Most days were uneventful, most days followed the same routine. On rare occasions the script was flipped completely and the unexpected happened. This warm sunny day at the lakeside was one of those rare days. The kind of day that you remembered for a long time.
It started as usual, or rather a bit unusually. Everyone made the hike and moved down to the lake for some fun. To be honest I looked forward to it, it was a chance to soak up some sun and dip in the water. Getting a little tan wouldn't be so bad either, I'm sure she would be pleased. She always did complain that I could get really pale, in that case wait until it was finally winter. She would be in for a suprise.
I found a nice spot, close to the lake shore. My friends sat in a circle making conversation. I gave my input when prompted but focused on getting as much rest as possible. They understand that I was a bit tired lately. I closed my eyes and relaxed to the sound of soft waves and rippling water.
It was brief but I felt it again. When I opened my eyes he was glancing down at the water. I sighed in exhaustion, I had to be patient. My eyes wandered until I spotted Lukehiem and his new friend Jess sitting side by side keeping watching over their fishing rod. I chuckled quietly, they looked so cute, I wish I brought a camera. I'm sure the others at home would find the rare footage amusing.
I was about to close my eyes again when I saw Luke jolt and shake. I wonder what spooked him, perhaps a fish or critter.
I chuckled again, but the amusement did not last long. Luke shot up to his feet and walked further away with Jonathan trailing closely behind him. He looked nervous, he looked a bit scared.
'Why would he be scared? Why is he following Jonathan, I thought he hated his guts.' The mystery was stacking. They were covered by trees but they were still by the lakeside. I could barely see them so I let my curiosity fizzle out. I would ask Luke about it later. I closed my eyes again and reminisced about home, my assignments and amount of labour I would have to do when I got back to work.
The peace was obscured once more. I felt the commotion around me and cracked my eyes open to withness a scene that left me cold. Out in the distance two people were violently trashing in the water. At first I thought to pay it no mind, us teenagers were always prone to abit of roughhousing. It wasn't just any random group of teenagers in the water unfortunately. I finally recalled that they were in the same spot I last saw Luke and Jonathan.
I watched as Delan, our ever reliant captain sprinted over to them followed closely by some others. My heart sank when I saw them grab Luke roughly and toss him to the hard, rock covered earth.
Moments later Delan hoisted him by the collar and spat unheard threats at him. To my confusion Jonathan was the one to intervene. Luke walked back as calmly and gracefully as ever. His face didn't give much away, but his eyes, his eyes told me all I needed to know.
The murmurs started again, the twisted gossip resumed. "How could he do that?" "He's clearly unstable, having a mental illness doesn't give him enough reason to strangle someone." "That autistic loner has finally gone insane." "He's probably jealous of Jonathan, he doesn't have any friends." "Yeah maybe the frustration finally got to him." "I wonder what's going through his head. He doesn't look guilty to me." "The poor boy probably doesn't even know what he's done."
"Would you all shut up. Jumping to conclusions when you probably didn't even see what happened. Resulting to accusations without understanding the situation, following along because someone else said it.
And how dare you. Mental illness, autistic loner and you say it like it's a slur. Best be careful until we have all the facts straight. You would not want to embarrass yourself."
So that's what it had come to. Lukehiem had been branded the autistic loner. They thought he was jealous of the most popular guy in school. They thought he attacked Jonathan even though they never actually saw it happen.
No one had the full story, the only source we had were the words spoken by either Jonathan or Luke. So in essence we had no proof, we had no story. Luke was most likely to keep silent, Jonathan had remained impassive previously and I was inclined to believe that he would remain the same.
They called him autistic and jealous. He wasn't either of those things, was he? I mean he had all the markers, he is special in the way he reasoned and handled things. In conclusion those claims had some truth. As for the consensus that he was being jealous, I was not sure.
I had no idea of Lukehiem's motivations or his reason to dislike Jonathan. There was a chance that jealousy was a factor but it was highly unlikely and could not be the only reason.
I didn't want to think about this anymore. And I didn't want to listen to the insults and scorn being passed around. Luke didn't seem in the mood either but he still sat beside Jess like nothing had happened. I was already walking on the trail before I noticed.
My thoughts weren't helping at the moment. I stopped in the trail and looked at the trees on either side of me. Before I knew it I was cutting through the woody vegetation. The hike was slow and without purpose. I took time inspecting each tree I came by, checking it for anything special. Like knots, strangely shaped branches, even the bark.
My exploration brought me to a little clearing. I sat on the fallen tree in the middle, closed my eyes and sighed in relief. I wasn't here alone, I was sharing the log with a familiar but unexpected guest. I'd always wondered what they got up to since they didn't supervise us for most of the day. Mr Fixx on the other hand didn't seem to suprised by my presence.
"How are you enjoying the camping trip" he started the conversation with a lazy smile on his face. "It's not to bad. I can't say it's as nice as being at home though." "Hehe it's always like that the first few times. In fact it's like that all the time but we still do it anyways." He scratched his beard a little and offered me some jerky. I accepted without hesitation and tore into the packet promptly. "Thank you sir, I really appreciate it."
"Oh it's nothing kid, I brought more that I could need for the trip. My wife told me it was too much, but I told her that there is never too much jerky." I laughed along with him and leaned again one of the branches.This log was nice, maybe I can just stay here for a while. "Do you like camping, Mr Fixx. And if so what about it?"
He scratched his beard again, pondering my question briefly. "I've always loved the outdoors. Ever since I was a boy I've dreamed of living in a nice log cabin near a lake. I would be nice to come down each day, catch some fish, chop up some firewood and crack a beer open at night." He paused briefly, I watched his eye glaze over, he was visualizing it— like he had probably done countless times before. "I'm still working towards it. I guess you can say that nature calls to me. Besides it would be nice to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city for a quiet lakeside ranch, don't you think."
"Yeah I guess that would be nice. Can I ask for some advice?" He nodded gently, "I'm not really comfortable here. I've never been the best with dark forest and isolated spaces. It's hard to sleep, do you know how to make the forest seem less scary?"
"Hmm, less scary. It is scary sometimes but there is a way about it. I like to remind myself that everything is alive. It is a living entity and as such it has it's own quirks and personality. Just like when you meet someone new, the more you know about them the less there is to fear." I thanked him, it wouldn't hurt to try. Maybe what I lacked was perspective.
I closed my eyes and relished the thought. When I opened my eyes again the sun was setting. I finally got some sleep, to bad I had to do it in the middle of the woods. Far away from any possible source of help. At least I had Mr Fixx here with me. Speaking of Mr Fixx where had he gone. I found it odd that he would leave me here alone in the middle of nowhere.
I thought about what he had said earlier. Everything around me was alive, everything was just part of a cycle that struggled for existence. The more I knew about it the less I had to leave to my imagination. "I don't really have a reason to fear you, do I?" The breeze blew gently and the shadows darkened as the sun fell lower. ["NO"]
The voices returned as soon as the sun vanished below the horizon and my fear returned along with it.