Page 16 of Xavier

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We run for what seems like hours.

His hand started out wrapped around my wrist, and somewhere along the way, it slid down to meet my hand, our fingers entwining.

I don't know where we're going. And I don't care. I don't notice the city buildings giving way to houses or the houses giving way to trees. I just focus on breathing, and not letting go.

I don't know where we're going, but none of that seems to matter to me right now. Only who I'm going there with.

"How... much... longer...?" I gasp, when my legs feel like they might not last much longer.

"Not long. Just a little way to go."

I save my breath and don't reply.

I've lived in this city all my life, but I have no idea where we are. I can't hear too many cars, but there's a rushing of water, so I know we're near the dam. The path under us is potholed and neglected, grass shooting up between the cracks, reaching for the sun after the long, harsh winter we've just had.

The street is lined with bushes and trees, thick with vegetation. An array of shades of green and brown.

He tugs hard on my hand and pulls me into a sudden gap in the woods. It's instantly dark, the branches blocking out most of the sun. The air is cooler here too.

There's a fleeting moment of wonder - what am I doing following this stranger into the woods?

It passes just as suddenly, as the forest opens up, and seemingly out of nowhere, the lake appears in front of me, in all its glorious decadence.

I stop instantly in my tracks.

What little breath I had is gone.

"Wow." I can't help but sigh.

The morning sunlight dances across the tips of the rippling waves like droplets of liquid silver scattering across the surface, giving it an almost ethereal gleam.

I feel myself reach out, wanting to touch it, but too afraid to shatter the illusion.

"Go," he urges me, stretching my hand forward, and then letting go.

I walk the twenty steps it takes to reach the water's edge, but I don't touch it.

"I've... I've never seen the lake like this before, from here. It looks so different from the bridge," I say, referring to the focal point of the town, the main road that crosses the lake. I can just make out the bridge from here, about a mile away.

It seems like it's a different world over there, people and cars rushing about their business. I turn back and notice him watching me.

"This is amazing. Thanks for bringing me here. Is this what you wanted to show me?"

"Partly. But there's something else." He gestures with his head to the left and presses his finger to his lips. I nod and follow, taking careful steps as he leads me to a tree a few yards away.

He points to a branch about a foot above my head, and I notice a small nest made of twigs and dried grass.

Taking my hand, he helps me take a foothold on the tree stump and I hoist myself up, peering down into the nest.

Three little orange beaks attached to three baby birds reach up to greet me.

"Oh my gosh," I coo, suddenly overwhelmed by the innocence of them. A knot in my throat blocks my voice and so I just stare at them as they squirm around in the nest, keeping each other warm as they wait for their mother to return.

"They hatched about three days ago," he whispers as I jump back down to the ground and step away, not wanting to disturb the infant birds.

"So, so cute. What kind are they?"