Chapter 11: New Friends at Shenandoah

3/26/65: Morning

The car's display read 7:16. The sky was gaining in brightness. The patches of low-lying cumulus clouds were slowly migrating westward. We were still within the bounds of Front Royal on our drive to Shenandoah. The town was as empty as when we had arrived the night before. There were a few cars to be seen here and there and a couple of National Robot Guard vehicles too.

–—–

Are strong friendships forged in fire? I mean fire as in the shared experience of the effects of a world war. My relationship with Ada would eventually be testimony to that. We were both entirely aware that our world was facing a scourge unlike anything it had ever faced before and was on the brink of utter devastation. That perception would influence our growing bond.

On the other hand, friendships forged in fire aren't the only path to emotional intimacy. There are other circumstances that lead to that beside a mutual experience of danger. For example, Nicole and I had become more than close because we had forged our friendship early in our childhood. From a feeble sapling, our friendship had grown into a sturdy redwood. We had never lived through a world war or anything so dire as that, but our hearts had thoroughly fused over many years together. We had grown inseparable. Even after she had left for Belgium, our hearts had still been connected as if by rubber bands.

–—–

The morning was fresh and agreeable, but it hadn't made me forget that the inhuman scourge was then on America's shores. I knew that my apartment was likely in the midst of the fighting.

Despite that, I was assured by my remembrance of the incredible buildup of U.S.R.C. forces to the east. They were all standing firmly between us and the shores. It would be foolish to think that the swarm could survive against that sea of armies, glued together by pure human resolve.

Yes, I understood that the swarm had succeeded in conquering most of Eurasia as far as I knew, but the U.S.R.C. was fortunate to have had more time to prepare and harden themselves than the armies in the eastern hemisphere. Add to that the government's promise of an eventual antidote to the plague in that ever so secretive Zero Dawn project.

With all that taken into consideration, I felt safe. And who wouldn't? We would just have to wait until the war ended and busy ourselves in the meantime with whatever we thought appropriate. I would study, visit Shenandoah often as I had been meaning to do for a long time, and spend my time at the local library at Front Royal. Spending time with Ada was also on that list. Taking long, quiet walks without having to worry about work or school was on there as well. To be honest, I was willing to take things one day at a time. It felt very freeing to be released from the routine of my normal, pre-evacuation life.

"I might move closer to the park if I like it there. What about you?" Asked Ada. She had her arm hanging out her window.

"Yeah, I was thinking the same. I might stay in one of the cabins there," I said.

I then opened my window and stuck my arm out too.

"Well, let's hope that these cabins aren't expensive," she said.

"Well, if they are, I'll probably just bring a tent," I replied, entirely serious.

I looked out the window, daydreaming about camping in the park alone.

"A tent?" She asked, seemingly amused.

"Um, yeah, maybe. I mean, I've always wanted to try living in nature…you know, like Wordsworth and Thoreau."

I loved the idea of living in nature for once, especially after having lived in urban areas my whole life.

"Yeah?" She laughed lightly. "Wordsworth didn't live in nature, though. Only Thoreau did."

"Well, Wordsworth did spend a lot of time in nature," I replied. "So, in a way, he did 'live' in nature."

"I minored in English, so I'm right," she jokingly said with a smile.

I was surprised by that fact because I had also been minoring in English while majoring in cell biology.

"Really? I'm minoring in English too," I said.

"You're lying. Are you really?"

"Well, before the war, yeah."

"Are you being smart with me?" She asked with a feigned sternness. I gave a light smile.

"Um, no, Missus Ada," I jokingly replied. She smiled too.

"Still, Wordsworth never lived in nature like Thoreau," she said.

"Alright, whatever you say," I retorted lightheartedly.

I shifted my gaze to the trees that were passing by as the car drove us. To my surprise, I saw a family on their yard. Two kids were running around with two golden retrievers and their parents were sitting cross-legged nearby on the grass. I waved to them and they waved back. It lifted my heart to see a glimpse of normality amid those times. Such things would become rarer as the weeks and months progressed. A moment after seeing that family, I spotted two VTOLs airlifting containers. They both flew eastward.

"You know what? That doesn't sound too bad, living in nature. But I'd be a little wary of the bears there."

"The black bears? Oh, they're just robots, you know. I don't think they've been programmed to harm humans," I explained, feeling a little smart.

"Oh yeah? How do you know that?" She asked, her left arm waving in the blowing wind.

