Autumn Imago by Bryan Wiggins

Author:Bryan Wiggins
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2016-09-27T04:00:00+00:00

30

Hamlin Ridge

I opened my eyes to an empty lean-to. Tommy’s sleeping bag and possessions were gone, my neatly rolled sleeping pad the only thing resting in their place. I shot up, threw on my pants, stepped into my unlaced boots—and let out a breath. His pack was still there, stuffed and zipped, resting by the side of the lean-to.

I sat down and laced my boots up slowly, trying to discover how I felt. I was relieved to see he hadn’t bolted, but by the time I stood up, I had to admit I would have been more relieved if he had.

I found him down by the pond. He was sitting cross-legged, facing the water with his hands resting on his knees, palms up. The top of the curved granite wall around the pond’s south rim disappeared into a thick, white blanket. The stand of distant pines across the water burned bright green against the gray, jumbled rocks of the moraine. The only sound was the soft roar of the small falls at the far end of the pond, lost behind the low clouds. I’d always wanted to hike to them. I’d started out to do it one day, picking my way gingerly over the steep, loose scree I had to cover to reach them. But halfway there I stopped, took a last look at my destination, and turned around. I recognized that there were places best left unexplored. It was a matter of respect, really—the belief that there is a special power to be honored in those pockets of wilderness never touched by the foot of a man.

After a few minutes, Tommy’s hands reached into the sky. He rolled his head around his neck, stood up, and gave a final stretch before turning around.

“Morning,” he said, with a grin so wide and open I found it hard not to mirror it. Part of me wanted to return my brother’s warm greeting in the private pocket of wilderness we shared, but I couldn’t forget everything that had brought us here.

He reached into his jacket and took out a cigarette, cupping his hand around the end to light it.

“That doesn’t really go with the whole clean-living vibe, does it?” I asked.

He grinned at me through the thin stream of smoke. “One addiction at a time is about all I can manage, brother.”

“We better eat,” I said, turning to walk back to the lean-to. “It’s a long hike down.”

***

We had our packs on our backs in less than an hour. I had taken the few steps from the lean-to to the trail, turned right, and started hiking when Tommy called behind me.

“Paul?”

“Yeah?”

“Let’s go up.”

I turned around to see him standing in the middle of the path, his eyebrows raised above a wide smile.

“Hey, Tommy, this isn’t a vacation.”

“Really? I thought that’s exactly what it was. Isn’t that why you brought the whole family up here?”

I bought myself a few seconds to think of a reply by adjusting the straps on my shoulders. So

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