Savannah Childs, Senior, English Major from Shreveport, LA
Light shone across the droplets of sweat coating Blair’s neck. Her brown hair had been pulled into a tight ponytail that peeked out from her hat, but was now falling from the rigor of the hike. Flyaway strands stuck out from her head as if I’d rubbed a balloon against them.
“Leith?” Her voice was ragged, and each breath she exhaled came out as a pant.
“I’m right behind you, baby,” I called up to her. I quickly looked down to the dusty rock trail beneath me so I wouldn’t trip and continued the ascent. Perspiration covered my arms, my neck, and my face, plastering my blonde hair to my forehead. The heat from the sun warmed my skin, and when I touched the top of my head it felt hot. Of course, the top of my head was the one place I forgot to put sunscreen.
Blair had been more sensible; she wore a maroon baseball cap that cast shade across her eyes. Unlike me, she adored nature. If it wasn’t for her, I probably never would’ve set foot on this national park. It was just about an hour’s ride from our home in Glasgow, but I had never thought the drive was worth it until now. Watching Blair, her toned legs struggling uphill, her olive skin glistening golden under the sunlight, seeing her complete and utter rapture with the natural world, made it worth it.
She reached the peak of the hill and lifted her arms up in exuberance, letting a loud “whoo!” out into the open air. My muscles were straining, but I made it up and stood beside her before slumping my body forward and putting my hands on my knees. We were both breathing hard, but I sounded like I was having an asthma attack compared to her. She squatted down in front of me, and her brown eyes twinkled. I definitely couldn’t breathe now. She slid a finger under my chin and tilted my head left.
Verdant hills covered the horizon, encompassing Loch Lomond, whose surface danced with light. I’d never seen grass so plush and luxuriant, never seen water sparkle like that. I turned back to Blair, my cheeks tight with a wide smile. I felt like I understood her better after seeing this.
She laughed, and said, “Look over there.” A black stallion was grazing at the bottom of the hill. His coat looked like satin and his muscular body hinted at explosive power. There was something strange about him, about how he carried himself. He glanced towards us, his blue eyes teeming with intelligence. “He’s beautiful, isn’t he?”
“This whole place is beautiful, Blair. I didn’t know the world could look like this.”
“Well, we aren’t done yet. Come on, let’s go down to the lake.” She took my hand in hers, and it was sweaty and warm and perfect.
We made our way down the hill towards the loch, hand in hand, and I was trying to decide whether the water or Blair’s eyes had a more enticing shine. We finally reached the shore, which was bathed in light dappled from the leaves of the thick trees surrounding us. Small rocks made up the shoreline, and everything was still and quiet.
Until Blair lets out a surprised scream, covering her face with her hands. I follow her gaze and see a man lounging against a large rock. He’s nude, and his skin is wet from the water. His body is sharp, chiseled. Black hair sogs against his thick eyebrows, and piercing blue eyes look lazily across the water. When I look back to Blair, her fingers are splayed and her eyes are bathing in the sight of him. When she notices my stare, her face reddens and her fingers close.
“Hey, uh, I don’t think you’re allowed to be naked here, man,” I call out. He locks his gaze with mine and I feel my stomach drop.
“I seem to have lost my clothes. Would you be so kind as to help me?” His voice was deep, serene. Hypnotic.
I opened my mouth to make an excuse as to why we certainly could not, but Blair exclaimed, “Of course! We’d be happy to.” I shot her a look and she elbowed my side. “I’m Blair, and this is Leith.” I waited for the next part of the sentence, my boyfriend, but it never came.
“I am called Kier. Your graciousness humbles me.” He bowed his head slightly as he spoke, his long lashes fluttering towards the earth.
I pulled Blair to the side and whispered harshly in her ear, “What the hell, why do you want to help this creep? How do you just lose your clothes, and who talks like that?”
She jerked her arm out of my grasp and fixed me with a stern stare. “It’s hot; he was probably swimming and forgot where on the shore he laid his stuff. And there isn’t anything wrong with how he talks; it’s gentlemanly.”
I scoffed, but her hard face didn’t soften. So I walked past her, rolling my eyes when I knew she couldn’t see me, and unzipped my jacket. It was lightweight and had SPF in it; I bought it specifically for today to protect my pale arms. But now I was shoving it into Kier’s face.
“Wrap this around your waist or something for now,” I ordered. Kier took the jacket softly from my hands and smiled slowly.
“Thank you, Leith.” My name felt strange coming out of his mouth. It was suddenly languid, each syllable dragged out and softened.
“Yeah, whatever.” He tied the jacket backwards around his waist, covering his front but leaving his plump ass visible for the world.
The three of us scoured the shoreline for his clothes, but found nothing except hoofprints. Kier wiped his forehead and Blair glanced a look downwards before swiftly returning her eyes to the ground.