"Well…I read it in a very sophisticated academic textbook on…bearology," I joked. She chuckled.

"Bearology?" She asked, looking as if she had heard me incorrectly.

"You haven't heard of bearology? Wow." I shook my head, feigning disdain. She chuckled again.

I saw a large, fixed-wing military transport flying eastward in the distant sky.

"I read about it on Miriam Tec's website," I explained. "They make peaceful robots, unlike Faro."

"Miri-Tec? That makes sense…my older sister used to work for them," she said, her last sentence drifting off.

"Oh, cool. My goal is to work there one day…why doesn't your sister work there anymore?" I eagerly asked.

A brief silence followed. Ada seemed to not have heard me and I was about to forget about it.

"She was transferred to a branch in London last year…" She somberly said.

The United Kingdom. It was well known what had happened there not too long ago. The country had been utterly ravaged as far as I knew.

"I'm…sorry," I said. It seemed that everyone had lost someone during the ongoing war.

Ada gave no reply. I looked back out again at the trees and houses that we passed by. Soon, I was drawn into a meditative state of mind. The drive was agreeably quiet and peaceful. I realized that Ada was still a stranger to me for the most part, but I didn't mind. I wasn't all that desperate for a friend. The loss of my best friend was still fresh in my mind and I still believed that no one could replace her. I wouldn't have anyone replace her. I still had a lingering preference for solitude, although I did enjoy Ada's company. A worthy companion in such days is priceless. I felt that being a worthy companion to Ada would be like making it up to Nicole for not having been there for her when she had needed me the most. It would help in my atonement that Ada had a remarkable resemblance to her. If she wanted to shoot me, I would let her do so. That was the level of remorse that I felt for having let my best friend slip away.

I could've gone across the ocean alone on a boat. It likely would've died in the act, but at least I would've died trying something. Such had been the nature of my thoughts in the past few weeks.

I remembered having briefly felt a strong urge to join the Civilian Guard in my grief, but I had been overwhelmed by the realization that nothing at all would bring her back, not even an act of heroism. I had felt suicide was my only choice, but I knew that doing so would negatively affect my sister. Despite that, the urge had been strong initially.

"I still can't believe it," she suddenly said amid the silence. She was resting her head against her left hand. Her elbow was propped on the window sill. "The world's ending…"

I had been lost in my train of thought and was a bit startled by her voice. I looked over to her. She was still looking out her window. She might've been talking mainly to herself. I felt that saying something would be unfitting, so I kept silent.

"My mom used to always say, 'treat every spring like it's your last.' Well, here's our last one."

I was affected by her words. Maybe it was our last spring. I had hope, though. There was Zero Dawn to rest my hope on.

"Remember that project that the president spoke about a few months ago? We just have to wait for it to unravel," I meekly assured. "There'll be many more springs to come."

"That's Zero Dawn, right? I thought the guys behind that had hitched a ride on the Odyssey?"

I chuckled.

"Isn't that spaceship still under construction," I asked.

I remembered having seen the abandoned spaceship with my telescope a few times when I was younger. I was twelve when the cancellation of the Odyssey project had been announced on the news. The think tank Far Zenith had revealed their revival of the project in 2061 a week before my birthday.

"Yeah," she said. "They're nearly done with it I think."

"Finally."

A brief silence followed.

"So, what do you think this Zero Dawn thing is anyways?" She asked, looking out her window.

"Um…I don't know to be honest. One of my teachers said that it might be deactivation codes for the swarm. That kinda makes sense to me," I said.

I saw a few more military aircraft flying in the distance.

"I heard that too, but shouldn't the owners have the codes at hand? It's strange that they're has to be a huge project just to retrieve them."

"I know, right?" I said, intrigued by the subject.

"Well, it's probably more complicated than it seems," she said.

"Yeah."

"I hope Zero Dawn does its thing sooner rather than later," she replied, her voice trailing off.

"Me too," I said as I watched the distant trees across the empty field.

–—–

The car's display read 8:07 when we arrived at the Thornton Gap Entrance Station, the entrance to the park. The booths were manned by bots, one of which scanned the car. A sign on the glass stated that nanoproducts and unmanned drones were prohibited.

