Harney Peak: A Short Story

The contents of the family restroom off of Peaks Place Trail were always the same. The little 8X5 room usually contained a stained-up finger print covered mirror, a leaky sink, a clogged up or overflowing toilet, and a drain in the middle of the floor that had probably never gotten rid of any water in its existence. However, on the last Sunday of every month, the items in dirty room would get a few additions. On these particular Sundays, the public restroom would contain its usual revolting things, but it would also contain a view from the doorway of a rusty bike leaned against a rotting tree, a black duffle bag that housed a few dirty clothes, and a visit from a 19 year old homeless girl who would be frantically trying to get the dirt stains out of the only semi-nice thing that she owned. This particular Sunday would be no different as the young lady tried to get ready for her usual once-a-month church going.

Knowing she wouldn’t answer still he said, “Do you remember me telling you a local contractor built several tract homes east of our house, near Sandy Gap? Well, there are only a few families left the others sold their homes. Something about the screams and lights on Putney Mountain but the people in town didn’t believe them, said it was buyer’s remorse. I never bothered getting acquainted with any of them and I don’t know. Now I’m alone except for Claude, and he’s getting old, I might not have him too much longer. Guess I can’t blame anyone for my shortage of friends.”

Where are you??” exclaimed Jayden. No answer. He pulled out his fishing pole and hooked on a bait. He then released the string and winded the handle. Jayden waited. And waited. Until he could no longer take it anymore. He gave up and thought the turtle disappeared somewhere else. Suddenly, he saw the turtle poking his head out of the water. This time he wasn't caught on the bait.

You tried to go to work last week, but as soon as you leave your house you end up somewhere you should not be. On Tuesday it was the bar Rachael works at. She’s told you to stay out of that part of town. You got lost on the way home. Wednesday it was the grocery store. A woman screamed when you appeared. You left quickly. You’re not sure where you went on Friday, but it was dark and damp and smelled of rust. You curled up and cried until you found yourself back at home, crouched in the bathtub.

I wondered what it looked like from up on the cliffs. I grabbed hold of one of the rocks and heaved myself up it. Gradually I made my way up the small rock and stood up. It was beautiful, absolutely stunning. I could see all the way back to where we had first started. I glanced down at my family as they smiled up at me, my dad shouting at me that I should jump off. I gave him a look of utter disbelief that he thought I was crazy enough to jump off of the thing.

As I slowly climb my way to the top of the hill, I look to my side and see the ground below me getting farther away as I make my way up. As I reach the top, thoughts in my head are mixed together; fear, excitement, nervousness. As the car comes to a stop, my heart is in my throat. I look to the front to see that I have reached the peak of the first hill. There was a sudden silence in the cars as everyone gets ready for the adrenaline rush. My stomach turning as I watch the hands of the other riders sway in the air. Then we drop. I felt like I was going to row up. I had never been on something so fast. The car gets faster by the second, the wind blowing through my hair as I go up and down the small

“No one around here can explain it. Some are wondering if it’s the ghosts of the miners.That’s why we’re afraid to go near Putney Mountain,” Nancy said and waited to see if anyone else responded to Betty’s question.

Oh, but if you can push your body beyond what you think it can do, strain and struggle, and endure your racing heart and your aching muscles, you will pass through forest, burning desert, flat lands that reek of desolation and loneliness, and you will enter a canyon that is lush with green trees set against blazing red cliffs. A river flows through the canyon’s bottom that is clear and filled with a bounty of fish and crawdads. In that place, it’s as if the civilization you know exists back at the trailhead and beyond has been wiped

I woke up on a beautiful Friday morning, with the sun shining through my window. I knew today was going to be a good day. I jumped out of bed and ran downstairs.

It almost took your mind off the hike, almost. This was Willie’s first time coming to the marble yard so he was extremely excited. He was Billy goatin’ up this mountain while the rest of us lagged behind as we had been here before. After a little while I knew we were getting close because the land had sloped dramatically from where we had started. Soon I could see the giant clearing in the trees and knew we were there. At this point Willie was basically running. Then we saw the giant pile of boulders that makes up the marble yard. We immediately began to climb the rocks in an attempt to make it to the top. There is one thing to know about the marble yard. It is not just one sloping hill of rocks, no it is made up of 3 waves and they call thus. We breached the first wave with little to no hassle I turned around and saw that we were even with the tree line. I also noticed that it was a pretty nice fall to where we had started. My fear of heights told me to turn around and I obliged but kept climbing. Once again Willie with all his excitement was almost at the top of the second wave and John wasn’t too far behind. I had to kick this thing into overdrive. After only a few minutes I realized my overdrive had broken years ago and decided to climb at the steady pace of a snail. Slow and steady would win the race

After a cup of bold Italian espresso and in the later hours of Sunday morning, our neighbor came from across the street and tentatively knocked on our door. Without saying good morning she launched in, “I was upstairs in my son’s room, putting away his laundry at about 9:15 when I heard a crash. I looked out the window and noticed something going in your kitchen. I was worried. Is everyone all right?” Still foggy, I invited her in and began to recount the previous day’s chaotic series of events.

As I raced up to the next hill, the danger and adrenaline were pulsing through my veins. I, with adventurous ambition, felt like I could take on the world. The next down slope steepened extraordinarily, more so than the hills prior. My big brother raced down bigger mountains and owned them, so I faced nothing in comparison. Coming over the crest, I gritted my teeth and went for it, suddenly realizing where I went horribly wrong.

When it arrived, I boarded the small tin box alone and could feel the stale smells of an old elevator that might fall at any moment, which I would eventually block out as the semester went on. As I began the ascent, I was glad to be the only one in the elevator that might fit 5 people if they were packed in like sardines. Sadly, the ride was over quickly, and I began moseying down the long corridor that resembled the trite T shape of the lower floor. I heard the rattling of key chains, which sounded deafening in the quiet hallway, but after realizing the noise was coming from me, I tried my best to quiet it by grabbing onto my bag. I finally reached the last classroom on the left, 5 minutes early. I slowly opened the door

        " You should've done better!" Growled mother." I'm leaving! Maybe it will make you better at taking care of yourself!" Lemon, Cherry, Dot, and Lightning watched her go." Well, I guess I'll go hunting and you guys can find bedding for us tonight." Said lemon. As Lemon walked away, Cherry sighed," He was always getting punished for being who he is. That's not fair." Cherry still was a kitten so sometimes she didn't say things right.

I was exhausted and filthy, I smelt like dirty socks that hadn’t been washed in years. As soon as I got home, I hopped into the shower, the warm water dripping from my hair to my toes. I ran my fingers through the rough tangles in my curly brown hair. As I grabbed the shampoo bottle I could feel my feet burning from the blisters on my the bottom of my feet. I turned knob on the left side of the shower to turn off the water and reached for a dry towel and wrapped it around my waist. Water trickled down my legs as I attempted to dry myself off. I slipped into my favorite warm pajama pants and put on a large teal sweatshirt, then i got into bed and pulled the covers up to my face and immediately dozed off into a deep sleep. I dreamt of the future a life filled of adventure with a young boy that I could call my own. Suddenly, there was a loud, blaring sound coming from across the room.