Youngest: Signs of the Prophecy Book One by Debbie Mumford

Author:Debbie Mumford
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: WDM Publishing

Chapter 12

Monday morning found Gwen strolling the grounds of Portland State University. She’d arrived at her downtown hotel the night before, tired, but very pleased with herself. After a restful night, she’d enjoyed a hot breakfast of waffles, bacon, and scrambled eggs, compliments of the hotel, and then set out to explore the PSU campus.

Because it was situated in the heart of a major metropolitan city, Portland State was much more compact than the University of Colorado’s Boulder campus. However, it made wonderful use of a long central core of park, reminding Gwen strongly of the Pearl Street Mall in Boulder. Both were essentially city streets which had been closed to traffic and landscaped — one as a walking mall, the other as a campus park complete with mini amphitheater. The large campus buildings on either side of the park had banks of windows looking out on the green space, fostering the illusion of expansive campus lawns.

Gwen was enchanted with the climate of the Willamette Valley in general and Portland State in particular. It was only March, but already the grass was emerald green and flowers bloomed everywhere she looked. Coming from Colorado, where spring was still lazily stretching in an attempt to awaken, Gwen felt like she had leapt forward in time. The air was still cool here, but it was soft with fragrance and held the allure of verdant lushness. Even here in the center of a bustling city, the atmosphere alone was enough to seduce her senses. She was in love, and knew that having seen this campus in spring, no other university would be a viable option.

The compactness of the campus, coupled with the close proximity of downtown’s cultural attractions excited her. If she could only find an apartment nearby, she’d hardly need to use her car. Between the bus system and the light rail, everything she needed was easily accessible.

Gwen wandered into the building which housed the admissions office, and found that very few of the staff were present. As she had anticipated, Portland State was also on spring break. Surprisingly, she found it didn’t really matter. She hadn’t come to interview professors, or query existing students.

She had come to allow the campus to speak to her, and it had done so exuberantly in the first few moments of her stroll. The campus welcomed her, from its stately trees, to the statues adorning its walks, and Gwen responded with a deep sense of gratitude. She felt at ease, almost at home, on the campus.

She spent much of the afternoon sitting under a tree in a park beside the Willamette River. With maps and notebooks at hand, she carefully planned her remaining days in the area. She wanted to see if she could find the home she had grown up in. She remembered the address, so with the help of a detailed map locating it shouldn’t prove too difficult.

Another deep desire was to find an apartment near the university. She wouldn’t be ready to move until mid-May, but she wanted to choose her location while she was able to inspect her choices.

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