THE SHOE IN THE WOODS

 

THE SHOE IN THE WOODS

Gerard E. Thornton

© 2024

 

Karl had just about reached the limit of his endurance for that day’s hike.  The group got off to a late start that had them reaching the most challenging section of the trail at the heat of the day.  The previous day’s thunderstorm had left the terrain a muddy quagmire, and Karl felt that the humidity must have stood at about 200%, if that was even possible. 

               He waited patiently for the others to appear from up on the ridge.  Finally, he heard a voice calling down to him.

               “Hey, yo, where you at?”  It was Drew, who probably would have felt much more at home with a bong in his hand just then, rather than out here in the dense brush. 

               “I’m down here, by the poplars,” Karl responded, stepping out from between the white-trunked conifers.

               “Oh, there you are,” Drew acknowledged with a wave.  Shortly, two other figures stood on the ridge overhead.  Marion and Gwen, the girls.

               “I’m not going down there,” Marion sniffed, that’s too steep for me.

               “Don’t be a chicken,” Karl teased, “Besides,” he continued, “…the view is great from just past this clearing.”

               There were some murmured discussions and then finally Gwen piped up.

               “Wait for us, here we come.”

               Once the other three clattered their way down the scree and met up with Karl, they continued along the ridge between the trees that only showed the scantest trace of a foot path. 

               “So where is this great view we heard so much about,” Drew asked, feeling slightly claustrophobic in the canopy of trees that seemed to converge more overhead with each step.

               Karl chuckled. “What, this doesn’t count?”

               The others stopped walking and glanced around at the tangle of shrubbery and ferns.  There wasn’t much to look at, not even an interesting outcropping of stones to break up the monotony.

               “Oh, you son of a bitch.”  Marion’s face flushed with anger.

               “Well, that’s the last time we appoint you as trail guide,” Gwen chuckled, her little button nose taking on a wrinkle that made Karl want to give her a tight hug at that very moment.  He fought the urge and settled for an embarrassed smile.  He watched her shapely rear as she trudged back up the hill.  One day he’d get the nerve to make his move, he promised himself.  One day.

“Just kidding,” Karl laughed, come with me.”

He led the others through a grove of old pines, their boots crunching on old twigs and pinecones.  Finally, they came out along the edge of the high cliff face.  Below them flowed a powerful river, its water a gray-green majesty.

“Wowww…” Drew and Gwen said in sing-song unison.

Even Marion looked awestruck as she let her gaze follow the trail of the river from its origin between the northern valley as it flowed southward through the mighty Ramapo Mountain range.  Tiny birds wheeled overhead, looking miniscule in the spectacular vista.

Drew dared to go right to the edge.  Karl could see Marion tense up as she watched, uncomfortable with the height of the cliff.

“Jeeze, that’s a long way down.  What do you think Karl, two hundred feet?  More?”

Karl smiled, as he edged alongside his friend.

“Actually where we are standing it’s four hundred forty eight feet to the ground below.”

The group watched silently for a few moments, each enraptured by the scenery.

“There’s a pretty cool beach down at the bottom.  I’ve been there.”  Karl saw Gwen looking at him, sensing she was impressed.

“How the heck do you get down there?” Drew asked.

“You have to take the lower trail, it will lead you right to the bottom.  It’s steep, but it’s a cool hike.”

By now the air was teeming with moisture and mosquitoes.  It was an unbearable combination.  The ground felt like it was literally steaming underfoot.

“Not today, my friend.  That’s it for me, I’m heading out.”  Drew was the first one to peel away from the others.  The rest took turns giving the view one more look, and then turned to follow.  They made their way back towards the way they had come.  They clambered through the pine trees and came out by the hill that led to the top of the trail.            

               Karl was about to start up when he cast a glance to his right, his eyes following a Carolina Wren that flitted past.  It perched momentarily on a branch, looked from side to side, then made off for the clearing beyond.  Karl noticed something on the ground below where the wren had perched.  It was silvery gray and stood about six inches in height.  He stepped over, cleared a low hanging branch with his forearm as he approached.  It was a shoe, a woman’s shoe. But it wasn’t an ordinary shoe, and definitely wasn’t the type you would expect to see out on a trail, like a chukka boot.  It was a single high heel pump.   The heel must have stood 4.”  By the look of the dirt that had accumulated on the toe, and the label which had been rendered partially illegible, it looked like it may have been exposed on the trail for some time.  The shoe also looked to have been fairly well worn by its previous owner.

