6. Chapter Five
Chapter Five
Alice
T he next morning was quiet in a way that felt deliberate, like the world was holding its breath.
I moved through my classes with a kind of detached focus, nodding at professors, scribbling half-hearted notes, replying to a few texts with emojis and one-word answers.
By the time three o'clock rolled around, I was more than ready to get out of my own head.
I stopped by the apartment just long enough to grab my jacket and a water bottle. My phone was already charged — because Mara would absolutely text to check — and I stuffed it into my pocket as I headed out.
The bus dropped me off a short walk from Raven’s Ridge trailhead.
The sun hung low in the sky, still bright but softening at the edges.
A gentle breeze tugged at the branches, the leaves whispering secrets only the trees understood.
The path crunched beneath my boots, gravel and fallen twigs, each step a little easier than the last as the city noise faded behind me.
The familiar trail twisted up through trees still tinged with early spring green, patches of sunlight spilling through the leaves in shifting gold.
I didn’t rush. There was no reason to. The quiet was a balm, and every breath I took seemed to reach deeper into my chest, like I’d finally made space for air.
After about twenty minutes, I reached the small, nearly-hidden fork in the path. I glanced around out of habit — no other hikers nearby — then slipped down the narrower trail, ducking past a few low-hanging branches.
Here, it always felt like stepping into another world.
The air was cooler, filtered through thicker trees and damp moss.
Birds called somewhere far off, and a squirrel darted across the path with a burst of energy that felt worlds away from my own.
I walked slowly, taking it all in. The trail curved along the side of the ridge, just wide enough to feel safe, but high enough that the view would knock the breath out of you if you let it.
Eventually, the trees opened up. I stepped onto the overlook — a flat, jutting ledge of stone just before the edge sloped into the open sky. Below me, the forest spread out in ripples of green and shadows. The wind tugged at my sleeves and hair, lifting strands like fingers brushing past.
I stood there for a long time.
No thoughts. No words. Just… being.
The breeze carried the scent of pine and damp earth, and somewhere in the valley below, a hawk cried out, high and lonely.
I sat down and pulled my knees up to my chest, letting the thermos rest between them for a moment before setting it beside me.
The stone beneath me was cool, grounding.From up here, it all looked small — not insignificant, just..
. manageable. Even the things that had felt so tangled and heavy lately didn’t carry the same weight in this air.
I shifted a bit and stretched my legs back out, boots scuffed and dusty, heels hooked just over the edge of the rock.
The wind kissed my ankles, cool and unbothered.
I leaned back on my palms and stared out at the horizon for a long time — until the colors started to shift, gold creeping into the blue like honey bleeding into water.
Then, with a quiet sigh, I pulled out my phone and angled it down. A shot of my feet, swinging lazily over the drop, toes pointing toward that endless sprawl of treetops and sky.
I sent it to Mara without a caption at first. Then, after a beat, followed up with:
Me : Don’t yell. The view was worth it.
Three dots appeared immediately.
Mara : you are ACTUALLY insane.
Mara: also that’s a sick shot
Mara : also I hate you but like in a concerned friend way
I smiled, tucking the phone back into my jacket pocket.
Me : Still alive, promise. Thinking about stuff. feels easier up here.
Her reply came a few seconds later.
Mara: if you fall off that cliff while “thinking about stuff” I’m going to hold your funeral in a Costco…
Mara: open casket by the free samples
I let out a short laugh that startled a nearby crow into flight. Typical Mara. Love disguised as sarcasm, concern disguised as chaos. I was lucky to have her.
The wind picked up, whistling past my ears, and I closed my eyes.
For a moment, I imagined I could stay right here, suspended between earth and sky, just floating above everything that waited for me down the mountain.
But eventually, the light would fade, and the path would darken, and I’d have to go back.
Not yet, though. For now, I stayed seated, legs swinging slowly, the world below me vast and green and forgiving.
I was just gathering my things to head back down the trail—the sky already darkening from pale gold to deeper amber—when something caught my eye. A flash of movement in the undergrowth below, just beyond the cliff's edge.
I froze, squinting. It wasn't a bird, too large for that. Maybe a deer? But the way it moved seemed... different. More deliberate. My heart quickened, that strange, electric feeling from the park returning, prickling along my skin.
"Hello?" I called, immediately feeling foolish. Whatever it was wouldn't answer me.
The wind picked up suddenly, fierce enough to make me step back from the edge. Leaves and pine needles swirled in small, frantic cyclones at my feet. The air seemed to thicken, charged with something I couldn't name.
That's when I noticed the ground beneath my right boot. What I'd thought was solid was actually a thin layer of leaves and moss covering a crumbling edge. Too late, I felt it shift beneath my weight and then… I fell.