Brown Street

Please note that I copied this from a pdf file, as it was all I had of the story. I may not edit it.

June, 1977, I was 11, and remember it so well.
I was walking down the street from my house when I saw a young boy about my age sitting in the grass on the side of the road at the corner of brown street. As I got closer, I noticed he was crying. I walked over to him and asked what was wrong. He looked up at me, a big red mark on his left cheek, and tears strolling down. He didn't speak a word to me but put his head back in his arms. I told him I could get my Mom, and he said no. Don't. That he would be okay. I nodded my head, swallowed, and turned around and walked back home.

PART I

February 5th, 1982 The air was cold this morning and I could see my breath in front of me as I walked. There was almost a foot of snow on the ground, most of it from the night before. Once it gets past two feet, that’s when they close schools. I walked down the road, nearing Brown Street now. I saw a boy walking around the corner and decided to let him walk ahead of me. He was tall, with long black hair that flowed loosely down his back. It went almost as far down as his waist, and Pieces broke free as the wind blew past. he was skinny, but not to skinny, nicely built, with a strong jaw. His skin was tan, and I guessed he was an native. Maybe he lived in that Native trailer park at the end of Brown Street. It was then that I realized I was staring, and thought id better hurry and get to school, or id be late. The boy piqued my curiosity. I thought about him most of the morning. I thought about him until my History teacher noticed that I wasn’t paying attention. 
“Miss McPherson!” He slammed his hand down on my desk, which got my immediate attention. “Would you be so kind as to concentrate on today’s lesson, instead of your own thoughts?” I stared blankly at the front of the classroom. “I’m waiting, Miss McPherson.” “Yes, I mean I will.” I said, feeling a little embarrassed. The whole class had stopped what they were doing, and were now looking at me. 
“That’s better” Said Mr. B. “Back to work everyone.” When lunchtime came, I hurried to the cafeteria to get a table. A couple of my friends joined me. I scanned the room. I looked over to my right and noticed the boy sitting alone in a corner against the wall. My friends sat down next to me, but I didn’t take notice. 
“Ka-tee?” Jen waved her hand in front of my face. “Kate!” She snapped. 
“What? Yeah?” I shook my head and looked toward her.
“What is with you today? You’ve been a real space case.” 
“Huh? oh nothing. Nothing at all.” My friends gave me a funny look, finished their lunches, and then left. The last bell rang. I closed my book, put it in my backpack, and walked out of classroom and down the hall. I stood near the side entrance, hoping to see him before I left. I didn’t. I started to walk home. ‘Maybe I’ll see him on the walk home.’ I thought to myself. I didn’t. 
“How was school sweetie?” My mom asked as I walked in the door 
“Fine” I replied and then went up to my room. I stared out my window and down the street. The night air was cold, so I shut my window. I hoped I would see him again. Tomorrow. Perhaps tomorrow. Really all I wanted to know was him his name. Well, ok, I wanted to know a lot more about him than just his name. ‘How could I ask him anything’ I thought to myself. ‘I’m too shy.’ I decided I was going to ask him the next time I saw him. I noticed him that morning heading to school, while I was walking toward Brown Street. I grew weak, knowing what I had to do, or rather, what I wanted to do. I just couldn’t do it. I just couldn’t work up the nerve to talk to him. He looked back at me for a second, then continued walking. 
I saw him every morning walking to school that winter, but never walking home. Then one day after school I walked out the front door, and scanned the small crowd of people. I saw him getting into a pickup with a few guys that had a pretty bad reputation. I wondered what he was doing with those guys. I decided to see where they were going, so I followed the car on my bike. The snow had since melted, and spring was just around the corner, which is why I had my bike, though it was still a little chilly out. They went down the same road that the school was on, then turned onto Coal River logging road. I followed them for a few miles before they pulled over on the side of the road and opened their doors to get out. I ducked behind some trees with my bike and watched them get out of the truck. The one driving, which I could now see was Justin Harold, looked around. Probably to make sure no one had followed them. They walked into the wood on a small trail. I followed close behind, leaving my bike leaning against the tree where I was. I followed them for about 10 minutes until they stopped in a small clearing with a circle of stones in the middle. One of the boys, Brad, gathered up some wood and they started a fire. They sat around the circle on the ground with nothing underneath but there jackets to keep there bottoms dry. Justin pulled out a small bag of something That I could not see clearly from where I was. Then he pulled out some small paper, and started to roll a..! ‘Oh no’ I thought. He lit the paper and started passing it around. The boy took a long breath in, held it, and then blew out a lot of smoke. He looked around the circle of boys and then stared right at me. ‘I’m caught!’ I thought. ‘He’s seen me!’ He then looked away. I sighed with relief. No wait! He did see! He mumbled something to the rest of the boys and then came over towards me. They took no notice of where he was headed. He was getting closer. There was no way I could make a run for it now. 