Karl was about to turn away, but the sight of the shoe bothered him for some reason.  Who would have worn a shoe like that out here in the steep terrain, and more importantly, what circumstances would have caused that someone to leave one shoe behind?  It would have been madness to try to make it back to the trail parking with one shoe.  The distance was almost 2 miles.  The rocks and roots that studded this countryside would have surely mangled any bare foot that tried to make the trip unprotected.

               “Hey guys,” he shouted, one hand curled in front of his mouth like an impromptu megaphone.  He didn’t wait for a reply, but instead started pacing in a circle around the spot where the shoe stood.  He wasn’t sure what exactly he was looking for, but something told him he’d know when he found it.

               “Whatcha’ doing down there?” Drew’s voice boomed from the ridge.

               “Hey, you want to come down here for a second? You have to see this.”

               Karl heard voices, followed by Marion’s voice (he thought) muttering a complaint.

               Finally, once everyone was again assembled at the foot of the hill, Karl pointed towards the clearing.

               Marion was closest, and ran a hand through her hair, her eyes trained on the one lost shoe.  She kneeled down to get a closer look.

               “Meh,” Marion shrugged, “I know the brand, but they’re nothing special.”

               “You sure?” Karl asked, moving closer.

               “Of course I am, shoes are my thing.” Marion shrugged, suddenly taking on the appearance of an anthropologist, studying the remains of a long-gone civilization.     

“Those shoes are by Steve Madden, and would run about $70.  They are designed to get you noticed, more than to make any real fashion statement.”

               “What do you mean, get you noticed?” Drew suddenly seemed intrigued.

               “You know, they’re um…” Gwen tried to come up with a delicate explanation.

               “…they’re fuck-me pumps,” Marion finished impatiently.

               “…um, right.” Gwen nodded towards Karl.

               “Aha,” he said, rubbing the stubble of his chin with one hand.

               “Why the hell would a girl be walking around here miles from nowhere wearing those?” Drew asked, repeating Karl’s first thoughts down to the letter.

               “Yeah,” Marion nodded, “That doesn’t make any sense.”

“Probably some hoochie mama,” Marion quipped.

               The group traded glances as the forest suddenly felt uncomfortably hemmed in. 

               Karl reflected for a moment, then spoke.

“Maybe we should tell the ranger.  Who knows, maybe there’s a girl hopping around here somewhere on one foot, trying to find the other shoe.”

“I don’t know,” Drew countered, “This shoe looks like it’s been here awhile.”

Gwen peered into the distance, eyes squinting, as if looking for the shoe’s owner. Seeing nothing and no one, she returned her attention to the shoe.

“Do you want to take it with us?”

“Nah, it’s just some old shoe,” Marion said, “Besides, I have enough in my closet already.”

Karl was the last to leave the site and gave the thing one final glance before following his friends up and away from that place.  By the time they were in the car, air conditioner on full blast, the shoe had been all but forgotten.

By four that afternoon, the group were sitting at a tired booth at the run-down diner on the stretch of route 59 that led away from the nature preserve where they had been hiking.  After looking over the grease-streaked menus, they all decided to order a cheeseburger deluxe.  Only Marion mixed it up a little by ordering fried zucchini sticks instead of French fries.

“So, what’s the plan for tonight,” Drew asked expectantly, dipping a fry into the mound of ketchup he had squirted onto the center of his plate.  That was always a culinary tradition for his every meal, whether it be hamburgers or a steak dinner at the River Palm Terrace.

“I don’t know, I was thinking about catching that new Guillermo del Toro movie,” Marion answered, as she touched up her makeup behind an open compact mirror.

“That sounds cool, I’m in,” Drew announced with gusto.

Marion looked up above her mirror, looking perturbed.  “Wait, who even invited you?”

Drew shrugged, and returned his attention to his meal, defeated.

“Aww, I’m just kidding,” Marion chuckled, her face looking rather fetching with a rare smile.   The others laughed, and Drew perked up, finally joining in.  Drew pulled out his

phone and checked the showtimes online for the movie on his phone.  He and Marion started making plans between themselves while the other two worked on their burgers.

