A Second Chance

14

I felt a hand tug my arm and gazed over to Harper. "What's that over there?" She asked, pointing in the distance.

"The dam wall and the hydro power pump. About another kilometre away, the water and property is fenced off, letting every one know not to go there for safety reasons."

"Oh. So it is a dam?"

"Yes." I answered as we stopped walking and Harper looked back to where we started.

"Wow, we wondered off pretty far." She muttered before sitting down at a nearby tree.

I followed her, sitting on the grass as she sat upright, taking in the scene. "It's beautiful." Came her soft voice and I found myself smiling again, looking at her.

"Yes, it is."

"Thank you for the distraction." Harper told me, turning to me. "I really appreciate it."

"You don't need to thank me."

Harper smiled again, a genuine happy one that made her look younger. She moved closer to me, her legs under her as she looked up at me.

"Tell me something about you." She insisted at me, her eyes wide as she waited patiently.

I chuckled at her soft begging. "What do you want to know?"

Harper shrugged as she thought about it. "I don't know. Anything. What adventures did you get up to when you were eighteen? Where you a troublemaker? A heartbreaker? A party boy?" She teased at me, a grin on her lips as she bit down on her bottom lip.

I suppressed the emotional groan that wanted to come up.

"Don't you dare say that you concentrated on work."

I laughed and shook my head. "I'm surprised you haven't used the internet to find out." I told her, waiting for her reaction.

"That's one way, but then that will tell me things about you that you may not want me to know. I believe you will tell me if you want to." Came her reply before she grinned again. "Besides, I'm not a stalker."

I laughed at her saying that phrase, feeling content in the moment.

"So, are you going to tell me a story or two?" Harper asked, blinking her eyes at me.

*

We sat under that tree for a good hour, me telling Harper of my days when I thought I was invincible. She listened with rapt attention, laughing at the funny bits, her eyes lighting up.

When we finally got back to the car, our stomachs were growling and we went to a small coffee house, getting lunch.

We ate our sandwiches and icy cold drinks, despite the weather, laughing at each other's misfortunes of bad luck and bad timings.

I told Harper of the time I was twenty two, I went boating and how the boat capsized, we were stranded for two days on an upside down catamaran.

She told me of how Willow had the fire brigade come out to rescue her at her daycare when she was three, getting stuck in the fence. It was a terrible experience for her.

We stayed at the cafe for an hour before I drove her back home, only because Harper said she preferred to wear her joggers when standing and cooking and working.