“What are you doing here?” he questioned me. 
“I…” I couldn’t speak. I opened my mouth, but little came out. 
“Just go!” he ordered. “Get out of here before someone sees you!” I didn’t speak, I just got up and turned the other way. I ran until my sides ached, I ran until I came to my bike. I hopped on and rode home as fast as I could. 
“Your home a bit late.” Remarked my Mom. “Oh, I just stayed behind to help a teacher with something.” I replied. 
“Well that’s nice” My Mom said back “Supper will be ready soon. Wash up and set the table dear” I washed my hands and then went into the kitchen, grabbed a couple of plates out of the cupboard, and then proceeded to set the table. Dinner was meatloaf. Its not that I don’t like meatloaf, in fact, my Mom’s meatloaf is the best. Its just that I kept playing the earlier scene over and over in my head. I just couldn’t believe what I had seen. “Is something wrong?” My mom asked. Just like a mom to know when something’s wrong. “Oh, nothing” I said. “What’s on your mind Sweetie? Looks like something is troubling you.” I couldn’t tell her the truth. I know she doesn’t like me going up to that part of the woods. Or being around those kinds of people. So I had to make something up. ‘Think quick’ I thought. 
“Oh, just something I read in the paper.” I was lying through my teeth. “Oh, what’s that?” my mom asked ‘Think! Think!’ “About those shootings, the ones down in Ohio. Its terrible that someone would do something like that.” 
“I read about that yesterday.” Said my mom “So sad that some people have that much hate in them.” She went on eating. "Don't worry. It'll be alright." ‘Disaster averted!’ 
After dinner I asked if I could be excused and my Mom said yes. She said that she would do the dishes. So I went up to my room and started to do my homework. But I couldn’t concentrate. History seemed boring, Math, too hard, English, well you get the idea. All I could think about was that boy and what he was doing. What was he doing? Well, what was he doing with those guys? No! I just couldn’t believe it. It wasn’t true. ‘I don’t like him’ I thought. I don’t want to see him, or even know him.’ I decided. 'Not if he does Those kind of things.' I didn’t want to go to bed early, ‘Ill never get to sleep.’ I thought as I drifted off. ‘I guess I’ll have to wait ‘till Monday to hate him.’ A thought that made little, but all sense.
I woke up early on Monday. My mom didn’t seem to notice the time change because I usually get up on my own anyway. I’m pretty good about that. I woke up early so I could leave early. Well not just to leave early, really, so I could leave before him. I wanted to avoid him as much as possible. ‘Him.’ I didn’t even know his name. ‘How could I hate someone I don’t even know to begin with?’ I considered. ‘But that horrible thing he did, that thing I knew was so terrible and wrong and unhealthy.’ ‘No! I’m sticking with this hatred. He’s not worth it.’ I thought. And in thinking this I realized that I had a crush, a crush on the very same boy that I hated so much. I managed to avoid him on the walk to school, in the morning, and even during lunch. As soon as the lunch bell rang, I headed off to art class, put my stuff down, got out my sketch book, and started to draw. Maddy came in and sat down next to me. The second bell rang and the last few students filed in. 10 minutes after the final bell for class, he walked in. I hadn’t seen him in here before, or at least I never noticed him in here before. 
“Decided to show up today? Eh?” said Mrs. S. 
“Hmm?” he looked up for a second, then sat down at the table across from me. I stopped my drawing and looked up. I studied him as he drew. I had looked at him before. But now my view was a bit clearer. I noticed a bear claw necklace around his neck, and a ring on his finger I could not make out. He looked up and noticed me staring, so I looked down and continued to draw. Maddy got up and asked to use the washroom. While she was gone, he came over and sat down next to me. I looked at his necklace, the string looked homemade, and the claws looked real. 
“Those are bear claws my grandfather got a hold of one day when he was wrestling a bear. He skinned the bear and then he made this necklace for me.” 
“Its nice” I said, not knowing what else to say. “My grandfather used to call me Claw, because I was sharp like the claws of a bear,” he said, looking proud and distant for a second. A moment of silence followed. “Why did you follow me and my friends into the woods on Friday?” he asked, suddenly changing his tone. 
“I, I was just curious.” I spit the words out quickly. 
“Well don’t do it again. Stay the fuck away from me and my friends. Just leave us alone!” He was furious. His mood changed so suddenly, and I was all but confused. He then got up quickly and started to walk away. I didn’t know what else to say. So I just shouted, without thinking, 
“H-hey. What’s your name?” 
“Silas” he looked back for a second and then sat down and looked at his paper for the rest of the class. 