Karl really wasn’t in the mood to see a movie that night, in fact he thought he would just hang at his apartment.  He didn’t notice Gwen watching him as he ate.  Her brown eyes, circled in black eyeliner, were sharp and curious, studying him.

Finally, the meal finished, Drew called for the check and put the whole thing on his credit card.  This surprised the others, as he was a notorious skinflint, but they caught him on a good day.  He was going to see a movie with the beautiful Marion, and there was a possibility that he would get lucky later that night.  A possibility.

The friends headed back to the car and Drew dropped Karl off at his apartment first.  After Karl made his farewells, he stepped out onto the curb and fished for his keys.  A voice called out behind him from the open window of the back seat.

“Hey, Karl, are you okay?”  It was Gwen. 

An odd question.  He blinked twice, wondering what she meant.

“Yeah, sure, why?”

Gwen shrugged. “I don’t know, you seem a little, distracted.”

“I’m fine,” he assured her. 

She nodded.  Drew tapped the horn twice as the car started forward.

Once back in the apartment, Karl washed his hands, got changed into a pair of sweats, and opened up his laptop.  At first, he went through emails, then he checked his Facebook account.  After this, he went to the refrigerator and got a cold can of Mountain Dew.  He cracked the top, pausing to savor the sensations of opening a soda on such a hot day.  He took a sip, then sat back behind his computer.  Without really realizing why, he began a search of missing persons in the vicinity of the park he and his friends had visited earlier that day.  There were a few news articles about a young boy who had gone missing along the trail after he had wandered away from his parents a few years back.  After checking some more leads, he was relieved to see the boy had been found a few hours later, unharmed.  After about an hour, he could not find any stories pertaining to any women who had gone missing in the park.  He took another sip of soda and leaned away from the table briefly, stretching his back.

He was about to give up the search when he spotted something.  It was a story from a local news channel from about 2 weeks prior.

 

POLICE CALL OFF SEARCH FOR SUSPECTED SEX WORKER NEAR ROSS PARK

 

One article led to another, and then Karl started researching the incident on social media.  He was only able to glean only a few details from each article.  The information was sometimes scant and often even contradictory, but he began to piece together what was most likely what had transpired.

A young woman named Julie Burke had gone missing out in the area.  She was a tall, attractive brunette who came from a troubled family, and later became a sex worker. The online stories did not give the full background of the unfortunate woman. 

Growing up in the town of Hillburn, New York, Julie was the only child of alcoholic parents who often neglected the girl from the time she was a baby.  The father was a man with no trade or particular skill set, although he did take some jobs as laborer and was briefly employed as handyman at a nearby nursing home.  Although the job should have been a promising development for the man, he was soon fired when the staff discovered that he was stealing medicine and pain killers from the nurse’s station.  The mother did little more than watch television with a seemingly endless screwdriver in her hand.  The two lived in incomprehensible squalor with their baby, in a cottage that was little more than a hut somewhere at the base of the mountains that ridged old Highway 17.

The parents considered the new addition to their family little more than a nuisance; an unwanted and unwelcome interloper that required far more time and attention than they were willing to spare.  The two often foisted the baby off on cousins, friends and neighbors for days or even weeks at a time.  Despite her precarious beginnings, the child managed to make it through childhood, attending grade school and then entering Hillburn Highschool in her 15^th year.  A poor student, she struggled through even the most rudimentary courses.  By the time she was a junior, she had fallen in with a tough group of misfits, and she began using drugs. Julie dropped out of high school and left her home for good without a glance backward when she was 18.  The parents either didn’t seem to notice, or most likely, didn’t care, that their daughter had left, and not once did they go looking for their daughter or inquire about her whereabouts. 

By the time she was 22, Julie began a lifestyle of prostitution.  She made dating connections through a profile she had created at obscure websites set up as flimsy covers for prostitutes.  Most of these websites would be periodically shut down by federal law enforcement authorities as their true identities were revealed.  Almost immediately however, the website developers would generate clone accounts under new names, and the business would resume, until the police caught wind of the new sites, and the process would repeat again.

