Slightly Lost, Middle of Nowhere

El Paso was south, but the mountains were north, and Aden had never seen peaks like these before. He was already five hundred miles off course, what was another twenty? Besides, he’d have to leave soon enough once the past caught up with him again, he might as well use the opportunity to catch his breath.

He used the last of his cash to buy a few essentials, filled a water bottle up at a local park, then headed for a hiking trail. His feet were sore and blistered; he wasn’t sure he’d ever walked as much as he had the last few weeks. There was something different about walking along desert highways and hiking along lush forest trails though. The air was different. Damp. Alive. It gave him an energy to his step that he had been lacking.

Aden didn’t really have a destination in mind. The tourist information said there was a lake north-west of the city, with campgrounds and accommodations. Reassured that he wasn’t just wandering off into the middle of nowhere, Aden allowed himself to follow the hiking trails at will.

A few miles in, a couple with camping gear who were returning to the city gave him tips on scenic routes, their extra energy bars and the name of a campsite that didn’t charge to stay. He repeated the name to himself for another mile so he didn’t forget. Pine Creek.

He found a river, and followed along its rocky shore for a while, until the sun started its descend behind the mountains on the skyline. Aden had been hoping to find the mentioned lake before sundown, but the unpaved trails he'd been walking on obviously slowed him down more than he expected. He’d have to stop for the night, since he had no flashlight and wasn’t willing to trek through the woods blind.

Aden had managed to avoid sleeping out in the open most nights since leaving Santa Monica. He didn’t like the idea, of being vulnerable to not only the elements, but strangers and other dangers. He was sure that this was a logical concern, especially on the outskirts of a Colorado forest.

As night fell though, and he found a spot by some driftwood within throwing distance of the water, he started warming up to the idea of sitting out the night. The forest was a particular type of quiet that Southern California just never managed, and as the periwinkle of the sky deepened to navy blue, stars not bright enough to shine through the city smog showed themselves in clusters that Aden was unfamiliar with.

He lost track of time in those stars. Lost track of himself. El Paso was so far away, and it wasn’t like he had much else there that he couldn’t have here. He could be someone else here, someone without a past, without pain, without a storm over his shoulder. That was such an appealing thought, it worked with his exhaustion to help him drift off.

The skies stayed clear for the rest of the night, but his thoughts didn’t.

The rain found him in his dreams. A hurricane, tossing him around and twisting him up in salty ocean waves. Sea weed wrapped up around his wrist, or was that a tangle of thick, summer blonde hair? Aden woke, sucking back an inhale of mountain air, the salt of his dreams left on his cheeks. A pink and blue sunrise helped him back to reality.