After the bot let us through, we reached the beginning of the scenic Skyland Drive, which was the main road running through the park. I had been on that same road six years ago when I was still a freshman in high school. Nicole's parents and mine had planned a week-long trip to the park as a celebration for my dad having landed a new job at D.C. Nicole and I had spent our time hiking through the trails on our own without the company of our parents.

"Wanna check out Skyland Resort. We'll see if the rooms are still being rented out," Ada suggested.

"Alright," I said. "I wonder if anyone's there."

"Let's hope there're no crazies."

Ada informed her car's AI of its new destination. As we drove along the scenic road, we saw the wide Virginian landscape to the west. It was a little foggy, but the obscurity enhanced the wonder of the scene for me. About five minutes into our drive along Skyland Drive, we spotted a Miri-Tec black bear on the right side of the road. It was as if it were waiting for us to pass so it could cross the road. Ada had stopped the car about ten feet away from it and we both watched in awe. It looked so real. The bears hadn't yet been released by Miri-Tec when I had last visited.

"That's a robot?" Ada wondered.

"Miri-Tec's the best at what they do," I said, admiring the creature.

It slowly approached the front of the car. I opened my door and got out, knowing that it was harmless.

"What are you doing?" Said Ada with a loud whisper.

I walked to the bear as it looked at me. It was a little more than half my height. Even its eyes looked real. It was docile, unlike how I imagined a real bear would act toward an approaching human.

"See. They're harmless. The only danger is the jailtime that you'll get if you damage them," I said as I petted the fur on its massive shoulders. "She's amazing."

"Geez. Get a room," Ada quipped as she got out.

She walked up to it on the other side and put her hands on the bear's fur. We were both petting it then. The bear merely eyed us nonchalantly.

"Wow," she whispered. "Wow."

We were both so immersed in hanging out with the remarkable creature that we were a bit disappointed when it suddenly walked away toward the forest. I watched it walk away with pure amazement. When it had disappeared behind dense foliage, Ada and I went back into her car. We were too awestruck to speak. It was as if we had met a real, pre-extinction black bear.

—

After another ten minutes or so, we arrived at the parking lot of the Skyland Resort. To our surprise, there were five cars parked beside each other there. Ada looked at me as her car continued through the lot. I returned the look, realizing that she was a bit concerned. Really, I was too, especially after meeting those two men last night. I looked at the cars in thought. I was assured by the fact that we were in a public park rather than some charging station in a small town. Then, the car parked itself in a space nearest the registration building.

"Let's go in," she said, looking a little nervous. "I still have that gun from yesterday"—she reached into her glove compartment—"you know how to use it?"

"No, do you?"

"No."

"I mean, it's as simple as aiming and shooting, right?" I said. I had never held a gun before. The automation of law enforcement about a decade ago had made handheld weapons a rare sight, a relic of the past.

"Yeah, aim and shoot," she replied with an unsure tone. "Wanna hold it. Since you're only a blue belt."

"Um, you know, let's just leave it," I suggested. "I have a feeling that these people aren't bad."

"I don't know," she said. "You sure?"

"I mean, look at the cars. That one has a 'my daughter is an environmentalist' sticker. The next one is a family van with a sticker of a dog on the window."

"Environmentalists are really dangerous, though," she joked. I laughed.

"They're worse than the Ascensionists," I quipped. "We'll need a bigger gun than this puny thing." She laughed too.

After a minute or so, we decided that we would leave the pistol behind. I put it back in her glove compartment. Then, we exited her car and made our way to the registration building side by side. The wooden sign above the door read Skyland Office with painted letters. I assumed that the owners of the cars were either in the larger building to the right, in their rooms, or hiking on the nearby trails. The place was quiet, not a soul was around beside the two of us.

I cautiously opened the door of the registration office and slipped inside. Ada followed behind. To my surprise, I saw two people sitting on the rocking chairs in the lounge. A golden retriever sat beside them. Their backs were to us; they were looking out the large window overlooking the west, the landscape of which was partly obscured by foliage.

"Um"—I cleared my throat loudly—"Hello."

The man, woman, and dog turned their heads to look at us. They looked to be old and I guessed that they were Japanese. They had kindly expressions despite my sudden introduction. Even the dog looked unfazed by our appearance. It merely wagged its tail.

"Oh!" Exclaimed the lady with a smile. "Visitors!"

"Good morning. I'm sorry. We didn't mean to bother," I politely apologized.

"Oh, no, no," she assured as they both rose. "We're glad to see young faces. Where did you both come from?"

