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T. SPEAR
It’s definitely not the kind of boardwalk I was thinking of. I pictured sand, water, and a hot sun. This looks more like…a swamp. A pretty swamp but surely not a beach. I laugh to myself and read about it while I finish my food.
Back in my room I pack my backpack with everything I might need. I grab sunblock, a hat, and bug spray and get on the road.
It’s about a twenty-mile drive from my hotel to the beginning of this boardwalk. The Jeep is fun to drive. I totally get the appeal now. I roll down the windows and blast some music and the time goes by quickly.
When I park my car at the entrance, I see some interesting building. They look like they have grass roofs. Very cool. I go into the visitors’ center and take my time reading about everything I will see while I am on this hike. I’ll encounter extremely old cypress trees, tons of plants, I can’t pronounce the names of, water birds, and alligators. Which, honestly, is slightly terrifying. I’m sure they will be a good distance away though.
I start down the path, and the size of these trees is impressive.
They’re wild looking. The heat, on the other hand, is insane. I have never felt humidity quite like this. It’s like insta sweat. I continue on the path, stopping every so often to read about what I’m seeing. It’s cool, actually. Each stop has a barcode that I scan, and all the information pops up on my phone.
I take all the brief detours they have set up to get the total experience and try to understand why Riley wanted me to come here, of all places. This isn’t like anything we talked about. In fact, it’s quite the opposite.
The path takes me a good hour and a half to walk. Right around this corner is the lake where the alligators should be. There is also a sitting area, for which I am thankful. I need to get off my feet for just a bit before I walk back. I wonder if they have
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anywhere to eat close by. I wonder if you can buy alligator meat?
When I round the corner, I see a few couples leaning over the edge of the railing There are some kids bouncing about, too and then my eyes land on something that is all too familiar…
Bright red hair, a black crop top with black shorts, and a familiar pair of cowboy boots. I stop in my tracks. I can’t move. Is that really her? I mean, I’m sure there are lots of girls with the same color hair. I take a step towards her, still a good ten feet away.
She is looking down at the phone in her hands, and her hair is covering her face. I take another step. Bat wings are making my stomach twist. I can feel my heart beating in my whole body. I take another step. This time, the wood creaks, and her head turns to look at the sound.
My breath hitches, and I think for a split second my soul might have left my body. Those bright green eyes I looked into almost every day for weeks are staring back at me. Her smile hitches to one side, and she stands up. I close the space between us, my hands wanting to touch her, to pull her into me. I leave a few feet of space between us and I examine her, double checking that she’s real.
“Well, that took longer than I thought it would,” she says and her smile spreads across her face.
“I’m so confused. How? Where?” I move my torso around, looking at our surroundings. Then my eyes find hers again and my mind doesn’t care about the details.
“Let’s sit,” she says.
We go to one of the picnic tables and sit across from each other.
“Did you know I was going to be here?”
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I have to ask questions. I’m still confused as fuck.
“Yes.”
“But how?”
“Well, I drove straight here from Montana.”
“So, you have been here this whole time?”
“Yup.” she nods her head. “I mean, I’ve been traveling around southern Florida, waiting, but I never left the general area.”
My hands scrub down my face as I try to make sense of what is happening. I set them on the table, and her hands cover mine. It feels like the spark I have been trying to light in my life is being ignited.