Karl shook his head grimly as he worked his way through another news article online.  The girl didn’t stand a chance out in the world.  The sad reality was, when women who were sex workers like Julie went missing, not many people took notice.  Many were runaways or came from broken homes from which they had severed all ties.  They were often drug addicts, resigned to living on the streets, often moving without any notice given to whatever acquaintances they might have.   Even more disturbing was the fact that in most cases, very few resources were deployed to investigate the disappearance of women who were considered outcasts. They were people whose lives did not merit anything but fleeting mention by the news media.

Karl read on.  Julie was arrested twice for solicitation and sentenced to probation or short bouts in the Rockland County Department of Corrections.  He came across two of her mug shots.  In one, a beautiful, although defiant face beamed out at him, dark eyes looking wise and somewhat content, despite the circumstances surrounding the photograph.  He stared at the picture for several minutes, trying to read her expression.  When he turned to the second picture taken only a year after the earlier shot, he swallowed hard.  Her beautiful face was now bedraggled and drawn, her once-luxurious hair now hung matted, looking unwashed.  The worst feature in the later photo were her eyes.  They were dead and lost looking, as though the last flicker of life and hope had become extinguished.

He quickly scrolled back to the latest article, suddenly overcome by an urge to get back out to Ross Park.

He hastily scanned the article again, although he was probably able to recount the whole story verbatim by then.

The article stated that Burke, 23, was last seen getting into a dark blue Nissan bearing New York plates in the vicinity of the Ross Park parking lot.  A couple who had been leaving the lot at the time only remembered the details because they had to swerve suddenly to avoid the Nissan, which was driving somewhat erratically, and the couple peered into the other car as they passed.   

The following day, some trail walkers found the woman’s purse, along with a jacket she was reportedly wearing at the time of her disappearance.  The items were pointed out to a park ranger, who then made a call to the county police.  The purse contained an empty wallet, although a crumpled credit card bill in the purse was used to identify the owner as Julie Burke.  A search of the rugged terrain was later conducted by the police as well as park rangers. Burke was reported to be wearing a dark skirt, white sports bra, gold hoop earrings and gray high heel shoes at the time of her disappearance.

Gray high heel shoes.  Karl slammed the lid of his laptop, changed back into his jeans, and grabbed the car keys from the kitchen countertop.  He knew he had to get back out to the cliff.  There wasn’t a moment to lose.

By the time Karl’s car rumbled to a halt in the gravel lot, the park was dark and deserted.  Only the periodic pinprick of fireflies served to penetrate the blackness of the night sky.  Suddenly, he felt unsure of himself.  What the hell was he doing out here anyway?  What was he hoping to find?  Did he think he was going to somehow blunder around in the dark woods and discover something that the professional search and rescue teams had failed to notice?  He knew what the answers to all of those questions were, but he locked it down deep within his mind, not allowing for any flicker of hope to manifest itself.  It had only been two weeks since she went missing.  There was still a possibility, however slim, that… the thought died off before it could spin out of his brain.

He opened the glove compartment where he kept a small flashlight.  Pawing through piles of expired registration slips and insurance cards, he saw the black rubberized handle and pulled it out.  He pushed the button.  Nothing.

“For Christ’s sake,” he growled, rapping the thing against the console.  The light popped on, its beam surprisingly bright considering the length of time it had sat unused in the car.

“Thank Christ,” he muttered, and pushed against his door.  The outside world was warm and still.  He closed the door carefully, not fully understanding why he didn’t want his presence to be heard out here in the middle of all that…nothing.

Getting his bearings, he headed off to the southeast trail, the one that would lead him to where he knew the shoe was.  He had spent quite a bit of time out at this very same park over the years, and was familiar with the geography of the land, and where he would be able to work his way down towards the water below the cliffs.  Nevertheless, he had never come here in the dark, and he twice became disoriented and almost wandered off the path into the tangle of trees.

The flashlight beam blazed out ahead of him, its light giving him renewed confidence and a sense of security.  He thought of what poor Julie must have gone through on the night she came out here in the car of a stranger.  Had she been attacked? Did someone chase her into the woods?  The thought of running pell-mell in the darkness being pursued by an assailant made him shudder. 

