangled mix of memories, sadness and anger. 

The creature lifted its head and listened in to his thoughts; anger was promising. Anger was good. 

She left me. Just walked out and announced that our marriage was over. Why does she get to decide that our joint effort was over? But I still love her. I love her so much. A divorce is not fair. To only give her half of everything? I want her to have it all.

 The creature was intrigued. It had almost given up, and gone to sleep for the winter. This time was its least favourite time of the year. It was getting colder. The days getting shorter. The fog rising and the damp; the endless damp. It preferred the desert and the sand. It has almost forgotten how it came to be here, hiding in this wilderness.

 Graham Andvord; that was his name. It listened again.

 Dana. My wife. My other half. Just gone. If I can die here in the place we came for our honeymoon, she will get all the money, the house, everything; she deserves it all. 

Another half. The creature liked that idea. 

It started to dig around in his head. It flashed through recent memories of him pretending to be happy; not depressed at all. Normal; he pretended to be normal. A little sad, but nothing too extreme. He wanted her to get the money. No insurance payout for a suicide. He was very careful. He was intelligent. He planned well. The creature liked that too. He did nothing that would make people suspect he intended to kill himself. Death by walking trail. 

Death.

 That, the creature understood. 

He was alone, abandoned. That too the creature understood. 

It decided to follow him.

He didn’t intend to return to the world. He wanted to get lost. He wanted to die.

He was not affected by the beauty of the scenery. It was the past that he saw in his mind. Their honeymoon.

He walked and he muttered to himself. The pademelons, little wallabies scattered from him. They were used to the creature.

He planned to spend his last night in the abandoned cabin he had seen on the earlier trip. The weather on the mountain was changeable. The fog rolled in and he took cover in the cabin. He didn’t have a light. He sat on the floor in the cabin and drank from the bottle he brought. He continued to grumble to himself, but it was getting repetitive now.

The creature didn’t like light in its current form. It was pleased that he had not brought light.

It was the night of the blood moon. The creature knew this. Graham did not. His timing was exquisite.