Good morning. I feel a little slow and foggy this morning. I blame lack of sleep. But it is nothing coffee can’t handle. So, the pot is brewing and as soon as the writing prompt is done, it will be ready to pour. Poof instant reward. So let’s get to it shall we?
Hmm, this sounds interesting. Something needs to come out of that pool. I don’t know what, but something. I do like the character even if I don’t quite know the story yet. Not bad for a half asleep Tuesday morning.
Tuesday, March 8th: The pool was as reflective as a mirror.
The pool was as reflective as a mirror. He fell to his knees beside it. Thoughts of drinking stagnant water floated through his mind and he stopped before dipping a hand into the water. Hs sat there on his knees just resting taking a break. He had been hiking for hours. He lost the trail and the others quite some time ago. He still wasn’t entirely sure how.
They were there ahead of him for most of the morning. He remembered seeing the back of the last of them bobbing along ahead of him. He wasn’t exactly sure who it was, their pack obscured their outlines and to be honest, he didn’t know them that well, or really care to, not after this weekend.
He was slower on the trail, He knew that. It was why he joined the beginners group of hikers advertised at the center. He could walk for hours, he just couldn’t do it fast. In addition there were so many things that caught his attention as they hiked that it slowed him down further. Nesting birds with their young. The flick of a deer’s tail as it fled the approaching humans. The curve of a tree trunk as it negotiated it’s brethren for more light. All of it caught his attention and he had to slow to see.
He never actually stopped to marvel. He learned that on the first day. This group’s mantra was to keep moving at all costs. If they were a beginners group, then they were a beginners group determined they could break land speed records.
He conceded they needed to make it to their campsite by dark. However he checked the map before leaving and judged the distances and his speed. He knew that even at his speed they could make uit to their campsite by late afternoon. At their speed they made it to the site by noon. They felt it was some sort of accomplishment and congratulated themselves on speeding through the trail as though that was the point.
He pushed himself that day and managed to keep up. The second day, he didn’t do as well. He lagged behind, but he didn’t really care at that point. He was there to enjoy nature, otherwise he would have just chosen to walk on a treadmill in a gym. He always kept the others in site, but gradually he fell behind. Then he slowed to take in a vista, complete with a glittering waterfall throwing up sprays of rainbows into the sunlight.
He never stopped, but he was distracted and slow. Then when he turned, they are already around the corner. Even though he lagged, he promised himself he would not lose sight of the others. He hurried his steps but when he rounded the bend in the trail, they were gone. The trail continued to twist and bend, but it also split. He couldn’t tell which side they took and had to make a guess.
Ten til Midnight 