He came to a group of boulders that he hadn’t remembered passing earlier that day when he had been with Drew and the others.  He stopped and checked his surroundings, swinging the flashlight from die to side.  He had almost come to the point of turning back but then he got a glimpse of the steep decline that would lead him to the shoe.  He poised himself carefully, making sure he had solid footing beneath him, he scaled down the loose stones, keeping the light focused on the sloping stone path below him.  Finally, he made the base of the hill and turned to where the clearing was.  For an agonizing moment he thought that the clearing was now barren.  His heart began to pound in his ears, and he could feel the pulse in his temples.  Then, he saw it, just as it had been left.  The gray high heel pump stood erect, reflecting the flashlight, looking completely alien and foreign among the dense surrounding forest.

He stood before the shoe, pausing briefly, before stooping down and placing his hand on its heel.  Picking it up, he turned it over in his hand.  The sole was scuffed, and the insole was heavily pressed from the foot that had worn it.

I’m coming Julie, he said, his voice a breathless whisper.

At that moment he had to admit to himself that he wasn’t really sure where he was heading, but without pausing, he made his way back up the slope, towards the head of the trail, where the paths to different park locations converged.  Colored metal disks were nailed to some of the trees to mark different trails.  He saw the blue colored discs and recognized that those were the ones that marked the south trail that wound its way down the precipice to the foot of the high cliffs, where the rocks met the bank of the river.  It was a pretty intense climb, and one that was likely never attempted in the dark, but he felt a sense of urgency.  He made up his mind that he had no choice but to make the attempt tonight.  Right at that moment.

He started his way down at a brisk pace, on several occasions reaching out with his arm to catch the trunk of a tree just in time to prevent him from toppling headlong down the steep embankment.  If that happened, he knew he’d break something.  He realized then that no one knew he was even out here, and the chance of anyone finding him down this path would be slim to none, leaning toward none.

The trail was a mix of stony terraces and rocky soil that was overgrown with exposed tree roots.  The day had been hot, and the ground had dried almost completely.  There was just enough of a breeze to keep most of the mosquitoes away.  He was thankful for that.  From somewhere far below, he thought he heard the rush of running water.  The river.  Something began to urge him along.  He knew he had to get down to the river.

His mouth was parched as he made the last leg of the descent, and he wished he had had the presence of mind to take a water bottle with him, but in his haste, he hadn’t brought anything along but the flashlight.  Some of the broken scree clattered down from under his heels, and he could hear the stones landing among tree branches far below.   He kept on, careful not to lose his grip on the light, and clutching the shoe in the other hand with what could have been described as a death grip.

The grade became ever steeper as he descended, and he was forced to slow his movements and take his time.  The river was now visible in the darkness, the light from a pale sliver crescent moon scattered on the water like shards of broken glass.

At last, he made the base of the mountain.  He peered upwards at its imposing bulk above his head. The top of the park was about a thousand feet straight up.  He found himself hoping that none of the stones that he may have unearthed on his way down would tumble silently down the ravine to land on his uncovered head.  He shook the thought away, there was no time for that.

The river was running strong from the last heavy rainfall, and he watched as twigs and leaves scuttled past on the torrent, into the darkness and out of sight, to whatever fate lay in store for them at the end of their ride.  The ground underneath his shoes was made up of finely ground stone and pebbles, making the going much easier than the jagged rocks he had grown accustomed to on the way down the cliff.  Ahead of him was a large, scalloped clearing, forming what would have been a quaint little beach had it been encountered in the daylight.

His excitement waned quickly as he probed the perimeter of the beach with his light.  Nothing except a few old beer cans, most likely left behind by some daring hikers who had used this spot to chill and take in the scenery.  Towards the end of the crude beach, he saw a short, dark tree stump that rose up just next to the cliff wall.  Disappointed, he began to turn back towards the foot of the trail, resigned to making his way back up the trail in defeat.  It had been an admirable, if not foolish quest.  He stopped in his tracks, the flashlight resting on the surface of the river.  What on earth was a tree stump doing at the foot of this cliff?  There was absolutely no shrubbery or trees down here.  He spun on his heel and played the light in the direction of the object, cautiously increasing his speed as he approached.