I couldn’t sleep. I stared up at the ceiling and pictured Silas in my head. I pictured his long black hair, his auburn colored face, his toned arms, and his bear claw necklace. I pictured a red mark across his face. ‘The hand mark!’ I shot up realizing that Silas was the same boy that was sitting on the side of the road that day I was walking my bike home, when I was 11. He has to be. I thought about the hand mark for a while. “Had someone hit him?” I thought out loud. ‘Maybe I will ask him tomorrow. Will he want to talk about it? Will he even want to talk to me? He had told me to stay away from him.’ I decided not to talk to him. At least, not until I was ready to ask, and not until he was ready to talk. I didn’t know what to do so I avoided him for the next few days. It wasn’t easy. 
It was Friday again, and when I left school that afternoon I saw Silas getting into the pickup at the front of the school. No doubt to go get high with his buddies again. I stared at him as he got into the truck. He glanced back and noticed me staring. I immediately turned the other way and started walking home. A few seconds later I looked back. The truck was gone. I was alone. I felt alone. I sighed, then walked home. My pace was slow, My heart felt empty, and my eyes were filled with tears. Another week went by, and the only things Silas said to me were things like: “Go Away!” And “Leave me the fuck alone!” I was being pushed further away every time he spoke. The weekend came and went, and before I knew it, Monday had arrived. I left my house at the usual time and waved goodbye to my mom. When I came to Brown Street, I saw Silas walking up the road. He didn’t seem to notice me, or at least was pretending not to. We met at the intersection and I noticed he was smoking a cigarette. I also noticed that his faded black jeans had holes in the knees. He looked a little down in the dumps. 
“You know,” I said. “That’s not very good for you.” He replied with a nod, and then put his head back down and continued walking. He took a puff, blew out some smoke, then coughed up some phlegm. He spat on the ground right in front of me. I stopped. I made a face, which then made him chuckle. I noticed then that he had a nice smile. A little dirty, but nice. I walked a little faster to catch up with him and was now walking beside him. He looked at me and we both stopped. For a split second I felt a strong connection between us. 
“What the hell do you want? Can’t you just leave me the fuck alone?” he hissed. He walked faster now and left me standing behind him. I didn’t know what to say, or what to think. Why did his moods change so suddenly? I waited until he was out of sight before I started walking again. I finished school the next day and was walking out the front doors when Silas came up to me. 
“I’ll walk you home?” he asked, and smiled. 
“Sure...” I said cautiously. “I’d like that.” 
‘I’m ugly,’ I thought to myself the next morning, while looking in the mirror. ‘No one would ever like someone like me.’ I wanted to change my look. Then maybe Silas would like me. Though I wasn’t really sure if he hated me. I put on some pink leggings and an old, brown skirt that I had hardly worn, so it looked sort of new. I changed my shirt 5 times before settling on a pink top with a floral print. I thought I looked decent, but I needed to do something about my hair, and what about my face? My hair is dirty blonde, and goes just past my shoulders. Its kinda frizzy, kinda straight, kinda hard to deal with. I brushed it. I tied it back. I untied it. I braided it. I unbraided it and put a blue ribbon in it. I thought I looked decent at least. I added a few final touches with some lipstick, mascara, and blush. I put on the faux gold necklace my mother got me for Christmas one year. It had a gold heart on it. My mom hadn’t wrestled a bear to get it or anything, but it would have to do. Then I put on the nicest pair of shoes I owned. Once shiny, black flats. I gathered my things, and walked out the door. I met Silas at the corner of Brown Street. I noticed that he had braided his hair and was wearing a clean shirt, though his jean shorts were still ripped. He looked nice. He studied me. 
“You uh, look pretty.” He said. Why was I trying to impress him? I smiled nervously and noticed he wasn’t smoking today, though he had stuck a cigarette behind his ear. 
“I like your hair,” I said back. Even though I was thinking ‘I like your hair, your body, you. You’re gorgeous and wonderful!’ 
“Um yeah, it took me almost an hour.” I pictured him sitting in front of a mirror, stroking his hair, braiding and unbraiding it to get it Just right. We just looked at each other, and then looked away. Nothing was said the rest of the way. I met Silas at lunch that day. We sat outside under a large tree near the far corner of the school. 
“So what’s your family like?” I asked him. He looked to the ground. 
“Lets talk about something else.” He said, quickly changing the subject. 
“What do you have for lunch?” 
“A peanut butter sandwich.” I said pulling things out of a brown bag. “An apple, and a juice box. What about you?” 
