Thursday, June 12, 2014

Seeking the Source

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It was a slightly boggy clearing, one where dear had gathered perhaps to drink or to feed.  Being late in September, it was almost silent of bird song and the bugs were few.  I rolled out my jacket with half an intention to eat, but really only one purpose in mind.

It was potent stuff.  The dope I'd scored, just by chance from a pair of youths.  One was walking towards me on the highway and stopped to ask if I'd recently passed a town or even just a dwelling.  They couldn't have picked a worse place to break down as I'd just cycled through the most remote stretch of highway yet.  The other was stationed by the car.  I had stopped to greet him and tell him the bad news then cycled on to discover a small group of houses less than a kilometre from the car.  So I had turned around.  The kid was baked.
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An ATV trail ran up from the clearing into the hills.  I strolled up it while inhaling the acrid smoke.

Silence.  It was delicious.  After the constant din along the highway even more so.  It wasn't just the traffic noise that missing, but the sound of lawn implements, construction noises and the omni-present jet plane.  Was that the only reason that I had come here?  I concluded that it was.

I soon grew anxious.  I dared not stray too far from the bike as my saddle bags were loaded down with food and there might be wild animals about.  The thought would prove prophetic. IMGP1252