He had closed the distance to about 20 yards when he realized that the object at the foot of the cliff was no tree stump.  It was a person.  Whoever it was, was sitting with their back up against the rock, head slumped down.  He stopped walking, now unsure if he should call out or not.  After all, wasn’t it possible that some kind of degenerate or vagrant could be down here, sleeping off a meth high, or doing whatever else they did in places like this?

He was now close enough to determine that it was indeed a person sitting there.  It was a woman.  She was hugging her knees, her legs folded up tight to her chest in a protective position.  He could see the woman’s bare legs, the skin streaked with dirt and grime.  The woman’s dark hair hung down in front of her, obscuring her face.  Karl’s breath stopped, his heart trip hammering in his chest.  He fought to get his voice.

“Hello…?” he began, his voice timid and raspy.

He repeated, this time with more force.

The head stirred.  Karl was at once terrified to see the face that had been unseen up until that moment.  What would she look like? Was she injured? Was she even real? 

The woman’s head tilted upwards slowly, so slowly, until her face became visible.  The cold LED beam of the flashlight made it impossible to see any distinct features.  Karl lowered the beam until it rested on the ground next to the figure.  He took two strides forward.

She sat up now, her arms dropping to her sides.  Her face held no expression he could interpret, it was not pained, it wasn’t surprised, and it wasn’t even remotely relieved.  He didn’t know what she might be thinking at that moment, although he imagined that after two weeks out here in these conditions, he would have expected something to register on her face.  A gold hoop earring she was wearing caught the light and glinted momentarily. To his astonishment, he could see she was wearing one gray shoe, the twin of which he now carried in his hand.  The sweat on his palms making the heel slick to his touch.  Everything began to click in his head, the miniskirt, the gold earrings and the sports bra, once white, but now marred with dirt.  He would know those dark eyes anywhere, the part of her hair.  It was her.  The woman was Julie Burke or had been at one time.  He wasn’t entirely sure what was left of her now, mentally or emotionally.

He didn’t know what to say next, but words began to form on his lips, of their own accord.

“Julie…” he said, approaching cautiously, worried he might scare her.

“Julie, I have your other shoe…”  He stretched out his hand to show the woman his offering. He thought he saw one of the woman’s eyebrows rise just slightly.  Karl waited, trying to make sense of what was happening in front of him. 

She held out a hand, as if asking for the shoe.

The poor woman, out there in the dark all by herself.  She needed help.  Karl shook his head, his hands beginning to tremble so hard, he almost dropped the light. 

“No, please… allow me.”

His legs began to quiver, and he lowered himself onto his knees before her.  He placed the light beside him, so that he had enough illumination to see what he was doing.  Gingerly he turned over his hand, so the palm was showing.  She lifted her leg and landed her foot gently on the palm.  As though he were the prince at Cinderella’s ball, he carefully slid the shoe on her foot. It was a perfect fit.  He then patted her foot delicately, as though it might break. 

He rocked backwards on his haunches to get a better look at the woman.  To his astonishment, her face did not appear haggard or drawn.  It bore no traces of the ravages of drug abuse as it had in the later mugshot he had viewed on his online search. 

“Are you hurt?” Karl asked, emboldened now that he had made the first connection with this lost soul.  She gazed at him, unblinking.

“I’m sorry, my name… I’m Karl. You’re Julie, aren’t you? I’ve been looking for you.  Everyone’s been looking for you, in fact.”

The breeze stirred again now and lifted the long locks of hair away from the side of her face.  He could see a long ugly scar that wasn’t healing well running down from one temple towards her ear. 

“Are you ok? Can you walk?”

She lifted a hand and brushed back the hair from the other side of her face, the gesture, halting as it was, made her suddenly graceful and beautiful.

Karl figured the woman was in shock, probably suffering from exposure and dehydration, and this accounted for her delayed responses and overall detachment.  He had read stories about people who were rescued after months in the jungle and how long it eventually took for them to function normally again.  He swore that he’d get her up off this trail and to a hospital.  He would be there for her every second until she was fully recovered or recovered to whatever extent possible after this ordeal at Ross Park.  He would help her and care for her the way she had never been helped in her fractured existence.  He turned and sat down beside her, looking out at the darkened river, which jostled along at a good clip.  The place felt serene just then, as though they were the only two people on earth.

