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My path began behind the library. It was surrounded by small bushes, but I could still see classroom buildings all around me.
I walked faster, wanting to put civilization behind me for a few hours. As I walked deeper into the woods, the trees grew steadily taller. After a few minutes, I was surrounded by them. I smiled to myself and slowed my pace.
Now that I was away from the buildings, I could pretend like I wasn’t on campus. I could focus on the sounds and smells of nature without even remembering my classroom buildings were just a few miles away.
I breathed in the smell of the trees and ran my hands over the trunks. After about a mile of walking in peaceful silence, I pulled out my water bottle and took a long sip.
My pace was natural, not too slow or too fast. I had a few hours before I needed to be in class and I wanted to enjoy this rare moment of free time. I knew that the workload would only get crazier as time went on.
Soon, I wouldn’t have anytime to myself. I would be confined to libraries and laboratories. Then, when clinicals began I would be stuck in the hospital every day for months. I was beyond excited about it, but I wanted to breathe in the fresh air while I still could.
I didn’t know where the path led, but I was eager to find out. I walked a little quicker, noticing that the trees were beginning to thin again. The path curved upward and I felt my legs stiffen at the incline. I pushed forward and soon my muscles relaxed back into a comfortable pace. It wasn’t long before the slope evened out. I stepped around a huge oak tree and looked around.
I was standing in the middle of a clearing with trees on either side of me. In front of me, there wasn’t anything but open space. The grass was so green that it was almost blinding in the sunlight. I looked at the sky. It was a gorgeous blue without a cloud in sight. I grinned and walked further into the clearing.
God, I had missed the States.
As I moved, I noticed it wasn’t just a clearing. On the far edge was a steep drop. I walked up to the cliff and looked down. There was a rocky slope beneath me that was much too steep for climbing, but out further was an endless array of beauty.
There were trees and flowers to the left with a small lake directly below me. Off to the right, I could see tiny buildings. I wasn’t sure if they were office buildings or apartments, I was too high up to tell. Damn, the view was amazing. I could have stood there enjoying it all day, but I knew I didn’t have the time.
Pulling my water from my backpack, I took another drink before I turned back around and headed to the other side of the clearing. The sun was rising ever high in the sky and my first class was at noon. I couldn’t afford to miss it so I glanced at the clearing one last time before I set off back down the path.
A few feet past the clearing, I ran into a couple of hikers. I nodded politely and let them pass. It wasn’t long before I realized this was a popular spot. I got there early, so not many hikers had arrived yet. As I walked back down the hill, more and more people passed by me.
I wasn’t paying close attention to each face as I walked. I was focused on maneuvering down the path without tripping or running into someone.
When I heard a familiar voice in front of me, I was sure I had heard wrong.
I froze, body tense and ears perking up.
Disbelief was a living thing in my body.
There was no way it was her.
I looked up quickly and felt my eyes widen. Holy shit.
She was walking toward me.
She hadn’t yet noticed me. Her eyes were focused on the ground and she was talking animatedly to a man.
He walked beside her and I squinted in the sunlight. He looked oddly familiar as well, but I couldn’t place him. Her, on the other hand, I would have known anywhere.
“Hailey,” I said loudly, raising my hand over my head.
A few people turned their head at my loud call.
I didn’t think about my action. That in itself was unusual.
I had learned to be a very methodical and precise person in the last few years. The military did that to its officers. I learned to think every step through before doing acting on it unless a life or death situation activated my instincts.
Seeing Hailey, I just reacted. There was no rhyme or reason. There was just a burst of all-consuming emotion that let impulse rule.
I was back to my old self.
Seeing her made it impossible not to react.
I didn’t know what I was going to say to Hailey. I just knew I couldn’t let pass her without saying something. Without seeing those beautiful grey eyes look into mine.
