Frontlines

“And here we are now, coming into the weekend with a record breaking forty-two degrees tomorrow, Steve. Now, have you ever seen anything like that? Be sure to keep cool this weekend folks! Things are really heating up, but not just in the weather! In sports this weekend, we have our very own Cedar Grove Colts battling against…”

Carmen switched off the radio.

“Don’t they ever talk about anything interesting?” she asked. Her mom rolled her eyes.

“Whether or not you think it’s interesting, it’s important to stay informed about the world around you. You can’t do much good if you’re just sitting on the sidelines.”

Carmen stared out the window as her mom turned onto a dirt road. They decided to go camping for the weekend in an attempt to escape the heat. The forest offered a sort of retreat from the shade that you just can’t find indoors, despite the number of fans blowing.

“Here we are!” Her mom said, beaming. “Lost Loon Lake.”

Carmen looked around. “Where is everybody? Isn’t it usually packed this time of year? Did everyone get lost?”

Carmen grinned widely and her mom rolled her eyes for a second time. She pulled into an empty lot and they started unpacking.

“Do you want to go fishing now or later?” Carmen asked.

“Why don’t you run down to the lake and see what the water looks like? If we wait until dusk, I think we’ll have better luck. I’ll unpack a few more things and get the fire set up.”

“Okay sure,” Carmen said, and started down the overgrown path to the lake.

She sensed that her mom wanted a bit of alone time, as this was the first time they’ve been back to the lake since her father passed away. Carmen decided to take her time and maybe try to pick some flowers on the way. Bluebells were her mom’s favourite, and she would often go search for them in the forest ever since she was a child. It was a small and simple way to brighten a room and keep nature close.

The forest was much cooler than anywhere at home. It was easy to forget how peaceful it was there, how nice it felt to be away from everything that was happening back home. She walked a little further until the forest grew to an eerie quiet.

She came to a small clearing in the forest. As she paused, something caught the corner of her eye: it was a strange bird, with feathers that seemed iridescent. It floated above her, hovering in the air as if it were stuck in the sky. Then off it went, flying back and forth and gliding, like a master of the wind. Her heart stirred as it disappeared deep into the timothy grass.

Carmen blinked, unsure if it was all just a dream. The sun danced in the sky, and she felt the sweat bead on her face. She walked further and found herself standing at the edge of a placid lake. Peacefulness surrounded her.

Walking along the shoreline, she decided to take a different route back to camp, which turned out to require a bit more bushwhacking than she had thought. As she fought through the bush, she started to notice that some of the trees were marked with bright orange paint stripes.

That’s strange, she thought. Maybe it’s from hunters marking something?

She kept walking, but the marked trees only kept increasing. She started running, the orange paint increasing as she ran. Carmen ran through the orange forest until she finally made it back to the camping area where her mom sat by a sputtering fire.

“How was the lake?” Her mom asked.

“Mom, the forest…It’s orange. Somebody is marking all the trees.”

…

Despite Carmen’s discovery, she and here mom were able to make the most out of their time together on this trip. They went back to the lake and Carmen caught a trout off the dock. It got a bit complicated, to say the least, considering they forgot one very essential tool needed to pull it out of the water: a fishing net. but after a very elaborate dance, Carmen was able to pull the fish onto the beach and was left with only one, sopping wet foot.

As the sun began to fall, they decided to spend a bit of time in the water to escape from the heat of the day.

“We should get a pool,” Carmen said, floating in the water.

“What do you need that for?” Her mom asked. “We have one, right here.”

As they floated in the water, Carmen looked up to see a deer and her fawn standing across the lake.

“Mom, look!”

“Shh, don’t move,” she said.

For a moment they floated silently, watching the wild creatures take a drink from the lake. The last bit of sun beamed off the water, turning the lake into a glittering sea of crystals. It was nothing like either of them had seen before.

They spent the rest of the evening in appreciation of the world around them, not knowing how much longer it might last. As night fell, the forest came alive and Carmen heard the eerie call of the Common Loon as she fell into a deep and restful sleep.