Loss

“Left foot. Blue boot. Right foot. Pink boot....”Jolene sang softly to herself as she walked. She liked to keep her eyes on her feet while they walked. She felt like she was always walking.

Crunch, crunch, splash. Splish, splash, crunch. Jolene liked the sounds she heard over the spatter of rain on her makeshift raincoat. A muffled rhythm section to her walking song.

Every few minutes she would glance up from her feet to make sure she hadn’t lost the Nice Lady. She hadn’t. Jolene had come to recognize the back of the Nice Lady’s brown hiking boots, and the bright green color of her pants under the layers of mud, topped by the large dark green backpack. A clear plastic water jug hung from a clip, swinging in a steady rhythm.

Joleene looked back to her boots. “Pink boot, I found you at the old seven-eleven!” she said to herself in a croaky little voice. “Blue boot, I found you on the side of the highway. Now, all three of us can be friends.” She grinned a little chubby-cheeked smile to herself. And on she walked, four steps of her own to match one step for those ahead and behind her.

Many crunches and splashes later; “Hold up!” she heard the Serious Man say in a loud voice. The loud voice meant it was time for everyone to stop and listen. Splash! Jolene giggled to herself as she stopped in a puddle. The nice lady turned and looked down at her sympathetically, “Hush up now Jolene, I think we’ll get to rest for a minute.”

The Serious Man spoke loudly again to the small group who stood in rough single file along the sodden gravel shoulder of the highway. He gestured toward a building that was barely visible through the smoke, fog, and rain.

“I think I know where we are, that’s the last strip mall before we get onto the open road. It’s the last main area for about a hundred and twenty kilometers, if memory serves. We’d best head in and see what we can find, if anything. Maybe stop in for the night.”

A gruff voice spoke up from behind Jolene, “Gotta be picked clean already. How many people have had the same idea? It’s only a bit after two anyway. I say we keep on for a while.”

Serious Man shrugged, “Worth a look, don’t you think Mike?”

Nice Lady squinted for a minute through the gloomy gray afternoon. “Steve, did you notice what looks like an old walk-in Vax clinic sign on the side there? One of the old banners is still hanging down under the main sign tower.” She said, loud enough for everyone to hear.

Jolene blinked through the raindrops that were gathering on her eyelashes and regarded Serious Man who stood in his bright yellow rain slicker, his tall backpack looming above his head. “Steve”, she mouthed to herself quietly.

Steve sniffed thoughtfully and turned his attention back across the deserted parking lot. He wiped his eyes and blinked, “I think you’re right.” He chewed his lip for a moment, weighing the options. “That might have just kept folks away. Maybe still some good stuff in the old Wal Mart there, if it wasn’t converted to a shelter. Even if it was, better chance of finding some canned goods?”

“Still a risk. But, I’m in.” Mike said bluntly.

Steve nodded. “How long since we saw anyone else walking anyway? We might be the only ones so far who decided to keep going East. It seemed like most of the others had decided to hold up in Kamloops, wait for the next round of Feds for supplies. I don’t know how many might be ahead of us. Not on foot, anyway… ”

Nice Lady spoke up again, “You’re right I think. Chances are, this place was abandoned months ago anyway. Folks around here would have had no problem getting out of town. We might be the first through here since winter.”

Steve nodded. “Possible.” He peered around through the middling light. All of the trees in the near vicinity along the highway were tall spindly burned sticks, extinguished only by the deluge that came far too late. Their sad ranks disappeared into the smog in all directions.

“Okay,” Steve nodded, before turning his attention to Jolene and then glancing up to her new self-appointed guardian, “Lisa, what do you think? You good to keep an eye on Jolene? We could really use every set of hands we have.”

Jolene’s head snapped up to look at Nice Lady’s face, “Lisa!” she whispered happily to herself. She smiled broadly. Lisa smiled back cautiously.

“Could be dangerous in there. Broken glass. Used needles. I don’t know that I can hunt around and keep an eye on her. Kids this age get into everything.” Lisa looked thoughtful for a moment, and then spied a concrete highway barrier that was turned on its side off the highway. She glanced apprehensively West, and then East along the empty, rain-slicked highway. “Do you think you could wait here for a bit, Jolene? We won’t be long.”

Jolene looked at the curved, wet, gray slab of concrete. It looked like she could sit there for a while, and she was tired of walking. “Okay.” she said softly.

Mike coughed into his hand, “You think that’s safe?”

Lisa held out her hands with some exasperation, “Well, not entirely no. But, when was the last time we saw any vehicles headed West?”

Mike turned his glance and squinted through the murk to the Eastbound side of the highway, as several cars swished quietly through the rain, their red tail lights fading quickly as they continued by. “Westbound? Sure. But just over there? Who knows.” He shrugged.

Lisa let out a long breath and peered along the highway. “It would be out of most people’s way to turn around. Besides, it seems like everyone is happy to ignore us walking. Nothing over there but rich assholes looking out for themselves, far as I can tell,” she sneered.

