In Bloom

Fully grown green trees lied in every direction for as long as the eyes could see in the crisp dusk air. In the middle of all the trees, there was a dirt road where a man was trekking through. He was bundled up tightly to battle the harshness of the cold and brought with him a backpack. Inside he had all the necessities to withstand the elements and harshness of surviving nature. He had a skull cap around his head, covering dark thin hair and a heavy green jacket.

“Why did you go through with this Martin?” He asked himself as he took a deep breath and looked around at the vastness of the woods.

Martin had been struggling for as long as he could remember. He had been living by himself ever since his parents had passed when he was fifteen years old, which forced him to be tougher than he’d like. A chip has been ever present on his shoulder as all the foster parents he had cycled through never stuck. Whether he was a trouble or not, it was never a good fit for young Martin at the time. He bounced around between different jobs, mostly working odd jobs all the while never feeling completely comfortable in his own skin. He’d go on to meet a few people throughout his life, women, friends, but much like his parents and foster families, they would just drift away. This led Martin to begin to wonder if something was broken inside of himself, so he’d locked those memories of those that had loved him away in an old brown box inside of his mind. He’d keep them there because he couldn’t help but to believe that in some way he had failed them by being himself, because if he hadn’t then why would they have left him he thought. Thus, on the advice of an advertisement at a bus stop in his hometown of Cherry Hill, New Jersey. It promised a nature walk through Ontario. He figured at the time it would be good, and on impulse he decided to do so and he thought maybe it would bring him a purpose or some sort of enjoyment. It would beat out everything else he had been doing at the time which was a big ole zippo, he would say.

He looked further down the path, and for the first time in a long time he saw another person. He had thought that the others that came to embark on the nature walk had long given up. There had been roughly twenty people and all of them fizzled out a while back, mostly just taking in the scenery, but he felt a need to keep going. To finish something, for once. The person that he saw looked like they had set up camp and a fire. The idea of warmth was nothing short of heaven to him so he hurried along to catch up to the stranger. His slow and deliberate pace had sped up to a brisk run, his breathing had become more and more difficult as he ran toward the camp.

“Why on Earth would someone have a nature walk in this freaking weather?” He muttered under his breath.

Eventually he indeed caught up to the stranger who had set up camp and a fire by a river bank. However, in the cold weather it was completely frozen. It stretched out along the trail and he had to admit to himself it was a hell of a spot to set up, even if it was starting to get dark. As much as he was annoyed with the cold, the sights were astonishing. A mountain was visible beyond the river, a good bit far from Martin’s current spot but it overlooked the woods and the trail as if it was their keeper. It towered over all the trees in sight and with the snow covering it, it just took his breath away. Or maybe that was just the cold, he wondered. The stranger welcomed him with a kind smile, but his face was worn and wrinkly. The man looked tired, but had the kindest eyes. He looked happy to see a friendly face and he, much like Martin, had a heavy green jacket around him.

“Hi, friend. Nice to meet you, you here on a nature walk I presume, right?” The stranger asked Martin.

“Yeah, it’s a safe guess. Is it alright if I stick by this fire? This cold is vicious.” Martin asked as he slowly approached the man’s camp. It was well lit all around the fire. The man had a few tents almost as if he was expecting people to come by and even folding outdoor chairs around the fire.

“By all means. Usually when they have this kind of nature walk around here, I figure to help. Set up camp, provide some kind of makeshift shelter. They let me do it, and an old lonely fart like me gets to meet some fine people in the process. It is fun for me, plus where else could I find a beautiful spot like this? It’s heaven.” The stranger explains as Martin lets out a deep breath when he sat down in the cheap chair provided to him across from the man.

“Well, I would hope that heaven isn’t this cold.” Martin smiled back, but it was a fake smile as he hid his eyes rolling from the older man.

The two men sat in silence for some time. The stranger sat silently, comfortably even, taking in the scenery and happy to be in the company of another person. He thoroughly enjoyed the moment. While on the other hand, Martin was the complete opposite. The silence was unsettling to him, but the only care he had at the moment was being off his feet and finding safe haven from the brutal cold. Martin felt his breathing had finally regulated and felt a load off of his shoulders.

“So what brought you to this little hike young man?” The stranger asked as he leaned back in his chair and clasped his fingers together over his protruding gut. Before even answering, Martin chuckled to himself struggling to find the words. The stranger looked at him puzzled as to why Martin was laughing.

“Sorry, it’s just a long story.” He explains. The stranger looks all around as the sun has almost fully faded away behind the gigantic mountain behind them.

“Not for nothing, but unless your intent is to maybe die in these woods…” The stranger trails off as he brings out tiki torches to spread out through his camp. “We’ve got nothing but time. I’d love to hear a good story, it definitely helps time go faster.”

Martin felt his broody resolve fading, as he couldn’t escape the matter and the two were most likely going to be in each other’s company for the night. The cold would be too harsh through the night. It couldn’t hurt after all he thought, not like he’d ever see this stranger ever again. He found it odd that the stranger had multiple tents set up and chairs, but he decided to overlook it. After all, Martin hadn’t seen or talked to anyone in a long time. He felt like he could indulge the old man and began to tell him about all of his struggles. The more Martin explained about how things fell apart for him after his parents' untimely passing and how he never felt as if people would take to him the more he began to feel the locked old brown box in his mind open up, and himself too. As the box opened, more of his positive memories came to the forefront, and more importantly how deeply he buried them much to his dismay.

“Well, that’s certainly a lot of hard times for a young man like yourself. I’m sorry.” The stranger sighed as he sat up.

“Yeah, I don’t know why but when I saw the ad for this nature walk…” Martin paused and took a deep breath and felt as if his next words might not make sense but he said them anyway. “It felt like the right thing at the time, maybe I would find something on it that I have been lacking. Weird, I know.”

“No, not at all. I’ve seen it before, look at me. An old fart sitting in on people has they walk by, I’m living vicariously through strangers that I meet here. They help me through the mundane and boring days of my life. So I get it.” The stranger explained and the two began to understand one another, two sides of the same coin. One was more hateful and spiteful while the other enjoyed every fleeting moment.

“How long have you done this for?” Martin asks.

“As long as I can remember now.” The stranger laughs as he rubs at his hand with intensity. Almost as if he had been trying to wipe away the hardened, and wrinkled skin.

Martin began to appreciate the exchange, but resented himself for how much he had cut off everyone in the world. In a short time, this stranger had gotten to know Martin better than most.

“Let me say something, before I turn in. I understand, pain can isolate someone. Especially the trauma of it all. I’ve been there myself. I read once. From a writer or something or other, every flower is made to bloom. It’s your turn, ya know. You’ve gotta let life…” The stranger paused and let out the biggest smile as he looked up to the sky in sheer awe. Martin smiled back and nodded, agreeing with his sentiment. “Good night young man.” The stranger went into his tent and let the fire continue raging on in the darkness of night.

Martin sat in the uncomfortable chair and looked up to the night sky in the same kind of awe as the stranger previously did. With the old box in his mind now open, all the positive memories he had previously locked up, he continued to smile. The kindness of a lonely stranger helped him remember that the world isn’t completely cruel nor isolating but it can also be kind and inviting. For the first time in a long time, Martin was happy.