“I forgot to make a lunch today.” He told me I ripped my sandwich in half and gave it to him. “I don’t want your pity.” He mumbled. “Uh, I mean thanks.” He took the half sandwich and wolfed it down, as though he hadn’t eaten in a while. I met him after school and we waited until his friends had left so we could walk home without them seeing. We started home together, and without realizing it, we were holding hands. It was like no feeling I had ever felt before. Like nothing else. I couldn’t even describe if I tried. All I knew was, the only word for it, SIGH! I was in LOVE! 
“Why do you hang out with those guys?” I asked Silas on the way to school the next day. “Were just buddies. That’s all we do, hang out.” He replied. 
“You know they’re trouble.” I said. 
“Whatever.” Was his reply. He took another puff of his cigarette. 
For lunch I went outside. Today was sunnier and warmer than the last and the snow was almost gone. 
“Hey cutie?” I turned around. It was Justin. He and Brad started walking over to me. 
“Hey sexy, what’s up?” said Brad, while putting his arm around me. Silas was standing across the way. He didn’t look like he was going to do anything.
“Wanna come over to my place tonight? We’ll get real cozy like.” Justin continued. I struggled to push them away, but they wouldn’t let go.I saw no teachers around to help, but I then saw Silas walk over towards us now. 
“Let her go!”He said fiercely. 
“Oh yeah? Whatcha gonna do about it?” Said Brad “This!” he pushed me out of the way, and threw his fist at Brad, knocking him to the ground. His nose was bloody and he didn’t get up right away. Justin tried to swing but Silas got there first, twisted his arm away, and laid his fist into Justin’s right eye. ‘Claw’ I thought. He was sharp. Or at least his mind was. He was quick thinking. The name fit. “I’m not your friend anymore! Find someone else’s life to ruin!” Silas yelled behind him. 
“And stay away from my girl!” He had called me his girl. Was I really his? 
“Th, thanks,” I managed to utter as my body sweat all over. He held my hand and we went in. So much excitement in less than one day. It was almost too much to take. He was brave, that’s for sure. 
“What you did back there,” I said to him on the walk home, “That took guts. Thank you.” He looked smug, pleased with himself. 
“Those guys are jerks.” Silas answered back. “I don’t know why I hung out with them in the first place. You were right.” We walked, hand in hand. We got to Brown Street. “I’ll walk you the rest of the way?” He said. “No, thanks, I’ll be ok,” I said back. He let go of my hand and was about to walk down Brown Street when, all of a sudden, he turned around. Looked into my eyes, then smilling shyly, he kissed me. ‘Don’t let go.’ Were my only thoughts. I really didn’t know what else to think. ‘A kiss! My very first kiss! A real kiss, from a real boy. And on my lips!’ those were my thoughts lying in bed that night. 
Me and Silas spent the rest of the spring getting to know one another. We took walks in the woods, dipped our feet in the river. He played me songs on his guitar. He never wanted me to come over, and I was too shy to tell my Mom about him, so we hung out in, and out of school, but never at home. I never questioned him as to why, figuring it was the same reason I didn't want him over to my place.

I crept downstairs in my robe and slippers, the whole house quiet for a moment or two 
“Is that you sweetie?” I could hear moms voice coming from the kitchen as I slowly went downstairs. 
“…Yes” I finally said. 
“I have to get off to work a little early this morning, and I’ll be home a bit late.” She said while walking towards the door with her keys in hand. “So would you mind locking up the house before you leave for school?” 
“Sure, no problem.” Was my reply. We said our goodbyes, and as her car was pulling out of the driveway I ran back upstairs excitedly. I wanted to try a whole new look, feeling as though I had to impress Silas somehow. Like the me that was already here was not good enough. I looked through my closet again and again, throwing clothes on my floor as I said, “no, this won’t do.” Or “I have NOTHING to wear!” I then decided to browse through my Mom’s closet. Boring! Boring! Boring! All of her stuff was boring. Plain. Wait! What was this? Tucked away at the back of her closer was a low cut black dress. ‘Perfect!’ I thought as I took it out. But when I tried it on, it was at that moment that I realized I had no chest. Well ok, I had a chest. Just not one large enough to fill out this dress. I settled on a pair of jeans and a tank top. I grabbed my bag, locked the house, and walked down the road. As I was approaching the corner I saw Silas standing there, his head down. He did not look good at all. 
“What’s wrong? I asked. 
“He’s gone. Ran off with some 25 year old.” He said. 
“Whose gone?” 
“My father.” Was his reply. I reached out my hands and he grabbed them, holding tight. He then flung his arms around me in a hug, my head on his shoulder and his on mine. We said nothing. Did nothing. It seemed to last forever. A tear trickled down his cheek and landed on my shoulder. We both looked up and stared at each other, blinking every now and then to hold back the tears. He was holding my hands again now. Nothing was said for a while. “Don’t you think we should get t…” 
“Shh.” He held his finger up to my lips. Then, coming forward slowly, he kissed me. The kiss seemed to go on forever. It all without a doubt made my heart race. I was mixed between the happy and sad thoughts of the moment. 
