Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 81488 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 407(@200wpm)___ 326(@250wpm)___ 272(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81488 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 407(@200wpm)___ 326(@250wpm)___ 272(@300wpm)
Roman settled along what appeared to be a path made merely by foot traffic, rather than man-made tools and excavators. It was uneven and crude, overrun with weeds. This gave her pause. On one hand, she was excited to see what lay ahead. On the other, she didn’t expect to spend more than two hours here, three tops, and hoped to then return to Roman’s home, take a shower, put on something warm and soft, and curl up in his arms in front of a good movie. From the look of his brown hiking boots, ballcap and jacket, he planned to really do this hiking thing and wasn’t just pulling her leg. This was no magic trick. He was for real.
“Here it is,” he murmured as he hopped out of the truck, grabbing his belongings from the back.
She joined him, trying her best to force a smile when a strange flying thing that resembled a cross between a dragonfly and a wasp buzzed near her. She swatted it, and it made a weird humming sound, then zoomed away. Roman walked ahead, pushing at overgrown shrubs. The chirps, buzzes and squawks of unseen animals and insects filled the air. A musical concert of sorts.
He paused, waiting for her to catch up, then took her hand. They began their journey through the forest along the path, past an assortment of dark, wide, towering trees. They found themselves jumping and stepping over fallen branches, and pausing to smell the air, kiss one another, and listen to all that was around them. It took no time at all for them both to fall headfirst into the seductive divan of nature. Now, she was feeling it. Something surprisingly magical was happening. God was an awesome creator and artist. What an imagination…
Roman opened his brochure and perused a map. While he got his bearings, she reached down and picked up a small green beetle, or at least she thought it was—adorable, with its shiny shell and little black legs that twitched every so often. She looked at it from various angles, then placed it back onto the log from which she first saw it.
“I used to hate bugs,” she declared as they continued on with their hike. “I still don’t like them much, but I realize now how important they are to our ecosystem, and just like we think they’re creepy, they probably think we’re creepy too.”
“Yeah, I ’magine so,” he chuckled as he forged ahead of her, pausing every now and again to ensure she was still close behind him. After about fifteen minutes or so, they stood amongst a tight assemblage of massive trees, so tall and stately, she could barely make out the tops of them. In the distance she could hear the soft sounds of flowing water. Perhaps a brook.
“Oh wow, look at this place. I wonder if people camp right here?”
“I doubt it.” He shoved the map into his jeans pocket. “Not ideal for campin’. It’s too secluded from everything else. It gets flooded this way come the rainy season, and it doesn’t see many folks, so everything is overgrown, and the big huntin’ animals, snakes and whatnot, come here to hunt at night.” She nodded in understanding and watched as he slipped his small backpack off his shoulder, and down onto a rock. “It’s beautiful, ain’t it?”
“Yes, it is.” She looked up at the sky. Rain clouds.
She broke her gaze when she heard the man loudly clearing his throat. Roman’s jaw tightened and twitched. He took a gulp of water from his bag, placed the bottle back inside, and started pacing. He eventually paused, reached down to pick a blade of grass and started twirling it about between his forefinger and thumb. Around and around it went, spinning faster and faster.
“Genesis, me, my brothers Jordan and Dakota would come out here with our daddy. It was our thing. We’d do it a few times a year. Huntin’. Fishin’. Campin’. Mama would be back home wit’ her sister, while we were out in the wilderness with Pop. Learning how to be men, and having fun while doing it. This forest is far too big to memorize each and every part, and too unpredictable to take for granted, so there’s only certain spots I come to. Spots I’m familiar with, like this one. I brought a map just in case, because things change. People change. Thankfully, it’s just as I remembered it. Ain’t been here in this specific spot for a few years.”
She found it remarkable that he’d not returned to this important place for him for an extended amount of time. She wanted to ask questions but could see he was still in the midst of talking. Getting some burdens off his chest.
“I wasn’t always familiar with it though. There’s a start for everything we know. A beginning. A point where we knew nothin’ about it at all before we became a so-called expert.”