Day 3 - Scene 5 - Part 2

Bolvar lead on and Enar followed. The path wound it's way through the grey hall and the two walked in silence, Bolvar in the lead, Enar a bit behind. The dog kept far enough ahead as to be mostly out of sight, but whenever Enar turned a bend or crested a ridge, he would see Bolvar just about to disappear beyond the next one.

From within the shadows on the left a small stream appeared. Slow and quiet it flowed next to the path, its surface dotted with fallen needles, old leafs and twigs. As the ground started sloping downward the stream became livelier. It sped up and started to sing, bumping into trees and jumping over stones. Finally, when the path became so steep Enar had to hold on to the trees not to lose his footing, the stream threw itself of a cliff and down into a ravine.

Clinging to the trees, Enar made his way along the path to the bottom, where the stream crashed into a small pond. When he arrived, he found Bolvar waiting by its edge, lapping at the water.

Might be a good time to stop and have a drink. Beired had said moving water was fine and this water sure moved quite a bit. Enar knelt by the edge of the pond, next to the big dog, cupped his hands and drank. Fresh. Cold. A man and his dog, alone with nature, living off the land. This would make a great story for the break room at work once he got back home.

He splashed some water on his face and looked up. From down here couldn't quite tell how high the waterfall was. Maybe not quite twenty feet? Definitely more than three times his own height. Hard to say.

His hand went to his pocket, but stopped. He shouldn't. It wasn't right. Who would see him though? He hadn't seen anyone since they left the kennel and the chances someone else would be around were probably slim.

Enar looked back the way he'd come and then up to where the path climbed back out of the ravine on the other side. No one around. He fished up the phone out of his pocket and unlocked it. There hadn't been time to go back and drop it off after breakfast.

In fairness, he'd forgotten about it. Didn't matter. It was here now and this waterfall was much too pretty not to take a picture of.

Bolvar growled at him.

He looked at the dog and swallowed. Was it telling him off? Surely not?

Enar raised his phone and aimed at the waterfall. Bolvar barked, stepped closer and growled again.

“Okay, okay. I won't. Nice doggy.” He put the phone back in its pocket and held up his empty hands for the dog to see. “There, all gone. No problem.”

Enar blushed. Talking to a dog again. Probably not something he'd tell the guys at work about over coffee. He ripped out the castanets from his pocket and clicked twice. Then he clicked twice again.

Bolvar snorted and shook the water off his snout. With a last long look he turned around and started making his way up the other side of the ravine. At the top he stopped and waited, looking down at Enar by the pond below.

After the ravine the forest changed. The pines spread out and grew further apart, taller, wider. On the ground, a thick green moss appeared. More light broke through the branches up above. The path stopped winding and cut straight along the hillsides. Where before he'd walked through dim, grey, corridors Enar now paraded a grand hall of green.

Bolvar kept closer here. He'd have to run far ahead indeed in order to keep out of sight. Now and then they passed enormous troll's marbles; huge boulders resting where some long forgotten giant had dropped them, millions of years ago. At least, that's what the old folks used to believe.

More than once Enar stopped to admire the scenery – hillsides strewn with trees and moss and boulders – pondering whether or not to try and take a picture when Bolvar wasn't looking. Ever time he did he caught the dog starring at him with disapproving eyes. It didn't bark or growl. It just stood there, looking at him, as if it knew exactly what he was thing. He never took any pictures.

The morning was long since gone and the sun stood high in the sky. The land had smoothed out, stopped bucking up and down and for the longest time had sloped ever upwards. Twice more they'd stopped to drink since the ravine with the waterfall and Enar was starting to get both tired and hungry.

Beired had suggested he wait and eat at the top of the hill, but if he didn't get there soon he'd just sit down right there in the forest and have his lunch. He could sit on a little rock or a fallen tree or something. Bolvar could just wait. Enar had the castanets and the dog's food and he was the guest here actually. It wasn't as if the beast did anything but growl and look at him anyway. Stupid dog.

He dragged himself past another boulder and stopped to catch his breath. Somewhere off in the distance the world grew brighter, the spiring trees ended and the moss gave way to grass. The ground kept sloping upwards and if anything it looked to get even steeper.

This had to be it then. From out there he ought to be able to see the tree at the top of the hill. Nearly there. He smiled to himself, waved at Bolvar who waited at the forests edge and set off again. With the end of the journey in almost in sight he marched out of the forest, eager to start and be done with the last climb.

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Continued in Day 3 - Scene 5 - Part 3.

Back to Enar's Vacation.