"We came from Alexandria. We arrived at Front Royal last night," Ada said. I nodded.

"Alexandria?" Said the Japanese lady with surprise. The man looked surprised too. "You were in the combat zone?"

"Yes. I don't think the fighting has reached there yet," I said.

"It hasn't, but the fighting is now less than ten miles from D.C.!" Said the man with a shaking voice. "It was on the news earlier. The swarm had crossed the Chesapeake Bay shortly after midnight."

Washington, D.C. and Alexandria were only twenty miles away from the bay. Ada and I looked at each other in shock.

"Let's not worry ourselves with that. Forgive me," said the old man with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Zero Dawn will fix everything soon. So, are you two looking to stay here until the war ends?"

"Yes, we were planning too," Ada replied. "Are there any rooms available still?"

"Oh, yes," answered the lady. "And better yet, they're free!"

"Free? How?" Ada asked, intrigued.

"A lady from our group, she used to work with robots. She said that when she arrived here, it was completely abandoned. She simply hacked the receptionist bot and Just like that, retrieved keys to every single room in the park," said the lady with a smile.

"Nice," I said. The old Japanese man gave an indulgent nod.

"Aren't you worried about getting in trouble?" asked Ada.

"My wife might be, but I'm not," said the old man with a chuckle. "Anyways, we're not defiling the place. We were displaced from our homes and have nowhere else to go. That's what I'll tell the police-bots if they arrest me."

Ada and I nodded in agreement.

"Also, the lady that hacked the bot, she found a way to bypass the security functions. It will be as if were never here once we leave," added the lady, still smiling kindly.

"Come, we'll get you two your room," said the lady, walking toward the front counter.

Ada looked at me. I returned the glance.

"You're staying, right?" She quietly asked.

"Yeah, I guess. You?"

"Yeah."

With that, we turned to follow the lady. She had been watching us expectantly as we spoke to each other. She had a kindhearted appearance to her as did the man, who I assumed to be her husband.

She went behind the counter where the receptionist bot was and proceeded to grab something out of view. The dog strolled by us as it followed the lady. The bot, whose nametag read Sam, was evidently online by the bluish light on the side of its head, but it did not mind the lady retrieving the keys. Apparently, the hack had worked. Then, she returned with one keycard, handing it to me.

"I'll show you two to your room," she said with a nod. I realized that by room in the singular, she must've thought we were together and would be sharing a room.

"Oh, no. I'm sorry. We're not in a relationship…" I politely explained.

"Oh my. I'm sorry, I thought you were...wait a second, let me scan another one," she said, abashed.

Ada and I exchanged an inwardly laughing look as if to say to to each other "this is awkward." It was an innocent mistake on the old lady's part, but it amused us.

"Am I not good enough to be your girlfriend?" she jokingly said with a smile and a feigned look of indignation.

I chuckled at her friendly humor. To be honest, I had resolved that I would never have another girlfriend ever again. Not even Ada. At least, that's what I thought I would uphold. My feeling was kind of like a child's when his massive block tower, which he had worked so hard to make, is suddenly toppled and he looks upon the wreckage, reluctant to restart the whole process again. Of course, that feeling isn't only limited to child's mind.

"I'm like Thoreau and Emerson. They were never in a relationship," I joked, smiling back.

"Really? I think Emerson was married, though," she said.

"Was he?"

The old, Japanese man was listening to us with amusement.

"Yeah. I think his wife died two years after their marriage," she replied.

"Oh. I didn't know that," I replied.

I was familiar with a few of Emerson's essays, but I hadn't known that he had been married. That was a common theme in the nature writing; a sorrow or unease of some kind followed by a turn to seclusion and natural scenery. I remembered spending a lot of time walking through secluded areas after having lost contact with Nicole. I had once gone for a walk outside near midnight when it was snowing lightly. The whole world had been silent at that time. I had found my way to a forest. There, the still trees and bare branches had somehow soothed me. It had been experiences like those that gave solitude, nature, and the darkness of night an important place in my heart.

"Okay, want to check out your rooms now? They're right next to each other," the lady said with a beaming smile. "I'll introduce you to the rest if you don't mind."

"Okay," Ada said with a kind smile.

I furtively lingered my eyes on her expression for a second. She was so beautiful. I felt conflicted.

"Let's go," she said to me. I nodded with a smile.

