"Where are we going?"
Asher's Jeep was parked at the far end of the lot, still a shiny black despite the mud that had kicked up at the bottom rim of the metal. In typical Jeep fashion, the only window the car had was the windshield, and the roof was completely open. The one thing that brought the car any sense of security were the doors that had remained attached, presumably to keep all his belongings in the car. Asher tossed his bag into the back; I followed suit.
It wasn't until Asher had unlocked the car that he spoke up to say anything. Leaning outside of the car over the driver's seat door, he gave me a devilish smirk, declaring,"We are going on an adventure!"
Asher flopped into the driver's seat, pushing the key into the ignition, making the engine roar with life. Despite the uneasiness that had taken hold of my body as a result of the uncertainty of our destination, I climbed in tot he seat besides Asher, watching the way the sun lit up his eyes to a golden brown.
His car was cleaner than I expected, its contents only being a few water bottles, a blanket, our backpacks, and an additional bag that reminded me of one you'd see hikers wearing. I prayed that wasn't what he had in store for us; I'm not so sure my body could handle that.
That reminded me- I needed to take my next dose of medicine. After discreetly reaching behind my seat and slipping my hand into my bag to pull out of one of the pills from my Ziploc, I eyed the water bottles once more.
"Mind if I have one of these?" I pointed to one of the full bottles in his cup holder.
Asher glanced down for a second before returning his focus to the lot so that he could pull out. "It's all yours."
As subtly as possible, I passed my fingers over my lips to slip the pill in, trying to play the motion off as a scratch before unscrewing the cap on the water bottle and taking in a large gulp. Luckily, Asher's focus was on anything but me, or so it appeared.
A sense of peace settled over me as we drove off into the distance, the little beam of sunlight refusing to leave us. I didn't mind its company, though. It was warm and comforting making me believe for just a moment that something gold could actually stay. But then the reality set in with the fact that nothing lasts forever: not this hazy sunlight, not pain, not even us. Ponyboy learned that the hard way. I just read a lot of books.
It wasn't until we were out of town that Asher decided to speak up. "I've never seen you so relaxed. If only I knew all I had to do to get you to put your guard down was to kidnap you."
Asher spoke in a playful tone, but there was no denying the sincerity that seemed to string his words together I wasn't about to lie to him and say it wasn't true, so instead, I just nodded. "There's something about being so far removed from everything where you are forced to acknowledge the elements from which you came from that I find comforting."
Asher chuckled. "You sure it has nothing to do with the fact that you notified your dad that some strange boy has taken you hostage, and you want him to knock me out? We both know that's what you were doing when you not so discreetly grabbed your bag."
I felt the colour drain from my face at the mention of my dad. Asher must have picked up o the tension as he caught a glimpse of me while I remained silent.
"I was just kidding, you know?" he interrupted with a shaky voice, clearly worried he crossed a line. "Or at least I hope I was. You didn't actually text your dad to beat me up, did you?"
The serious expression that took over Asher's face was enough to make me laugh and forget the whole deal. "No, don't worry. You're safe for now."
I let my arm rest along the top of the door, my fingers spread to catch the sensation of the forceful wind blowing in between them.
"What do you mean, 'for now'?"
I laughed, ignoring his question as I watched his eyebrows raise, forming lines on his forehead.
"I'm serious, Dani. Silence can only mean bad things."
Asher made a turn down a pebbled road that was surrounded by trees. Judging from the lack of tracks or trash, I assumed no one ever came here. So how was it then that this kid who just moved to town was able to find a place that not even those who had lived here all their lives could find? We kept going until we reached the end, parking right in front of a languid stream that stretched from one horizon to the next. I unbuckled, turning to Asher.
"Not necessarily. But remember, Asher, all things come at a price. Nothing is free in this world."
Asher rolled his eyes playfully upon hearing me quote him. "Alright, you, hop out. Let's begin our adventure."
