Despite the sign, I saw no indication of a town yet, only forest and landscape. As I stood at the sign, I took a look around at the landscape. To my left was a flat plane of green. In the distance were two hills layered by depth. Pine trees littering both. I make it a point that there were only two hills in view, for beyond that was, as far as I could tell, more flat landscape and roaming fog. Patches of white and faded lilac bruised the grey sky above. An old wooden fence, darkened from the rain, paralleled the road, separating the road I traveled and the large stretch of land. To my right, was a mountainside of deep green pine trees settled in dark brown dirt, shaded by the mountain’s height and placement of the sun. Rogue brush and grassy weeds were organically placed among the trees and there was a small irrigation ditch that too was parallel to the road, and it had a paltry stream of water coursing.
Ahead of me was a sharp right turn in the road. I followed past the turn and saw where town began. The city was darkened- or rather, darkly shaded – from the rain that had come over it recently. I’d deduced it was fairly recent, indicated by that distinct fresh rain smell. The various shops and businesses were never larger than a single story- their length and width was reasonably suited to each establishment.
I walked along one lengthy stretch of road, used for commuting from place to place. To the left and right of me were shops, stores, markets,- what have you- all lined facing each other, parallel to the road. Intermixed with the establishments were roads that lead out into these sectioned areas reserved for houses that branched off into other housing areas; each home allotted with its own yard space and a fence if need be. Now not all yards were of equal size, of course, but there were never an overabundance of houses to the point where the land became saturated. The forest was always well pronounced and each house was placed apart just so, to where one could have a sight of trees on a mountain, and also civilization just barely out in the distance. It was detached enough to give an essence of serenity, but not isolation. Trees were very prominent everywhere and everything had an aged look to it. The blend of environment and civilization was very comforting. The fresh mid-day air at a cool temperature, and everything dampened by rain, truly this was home.
After a moment of appreciating the town, I’d decided to stop at an inn as I’d been travelling for some time and had grown a tad weary. I was not seeking one for long when I spotted one. Approaching the building, I pushed open the door and saw a small interior room. The walls were white, though with the color selected for the drapes, the room took on a more subdued grey.
The wall opposite the entrance was where the receptionist desk stood. She was scribbling away at some papers. I was approaching the woman to inquire about the cost of a room when I saw someone emerge from the hallway. I’d paused my walking without thinking as I saw the man emerge from the hallway. Immediately I was stricken with a sense of remembrance. I can even recount my expression with clarity upon seeing him. I’m able to do this because the man shared it as we, at first, took a casual, polite notice of one another- as people often do in public, for, it’s polite to acknowledge another person’s existence and it also invariably becomes an unconscious habit of one’s early on. It is generally good to familiarize yourself with an environment and take stock of your surroundings, as this helps assess any dangers. This habitual assessment coupled with the polite acknowledgement is what led us to meet.
I recognized the man as my old friend, Mark. The sight of him brought back memories of warm affection. “Rob!” he called at me in exclamation of fondness. We approached and embraced, as friends who've not seen each other in sometime often do.
Mark was always a man of some vice, currently it was alcohol. So it was at the local pub where we’d decided to continue our conversation. It was a little past mid-day when we entered the bar. A faint smell of cigarette smoke grazed my senses. The low humming of peoples conversations could be heard. There were a series of booths lined along the walls and a space for the bartender was fitted in a pink colored alcove in the wall to the left. The space had shelves of various liquors.
A Dalliance in Trerrylain
Start from the beginning
