the wanderer #2

he traced his steps back to the depths of the trees.  pausing to catch his breath, in his fervent search he had hardly realized the thin mountain air wasn't quenching his lungs.  the landscape was deceiving him now.  it had been so many years ago that he was last up on this mountain.  the small creek was now a brittle backbone, hardly visible through summer's of overgrowth.  he knew where he was though and where he was going.  if he closed his eyes, his surroundings suddenly transformed to a much younger picture and he could feel he was getting close.  suddenly, as if running into a close friend in a foreign country, he spotted the monument on the wooded floor.  pawing and the mound of tumbled over stones, he flung the earth, scratching just below it's surface.  this was all he had had to bury.   an article of her clothing.  not much to remember her by, but having it back in his hands now, he felt he could almost bring her back.  "don't run anymore, don't think anymore, just be here."  stealing himself from time, he brushed off the sweatshirt and put in his pack. he had a lot of walking to do before dusk.