Mike shrugged. “Fair enough.”

Lisa eyed Jolene, “You can stay here and rest while we go and look around?”

Jolene nodded, “I’m tired of walking.” She made her way over to the barrier and climbed up onto it. The blue plastic shopping bag she was wearing, was big enough for her to curl her legs up into so she was protected from the rain, which she did as she took up a spot on her perch.

Lisa regarded her sadly, “Let’s see if I can find you something else to wear instead of those pajamas eh? Maybe even a proper slicker. Some matching boots?”

Jolene shook her head. “I like Pink Boot and Blue Boot. They’re friends! I would like a hoodie. I lost my favorite hoodie.”

Lisa smiled broadly. “Right, a hoodie it is.” She turned toward Steve, and nodded forward, “Let’s hurry.”

The group trudged by, Mike looked at Jolene as he passed, “Don’t go anywhere okay? If you see anything in the bushes or whatever, just leave it alone alright?”

Jolene nodded solemnly but remained silent. She watched as the group walked into the parking lot and quickly faded into the smog. She wrapped her arms around her knees and waited.

***

Denise shivered in the passenger seat of her SUV as they made their way through the dull afternoon. Ash smudged rain streaked their windshield, smearing the red of the taillights ahead of them into sullen arcs. The radio droned advertisements, before the host returned, his voice somber.

“The mass migration of people from the lower mainland continues to add insurmountable pressure on the already fragile interior regions, as many towns along the Trans-Canada have been evacuated following the uncontrolled wildfire season of twenty seventy-seven. In many cases, no one has yet returned, leaving a dangerously un-managed region devoid of services between the Lower Mainland and Southern Alberta."

"More than two hundred thousand people have left their homes, indeed their entire lives behind, in the aftermath of the devastating Tsunami that struck the region. The record surge followed a massive earthquake centered twenty kilometers off the southwest coast of Vancouver island at 2:35 AM last Friday. Measuring nine point three on the Richter Scale, residents in the area had just over eight hours advance warning, thanks largely to the seismic warning system, which is now being credited with saving millions of lives."

"But nothing could stop the devastation that was to follow. Releasing approximately 130 gigatons of energy into the surrounding seabed in just under four minutes, a tsunami surge intensified as the shockwave made its way through the narrowed channels of the gulf islands, building to a wall of seawater that reached nearly 20 meters higher than maximum storm surge levels, by the time it made landfall. "

"While many did heed the warning, tragically a great many more could not leave the area fast enough amid the confusion that was only made worse by happening in the middle of the night while many people slept."

"The entire surviving population of the cities of Richmond and Delta have been forced to evacuate, often with nothing more than what they can carry or fit in their cars. While rescue and clean up efforts are just beginning, the loss of property and life has been devastating to the region. Provincial Finance Minister Jessica Laycock reports insurance losses are estimated at more than eleven billion dollars, with the worst of the economic impact still to come. "

"We connect now with field reporter Jean-Sebastian LaFlamme, who joins us from one of the Alberta Border Services refugee centers, just outside of Canmore Alberta. Jean-Seb, what can you tell listeners about the rapidly changing situation there?"

“Well, I can tell you the situation is only going to get worse before it gets better. Officials here say that they were already pushed to the limit following the fire evacuations earlier this year, and now…"

Denise stabbed the volume button on the car display, muting the report. Her eyes wide, she looked at her husband who was gripping the steering wheel, his expression grim. “That’s what we’re headed for?”

Her husband just shook his head slowly, “I have no idea what we’re headed for. All I know is, we don’t want to be stuck here.” He looked out the window at the sullen, charred landscape around them. The air was still thick with old musty smelling smoke, which darkened the sky even when there were no clouds. The recent rain clouds, while welcome, darkened even mid-day to a twilight gloom.

It was at that moment that Denise spotted the little blue lump on the other side of the highway. She squinted through the window in alarm. “Jeff, what is that? Right there!”, she pointed in front of his face, forcing him to look to his left.” Jeff groaned, “It looks… ugh, it looks like a little girl in a plastic shopping bag. Sitting on an overturned no-post.” He sighed.

Denise shook with fury, “You will pull over and get over there right now!” Jeff knew better than to even utter a note of protest. He spotted a narrow gap in the barrier, just wide enough to get through up ahead. He pulled through and turned around, pulling up alongside Jolene.

Denise rolled her window down and regarded the little girl, who appeared to be wearing nothing more than a dirty pair of pajama bottoms, mismatched rubber boots, and a discarded old shopping bag as a raincoat.

“Where are your mommy and daddy?” She said through the rain. The little girl just looked at her sadly and shook her head. In her chubby little fist, Denise saw a small golden heart-shaped locket hung from a delicate chain, open. Inside were two photos, a young woman and a young man.

Jolene looked down at the locket hanging from her hand. “I lost them.”