At the moment, I thought that I would do anything for her. I would die for her if I had to. Of course, anyone could die for a friend. The challenge is to live for them. If she wanted to use me as a doormat, I would become one. That sudden resolve came unexpectedly. It might've been her beauty that made me think in that way. I couldn't save Nicole, but I could atone for that failure with my new friend.

"Yeah," I said.

The old couple went out the door that we had entered seconds ago, turned right, and walked us to our rooms, the building of which was right beside the registration office. The open-air walkway leading to our rooms connected the entrances of the five or so rooms lined together, making it a kind of shared balcony. Our rooms were on the second floor of that building, which had only two floors. We were told that our rooms were at the very end. Sitting in front of the first room along the walkway was a tall, middle-aged woman. A Focus was on her right ear. She saw us turn the corner and immediately rose from her seat. She was maybe half a foot taller than me. She was a bit lanky.

"Who are these kids?" She asked with nervous eyes. "And how did you two get past my sec-bots?"

She then seemed to be manipulating the invisible display of her Focus.

"Sophie. They're new friends of ours," explained the Japanese lady.

"Friends? You agreed to my rules, didn't you? What if they're here to ruin this arrangement that we have here?" She frantically asked. "I didn't hack the system to accommodate everyone that happens to saunter on in."

"Sophie, it's only them two. They had just arrived from D.C. They only need a place to stay," urged the old lady.

"There are plenty of towns around. Why can't they just go to those?" Sophie retorted sternly, but gently.

"Sophie! They're just kids! Look at them," said the lady. "Please!"

The tall woman eyed us for a while. First, she studied Ada, then shifted her attention to me. She studied is in that way for a minute or so. I remained as still as a post. After a while, she lowered her eyes, sighed, then spoke to us.

"Forgive me…I'm just…a little distrustful of strangers. Most people are idiots and want to ruin whatever's good in this world as you might know. I trust that you two aren't of that species," she said, looking at us both again.

Ada and I glanced at each other, bemused. I was amused by her use of the term species to refer to crooks.

"Were not," Ada assured her. I gave a smile.

Sophie eyed us for a while longer. Ada and I remained where we stood, uncomfortable under her scrutiny.

"Well, if you two are going to join our little group, I will tell you the rules that we abide by. Listen closely," she said authoritatively. We nodded.

"First of all, do not bring any nanoproducts whatsoever into the park. I don't care if you have a medical condition that requires nanopharmaceuticals of whatever type, no nanoproducts. You will dispose of them properly."—we nodded at the same time—"Second, do not tell anyone else about this place, no one. Not your grandma, your mother, your girlfriend, your teddy bear, no one"—another nod—"Thirdly, and mark my words, there will be no confrontations here whatsoever. This is a place of tranquility. I was supposed to have this place all for myself, but I was generous enough to accept you freeloaders."—the old Japanese man laughed heartily—"Observe peacefulness and harmony at all times on the premises, understand?"—another nod—"Fourthly, do not injure the wildlife here, whether it be a robot, a flower, or a single darn blade of grass, no exceptions."—nod—"Fifthly, I do not want to hear your filthy moos and bellows of sexual intercourse. I'm tired of it. If you want to be loud. Get a cabin down there"—she pointed to the right, toward a line of trees—"Got it?"—we nodded awkwardly. I stifled a laugh—"If you violate any of these rules, I will have my sec-bots promptly kick you out, understand?"—a final nod—"That's all I have. Report to me when you're done dropping your luggage off in your rooms."

With that, she sat back on her chair and the old couple walked us to our rooms on the end of the walkway. Our rooms were on the end opposite the room that Sophie was sitting in front of.

"We apologize for her rudeness," said the old lady with a lowered voice. "She's kind once you get to know her."

"I'll make sure to thank her," I said. The lady smiled.

"She really means well. She had been deployed to Vietnam a few months ago. Her experience there had changed her."

"Vietnam?" I asked.

"Yes. She used to be a soldier in the U.S.R.C. She had been deployed to Hanoi to help defend against the swarm there. When she returned, she chose to leave her post one night and escaped here," explained the lady with a hushed tone.

Shortly, we arrived at our rooms. We stopped outside to continue our conversation.

"Why did she leave?" Ada asked.

"She saw terrible things there…she doesn't speak too much about it," she replied. "Just make sure to listen to her. I promise she'll be nice once she warms up to you."

We nodded politely. A brief silence followed. The golden retriever licked my hand and I gently petted him.