“We don’t need to go to school.” He whispered in my ear. “Come with me. We can go back to my place.” As he said that shivers ran down my whole body. ‘His place’ I thought. “But wont that bring bad memories or something, since your father just left?” I replied hastily. He looked as though he was going to cry again, but didn’t. “Come with me.” He grabbed my hand as we ran down Brown street together. 

PART II 
We ran all the way to the end, the road turned to dirt and gravel. I stopped abruptly, causing him to almost fall over. I stared at the desolate scape that lay before me. The broken sign that must have once read Shaa co-op trailer village. The rusty metal swing set creaking in the blustery weather. The dirt all over. The sight was all to eerie and very depressing I turned to look at him. 
“So this is where you live?” He nodded. We slowly wandered between the trailers and mobile homes, making our way to the woods at back of the park.To the right I heard a baby cry and a mother screaming at it to shut up.
“You get used to it.” He said. I also saw a young girl of maybe no more than 5 years. She had dirt on her face and was wearing tattered clothes that were to small for her now. She stared at us as we walked by. Her mother yelled for her and she ran inside. 
“Her name is Taila. I used to baby-sit for her when she was young.” ‘Is 5 not still young.’ I thought. “Hang on.” said Silas as he walked into a trailer and emerged with a guitar case. I didn’t question. We walked further back, through more trees now. The park had seemed so empty, so bare. There were hardly any trees within the park, expect the ones around the exterior of the premises. He led me in and amongst the trees as we wound our way down an overgrown path down a gorge, over a brook, up the gorge and through more trees. We continued down the overgrown path until we came to the river. We crossed the river on some rocks in a shallow part. We started up the hill on other side until we came out in a small clearing within the trees. There I saw a tiny cabin, broken down and half covered with moss and vines from the surrounding wood. 
“I used to come here whenever I needed to think, to be alone.” he told me about how he used to come here to escape his fathers abuse. It was peaceful out here. Here got to know more about himself and more about everything around him. He told me that sometimes he would come out here for days on end. 
“I want this to be our spot. Our place. Just for you and me.” 
“What are you saying.?” I Questioned. 
“Come be here with me. Live out here with me. No one has to know were here. This place will be for us alone. No one comes out here anyway.” I’d have to think about it, I told him. Think hard. He told me not to think now. Think later. Live in the moment. So I did. He took me inside the cabin. It was filthy, hadn’t been cleaned in a long time. There was a small table with two chairs on one side by an old wooden stove. At the other end was a small mattress on the floor, dusty, and with 2 blankets. There was a small window on either side. I sat down on one of the chairs after wiping the dust off. He sat down across from me and held my hands. He looked right into my eyes as I looked into his, smiling timidly. He leaned over the table and gave me a little kiss on my nose, I giggled. He smiled. 
“You have a beautiful smile.” I told him. He ran his hand through my hair and down my check, slowly getting closer until his hand was cupping my breast. he grabbed my hand and led me to the mattress on the floor. I just lay there, not sure what to think. He started to kiss me slowly moving down, kissing my neck as he moved the hair out of the way. I moved for a second and he looked up at me. 
“Am I moving to fast for you?” He asked. I didn’t move, I was panting. He sat up and stared down into my eyes, putting his hand down over me for support. “I guess I should just come out and say it.” He hesitated. “I love you!” He spit the words out like bad tobacco. I sat up slowly. I looked at him. 
“I love you to.” I replied Nothing was said. Silence. It was almost awkward. Almost? It was awkward. It felt similar to standing in front of a crowd and delivering the most important speech of my life. But then I felt so happy I smiled. Nervously, but still smiled. We sat there for the next few hours and talked. Just talked. By the time we had finished talking it was almost 1 pm. I realized then that I’d have to let my mom know. or at least leave a note. We walked out of the cabin, over the river, down the path, through the trailer park and up Brown Street towards my house. I left a note on the kitchen table for my Mom to let her know that I would be staying at Maddy’s house for a few days and that she needn’t call me.’ That would buy me some time’ I thought. I picked out some food from our cupboards and a broom to sweep up the cabin with. We walked back down Brown street, Just as we were nearing the entrance to the trailer park Silas ran into his place and came out with a box of condoms and a dusty bottle of wine. He grinned. 
“You won’t regret it.” He said winking. We took our time getting back to the cabin as it was a nice day out. Sunny with few clouds, and a chilly breeze. We stopped along the river and sat under a few trees to have lunch. He put down his bags and started to undo the elastic in his braided hair. 
