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“I wonder what this place was?” I commented more to myself.
Lucy turned to face me and started tapping away on her phone screen. After a minute of scrolling, she relayed what she had found.
“Sounds like this house wasn’t a house at all. It was built in the 1930’s and used as a ranger station that had restrooms available to hikers. But a bad storm in ’62 caused considerable damage and it was abandoned.” She glanced to me, her face glowing from the screen. “There’s a legend of the land being haunted due to a murder, but back in the ’80’s it just turned in to a place to host high school keggers.”
“Makes for an unassuming location, that’s for sure,” I observed.
Lucy was still on the website and during her perusal, she slumped down and sat against the stone wall. I didn’t know if I should join her or pretend to look around more, but I found myself slinking down next to her, propping my knees up.
The stones were cool against my back, sending a shiver down my spine. It had nothing to do with temperature, but everything to do with the jolt I felt when Lucy leaned over, brushing against me.
“Look at how cool this place is. It’s absolutely perfect for an elopement shoot.”
Gone was the musky scent of moss. I could smell the light notes of coconut in Lucy’s hair. Here, in the dark, she reminded me of the orange glow from a sunset. Ubiquitous and warm all at once.
I needed to say something before it became obvious that I was preoccupied. Glancing at the screen, I was rather surprised to see what the place looked like in the daylight. But her latter statement reminded me that I really didn’t know much about her career.
I knew she was a photographer, but didn’t know much of the specifics. “You’re a wedding photographer, right?”
Lucy had turned her phone off, resuming her previous position next to me.
“Guilty as charged,” she proclaimed. “I do engagements and elopements and travel if needed as well.” She sat cross legged as she explained. “Traveling is a killer job perk.”
“That sounds…exciting,” I managed.
“Well, it’s more exciting than your monotonous response,” she teased, elbowing me in the arm. I could almost hear her smirk in the dark.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean it that way…I guess I was just thinking how nice it must be. It just sounds reallyfreeing,” I clarified.
She made ahmmsound in agreement. “It is; I enjoy the fact that I don’t have four walls constricting me to anything rigid. Sometimes I wake up and get the itch to go somewhere, do something random. So I do it.” During her elaboration, Lucy had found a leaf and was peeling sections of it where the veins created a natural guideline.
I rested my head against the stone, looking above us as if the night sky could give me insight. “I envy you.”
She made a strangled noise in her throat. “Right…”
“No, really. Don’t get me wrong, I love what I do, but somebody always needs something from me or wants something or is looking for an easy payday through negative publicity. Sometimes, it’s just…a lot.” I sighed and then grew silent.
I hadn’t meant to get deep with my thoughts, but Lucy was a good listener and for knowing her such a short time, I trusted her.
There was an innate quality about her; she was real and honest. And I found it completely invigorating.
Before she had a chance to respond, a tiny squeak broke out over the murmur of cars in the distance.
“Look at that,” I pointed.
“That bird is flying at warp speed!” she awed.
“It’s a bat,” I corrected. “See how tiny it is?”
“No shit? Bats and witch castles…all we need now are ghosts and ghouls,” she laughed. Her body shook gently as she leaned against me again.
Should I put my arm around her? Should I continue to sit there like I was part of the immobile stone wall?
Her actions were flirtatious, but I didn’t want to risk misreading her intentions.
Before I could dedicate any more time to warring with myself, the bat squeaks were replaced with a shrill scream that came from down below.
Lucy and I both stood.