"How long have you guys been living here for?" I asked.

"Since early February," answered the man with a kindly nod. "We decided to move here after we learned of the fate of Europe. We used to live right next to the ocean, in Newport News. We are fortunate that no one comes here. It's our little home away from home."

I knew that most of the national parks throughout the U.S. had lost federal funding many years ago starting with Yellowstone. The National Park Service had dissolved before I had been born, and funding of the various national parks had been relegated to their respective state governments. Shenandoah National Park was one of the few to have been gradually forgotten in the past decade or so. By the 60's it had already lost its reputation as a popular destination. So, it was no surprise that the park was so empty. Add to that the fact that most had fled further inland with the news of the impending invasion.

"Will you all be staying her until the war ends?" I continued.

"Yes, of course. I'm sure you will too. It's nice and quiet here. We'll become good friends," the lady replied with a smile. "Are you two high school students ? You look young."

"Oh, no. I'm a college student," I said. I was used to people thinking that I was younger than twenty.

"I graduated from college last year," Ada said.

"Wow, you both look very young," said the old lady. "So, you two aren't together?"

"Omae!" said her husband. He smiled at us as if excusing his wife's question.

She answered in Japanese. She seemed to be scolding him. He yielded to her.

"I don't mean to be rude, I just thought you two would make a lovely couple," she said with a smile. Her husband was smiling kindly too.

I saw Ada blush. Her ruddy cheeks reminded me of Nicole then. Maybe I mention it too much, but it's true. I felt a surge in my heart. How could such beauty exist in the world twice in the same century? However, I was still resolved that I would never have another romantic partner. It was the right thing to do in honor of my best friend.

"Oh, no," I politely said. "I'm already in relationship."

I'd been suddenly inspired by the idea of declaring my lifelong devotion to my best friend, even though she was gone, never to return. The old lady studied me for a moment. She looked surprised.

"Oh. Where is she?" She asked. I panicked for a second or so. I didn't know how to respond. It was a lie after all.

"Oh, she's in…Colorado right now. I haven't heard from her in a while," I quickly replied.

"Can't you call her?" Asked the old man, intrigued.

"I tried to this morning, but I didn't get an answer," I lied.

I had tried to call my parents, not Nicole. There wasn't a signal in the afterlife, or so I thought.

"Well, you should be running over there right now. Don't you want to be with her in these times? Asked the man with a gentle voice.

"Yes, I do…but I don't know if she's actually there. I hadn't heard from her in a while," I explained, briefly regretting having lied.

I had just been so moved by the notion of proclaiming my undying commitment to my long-gone friend. It was probably foolish of me to have done so. I would live with the consequences. I really didn't think that there would be any consequences. It had been harmless.

"Oh, I see. So, once you hear from her, you will go with her?" The lady asked. "Now's not the time to be separated from loved ones!"

"Yes, of course," I replied.

Ada was studying me as I lied. Of course, she didn't know that I was lying. I wasn't one to resort to hysterics in a simple lie. Not that I lied often. I thought that we would have a good laugh about it later. Maybe we would sometime after I explained to her about her resemblance to my best friend. I didn't know if that time would ever come, if it would even be necessary to mention it.

"Okay, we'll leave you two to warm your rooms. Don't forget to talk to Sophie after you're done," she said with a smile. We both nodded. They turned to walk depart. "Oh, wait. We didn't even get your names!"

"I'm Michael," I said with a nod.

"I'm Ada," she said with a kind smile.

The two bowed to us slightly in the typical Japanese manner.

"I'm Ayame. My husband is Makoto."—he smiled and nodded—"We will be at the Skyland Office if you need us. Sophie will introduce you to the rest of our tiny group. Have fun!" She said. They then left in the way that we had come.

Ada and I stood in silence outside our rooms for a while, looking out over the wide valley that showed over the low trees. We could see the Massanutten Mountain ridge in the far distance. The sky was then grayer and heavier with clouds than before.

"So, are you going to stay with your girlfriend in Colorado?" She asked, looking at me.

I wondered for how long I should maintain that lie. I would eventually tell her that my girlfriend was really dead and had been so for a while.

"Um, no, probably not," I solemnly replied.

"Why not? She's your girlfriend," she gently asked.

"Yeah, but we…we have a strained relationship. I'll put it that way," I said. "We'll probably never see each other again."

"Really? Mind if I ask why?" She casually asked.

