Cause and Effect

Keeping his eyes shut, he strained his ears to pick up anything he might not have heard earlier in his panic.

Barely, at the very edge of perception, he heard something. A constant sound, white noise. Something your brain would filter out anyway, like rain. Rain, it did sound something like rain, he thought. Deciding that the sound was coming from somewhere off the his right, he got to his feet and turned toward the sound. To his surprise, and at some level his approval, there was no fence to deal with as memory dictated there should have been.

With a burst of energy, James vaulted himself up the cut-out bank of the hill and onto its grassy, slopping surface. As he made his way to the crest of the hill, the trees began to thicken around him. Regardless of the density of the trees, though, the light was always a diffuse yellow, giving everything an almost contrived look. As he made his way forward, the sound he had barely been able to hear at the road grew more distinct. It wasn’t rain after all, but the sound of running water, he realized. As he crested the hill, the sound became much clearer. From this vantage point, he could see down to little stream. There is was darker; the trees grew so thickly along the stream that it was shrouded in a peculiar dusky light.

Carefully, he made his way down the slope. Everything seemed to be covered by a light dew, made more noticeable by the chill in the air. As he neared the edge of the little stream, he noticed a pair of legs, barely visible, mostly obscured by a tree.

James cleared his throat. "Hello?" he said, uncertainly.

"Hello?" came the reply, just as uncertainly. The girl who had been sitting against the tree sat forward, letting her legs fold to the ground.

"Becca?" James ask, baffled.

"James..." the girl said, almost to herself. A little smiled played across her lips.

"Um, I, um...."

"Don’t worry James, everything is OK."

"This might sound strange, Becca, but--"

"I can imagine, James. Come here, sit down."

"Um, OK..." James replied, walking over to the tree where Rebecca sat. Letting himself slowly to the ground, he brought brought his legs into the half-lotus position.

Rebecca smiled. "Don’t be nervous James." For a long time they talked together; laughing and reminiscing. The two had known each other for years, but never really been friends. After a few hours of talking it had become dark, only the light from the moon filtering through the branches above them. As they had become more comfortable and the night had grown colder, the two had nestled together, and currently James had his arm around Rebecca’s shoulders while Rebecca lay with her head on James’ shoulder.

Now Rebecca picked up her head and looked at James. "Remember," she said, and kissed James on the cheek.

James woke up slowly, with the light of the sun beating down on his eyes. Gingerly opening his eyes, he brought up his hand to obstruct the sun, which was just above the hills in the distance. He still had on his clothes from the previous day. He was at the crest of the hill, from here he could see the little winding road that led to his house. Between he and it was a rusted old barbed-wire fence.

James made his way home, carefully crawling through the fence and then jumping down to the road.

The events of the previous night were going through his mind. He wasn’t sure what to think. Maybe it was all a dream? He had obviously fallen asleep at some point on his walk. After a few more minutes of walking, he arrived home.

After a second of thinking, he went to the phone book. Opening it to the entry to Rebecca’s parents, he picked up the phone and dialed.