“No. Don’t take it out.” I said “You’ll ruin it. It looks so good.” I reached over to stop him. “Whatever.” Was his only reply, his tone sarcastic, yet light-hearted. He proceeded to undo his braid. Watching his hands move through his hair, the movement graceful. As it had been braided for several days, when he took it out it had a nice wave to it. it flowed loosely down his back and over his chest. 
“Touch it.” He told me, grinning. I didn’t say anything. Instead I proceeded slowly with my hands, stroking downwards through his hair. It felt soft, smooth. A little greasy, but overall I liked the experience. I felt there was some kind of connection when I touched his hair and he looked into my eyes. 
I’d never had wine before. I wasn’t sure I much liked the taste. 
“You get used to it.” Said Silas to me that evening at the table in the cabin. He had picked up a cheap bottle of red wine at the store earlier today. Said he wanted to celebrate our new love. He went out and gathered wood then to start a fire. For the first time today I was alone. Not just alone, alone, but alone with my own thoughts. I tried not to think of what might happen tonight, but the thoughts crept in anyway. He returned a little while later and started a fire in the old wood stove which took a while because the wood was damp. The cabin heat up rather quickly, probably because it was small. We sat there in the warmth on the mattress, just sitting. Not talking. Not touching. Just sitting. 
“It’s almost 10.” I said to him 
 “Well then what are we doing just sitting here?” He asked as he took his shirt off. I just sat there quietly, trying not to stare, as this was the first time he has removed any of his clothes for me. He had a toned muscular chest, but not too toned, he looked strong. He looked like he’d spent his whole life doing nothing but manual labor. He sat there, leaning, putting his arm over my stretched out legs. His other hand reached over and ran through my hair and down the line of my jaw as he moved closer to kiss me. He had kissed me a couple times before, so why did this time feel scarier and make me tense up. I guessed it was because we were in a cabin in the woods all alone, and that it was 10 at night. 'What if this all wasn’t real.' I thought, a scared feeling in my stomach. 'What if he didn’t really like me and he took me out here so he could chop me into little pieces and bury me, and no one would ever know what happened.' I quickly pushed the thought out of my head. What a crazy thing to think. 
“What’s the matter?” He asked me as he pulled his lips away from mine. 
“I don’t know,” I said semi honestly. 
“Don’t be afraid. I won’t do anything you don’t want to until you’re ready. You can trust me.” 'But that was just it. Could I really trust him?' I decided yes, I could. We had talked for a while and I had gotten to know him better, and he, me. He slowly came forward and kissed me again, kissing my cheek, leaving a wet spot where his lips had been. My hand went up to touch my cheek and gently grazed the wet spot. His hand came to meet mine as he grabbed, pulled it down, and whispered, while looking into my eyes, I love you. My heart was all but racing, and faster than before. He slowly removed my shirt, staring into my eyes the whole time, my gaze never leaving his, as if his eyes were two magnets attracting me, the force between us strong. Silas tossed my shirt aside, and put his arms on my shoulder, laying me down gently. He began to kiss my lips, slowly moving down, both his arms surrounding my body, rested on the bed. His lips moved down at a liesurley pace as they kissed in between my breasts as they rose up and down. Moving beyond my belly button he undid my pants, carfully slid them off, and did the same with his. I was so exposed. I felt exsposed. Not just my naked flesh, but my soul as well. I tried to speak to tell him that I loved him too, but no words came out. Just the hiss of air escaping my trembling lips. In fact, my whole body was trembling. 
"Is this speed okay with you?" Silas asked, his gaze still not leaving mine. "I don't want this to feel forced."
"I..." Panting, I tried to form words. "I am okay. I am just unsure. I have never... never done this before." Silas sighed.
"And that is okay. I will leave it here. I want you to be happy, and never scared. We will continue this when you are ready." Not knowing how else to react, or what else to do, I began to cry. Happy tears. I smiled. 
"I love you, Silas. I love you more than I can express." My cheeks wet.
"I just want to spend all my days with you from now on.” I nodded. Swallowed. I felt the same. Somehow this felt like a dream. Or more accurately, a dream come true. 
I was staring at the ceiling, couldn’t sleep. It was dark, and there was an eerie hush to the place. I looked over and saw Silas lying flat on his back fast asleep, his breathing heavy. I watched his chest rise up and down. ‘I’m so lucky’ I thought. ‘What more could I have hoped for?’ I then lay my head next to his and slowly drifted off. 
I slowly opened my eyes and lifted my head to see Silas starting a fire. He looked over at me. 
“Well, good morning.” He said cheerfully. “Did you sleep well?” I didn’t answer. Instead I pulled the covers off me and stood up. Silas came over and put his arm around me. It felt totally normal. As though I was used to it. As though all this was supposed to happen. “Hungry?” He asked. “Starved.” I said in reply. He heated a can of beans over the stove and we ate it with toast. It wasn’t really what I’d call breakfast, but it wasn’t bad either. We sat there in silence as we consumed our food. 