“You know I bet this place would be kind of nice most days, what with the river and all…” his voice trailed off, and he chided himself for what probably sounded like an offhand, even flip remark. 

He tried to rephrase what he meant to say. 

“I mean not nice…” he began, but she suddenly put a cool hand on his forearm, and his mouth shut immediately at the sensation.  She said nothing, and the two remained locked in an awkward silence. 

“Are you ready to go?  I’ll help you back up the trail.  My car is up there, and I can get you to the hospital.  You must have been through hell down here all by yourself.”

Her eyes, still unblinking, continued to study him.  What was she thinking?

“Okay, let me help you up,” he continued at last, rising unsteadily to his feet.  He turned to face her and bent down with both arms outstretched.  She did nothing at first, as if she was unsure of his intent.  Karl gave what he hoped was his most reassuring smile and beckoned slowly to her with each hand.  She slowly leaned forward into his grasp, and he brought her to her feet.  To his surprise she seemed to rise with almost no effort.  He reasoned that she must have lost a lot of weight from getting no food or water down in this ravine.  He wasn’t sure if the river water was drinkable down here or not, but the thought passed, and he turned her gingerly in the direction of the trail.

“I got you Julie, don’t worry,” he assured her, one arm stretched across her back to steady her.  In her heels, she stood about an inch higher than he.  He was surprised that she was able to match his pace without once stumbling or faltering.  Except for the scar on her face and some scratches here and there, it did not appear that she was otherwise injured, physically, anyway.  What was going inside her just then was anybody’s guess.

They started up the trail together, slowly at first, then gaining speed as the ground became less steep.  Karl offered encouragement with each step.  Finally, they got to the trail near to where the clearing was that he had found the shoe.  Karl must have been extremely exhausted by then, because he could swear that the woman was moving without even walking.  She seemed to be gliding.  A soft, musical voice startled him, and a gasp escaped him when he heard it.

“You go now, I’ll stay here.”

Karl blinked stupidly, almost unsure if he had heard the words at all.

“I’m sorry, what was that,” he leveled his gaze on the woman, waiting for her to speak again.

“I have to stay here, and you have to go.”  Her voice low and breathy.  It was a voice that seemed to emanate from somewhere within him, as her lips did not seem to move.  Perhaps it was just the darkness that made it appear that way.  Perhaps.

Karl’s mouth dropped open, shocked at what she was suggesting. Her eyes remained locked on his, and he saw a silver tear form in the corner of one of those eyes.  The tear didn’t fall but instead it just hung there. He was overcome by the deepest sense of pained loneliness in the woman’s face.    Karl had to look away.  He felt the edges of his own eyes misting.  It took him some effort to look back at the young woman.

“No, you need help.  My car is just up ahead…”

She raised a hand, the flesh seeming now to emit its own ethereal light.  Her fingers outstretched were slender and elegant.

“Thank you for all you’ve done. Thank you. Go now.”  This time he was sure that her lips did not move.

“I don’t understand…” He wondered if maybe she just wanted to stay by herself in this place.  Maybe she couldn’t trust anyone after everything she had been through, and that she would make her way back to her life on her own after he had departed. 

She began to back away from him, and he started after her.  She raised both hands now, and he paused, watching as the darkness of the forest began to absorb her.

“Go.”  Her voice grew firm, although her outline was now less distinct.  She was becoming blurry, like the edges of her body were dissipating, like she was turning into smoke.

“Will I see you again,” was all he could think of asking, not wanting to distress her further.

“Yes,” she said nodding, “One day you will.”  With that she was gone.

Karl shone the light into the clearing, ping-ponging the beam from tree to rock, back to tree again, but there was nothing.  He walked further into the clearing, turning side to side until he was sure he had covered every square inch of the place.  She had just disappeared.

He called out her name once, then again.  Nothing.

The flashlight began to falter just then, and the beam cut out intermittently.  He decided it was high time to head back to the car, fearing he’d be stuck out here in complete darkness if the thing failed. He took one last glance around, then started back up towards the parking lot.