“It’s so hot… Might I suggest a swift break for a swim?” Kier inquired.
Blair looked at him again, only at his face this time. “Oh, um, I don’t-“
“She doesn’t swim.” I interjected. I thought back to what Blair had told me when I first asked her to go swimming. Thought about her brother slipping under the ocean’s surface and never coming back up. She threw me a dirty look, and I winced. I’d received too many glares from her today and was beginning to become uneasy.
“The sun is setting soon, so we should go check lost and found before they close.” Blair said. “Um, maybe you should stay here for now. I don’t think the park rangers should see you like this.”
Kier nodded and moved to rest under the shade of a tree. “I’ll anxiously await your return.”
Me and Blair walked in silence to the visitor’s center. I debated questioning her about Kier, but decided against it. She had a good heart and wanted to help someone in need, that’s all it was. It was one of the reasons I fell for her.
As we were walking, another hiker crossed our path. She was tall and lean, with dark skin and cropped raven hair. We exchanged a curt nod before she toppled forward onto her face.
“Oh my god!” I muttered as I spun to help her up. I noticed her shoes as I helped her regain her footing; they were normal brown hiking shoes, but she had painted swirling vines and sunflowers across them.
“Thank you.” She said, offering me a weak smile as she brushed the dirt and rocks off her skin.
“Don’t mention it.”
“Hey, have you seen some guy’s clothes by chance?” Blair interjected.
“No, I haven’t. Why?”
Blair shook her head, “Don’t worry about it. Enjoy the lake.” The woman gave us another nod and continued towards the loch.
We arrived at the visitor center and opened the doors, cool air blasting our faces. Blair walked straight up the minimalist desk as I fanned the frigid breeze from the AC over my skin.
“Have you gotten any clothes turned into lost and found today?” She leaned against the counter, her strength sapped from the long day of walking. I meandered over to a bulletin board, my eyes flitting from maps to missing persons posters to event information.
The park ranger, donning a crisp beige shirt and tightly cut hair, raised his eyes up from his computer. “I’m not sure, my shift just started like an hour ago. You’re free to check what we have, though.” He led us down the hall and unlocked a door, opening it to reveal a small storage closet filled with odds and ends. Water bottles, rags, disposable cameras, and, in the corner, a box full of clothes. Blair crouched down and rummaged through it for a second before turning to me.
“We should’ve asked him what his clothes looked like, huh?”
I laughed before I could stop myself. I put my hand to my mouth and faked a cough to hide it, but she had already started giggling as well. We laughed together at our shared misfortune and ineptitude before picking out some clothes that looked around Kier’s size. She shoved them in her bag, and we headed back.
“I see I haven’t been forgotten,” says Kier as we approach the loch, sweaty and slowly losing our sanity. Blair takes the clothes out of her backpack and hands them to Kier. We both wait a beat to see if he exclaims that these are, indeed, not his clothes, but he simply responds with, “Thank you, Blair,” before he unceremoniously unties my jacket from his waist. Blair gasps and spins around, her face heating up. Kier dresses himself, and I realize that he has a few strands of seaweed stuck in his hair.
“You’re welcome.” Blair squeaks, turning back around once Kier has alerted her of his decency. Kier takes her hand in his and brings it to his lips.
“I won’t forget your kindness.” Blair’s eyes go wide as she stares at him. I rip his hand off of hers and shake it firmly.
“I’m sure we won’t forget this either, but for different reasons. Lovely to meet you, Kier. Come on, Blair, let’s go.”
“But-” I gave her a look and whatever she was about to say catches in her throat. We walked along the shoreline back towards our original path, and I saw, bobbing in the distance, a brown hiking boot adorned with painted sunflowers. I squinted at the soggy shoe before turning back to see Kier watching us leave with cold, intelligent eyes.
The mirror had fogged up from the shower’s steam, and I drew an angry face with pointy teeth in the perspiration. My phone buzzed as I vigorously rubbed my damp hair with a towel. I’m so sorry, but my friend Bonnie had an emergency. I won’t be able to make it tonight. I dropped the towel to the floor and huffed out a breath. The reservation was only three hours away; I’d have to pay a fee for the cancellation.
I typed out a quick response telling Blair to keep me updated and that I hope her friend’s okay before moving to the bedroom and flumping onto my sheets. The clean fabric felt soft against my skin, and the scent beads I’d added to the wash made them smell like a fresh garden. I washed them for her, but I guess I’ll be sleeping alone. I shoved my face into the bed in penance, immediately feeling guilty for being disappointed when her friend was having a crisis.
