An R&R Story: Ghost Town

โ€œI wanted to see the old structureโ€ฆ itโ€™s somewhere,โ€ Rylee squints into the forest looking between her map and the greenery.


โ€œWeโ€™re lost,โ€ Ravi says in a foreign accent, making Rylee grin from over her yellowed map.


โ€œWe are not lost. Itโ€™s the forest. You canโ€™t get lost in it. You walk one way, andโ€ฆ eventually youโ€™ll find your way out.โ€


โ€œYou donโ€™t know where we are,โ€ Ravi looks at her, scowling. โ€œWe are lost.โ€


โ€œI do know where weโ€™re at,โ€ she snaps, โ€œweโ€™re in the forest. And Itโ€™s hot.โ€


โ€œWe are not. Weโ€™re in a forest and lost. Thereโ€™s a difference,โ€ he says, going left.


โ€œThat isnโ€™t the right way,โ€ she calls, but follows him anyways, looking up at the trees.

โ€œAmerica is freaky,โ€ Ravi says at random.


โ€œHow?โ€ Rylee is still looking at the map, wondering if sheโ€™s been holding it upside down the whole hike, which does seem highly likely by the looks of that pine. And how long was it when they stepped from the gravel pathโ€ฆ? There was a gravel path. Right?


โ€œJust is,โ€ Ravi shrugs, hands in his pockets.


โ€œThereโ€™s a brown box on the map, Rav. Think thatโ€™s gunna be the old ruins?โ€ She changes the subject on him, leaving him confused.


โ€œYou- what?โ€

โ€œI meanโ€ฆ do you see an angry tree?โ€

โ€œA fucking what?โ€ He turns to her.

โ€œA fucking angry tree.โ€


โ€œWhat is that?โ€ He asks, staring at the side of her face, which is rare, sense heโ€™s shy. Rylee shrugs, turning the map this way and that.


โ€œA mad tree. Look at a tree. Does it look mad? Angry? Troubled?โ€ She spins on her heels, looking through the trees.


โ€œThey all do. Itโ€™s so dry and hot here. Iโ€™m mad too. Iโ€™m not even a tree. If we stand here any longer, though, my feet might take root to the ground.โ€


The girl walks over to Ravi and touches his chest, briefly looking into his eyes, before walking towards the abandoned tunnel.


โ€œWeโ€™re going in there?โ€ His voice is distant and slightly hoarse, heโ€™s probably confused by the girlโ€™s actions again. Through the entrance, Rylee and Ravi cross a chilly air pocket and stumble right into a bustling street.


โ€œWhat the fuck?โ€ Ravi grabs Ryleeโ€™s wrist and pulls her out of the way of a man carrying a donkey.


The girl smacks him on the shoulder lightly and scowls at him. He makes a snorting noise and turns away, a light blush messing with his cute cheeks. He hides a smile with his hand, shaking his leg lightly.


Around them, people scatter about, wearing clothes that arenโ€™t up to date. Horses drag carts and children mill about carrying wooden crates, helping their parents with the morning chores. A group of boys carry notebooks, skipping to school and tossing rocks at girls washing clothes in metal bins. A man with a black handlebar mustache strolls by with a black cane, only inches from Rylee.


โ€œLike I said, what the f-โ€œ Someone passes right through Ravi, who stops talking and stumbles backwards, bracing himself on an old brick wall with messy molding. And crumbling red brick. Rylee reaches out to the nearest person- her hand flies right through the tall man.


โ€œAw, hell naw.โ€

โ€œItโ€™s a fucking town,โ€ Ravi says.


โ€œNo shit, Sherlock.โ€ Rylee pulls Ravi through the entrance the the town. Together, they stumble back into their green world, shaking and confused.


Maybe they didnโ€™t find an angry tree, but they sure as hell found a memory.

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