It was still dark when Grandpa jostled C.J. awake, “come on, we need to get going”. Grandpa had this splendid idea, before C.J. made the trip to T.L.S. he needed some conditioning. The weather was still pleasant enough for shirts and pants, but the soft wind whispered promises of a cold winter.
The car window seemed as comfortable as a pillow. C.J. rested his head on the passenger side glass and stared into the blackness for the first few minutes of the drive. The smell of coffee ignited a sequence which brought his head to the headrest and his eyes to the center console. He reached out, grabbed his thermos and took a timid drink, still too hot… “Grandpa, where are we going?”
“Check by your feet.”
After a few seconds of searching C.J. grabbed the only thing there was on the floor to grab. By the feel of it, Grandpa was just tricking him into doing a car clean-up. “Got it, I think. Paper and something heavier, I can’t see, it’s dark in here.”
“That’s a compass C.J.”
“Why do I need a compass?”
“Well, you’ll need to know how to use one on your trip. It isn’t the backcountry, strictly speaking, but you won’t have cell service. We want to make sure you get where you’re going.”
“So, I’m practicing, but where are we going right now?”
“You’ll be doing an easy two mile hike, as long as you can find and keep a bearing.”
“What if I can’t?”
“Then your hike will be a lot longer than two miles. That’s why we're out here so early…” Grandpa trailed off, letting the implication linger.
“Seriously Grandpa, you woke me up for this?”
The car came to a smooth stop, “alright we’re here C.J. grab that bag off the back seat. You have water, a sandwich, and a snack. As well as a flashlight, map, and compass. See you soon.”
“What am I doing?”
“Taking a hike.”
The car door slammed a little louder than he intended, but C.J. wasn’t sorry. What a week. C.J. moved out of his tiny house, quit his job, and was now a reluctant enrollee at Grandpa’s super weird survivalist training. C.J. loved camping, but the more he talked to Grandpa about T.L.S. the less interested he became in taking the trip. Could this place really be worth all of the trouble?
The sun was starting to rise, but it was still too dark for the map to be of any use, so C.J. reached in his bag and grabbed the flashlight. He set the items down to get a better look at them, scrawled on the map were more of those nonsensical numbers. A quick glance at the compass confirmed his suspicion. He just didn’t understand how the numbers on the map corresponded to the numbers on the compass. After a minute of trying to divine insight through twisting, turning, and rustling paper, C.J. just decided to use the map's landmarks.
There was a starred circle on the map next to the hieroglyphics, and it looked like he needed to go north to get there. So C.J. turned until the compass’s dial pointed to the giant ‘N’ and started walking.
An hour at dawn spent trekking across dew soaked grass filled C.J. with the slightest sense of irritation; still he kept walking. With each step the sun rose higher and higher, as if sunrise depended on C.J.’s foot fall. Powering daybreak left C.J. exhausted, so he set his pack down and pulled out his water bottle. Nature’s nectar replenished his energy, but the mechanics of drinking his water reminded him of the coffee filled thermos he’d left untouched; Grandpa probably drank it.
The briefest pout at the thought of Grandpa drinking his coffee was just enough to distract him as he replaced his water bottle lid, he dropped it. As he bent over to snatch it off the ground he realized the grass was dry. The sun burned up the morning mist and the grass was warm to the touch. Almost automatically, C.J. assumed a supine position on the ground and watched the clouds float by; there’s a dinosaur, a bulldozer, a weird looking face…
“Wake up!”
The sound of the shouting voice and the heat from the sun made C.J. panic. He shot up. “Huh, what!?”
A human silhouette shaded his resting place. As his eyes adjusted to the light he started to make out a familiar face. “Penelope?”
“What are you doing out here, it’s a really random place to nap. So, how was it?”
“I um, I’m trying to figure out how to use a compass. Well I was… What are you doing here?”
“I run around here sometimes, this is a really pretty park. But, why do you need to know how to use a compass?”
“It’s a long story. I have a question for you though, why aren’t you at work?”
“I have a lot of job flexibility. Perks of knowing how to code, I studied computer science in college.”
“Oh wow, that’s exactly what I’d want in a job. Not the coding, but the flexibility. The coding sounds fun though.”
“It is. So, where were you headed anyway?”
“I don’t really know” C.J. handed her the map, “here look at this?”
The map wasn’t much use to her either. She folded it up and handed it back to C.J. “Okay better question, where did you come from?”
“A parking lot.”
“Hmm, large or small?”
“It was dark, but it seemed pretty big.”
“I know the one, I can take you back there if you want. Unless you want to take another nap.”, Penelope said with a smirk.
On the way back to his Grandpa’s car C.J. learned more about Penelope than he had his entire tenure at his previous job. This turned out to be an excellent way to spend a random weekday morning. He told her about his attack and the fallout. She solemnly nodded and expressed her remorse for his situation. After about a 20 minute walk C.J. could see the parking lot and his Grandpa’s car. Grandpa was sleeping in the front seat with a newspaper over his face.
Tap-tap-tap, the knocking was soft but it was enough to rouse Grandpa from his midday slumber. He slowly pulled the newspaper off his face and checked his watch.“ How did you get back so fast? I didn’t expect you back until at least another 90 minutes. You and I both know you had no idea what you were doing.”
“I got lost and Penelope showed me the way back.”
The sound of Penelope’s name was like a landmine of recognition exploded in Grandpa’s brain, and it showed. There plastered on Grandpa’s face was every detail C.J. had ever shared with him about Penelope. He smiled sheepishly and extended his hand, “Ahh Penelope nice to meet you.” Why is Grandpa smiling like that? Please stop.
C.J. instinctively covered his face, Penelope appeared a bit confused by Grandpa’s mannerisms but slowly took his hand and said, “nice to meet you too”.
After a few moments of awkward silence she said her farewells and ran off.
“Grandpa, what was that?! Could you have been any weirder?”
“You know C.J., I don’t think I could have actually”, Grandpa managed through a laugh.
The car’s ignition broke C.J. of his baffled astonishment. “C.J. get in, we need to head back.”
After taking his seat in the car C.J. turned to stare at Grandpa, expecting some type of explanation for the tragic meeting with Penelope, but apparently, there would be no explanation; “What did you think of the compass?” Grandpa asked.
“I still have no idea how to use it?
“That’s why we came out here, you’ll get it.”
***
For two weeks Grandpa entertained himself by hosting a bootcamp of sorts. There were lots of ‘compass bearing’ hikes, tent assembly exercises, and fire making sessions. C.J. actually enjoyed learning how to do all of these things.
***
The day before he left, Grandpa handed him a list of things to make sure he packed in the back of the truck and a note.
Grandpa’s List:
16 gallons of water
Compass
Marked map for T.L.S
Food that required no refrigeration
First aid kit
Something to swim in
20 gallons of gasoline
Bug spray
Fire Wood
Matches
Knife
Tent
Camping pads
I like the mystery and it is so charmingly cozy to read.
Its been really cool seeing your prose develop over the course of this story. It seems like with each chapter the writing gets sharper. Looking foward to seeing his journey to the Listening Spot