I tried to conjure up Bonnie’s image in my mind but came up blank. Rolling over, I opened Instagram and typed in her name. She popped up quickly, since Blair followed her. Her account was public, so I clicked on her story. It was a photo of Bonnie, who I now remembered was the freckled-face one, in front of a warm beige castle that reached up towards the sky behind her. She pinned a location: Inverness Castle. Inverness Castle? I sat up and furrowed my brow. That’s a three hour drive from here.
Pulling up my text conversation with Blair, my fingers hovered over the keys. Maybe I was overreacting. Bonnie could be having a crisis in Inverness. But I thought about the way Blair looked when she snuck glances at Kier, eyes fluttering beneath her lashes and rosiness gracing her cheeks, and my fingers tapped across the screen. What happened with Bonnie? Setting the phone down, I rubbed my face with my hands. This was stupid. I was being stupid. The phone chimed and I snatched it up, hungrily reading the words on the screen.
Her boyfriend broke up with her and she’s hysterical. I’m sitting with her in her apartment now.
A lump formed in my throat. My chest was suddenly heavy. Bonnie’s apartment is here in Glasgow.
The next few months grated on my psyche. Whenever I saw Blair, the question of why she lied would bubble up inside, but each time it reached my tongue I saw her flustered face when Kier kissed her hand and the question fizzled out. I noticed that I was the one initiating kisses and hand holding now. Her smiles stopped reaching her eyes. Last week, she was looking for her sunglasses. They were on top of her head, so I laughed and told her. She didn’t laugh with me. She just muttered her thanks and shifted her glasses down to sit on the bridge of her nose.
My mind tortured me with visions of Blair folded in Kier’s arms, kissing Kier’s lips, laying naked with Kier in a lush, green knoll. I became overwhelmingly affectionate, desperate to feel loved by her again. Desperate to feel like I was the only one in her eyes. But I could feel her muscles tense when I held her. See her gaze avoiding meeting mine.
I was walking around campus, the beautiful castle-esque buildings surrounding me. I breathed in the cool air; fall was beginning. I was contemplating how I could fix my relationship with Blair as I let my eyes roam over the trees whose green leaves were slowly fading to brown. Passing a patch of flowers, I noticed a freckled-face ahead.
“Bonnie!” I yelled, waving my hands as I jogged up to her. She jolted, hugging the books she was holding tighter to her chest.
“Oh, Leith, right? You’re Blair’s boyfriend.” I nodded, and an idea formed in my mind which made me smile.
“Yeah. Do you know where she is, actually? I was hoping I could surprise her with flowers.” I rocked up onto the balls of my feet excitedly, thinking of where the nearest florist was and if they had any of Blair’s favorites, lily of the valley.
“Yeah, I think she’s at Loch Lomond National Park again.” I planted my feet back on the ground.
“Again? When was the last time she went?”
“I’m not sure, maybe a couple days ago? She’s been visiting a lot lately.” Kier’s blue eyes pierced my mind, sending a shiver down my spine.
“Do you know why?” I asked, my mouth turning dry.
“Shouldn’t you?” Bonnie said, sidestepping me and continuing on her way.
No, this wasn’t what I thought it was. It wasn’t. There were plenty of reasons for her to go to the loch. She had mentioned that it was a relaxing place for her, and the beginning of the semester had been stressing her out. Plus, even if she was cheating, why would she meet up with Kier only at the park? As I was rationalizing everything in my mind, I passed a stark white poster pasted on a light post.
The words HAVE YOU SEEN ME? sat underneath a black and white photo of a girl. A girl with dark skin and cropped hair. A girl who I knew, even though the photo only showed her face, was wearing brown hiking boots with sunflowers painted on them.
I didn’t try to rationalize anymore. I ran to my car.
Droplets of rain fell onto my skin, warmed from remnants of summer. The dusty, rocky path had turned into mud and I had to fight to maintain my footing as I hurriedly hiked to the loch. Fear raised the hairs on my arms and chilled my blood. I didn’t want to lose her. As I neared the loch, I noticed large hoof prints in the muck.
Voices echoed through the grove of trees, and I picked up my pace. Blair’s radiant face appeared from behind the trunk of a solid, sturdy tree. I stopped when I saw her smile, and shifted to where I could look at her while hidden in the forest’s grasp.
Her body was pressed flush against Kier’s. He was wearing the same clothes we recovered from the lost and found, now dripping from the rain. An open umbrella lay forgotten next to them. Kier kissed her cheek, making her giggle. His lips wandered to her ear and whispered something that got drowned out by the rain.
