Chapter Nineteen #2
Mo wiped at her tears, sniffling a bit before adding, “If that makes sense?”
Aspen tilted her head to the side before stepping closer to the hill, almost like she was silently asking if Mo was okay. Mo took in a ragged breath, the tears still flowing, as she adjusted the receiver once again.
“Do you wanna speak to Aspen?” Mo asked gingerly, waiting for Annie’s answer. Silence was all Mo needed, so she waved her bad arm as much as she could before yelling down, “Aspen! Annie wants to say something.”
Mo expected Aspen to question that remark. To maybe stand still down by the creek, studying her sanity up by the trees. Instead, she watched as Aspen quickly make her way up the hill, a slight smile on her face.
“Annie done talking to you already?” Aspen quipped, stopping next to Mo.
“Never.” Mo sniffed, grinning. “She’s stuck with me forever, I think.”
Empathy crinkled Aspen’s smile sideways, and she transferred weight between her feet before reaching out to squeeze lightly on Mo’s wrist. “I think she’s fine with that.”
“She wants to talk to you,” Mo said. “Goodbye, my love. I promise I’ll come back and annoy you real soon. I love you so much.”
With that she held out the receiver to Aspen, who took a few seconds’ pause before taking it.
“Thanks,” Aspen almost squeaked, holding the phone to her ear. “Hello?”
Mo took a step back, wiping at her eyes before turning to walk down to the creek bank. But she felt a hand at the crook of her elbow, soft but firm. She turned and caught Aspen’s eyes. They were begging her to stay, so she nodded, watching Aspen’s arm fall back to her side.
“I know we’ve not met, but my name is Aspen Anderson. I guess you could say I was Mo’s guide on this trip. Do you mind if I call it a quest?” Aspen couldn’t help but laugh at her own joke, pulling a small smile from the corners of Mo’s mouth.
“I was wondering…did you call her Mo or Imogen?”
A tiny laugh bubbled up from Mo’s chest. “Mo. Unless I was in—”
“Unless she was in trouble?” Aspen finished for her, like Annie had done it over the phone. “So Imogen, got it.”
“Ha, ha.”
“Anyway, I’m glad I could get her here. I’m sorry that she isn’t in the same shape she was when we started.
That wasn’t really part of the plan, but what can you do?
Nature has a way of dropping branches wherever it wants.
I’m just glad it wasn’t directly on her skull.
” Mo watched as Aspen drew in a deep breath, her free hand sliding into her pocket.
“I don’t really have much to say other than I wish we could have met.
You sound like someone I’d really want to be friends with, on the trail or off of it.
The universe is hella cruel to take you so soon, especially when you had someone terrific like Mo to share it with. ”
Mo leaned against the redwood, the pain in her shoulder be damned, watching as Aspen spoke with Annie. It was a sight she didn’t know she wanted, let alone needed.
“Sure, Mo hasn’t had the best time of it since you died, but I can see she’s trying to find the balance.
And I can’t fault her for that.” Aspen pulled something small and metal-like out of her pocket, and Mo craned her head to catch a glimpse.
“So, I don’t know if she told you or not, but Mo lied to me when she got here.
Said she was an experienced hiker. I must admit, I knew deep down, from the get-go, that she wasn’t.
And that led to some interesting stuff that almost kept us from getting here and talking to you.
I was so wrapped up in helping someone heal amongst the redwoods like I healed, that I kind of didn’t see that she didn’t need me for that.
“She just needed to see you. Well, talk to you. To figure out where you fit in her life now that you’ve passed on.
I am just glad my meddling didn’t end up with her dying too.
I’m sure you’d have hated to see her so soon.
” Aspen looked up, catching Mo’s eyes. “So, thanks, Annie. Thanks for letting me share this moment. I just wish you could be here for it.”
Aspen turned and hung up the phone, the sound of the receiver hitting the cradle echoing out over the creek. Then, with a slight turn, Aspen held out her gripped fist. Mo reached her good hand out, upturned, allowing Aspen to drop a cylindrical, warm object into her palm.
“I found the fire starter,” Aspen whispered. “A little after breakfast the day you figured out it was missing. I didn’t know if you wanted it, after what you said. But I think that Annie would want you to have it.”
“Really?” Mo exclaimed quietly, observing Annie’s treasure as she twisted it lightly in her hands.
“Well, yeah,” Aspen said, backing away. “You’ll have to start the fire with it tonight. In her memory, you know? Commemorate the hanging of the phone.”
Mo turned to look at the phone, its blaze orangeness bright against the bark. A small part of her told her to put the treasure on the phone, to leave everything here along the bank. But another part reminded her she wasn’t ready to give everything of Annie’s to this place.
“Thank you, Aspen.”
“For what?”
Mo held up Annie’s treasure and took a step toward Aspen, who in turn took a step back.
The pain the action brought forth was instantaneous.
Mo slid the treasure in her pocket, her mind racing on what to do.
How to proceed forward if Aspen was moving backward.
As she looked at Aspen’s distracted gaze, her brain screamed at her to leave it alone. To let what was, be.
Mo couldn’t let it go.
“You do know you were a huge reason I made it here, right?”
“No, that was all you.” Aspen’s voice was heavy, but with a forced lightness. “Now, let’s go back to camp. Unless you aren’t done—”
“No,” Mo interrupted, giving in. “We can go back to camp.”
“Awesome. Follow me,” Aspen exclaimed, trotting down the hill.
Mo looked one final time at the phone, confusion swirling, before following Aspen down toward the creek. The weight she felt lifted moments before was replaced by another one. An unfamiliar weight that she was unsure how to shoulder.