Gabe had forgotten how loud the wilderness could be. The dead pine needles didn’t completely muffle his footsteps nor distract him from the rustling in the bushes beyond the trail. Unlike the background hum of distant cars on the freeway or the muffled talk of passing couples at night underneath his street side window at home, the forest filled the air with noise.

Each step brought him closer to a nighttime rendezvous with Emma and the sinking realization that getting close to achieving a dream means it starts becoming a reality. And for better or worse, reality never goes the way you plan. Still, he wished the person he wanted to spend alone time with didn’t want to do it at the place he wanted to be least. That’s the way the cookie crumbles. Or the glowing green ghost stairs appear. Either way, Gabe kept on until he made it to the base of Cairns Point.

“You made it!” Emma said, jumping onto the path.

“Emma! God, don’t do that,” Gabe said struggling to catch his breath.

“What? You get scared?” She said poking him. “I didn’t think a camp vet like you would be jumping in the dark.”

Gabe rolled his eyes and kept walking. Emma bounced along the path beside him.

“I thought you were going to meet me up top.”

“Well, I was, but I didn’t realize how spooky it would feel being up there by myself. Besides, I figured the more time I got with you the better since you’ve been avoiding me since we got here.”

Gabe startled at that, but turned to see a small smile spread across Emma’s face. He’d forgotten how playful she was. And how much being back home caused him to fold in on himself.