Jasper's Mountain - Part 8

Every other step Jasper glances up to look at this small girl that in one gentle, swift move changed the way he interacts with the world.

Another human. Is this truly real?

His ever watchful eye observes how she barely seems to make contact with the earth before her feet are off the ground again, bounding through the snow with an abundant grace that does not compare. In juxtaposition with his own labored gait, he becomes aware of how time has taken a toll on his body and his youth. He continues on with his branches transformed to walking sticks with heavy steps and loud breaths indicating his body’s inability to keep up with her pace.

Claudia tries to keep the pace somewhat slower than what she is used to because of Jasper’s current condition, but when she looks back to check on how he’s doing she can barely catch sight of him.

She glides back to him and reminds herself to slow down. Once he is in an easy distance to her she says, “I know that because you are not feeling well you cannot keep up with a normal pace. I’m sorry, I seem to have forgotten.”

Jasper looks at her with amused, but tired eyes, and he sighs.

“I am not as young as I once was,” is his brief reply.

Claudia falls into step beside Jasper and lets her stride match his. They carry on for a long time without a word spoken between the two.

Jasper looks over out of the corner of his eye every now and then to observe the spritely girl, and to check that he hasn’t lost his mind and created another human being up in his head. As far as he can tell thus far, she seems to be of the real flesh.

Time passes. They stop in silence to drink water. When Claudia notices that Jasper is out of water, she reaches her hand out for the canteen. Jasper looks at her and places the canteen in her open palm. She prances like a deer down to the stream to refill their water containers. From an outside perspective it would appear to be the most natural relationship and coexistence that must be from years of cultivation.

When Claudia sees that Jasper’s breathing becomes more labored or his steps seem more difficult for him to take, she asks to take a water break.

“Of course,” he replies each time.

Oh good, Jasper thinks the first few times it happens; I could use a break too. He slowly realizes she is doing it for his sake, but he doesn’t mind. The breaks are welcome and the sentiment is thoughtful.

It feels good to have someone care.

A rabbit hops out ten feet in front of the pair and stares at them. Both Jasper and Claudia stop to see what the rabbit will do. It’s nose and whiskers twitch as it sniffs the air. This makes Claudia giggle, which makes the rabbit hop straight up into the air before darting away to their left. Claudia laughs harder when the rabbit does this, which makes Jasper laugh from a deep part of his belly. They look at each other and laugh even harder. Jasper’s eyes are moist from tears from laughing so hard.

“He was cute, wasn’t he?” she asks.

“He sure was,” he responds.

As he looks with a grin at this little girl, he thinks, when was the last time that I laughed? It feels incredible.

This thought turns his grin into an open smile. Claudia reciprocates his unabashed smile, and lets it spread all the way up through her eyes. 

Jasper's Mountain - Part 7

He lets out a sigh of relief. His mind is racing with hundreds of questions about where this girl came from and what her story is, but he settles on asking something simple.

“What is your name?”

“I’m Claudia,” she says as she intertwines her fingers behind her back.

Jasper can tell she is nervous.

The feeling is mutual.

“Where is your family?”

“I prayed hard so the angels would take them to heaven.”

Jasper understands, but is at a loss at what to do now. As his mind trails off, she breaks the silence.

“Mama and Papa told me a good person is someone who is good to nature and who doesn’t take more than they need. They told me that I would need to find someone who is good, and that I would know when I found that someone,” she says with her arms now by her side.

Her set stare shows her determination and made up opinion.

Who, me? Oh god.

“You are different from others. You are not greedy. You don’t hurt animals or people so you can laugh. You are strong,” with this last sentence she balls up her fists by her side.

“Mama and Papa taught me to be strong too,” she continues, “I am quiet and fast, which makes me a good hunter. I know how to use the plants here to make medicine. I saw the shelter you made for yourself last night, and there are a few things I could show you to make a better one.”

Jasper’s eyebrows raise up as to ask, “Oh really?” at this last part.

Claudia blushes and looks down for a moment before she continues. “You have nobody. I have nobody,” she says stretching her arms out with her palms up.  

Can I let this little girl come along with me everywhere I go and be responsible for another human?

“I can help you get home. I noticed you’ve been having trouble staying warm, and I can help guide and hunt for food,” she adds, “Maybe then you’ll see how strong I am.”

Jasper looks at this fiery little girl, who couldn’t be much more than 13 years old, and laughs to himself.

How did my life take this kind of turn? I did not see this coming.

“Ok,” he agrees, “Let’s make the trek home.”

Her broad smile that exposes all her teeth makes Jasper grin.

“I’ll lead the way,” she says.

Jasper nods and walks over to grab his gun and sling it over his shoulder. When he turns around to start walking, she is behind him digging through her pack. Once she finds what she is searching for she pulls it out and offers it to him.

“Here,” she extends her hands out holding a drumstick of meat. “Here’s some rabbit I caught and cooked this morning. I think you could use some food.”

Jasper has a hard time accepting the drumstick at first, but once he smells the meat, his stomach forces his hand out to take the food.

“Thank you.” He makes himself say before devouring the meat his body has been craving. In only a matter of a couple of minutes, the drumstick is licked clean and there are only bones left to prove its existence. He sucks each finger clean before he feels satisfied to move along with the journey.

