Spring Wal Through the Woods

Marian came through my office door late in the day, looking good as always. She looked very cool in her t-shirt, shorts, running shoes and white, calf length socks, witnessing to the positive change in the weather. I swiveled in my desk chair and looked her up and down. "Glad you could make it by," I said, "how may I help you?"

"Ah, c'mon Mack. It's nice outside and I want to take a walk in the woods before supper." Her brown eyes peeked at me over her sunglasses and her lips were in a mock pout. "You've been spending far too much time working at that computer and it's time you got some fresh air." Her face changed as she smiled, hinting at a conspiracy. "You never know what you'll find out there."

I stretched and rubbed my eyes. It had been a long week, long month, and I really hadn't paused for relaxation other than a day in front of the TV since the first of the year. My waistline reflected my inaction. "All right, all right, I'll go, I'm at a point I can shut things down for the week. Let me grab my camera and I'll be right with you." It took all of five minutes to shut down my office computer, gather my jacket, portfolio and camera. Fortunately I was dressed semi-casual, wearing jeans and a pair of shoes that were comfortable for walking. She waited for me without much complaint as the bustle of another day on campus decelerated to a stop.

She drove us across town to a patch of woods we'd never taken before. It was toward the edge of town, not far from my job, set back from a subdivision in a small park. The trail was unpaved with a simple sign to point out the starting point. "Where does this trail go?" I asked her.

"We'll find out. You won't need your jacket." After shutting down the car, she tossed me the keys and started out ahead of me at a jog. I wasn't dressed to run after her and since I wanted to take pictures of Spring unfolding, I figured she would wait for me somewhere ahead.

The woods were still fairly bare, dominated by brown, but a few shoots were emerging from the ground, and close to the trailhead a couple of flowers were peeking above the soil. I bent over to capture their emergent beauty, and winced as I stood up again: my back wasn't used to that. My feet took me at a leisurely pace as my eyes wandered all around, taking in every brown leaf, empty twig and sullen tree trunk.

Rounding a curve, I saw Marian peeking at me from behind a large tree. "Peek-a-boo! Bout time you caught up with me."

"I knew you'd be here somewhere. Isn't this nice? Things are warm, the bugs and pollen aren't out and life's beginning again."

"Yes, I love it here. Almost makes me hope again."

"And what are you hoping for?"

"You'll find out," she said with a devilish grin and darted ahead of me. I watched her go: her body was almost perfect, her hips dancing in celebration and her ponytail playing around her shoulders. She didn't stay strictly on the trail, dancing back and forth around saplings as she went through a new section before disappearing beyond a little hill.

Birdsong caught my attention, and my camera found a nesting pair of cardinals. Geese flew overhead in search of a pond or lake, and other birdcalls made a special music in the woods, their sound bouncing from tree to tree in counterpoint. My steps were already lighter as I moved onward, stopping here and there to catch other signs of life. There was a string of small white flowers near a sapling: I captured images of them.

"Hello!" came through the woods, and I knew I needed to move toward it. The fresh air felt good and the sunlight was shining brightly through the trees. Above, wispy white clouds hung in a pure, blue sky.

I came around another corner and found her t-shirt hanging on a limb crossing the path. My steps grew lighter immediately.

She was sitting on a rock outcropping in a clearing where the path found the ridgeline, sunning herself. A black sports bra showed a little sweat, and a little breeze hardened her nipples. Moving my camera, I shot a few pictures of her, and she posed for me, inviting the attention. I put it down and she said: "This is nice. I could stay here a long time."

"Amen," I said, sitting next to her. "It's time we took a trip. Doesn't even need to go to a historical place this time, I'd be happy sitting on the beach. Doesn't need to involve a heroic tale or a wild flight of fantasy; doesn't need to involve a foreign country or distant place."

Marian gave me a quick peck on the cheek and jumped up, moving away from me. "You're going to need to do better than that," she sang as she skipped away, wiggling her butt to torment me. After a though I decided to stay where I was since I needed a breather. A breeze played with what was left of my hair, and I enjoyed it.

A deer came up and stopped abruptly, standing still and watching me from the edge of the trees. The animal was nervous to see a human, and I managed to take a picture of it before it darted into the brush. As I walked across the ridge I looked for it, but it avoided my gaze. I was glad it wasn't hunting season, or this trip would be much more dangerous. I came across a small piece of a salt lick someone put out the previous fall, which was probably why the doe was in the area.

Going back into the trees I found the sports bra hanging from a bush, and collected it in my backpack to share space with the t-shirt. She'd need them back: at least it was evidence she didn't plan to leave without me.

She was laying flat on her back on a huge, low hanging branch of an ancient tree. Her hand was draped dramatically across her forehead, and her nubs were little rocks. Sweat glistened from her skin where the sunlight tickled it from between the limbs above. A few little green buds were out; the old tree had another year's life in it. "You need to get into better shape," she said. "I don't know if you're going to be able to keep up with me."

"I might surprise you. Part of me is ready for you right now, and he'll last a long time."

She smiled and turned to give me a sultry look, squaring her shoulders for another portrait. I got both sides of her, the bark making light indentations in her back. I chuckled at her teasing and said: "I might have to cut a switch if you keep this up."

Hopping down, she sprinted away. "Promises, promises," she teased as she went out of sight.

The trail went down a slope, and I saw a few small birds picking at the ground. I got quite a few more images with my camera, and saw I had a lot more space. A sonic boom startled me and my little friends out of our reverie, and they flew off in surprise.

A third of the way down I heard the sound of a fast moving creek, and saw her shorts on the ground. This was going to be interesting. When I got to the creek, I found Marian lying naked on a couple of stones that formed a natural bridge from one bank to another. I used the light to capture a few more image of her divine form, beautifully proportioned and luscious. "I could just eat you up," I murmured as I took a few shots from behind her.

"Promises, promises. Bet you haven't cut that switch yet."

I looked around and found one to my liking lying on the ground. Swishing it in the air, I came up behind her quickly and she leapt to her feet with surprising quickness, darting out of reach. I danced across the stones and was on the other bank, but she'd kept her running shoes and her delicious butt mocked me as it gradually pulled away. After a while I had to stop and bend over to recover my wind.

No problem, I thought to myself. I'll catch up to her before long, and it will be wonderful.