Hallam had decided it would be better if he slept after taking care of a few things in Whitehorse, rather than being woken up after only an hour. They discussed her dream and how it could be made practical. Money and time were not a matter of concern for either of them. For whatever reason they seemed to get along quite well despite only being together less than fifty hours. They had just clicked. By nature, Sam had always been the inquisitive sort, needing to know the why, the how, and the what for. And now, fate’s fickle fancy had brought them together for an unknown purpose and they both agreed, far be it from them to mess with fate. With the necessities out of the way they resumed their journey.
“Hey, before you get to sleep, what do you call a bug on the moon?”
“Oh, I don’t know, out of luck perhaps.”
“Well yes, but no. It’s a lun-a-tic.”
Hallam groaned and rolled his eyes, then nestled in like a bug in a rug as best he could, opting to recline the seat somewhat.
As she drove, Sam let her mind wander to the distant land of what if. She imagined scenarios which had no base in her, or their current realities. A couple of times she was buried so deep in Imagination City, she had lost concentration on her driving and had drifted into the oncoming lane. Fortunately, there had been no oncoming traffic. What she had always considered to be a nuisance, she was now grateful for the rumble strips which had jarred her back to reality.
A sign on the side of the highway indicated there was a sideroad up ahead. Sam had barely enough time to read the sign let alone process it before she realized she had just passed the turn off. She slowed the car down and pulled over to the shoulder and came to a halt. Hallam remained sleeping as Sam put the car in reverse and drove until she passed the turn off once again. The road was an unpaved gravel road. Some thirty feet from the highway the road disappeared into some young growth of fir trees. Though it was bright the trees shadowed the road to almost total blackness.
As she drove, Sam couldn’t help but notice how, for being a gravel road just how smooth the ride was. The road swerved this way and that, meandering through clumps of taller trees and some cleared sections. Half an hour later they had come to the edge of a clearing which overlooked what appeared to be a small lake. She put the car in park and shut the engine off.
Using the latch down by her left leg Sam popped the trunk. Hallam stirred and shifted but remained asleep. As quietly and slowly as possible she opened her door and got out. As much as she wanted to stretch, it had to wait. Lifting the trunk lid higher, she peered inside intent on finding something specific A shift in the clouds brought forth a shaft of white light which illuminated the object of her focus. She giggled at the sudden recollection of many movies she had seen where a beam of sunlight shone on the treasure the hero or the villain had been desperately searching for. Now, here was her treasure.
Hesitating for a moment Sam placed both hands of the trunk lid and lowered it enough to peer inside at Hallam. To her shock he was not there, and the passenger door was wide open.
“Whatchya looking for?”
The voice had come from behind her. She was confused and wondered how long she had been standing there phased out. Sam had been so mesmerized at her recollection of movie memories she had not heard or felt Hallam stir and rise. She removed her hands from the lid, and it sprung upwards, where it bounces delicately on its hinges.
She turned to the voice behind her as she sat on the edge of the trunk cavity. Folding her arms, she tried not to look or come across as shocked at his surprise appearance.
“I saw the sign on the highway saying there was a pond, and I suddenly got the urge to swim.”
She wasn’t lying; however, she was not telling the whole truth and she now wondered if she could. She wanted to, but now had trepidations about it.
“As I walked by you had a smile on your face, like you had remembered something. Care to share what made you smile?”
She explained it to him and they both laughed.
“It has been my experience when people try to hide something they fold their arms across their chest. Are you trying to hide something from me? If what I think is happening between us, we can’t be hiding things. All in, remember?”
Hallam had been referring to one of the many conversations after the hand incident where they had simultaneously tried to pull each other closer. He felt it, she felt it, and it felt right. Sam indicated to Hallam to stay there and wait. She sprang up from the edge of the trunk and spun in mid air landing facing the car. She rummaged through to the item she had initially searched for. Moving the clothes which had been partially obscuring it Sam took a firm hold of it.
“HEY! Can it wait for a moment, I really have to visit a tree.”
He didn’t wait for a response and headed towards the closest tree away from the car. Sam took a deep breath in and held it finally exhaling when her courage felt maxed out. As Hallam was taking care of his business Sam took the coiled elastic band from her wrist. It had a single keyring which also held a single key. She fumbled the key as she tried to fit it into the lock on the lockbox. She slowly open it and gazed upon the three items within.
“Okay, I’m back. Now where were we? Hey, are you okay? If you’re not ready to open right now that’s cool. I think we’ll have lots of time.”
She heard his words and they seemed to be reassuring her of what she was about to do. With a deep sigh Sam reached into the box and withdrew the one item she had intended to before almost talking herself out of it. Now, there was no turning back She turned swiftly to face Hallam. He looked at her hands and then met her eyes with a look of confusion.
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