Claudia waits patiently and watches Jasper with a quizzical eye. She also has hundreds of questions zipping through her mind about this man named Jasper and how he came to live such an isolated life. For her, this life happened to her, but for him, she senses that this may be his life by choice. Since she’s been following him, she’s noticed he hasn’t been searching for anyone. His sunken eyes show a life full of heartbreak and loss that is hard to come back from.

“Ready?” she asks him over her shoulder. Her ponytail whips around and hits her cheek as she swings her head to ask the question. Her eyes meet that of a man’s with hard set lines around his deep, blue eyes that look to her to hold many tales and wisdom. Jasper is not an old man to her, he looks much younger than Papa, but he seems to have lived a long, hard life already. She can feel the good in Jasper. Mama always told her she did that well; sensing good people from bad people.

Jasper's Mountain - Part 6

Using the branches he collected to create the lean-to, he steadies himself with each step by leaning into the sticks he now carries as walking poles. Jasper reflects on the significance of these sticks he clings to.

Where I find shelter and rest, I also find the help to push me forward in my journey. In every whisper of the wind, branch used to shelter and support me, sip of water that gives me life, I hear, see, feel, taste you. It both brings me comfort, yet in the same breath torments me. Sadie, I miss you, and I never want to forget you, but I am reminded over and over again at how I failed you, and it is killing me.

At this last thought, he begins to weep. Jasper keeps taking one step after another, but at a slower pace. As the tears spread across his cheeks, he lets them stay there, letting this moment of her memory be fully focused on without wiping it away, as he so often does.  

By letting her remain in the forefront of his thoughts, he begins to feel more determined in getting off of this mountain in one whole piece. His steps are stronger and he drives his walking sticks through the snow with more force.

“I will get off of this mountain,” he says out to no one.

The hours pass and the promise of the sun draws nearer. Jasper’s steps are still steady and strong, and although his body tires, his mind is more resolute and pushes forward with each hour that passes. Jasper can feel the strings of his rock solid mind tie around the limbs of his body, pulling his weak and physical being, foot by foot, through the heavy snow. Where he lacks in his physical strength, he makes up for in his cognitive power.  

Jasper’s ears perk up at the sound of trickling water. He reactionally pushes his dry, sticky tongue out of his mouth to lick his crusty lips. Moving quicker through the snow, he follows the sound till he reaches a small stream. Without hesitating, he drops his sticks and falls forward onto his knees as he thrusts his head into the stream. His palms are planted in the water on either side of his head as he tries to inhale the creek in its entirety. Once he wakes up from his dehydrated slumber, he lifts his head from the cold flowing stream and uses his cupped hands as a vessel to more efficiently drink. As the water rushes over his tongue and lips, and washes into every cavity within his throat and down to his stomach, Jasper feels cleansed, and as if his body has come back to life.

He lets out a deep sigh of relief before filling up his canteen. Setting the canteen aside on a rock, Jasper plunges his hands back into the water and vigorously rubs his face and hair. The feeling of cleaning off the dirt residue on his face and in his hair from the shelter feels refreshing, despite the freezing cold water.

Jasper rubs his hands together and blows warm air into them to try and warm them up. As he blows for a third time into his cupped hands he senses something or someone watching him. The hair on the back of his neck pricks up and he becomes very still. He scans out straight ahead and left to right before turning around. Jasper is slow to stand and turn around to face what or whom is on this mountain with him. Scanning the area, he doesn’t see anything apart from snow and trees.

Who do you think is out here? Stop being scared.

Just as he finishes the thought he sees movement. Something or someone is hiding behind the tree to his right. The tree is about thirty feet off from where he stands and is wide enough to hide a large man. Jasper’s arms tingle as he prepares himself for a fight. He has not ever met anyone out in the woods since he moved here, and he is not sure what he will encounter. He pulls the strap for his shotgun so that the gun rotates to his chest, and then holds the gun out in front of him.

Are you making the first move or am I going to have to?

There is no answer given to his thought. Only more silence.

“Show yourself,” Jasper says in a loud, stern voice.

A branch breaks, but still no movement from behind the tree.

Jasper stands there for a few minutes and waits. He grows ancy and starts walking sideways, out to the left,  right foot in front of left and left back behind the right, keeping his gun aimed towards the tree. His boots crunch in the snow and it is more or less impossible to move without making noise. Movement can now be heard behind the tree and Jasper raises his gun, ready to meet his enemy face to face.

His eyes grow wide when a small, jet black haired, tan child peeps out from behind the tree. When her deep brown eyes fall from his face to his shotgun, she pulls her head back behind the tree, making her tall ponytail bob up and down before disappearing.

“Wait! Come out! I won’t hurt you, I promise,” Jasper says.

Silence.

“Listen, I’m putting my gun down,” he says as he pulls the strap over his head and lays the gun by his side.

Jasper raises his hands, palms stretched out towards the tree.

Another minute of silence passes before the girl peeps her head out again and looks at his hands and then glances to see where the gun is now. Once she is satisfied with the placement of the gun, she ever so slowly emerges from the tree. She is wearing clothing made of fur like Jasper and carries a small pack on her back.

“Hello,” she says in a small voice, “Who are you?”

“Jasper. I’m Jasper,” he replies.