"Its…kinda weird. All I know is that we'll never see each other again," I said, looking at the grass

"Oh," she said, nodding in an understanding way. "So, are you two breaking up?"

"Yeah, I guess you can put it that way," I replied. In a way, death was like a break up after all.

Ada continued to study my expression for a while. I knew that I did well in my explanation. In a way, I hadn't lied. Then, a look of amusement suddenly grew on her face as she eyed me.

"Let me guess, you told her that you wanted to live in nature all day," she joked. I chuckled, managing to suppress any sadness over the truth behind my lie.

The reason why I had turned to nature and solitude was because I had lost my best friend. The quietness and stillness of nature offered the highest form of sympathy to a grieving spirit. If Nicole and I were still together, a habit of seeking solitude would have been foreign to me.

Ada and I were silent for a while. I felt reluctant to continue the silly lie, worrying that it might stir a dormant grief. I thought that it would be sacrilege to continue it, although I had started it with a good intention. I had wanted to pretend that Nicole and I were still together, even after her...death. It was hard for me to bear the fact that her name and the word death or any of its euphemisms could be put side by side to represent a truth. I decided to divert the subject.

"So, what about you. Do you have a boyfriend?" I asked, a bit worried that she would say yes.

That one word would deliver a heavy blow to my heart, despite the fact that I had resolved to never get myself into another romantic relationship. I didn't know it yet, but I wanted to have Ada all for myself. I wanted to be her only doormat; I didn't want her to step on anyone else beside me. Of course, that was only an exaggeration, or so I believed. I didn't want her to literally step on me. Well, I would let her step in me if it was necessary for her well-being. This had all stemmed from my desire to make up for my past neglect of Nicole through my relationship with Ada. One might think it strange or silly that I felt that way, but no one else had known my peculiar grief.

"A boyfriend? If my teddy bear counts as a boyfriend, then yeah," she said with a smile.

I smiled lightly too, but not because of her teddy bear joke. I felt a tinge of relief that she didn't have a boyfriend. Not that I would be sorely pained if she did; I would've just felt a little prick as if by a thorn if she had said that she was in a relationship.

"I'm pretty sure you can legalize that relationship in California," I joked. She laughed.

We looked over the valley over the treetops again. Suddenly, she nonchalantly rested her right arm on my left shoulder and leaned against me in that way. It was a friendly gesture.

"I like the view," she said, gazing over the landscape.

"Yeah, me too," I said with a low voice.

Our position suddenly brought a memory to my mind after a while. I remembered that Nicole had kissed me once after we had been looking over the same view from a different spot on a spring evening some years ago. My face might've showed my nostalgia based on her response.

"You alright?" She suddenly asked amid the silence, removing her arm from my shoulder and leaning against the railing that lined the walkway before our rooms.

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine...I was just thinking about something," I wistfully said.

"Your girlfriend?" She jokingly asked. I forced a smile.

"Oh, no. I'm just...a little worried," I kindly replied. "So, what should we do now?"

"I guess we can just hang out here for a bit," she suggested, studying my face for a moment.

"Yeah," I said.

I leaned against the railing too. I didn't need to go in my room yet.

"You know what? I think I'm gonna like it here. That old couple is nice. And they have a cute dog!" Ada said.

I smiled at her show of happiness.

"I'm liking this place too. I like the scenery."

Suddenly, the sound of Sophie's voice reached us from the other end of the walkway.

"Are you two finished with your rooms? Join me if you are," instructed the tall woman. "I'll introduce you to the rest of the group. We can't have anyone not knowing each other here in our little hideaway."

"Okay," we both said at the same time.

We didn't have any baggage; we had left them at the Cloud-Nine inn. Therefore, we decided that we would go to Sophia for the group introduction. With my memory of the inn, I remembered my promise to the librarian at the local library there. I knew that I would have to tell him of my sudden change of plans. I hoped that he wouldn't be offended. Maybe we would be able to make some kind of arrangement.

As we approached Sophie, who had seated herself, we heard a news report coming from her radio, which rested on the small, round table beside her. We listened to the reporter for a while.

"There are reports that high-ranking officials and faculty of businesses and universities worldwide have been abducted by operatives, whose country of allegiance is yet unknown. These reports surfaced after a professor from a renowned Japanese university mysteriously vanished and was never heard from again despite having been expected to arrive at Xinjiang, China…"