“So…” I asked. He Looked up. 
“Hmm?” 
“What are we going to do today?” I asked, a mouthful of toast being chewed as I spoke.
“Um, not to sure. let’s just enjoy each others company.” He said back admiring me all the while. I blushed and had to look away for a second. We put our dishes by the stove and just sat there at the table. He got up a minute later and got out his guitar. He started to tune it and then began to play. I recognized the tune instantly. I had told him that my favorite movie was The Sound Of Music, and he was playing Edelweiss. His voice was amazing, beautiful. I sighed and just enjoyed the moment. 
“Your voice…” I said trailing off at the end. Tears were forming in my eyes and tiny ones had already started down my cheeks. I am a very romantic person, and it showed more than ever when I was with Silas. Putting his guitar down, He leaned forward and dried them of with his lips. The feeling so private. Like no one else could feel this feeling but me. it was like I alone owned this feeling, this moment. I owned the tears on my cheeks and the movement of him coming slowly forward to kiss them off. 
“Stop it!” I exclaimed as Silas continued to tickle me. I was vulnerable, weak. 
“Never!” he said as he kept tickling me. “I love to see you smile. I feel like somehow you’ve changed me. Like I am still me, yet not who I was before.” 

The sweet smell of the afternoon came in through the window on the breeze that afternoon. Spring was nearly over and I could feel it. I then stood. 
“Let’s dance around like fairy’s.” I left the cabin and started twirling in and amongst the trees. “To be wild and to be free, feel the wind through my hair.” He chased me as I danced through the forest. I ran farther and farther away as he ran to catch up. He grabbed my wrist and pulled me in and kissed me, I ran off again. 
“Catch me if you can.” I yelled back. We were running and giggling and had wandered a great distance away from the cabin. I stopped suddenly and Silas just behind me. An old dirt road stood before us. 

PART III 
A rock face on one side of the road was randomly spotted with dry grass and a few trees and shrubs. Were we lost? I certainly didn’t know where we were. I hadn't ever traveled out of of town in my life. 
“Old spelt road,” he told me. “Goes right through the town of Johnson Valley.” I’ve heard or that town before, it was a town or two over, or so. 
“Well should we turn back, or keep going?” I asked. 
“Back for now. I have an idea.” We made our way back to the cabin. We arrived, out of breath, forgetting how far we had run. 
“Grab your things, pack them up, and lets get going.” Said Silas, hastily, as he was panting as her spoke.
“Going?” I asked, feeling very confused. 
“Yes." He replied, enthusiastically. "You and me. The open road. We’ll walk for miles not knowing where the road will take us.” 
“Just like that? Off to who knows where?” 
“Um… Yeah!” I wasn’t at all sure what to think. Was I ready to just leave? Just like that? I always thought decisions through. “Remember,” he told me. “Think in the moment, really, don’t think.” I had made the decision to come to the cabin oh a whim. 
“Why… why not!” I said proudly and decisively, though honestly scared. We packed our things and left the cabin. That was it! Our old lives left behind. Our new lives an adventure that would unfold every minute of every day from. We made our way out of the trees and onto the dirt road. 
“On to Johnson Valley then?” Silas said. 

• “Onto Johnson Valley.” I repeated. We skipped down the road arm in arm. After nearly an hour of walking we stopped, tired and sweaty. 

“Soon.” He said. “See? Those houses off in the distance. Grass Valley.” We walked down the road as it slowly sloped into a valley. We passed a lake. We came around the corner and made our way into a small town. An old man stopped and said hello. His back was crooked and he walked with an old cane. We kept walking. We hardy stopped, just to get a few supplies. The Road continued to slope downward. Never up. Down the valley we walked for what seemed like miles. After several hours in the hot afternoon sun, we came slowly out of the trees. the rocky cliffs became more and more scarce. After about 20 minutes we started seeing farms, fields, and grassy plains. The grass and open road seemed to stretch on forever. The sun was almost unbearable. There was little shade as there were few trees. We kept walking as Silas put his thumb out, and  just as we were about to collapse from the heat, and the weight of our packs, a pick-up truck passed us. He must have seen us walking there because he stopped and backed up. 
“You folks need a ride?” 
“That’s ok.” I said, not sure if I could trust him, being a stranger and all. 
“You sure? It’s mighty hot out.” 
“Come on,” Silas whispered to me “We do need the ride.” He looked me right in the eyes. 
“Ok, why not?!” I said Wholeheartedly , thought feeling a little uneasy. We squeezed into the front seat of the pickup and he sped off. 