The River was unlike any place I had ever travelled, any experience I had ever been a part of, and anything I had ever dreamed about. It was simply the only of its kind, beautiful in everything it was. The soft earth spread across the vast expanse of land like a meadow- vivd in colour wtih flowers cast about in a haphazard simplicity. Trees lined the edges of the bank, bending towards the stream with their branches hanging over as if they were trying to somehow meet with the other side in the middle, like long lost lovers. As we continued to walk deeper, listening to the birds' whistle and the leaves' crunch, I allowed my lungs to breathe deeper than I ever had before, taking in The River's unique aroma of burnt wood and clean air. If heaven claimed a piece of land on Earth, this was it.
It wasn't until we reached a burly rock that Asher stopped, removing his bag from his shoulder and taking a seat. Patting a spot ont he place next to himself, Asher urged me to join him, overlooking the stream. I complied, letting out a puff of air as I hoisted myself up, watching as Asher jumped up to a jovial stance, gazing off into the distance.
"Danielle Leigh, I welcome you to The River!"
A sense of pride filled Asher as he took in the beauty that surrounded him, puffing out his chest victoriously. Making his body one with his surroundings, Asher outsreteched his arms, letting the fluid air roll past him. It all reminded me of a proud parent of a child who just scored the winning goal of the championship game, proclaiming to everyone that that boy was indeed his. The River was Asher's pride and joy, and he was in awe. If everyone was loved and admired even half as much as The River was by Asher, we could end all wars in an instant. It was impossible not to fall in love with the way he was in love with The River, and I cursed myself for it.
"What do you think of her?" Asher huffed, still slightly out of breath from the adrenaline The River seemed to give him.
Despite the fact that I had never met someone so in love with anything or anyone, let alone a river, I knew it wasn't without reason. It really was an experience of its own. I admried the blue stream, rippling from the touch of wind that caressed its top layer. If only I could have the same effect on people as she did. "It's beautiful, peaceful, like this place was chosen for someone imperfectly perfect."
"She sure is," he sighed, the smile not leaving his face. "But," Asher turned so he was facing me,"have you figured out why we are here? Besides, of course, because there is no better place you could come by in all of the universe?"
I stared down at the rock, realizing I had entirely forgotten that Asher had an intended purpose in taking us here. "I have no idea. Unless,that is, you are a twisted psycopath who took me out of civilization to this beautiful unknown so you could kill me without the hassle of anyone hearing my screams."
"While I admire the creativity in your theory, I am afraid you have been misaken We are here because we are about to embark on an adventure to save the world."
"And we are able to do that here how?" I asked, growing skeptical of the possiblity of us actually doing anything productive.
Asher jumped down from his seat on the rock and began pacing the ground in front of me, like a professor in a vast lecture hall."Patience, young padowan. Saving the world is the last step. First, you must learn to save yourself. That's where I come in. Five key parts, divided up into five simple, yet vital lessons. Today, we begin with Lesson Number One."
"And that is?"
"Passion."
Asher clung to a branch with one arm, swaying his body around from it like a theatre kid trying to land the lead roll in the school play. But while I appreciated his enthusiasm, I grew overcome with the feeling that my suspicions were correct. How were we going to do well on a project about an issue in our culture by talking about passion?
"Asher, I'm not understanding what you're trying to get at. This is serious. We need a legitimate issue to make a report on. I know you're new here, but I can guarantee you that passion is not something people around here lack. Just have a differing view with any given person and I could swear on my life you'd get some passionate heat back about it."
Asher leaped off the tree trunk, joining me back on the rock. "It is not the existence of passion that is lacking, Dani, but rather the placement of it."
And we were back to making no sense again. Asher didn't seem to think so though as he remained quiet, digging through the bag he had brought with him.
I sighed, running a hand through my hair in frustration, "Listen, Asher, I'm serious. We need a real problem with a real solution. What's passion or any of your other lessons going to solve?" I took a breath, realizing how my emotions had made my heart rate grow up, causing restriction in my lungs. "Look," I sighed, regretting raising my voice,"we can always redo my idea and-"
"Wow," Asher sighed, looking sympathetic,"you had it worse than I thought."