“You always want to swim. My answer won’t change, you know. I don’t swim.” Blair said. Kier stood up, his hand holding onto hers for as long as he could before it became out of reach. He stared deep into her eyes and brought his hands to the hem of his wet t-shirt. He peeled off the fabric with languid deliberation, revealing that muscular body. Blair let out a longing sigh, “Kier…”
He held out his hand. “Swim with me.” Blair bit her lip, her fear of the water battling the lust that was evident in her eyes. She stood slowly, reaching towards him. She hesitated for a moment before placing her hand in his. They walked backwards towards the line where the shore became lake, the still water creeping up, up, up as Kier submerged himself farther with each step. Blair was at the edge of the water, her face beginning to shift. Her eyes widened, her eyebrows lifted and furrowed, and her mouth turned into a tight line. The water lapped at her shoes, and she jerked back.
“No, I can’t,” She said, trying to stumble back. But Kier tightened his hand around hers and pulled her forward. She yelped as she fell into Kier’s chest, a chest which was suddenly becoming wider. I heard the crunching of his bones pierce through Blair’s screams as they morphed under his skin. His face pushed out of itself, forming into a long snout. His hands hardened into hooves, and silky raven hair pushed out of his pores. Kier had turned into a black stallion.
Blair tried to tug her hand free from where it now sat on Kier’s strong neck, but it was stuck as if cemented there. Kier kept walking backward with his large, powerful body, and Blair thrashed in the water. My ears were filled with the sound of the rain, the splashing water, the struggling cries of Blair.
I pushed the wet leaves aside and ran forward, stumbling over the damp, muddy rocks. “Blair!” I screamed, and she turned towards me. Her pupils were small, the whites of her eyes made dominant from her fear. Thunder cracked against the sky as Kier whinnied out a roaring war cry. I grabbed onto Blair and dug my sneakers into the silt for traction. The water reached my shins. I pulled and pulled, to the point where Blair screamed in pain; her shoulder was on the verge of dislocating. There was no getting her hand off of Kier.
The water rose and rose, up to my thighs now, and I released Blair. “Leith!” she yells, reaching for me with her free hand. But I fell to my knees, shoving my head underwater and forcing my eyes open despite the sting. My vision was useless because of the silt that had been stirred from Blair’s thrashing and Kier’s heavy footfalls. I relied on my hands, running them along the rocky bottom of the loch. Blair’s screams had become distant and distorted from my place underwater. No, I shifted forward and searched with my hands, no, my palm stung from scraping against the rough rocks but I kept searching, searching, searching. Yes.
I rose from the water, holding a large rock. There was a brief silence when Blair and Kier looked at me. Then Kier let out a snort, lifting his massive leg and pushing Blair underwater with his hoof. A strangled cry escaped from her before it turned into bubbles in the water. I ran towards Kier, lifting the rock to the sky before bringing it down hard against his skull. A small trickle of red ran down from the wound. I bashed the rock against him again and again, the force of my blows reverberating throughout my bones. He shook his head to try and escape while still holding Blair underwater, but I tangled my free hand into his mane. I noticed that the rain was louder than the thud of the rock against his skull.
His eyes rolled back as he began to lose balance. A small crater had formed on his head and blood flowed down from it, mixing with the droplets of precipitation. His front leg rose as he swayed to the side, dizzy from blood loss. I took the opportunity to grab Blair underneath her armpits and pull her away from him. She burst to the surface, coughing wildly as Kier tumbled down into the lake with a loud splash.
I dragged Blair to the shore, where she fell to her knees and vomited up the rest of the water she had inhaled. She sat there, panting and heaving, and I felt salty tears well in my eyes. She crawled towards me, reaching, begging to be comforted in my arms.
“Thank you, Leith,” she said, turning to curl herself into my chest, but I pushed her down into the mud with a mangled sob. She looked up at me, her dark hair dripping down her cold face. Her mouth was agape, her lips pale from her recent lack of oxygen. She looked so frail now, with her body muddied and her clothes clinging to her skin. It hadn’t been that long ago that she was standing atop a hill, yelling into the sky; a woman too good for this world.
I crumbled into myself, weeping into the wet shore. Blair watched me in silence until I regained control of my breath. My cheeks were wet, and I couldn’t tell what droplets were rain and which were tears. She stood hesitantly, as if her legs were new to her, and offered me her hand. I slapped it away, pushing myself to my feet.
“Leith, I’m so-“
“Don’t. I don’t care. It doesn’t matter.” She looked at me pleadingly, her dark eyes glimmering. “I pray that I never see your face again,” I said, turning before I could catch her reaction. “I’m leaving now. Don’t follow me. Take a different route back.”
I walked towards the path we took the first day we visited the loch, my socks squelching inside my shoes. A part of me regretted saving her. Wished I had just watched Kier drown her. But I still loved the girl she was when we first hiked this path. I might never stop loving that smile, that laugh. The girl she was now, shaking in the mud…
I reached the top of the hill and looked back over the park. The storm clouds had parted, and soft, pink rays of light shone through. Maybe I am an indoor person after all.