Forest Dwellers

Chapter 6: The Family

The farmland surrounding Charlie's farmhouse was immense and almost as beautiful as Evan and Sadie's campsite. Evan burst through the trees first, his unfailing energy the result of insurmountable excitement. It had been so long since he had seen his family, his last remaining vestiges of bloodline. If Sadie ever wanted a family, she had the whole state - who knew her face from papers - as her family, but these three men were all he had left in the world.

It was a vision of paradise. There was a perfect cool breeze which brought with it the humble scent of dying leaves, each sighing their last breath and laying to rest, coating the fields with red and gold and orange. It was a magnificent sight, acres upon acres of corn stalks, all tall as Evan and taller still as they moved through the plump jungle. Sadie breathed in the scents and watched as Shelby chased the moles and tumbled through the stalks. Evan reached out and plucked a plump corncob from its sturdy sheath, stuffing it into his bag.

"I must ask Charlie about this." He said, almost to himself.

"What, he's never grown corn before?" Sadie replied, swatting plants out of her way. She had inconveniently worn a thin hemp skirt and it kept getting caught and snagged, as if the nature all around were pleading with her to stay with them, to grace them with her company. But she pressed on, following Evan and tugging at her skirt to free it now and then. Her wild hair was barely contained in a thick spiral bun at the base of her neck and already wisps of shiny curls were falling out and surrounding her face.

"It's not even humid, why is my hair doing this?" she complained.

"Don't worry about it, you look fine."

"How do you know, you didn't look at me!"

"Because you always look beautiful, I don't need to look."

Sadie blushed and smiled. It wasn't a fanciful compliment, he said this very seriously, stating a fact.

"You have to say things like that." She countered.

"Why?" Evan said, just as serious. "So that you'll realize how much better looking you are than me and leave me for someone more attractive? Yes that's what I want for sure. I'll keep the compliments coming."

Sadie stopped in her tracks, hands on her hips in a sarcastic way. Evan turned, feigning surprise.

"What?"

The three corn fields Charlie owned fenced in an open meadow area. Green and lush as it was in summer, the area was covered in the softest grass Sadie had ever felt. She couldn't resist it, and slipping off her moccasins she collapsed freely onto the grass and spread out her limbs, lifting her skirt slightly to feel the grass on her legs.

"Do you have to lay down on the very first open space of land we come across?" Evan stood over her, looking incredulous.

"Evan, feel this grass, it's so soft!"

He rolled his eyes. "You're like a child, you know that? You must spend 80% of your time lying in grass."

"That's the only good way to spend time!" She let out a wild laugh and rolled over and over until she reached the other side of the clearing. There was a moment or two of sweet silence before the high pitched mew of Shelby came from the depths of corn stalks and the hefty lynx cat flew over Sadie's head, landing heavily on her stomach.

"Oof!" Sadie's eyes widened in shock. Shelby walked to Evan's feet and let out a long drawn out sound between a purr and a mew.

"Really?" Evan looked toward the spot from which Shelby had appeared, looking both anxious and hopeful.