"What's that supposed to mean?" I snapped, the defensiveness seeping through my voice more than I had intended.
Asher removed his hand from the bag, dropping whatever he had been grasping onto. "Arguably, the biggest atrocity the world faces today is the amount of people who perish before they even started living."
"So we are doing our report on infant mortality?"
"No," Asher's face remained serious, almost pained as he continued speaking. "We are fighting against succumbing the fate of existence. Our goal is to breathe back life into it. And we will do that using my five lessons."
I couldn't help but look at Asher with a confused expression, though the intensity from which his words were wrought gave me faith that he knew what he was doing. "Okay, keep going."
Instead of talking, Asher turned back to his bag and began pulling out equipment, making me mind race as to what he could be up to. Clearly, this had all been well thought out. I watched as the contents of his bag was emptied, revealing a camera and its stand.
"We're making this a video presentation/" I asked, watching Asher set it up.
"As I'm sure you are aware, this is a camera," Asher began, waving his hands around the camera as if he were announcing the prize to a gameshow. "Besides my luxurious career of being a professional adventurer, I love photography. It's something I'm passionate about. Therefore, I put my heart and soul into it, despite whether people think it's a waste of time or a dumb thing to do, because I love it."
I noticed a red light blinking from the camera; Asher was recording the whole thing. "So now, I ask you again, why do you think I brought you to The River?"
"Because you're passionate about it?"
Asher smiled, clearly content that we were now on the same page. "I knew you'd catch on fast.
"But how can you be passionate about a river? You can practice photography, but you can't practice nature."
Satisfied with the camera's angle, Asher sat down again, bending one knee to rest an elbow on while the other hung over the side. He rested his chin on his fist, looking intensely at me. "Let me ask you a question, Danielle Leigh, how do people show their passion for one another?"
I allowed my mind to think a moment, looking off into the horizon as if the answer were written upon it. "Well, they usually take care of the person, show how much that person means to them."
"Exactly!" Asher exclaimed, arms outstretched. "Key word here being appreciate. You can show passion by appreciating that certain thing or someone you care about. You spend time with those people, those places, those things. You take time to marvel at all they are because that's how we are able to show gratitude and appreciation. By ignoring it, you end up doing the exact opposite, and that's detrimental to what you care about. I come to the River to admire her, and I bring my camera because that's what I'm passionate about."
Comforting silence brought a moment to let my mind digest what Asher had just told me, and it gave him time to compose his thoughts. Unfortunately, it seemed time was given sparingly whenever I thought about spending time doing what I was passionate about. It all felt too selfish. Asher didn't give me much time to dwell on that fact though as he spoke up once again.
"Now it's your turn. Name something you are passionate about."
I felt the uneasiness return to my stomach at the thought of revealing something close to me. Years of harassment and teasing grew a wall around my thoughts. But no one else was out here, just us. No one else had to hear. Besides, he had already revealed a piece of himself to me. The least I could do was return the favour.
"I like to write," I admitted, not looking up at Asher until I had finished talking.
"That's awesome. What kind?"
Never in my life had anyone ever showed so much intrigue into what made me me. It took me off guard, creating this weird feeling in my stomach that I could only describe as hopeful excitement. I smiled, letting my guard down an inch.
"I do a lot of interviewing, but that's mostly because I'm a part of the school newspaper. It's cool though, getting a glimpse into other people's lives."
"And what about when you're not writing for the school? Like what are you writing when you're at home, let's say, just hanging out in your room?"
"Well," I began, biting my lip, just hoping I wasn't about to come off as this weird, loner kid,"I write a lot of poetry."
Asher's face lit up like a child who was just promised candy. "No way! Dude, when I was living in Chicago, they had this awesome coffee shop that would do these poetry slam nights. I went to every single one. You ever been to any?"
"No."
"We've got to change that. You're going to one and you're going to read at least one of your poems."
My face grew red, growing mortified at the thought of performing in front of a group of people. I took a deep breath as my heart jumped to my throat.
