How Far the Mountain by Robert K. Swisher Jr

Author:Robert K. Swisher Jr.
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781611391640
Publisher: Sunstone Press

The Man Riding The Storm

Large, violent, dark clouds were building on the horizon and Bill quickly set up camp in the dark timber trying to stop the visions of flashing lightning that darted through his mind, making his heart race in fear. He knew the timber was the safest place to be if a big storm blew in. He remembered her watching the storm advance. “It’s so beautiful,” she said.

He long-lined the horses between two trees, not wanting to leave them in a meadow. Bill did not like the gloom of the dark timber. The musty smell of rotting leaves and decaying wood was a place animals would go to die. The birds did not even like the dark timber. All life gravitated to the sun and the open. Only fear brought one to the realm of shadows.

With his tent pitched, Bill gathered wood for a small fire and barely made it back to the camp when the first drops of cold rain pelted the tent. He sat on his sleeping bag trying to quell his fear as the storm grew in intensity. A clap of thunder rolled down the mountain and Bill thought about the woman he had seen earlier in the day. “I wonder why I didn’t wave back?” he asked Gypsy, who huddled, shaking, by his feet—she was also afraid of storms.

Bill had heard the lady’s words echoing down the canyon. They sounded like the cries of a person lost at sea—crying out in vain at a distant ship disappearing over the horizon. “I should have waved and called back,” he said, feeling both guilty and lonely.

Gypsy ignored him.

Bill had seen the woman long before she waved. Objects not a part of the forest stuck out to Bill. He could pick out the outline of a deer’s ear from thick brush and after years of guiding, could look at a hillside, not focus on any one object and see the minute details of the entire hill. The lady’s bare legs stuck out like a hunter’s orange jacket. “I bet she was smiling until I didn’t answer,” he said to Gypsy.

Bill was suddenly afraid for the woman. She might camp where it was dangerous during a storm, she might get lost, every bad scenario possible ran through his mind. Not far away a bolt of lightning slammed into the ground. Bill began to sweat. “Go to a low place,” he beseeched the woman. “Don’t camp underneath a lone tree. Please?”

Bill thought about how pretty the lady was. He pictured her with her short pants and tanned legs and how the breeze jostled her auburn hair. “I wonder why she was alone?” he asked.

Most people went into the woods with another person, a fact that was a good idea. “She’s brave,” he said.

“I should have waved and called back,” he told the dog once again feeling sad.

Gypsy jumped as another bolt of lightning slashed through the sky. The rain pounded on the tent. Gypsy put her muzzle on Bill’s leg.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.