Once back in the car, he tossed the flashlight onto the passenger seat and started the engine.  The clock on the dash read 3:18 AM.  He put the car in drive and headed out of the gate, his thoughts trying to reconstruct what had happened that night.  To his frustration, he was having a hard time remembering any details.  Memories came back to him in snippets, as if he were taking photos in a dark room and the flash would only allow for a moment of illumination.  His own exhaustion began to muddy his thoughts, and sleep assailed his brain.  Eyes fluttering as he worked his way through the dark backroads, he had to swerve several times to get his car back on the road.  It was about 4:00 AM by the time he put the car in park outside of his house.  He didn’t remember going up the steps to his front door, and he definitely didn’t remember pulling off his boots and jeans. The next thing he was aware of, was light streaming in through the blinds of his bedroom window. 

Karl took his time getting out of bed.  He made his way into the kitchen and started fussing with the coffee pot.

It took some time for the events of the previous evening to begin to register in Karl’s mind.  At first it was a dream sensation, images from a late-night trail walk, then followed by glimpses of the flashlight beam cutting through the woods.  Karl froze as the memories began to restore themselves, the spoon of coffee left hovering in midair.  Finally, the face of a young woman came into focus.  It was the face of Julie Burke.  A sound from the other room bleated incongruously in the distance.  It was his phone.

Karl went to the bedroom where the phone lay on the dresser.  He looked at the screen.  It was Gwen.  He pressed the accept button and said hello.  Gwen sounded happy to hear his voice.  The others wanted to meet for lunch and wanted him to join them.  Karl pondered this for a prolonged moment.  Gwen’s voice came back on the line.

“Hel-lo…you there?”

“Oh sorry, yeah I’m here,” Karl responded, not sure if lunch was in the cards for him that day.  He walked back into the living room and sat down on the couch. 

“What do you say, are you in for lunch?”

Karl shook his head as he flipped his laptop open, the computer powered up, the last article he had been reading still centered on the screen.

“Gwen, do you remember the shoe we found yesterday on the trail?

There was a pause at the other end of the line, and Karl could picture Gwen standing there looking at the phone, confused.

“Yes, I remember,” she said finally, “What about it.”

“I know this is going to sound crazy but…” Karl’s voice trailed off, as he wandered into that unknown territory amongst friends, where you confess something and can’t guess how they will respond. “I saw the girl who that shoe belonged to.”

There was another stretch of silence, this time longer.

“How… I mean, where did you see her?”  Gwen sounded completely incredulous now, as if she were speaking with someone who was suddenly stricken with a severe case of dementia.

“Well, I did some checking yesterday after I got back home.  I found out there was a woman who went missing up at that park about two weeks ago.  She was last spotted getting into a car up there and she was said to be wearing a pair of high heel gray shoes.  I went back to the park last night and…”

“You went back to the park?  In the dark?  Are you kid…”

“Yes,” Karl interrupted, now working with a full head of steam. “I went back there and found the shoe.  On a hunch, I took that steep south trail which leads to the base of the cliff.  She was down there Gwen.”

“You’re scaring me, Karl.  Who was down there?  Who did you see?”  Gwen’s voice sounded chilled.

“I saw Julie, Julie Burke.  The missing girl.”

Karl half expected the phone to go dead in his hand.  Even though Gwen was a good friend, he couldn’t expect her to go along with the tale that he himself could barely understand or believe for that matter.  But she didn’t hang up.  In fact, what she said next made Karl wish she had ended the call without comment.

“Julie Burke?  That’s impossible Karl.”  Her voice was matter of fact.  It was grim.  “It’s impossible because the police found Julie Burke.  They found her body, that is.”

Karl stood transfixed, hand clutching the phone with white knuckles.

“How can that be?  When did they find her?”

“I didn’t put it all together until just now when you mentioned her name and reminded me about the shoe.  I had just heard on the news that a woman was found at a park. I didn’t know she was at Ross Park.  The police found her body a week ago, Karl.  According to their investigation, she was with a man at the park who assaulted her.  He chased her into the woods and hit her on the head with a weapon, maybe a hammer, they said.  He threw her body off the cliff.  They never found the man that did it, but she died, Karl.  Julie Burke is dead.”

Karl’s brain refused to accept what he was hearing.  How could this be?

“Karl…?” Gwen’s voice sounded very far away.

Karl felt the phone slip from his grasp.

 

 

 

 

 

The End