"Oh, no. I'm not the poetry reading type," I ramble back, hoping he gets the thought out of his head.
"C'mon! Just once. I'm sure you're great."
Asher stood up, adjusting the camera on the stand before jumping down onto the dirt. "Here, we'll have a little practice round right now. Do a little improv."
"Asher, I-"
He grabbed my hand softly, pulling me down with eager eyes. "Don't think, just roll with it. It'll be fun. Here, I'll go first. Give me a beat."
Eyebrows raised, I looked up at him, giving an uncertain smile. Was he serious?
"Go on, any beat you want."
Unsure of myself, I alternated between clapping my thigh to my hand, developing a steady beat that got me out of embarrassing myself by attempting to beat box. Asher seemed fine with that though as he started nodding his head to the rhythm, his eyes showing concentration on the lyrics he was clearly forming in his head.
"My name is Asher, and I'm eighteen. I'm a professional adventurer, rocking a beat. I'm with this girl named Dani, and she is clapping along. She'd rather go get a mani than listen to my song."
I stopped clapping, overcome by the absurdity of his rhymes. "Asher, that didn't even make any sense."
"That's fine! All that matters is you're having fun. Now your turn."
Before I could refuse, Asher started beat boxing, waiting expectantly for me to start. Reluctantly, I caved, trying to conjure up a line.
"I'm working on a project with a friend who jives. I don't know what you call it, but we're saving some lives."
I could feel my ears grow a pulse as I had just finished uttering the worst rhyme I had ever produced.
"See, wasn't that fun?"
"If you consider making a fool out of yourself fun, then yes, I had a blast."
Looking as if he had just been crowned MVP, Asher bent down and skipped a pebble across the stream. "Then I am glad," Asher remarked,before taking a dramatic bow, saying, "It was a pleasure rap battling with you."
"It was a battle?" I asked, watching as Asher gave me a face that made me feel as if I should've known better.
"Duh! And I won, for the record."
Despite the fact that I came up with about the stupidest rhyme in all my writing history, I was still offended. His rhyme was awful! "No way! I totally beat you! Take that back!"
"Danielle Leigh, your anger is impeding on my enjoyment of my passions!" Asher hollered, picking up pebbles from the bank to skip across the water.
"My apologies, Mr. Vice. Care to show me how to appreciate your glorious River?"
He smirked. "Follow me."
We cast stones into the sunset until the golden gleam of light had left us for the day. With little light left to show us our way back, Asher lead us to our belongings on a path that was clearly as familiar to him as the back of his hand. How did the day pass us so quickly? Realizing how late it must be, I pulled out my phone from my back pocket. 8:03, and four missed calls, all from my mother.
"Hey, I'll meet you in the car. I just got to call my mom real quick," I told Asher, dialing in my mom's number.
"Okay, I'l just be packing up," he replied, hopping back up onto the rock.
I leaned against a tree, my back to Asher as I heard the familiar voice of my mom ring through the phone. "Danielle, where are you? I called you several times and you never picked up1 Do you realize how worried I've been?"
"Mom, I'm fine. I was just working on a school project with Asher, the guy from Intercultural Communications that I was telling you about. we are leaving now. I should be home in twenty minutes."
I felt bad, realizing how panicked my mom was. It wasn't often that I was out of the house, so this sudden contrast of me being gone all day must have took her by surprise, and rightfully so.
"You better be. Don't you ever do that again. You scared me half to death."
"I know, Mom, I'm sorry. I promise it won't happen again. I just lost track of time. I love you."
The line went dead, Now I really didn't want to leave. But delaying things any further would only make it worse. I slipped my phone back in my pocket, walking back to find Asher.
I found him on the boulder, crouched down so he was eye-level with his camera, leaving one final message.
"Don't hold back from something you are passionate about. Put every ounce of your being into it. Because, if you don't, you'll have to live harboring the regret of what could have been. Once that happens, you're done for. Regret is lethal for the soul. Take it from someone who knows."
The red light went out. End of Lesson One.