“So what’re your names?” He asked us “And where’re ya headed?” 
“My name’s Silas,” he said. “And this is Katelin. And we don’t really know where we’re headed.” 
“Nice to meat you Silas, Kate, I’m Mike. And join the club. I’ve never really known where I was going.” He replied “So where you from?” 
“Oh, nowhere special” Silas told him. “Just needed to get away.” 
“Ah, young lovers I see.” He said as Silas put my hand in his. I blushed. 
“Do you mind if I smoke?” Asked Silas. 
“No. Go right ahead.” Said Mike. Nothing was said for quite some time after that, and it would have been quite eerie had it not been for the radio playing. 
“I’m gonna make a stop up ahead at that gas station. Need to check the oil.” He told us. “Maybe y’all can get out and stretch then.” We pulled in, and while he filled up me and Silas got out and stretched our legs. I looked at the time. We’d been driving for nearly 2 hours. “Well come on now.” Mike said. “We’d better get going if we want to make it somewhere before dark.” We hopped back in his truck and were off within minutes. I woke up, not sure where I was, and looked around me. There was a small bed and a table with a lamp. “Motel,” Silas said “Mike said he’d pay for the night. You fell asleep in the car, I had to carry you in. It was cute.” He laughed as he spoke, his voice gentle. I guess I blush easily because Silas noticed. 
“it got dark out fast” I said, thinking it wasn’t more than a few hours later. 
“It’s eleven...” He replied. 
“Oh.” I said bluntly. 
“Well we have all night. Whaddya wanna do?” He asked, nudging me. ‘Wake up first.’ I thought 
“I don’t know. Doesn’t look as though there is much to do here.” 
“How about we go for a little walk?” He asked. “Sure, why not.” We didn’t need coats, it was a warm summer night and the stars were out in the clearest sky you ever saw. We walked behind the motel into a field with a few trees at the edge. After about 10 minutes we came to a log and sat down. the first thing I did was fall off, then giggled. Silas followed, rolled over, and met me in the  grass below, warm from the day. We looked up at the stars. 
“Heaven on earth.” Silas said 
“Just what I was thinking” He pulled himself over to kiss me. He rolled on top of me and we stayed out kissing and talking under the stars until the sun came up. My hair was a mess and I had no brush with me so I just ran my hands through it until it looked good enough. Silas didn’t have to do anything, his hair was already perfect. But he decided to braid it anyway. 
“Here,” he said. “You do it.” I slowly reached my hands over and began to braid his hair. I tingled all over with excitement. We smiled at each other. 
“Love you.” He said. 
“I love you to.” I whispered back. 
The day was very hot and no clouds could be seen anywhere. The windows were down in the truck and my hair blew all over the place. The braid that Silas had in his hair prevented it from doing the same. 
“Look what we have here,” Said Mike, pulling his truck over to the side of the road. “A river. This will be where I drop you guys off. I need to go on alone from here.” He had a distant look in his eyes. We both looked at him and nodded, sweat rolling down our cheeks and got out of his truck.
"I wish the both of you lots of luck." He said to us. "This highway heads north, into Canada. I should be goin', but it was nice meetin' you both." He waved.
"Thank you so much." I replied, smiling. "I hope you have a safe trip wherever you're going."
"Yes, thanks for the ride, and everything." Silas said, mumbling those last words as he put a cigarette in his mouth and lit it.
The water looked heavenly. Nice and cool, with deep pools all over. Silas grabbed our stuff, walked over to the rocks, an put it down. He began to remove his clothes, ran as fast as he could, and jumped into one of the large pools of water, the splash it made sprinkling my clothes. I giggled. 
"Come on in." Silas yelled from below, splashing me with more water. I was nervous to take off my clothes in public, but no one else was around. 'Be free.' I thought. I knew I had to take risks that I never had before. This whole relationship was a big risk. A big romantic and beautiful risk. I threw my clothes off and ran as fast as I could, screaming as I jumped in. I was never like this before. I never took these kinds of risks before, But Silas gave me the courage to do so. He gave me the confidence to be free.
We sat on the hot rocks in the late afternoon sun, our bodies slowly drying.
"Well, what do we do now? Where are we going to go?" I spoke, a little unsure of myself.
"Ya know..." Silas replied, trailing off at the end. "I believe I have some relatives up north, in the Yukon. We'll camp out here for the night, and try and get a ride tomorrow."
North, I thought to myself. North sounded good. At least it was a direction.
"A real adventure." I sighed as I spoke, turning to look at Silas as I put my clothes back on.
If this, the feeling in my heart was what true love was, what true love felt like, then this was an adventure I was happy to go on. We walked down the road hand in hand, a lifetime of adventure before us.