Life and other Disasters
8. The road

The sounds on the road were different. Of course, bees were buzzing, wind rustling through the tall yellow flowers, and the cry of a bird now and then. But all the background noise Ava was familiar with - the sound of cars, planes, the sound of people talking, of mobile phones - was gone. The difference was so subtle that Ava only noticed it after a while.

The dust road they walked on meandered through the landscape. It wasn’t completely flat, nor did they have to climb steep hills or mountains. Small clouds of dust rose wherever they put their feet. Ava felt beads of sweat roll down her back. The morning air had been crisp and fresh, but soon the warmth started to make the air sizzle with heat.

The landscape stayed pretty much the same. Here and there were small groups of houses, trees were spread casually around, the soft smell of flowers in bloom.

There were signs that there were other human beings - smoke rising from a chimney, a curtain that was closed as soon as they passed by, clothes hanging from a washing line. Not many people were around, or at least Ava and David didn’t see them.

First, the silence was calming, but at a certain point, it made her nervous. It felt as if someone, or something, was watching them. Hairs on her arms rose. The thought of a thousand eyes watching them walking down the road was stuck into her brain. It made her feel vulnerable, almost as if she was a target in an open field.

The fact that David wasn’t much of a talker didn’t help either. She had tried to start a conversation several times, but David only answered in short sentences.

“What did you do for a living?” she asked, trying to make some sort of conversation.

“I worked in construction,” he said.

Ava waited for him to ask her something, but the question never came. So she tried again.

“How old were you when...” She couldn’t finish her question. After all, she had no clue what happened to him.

“When I had my accident?” he said. “Twenty-five.” His mouth was a straight line, on his cheeks were bright red blushes, as if he had a fever.

He’s only two years older than me, she thought.

Ava observed him. She tried to envision him how he must have looked before his accident. In her mind, she removed his five-day stubble and the deep blue patches beneath his eyes. She straightened his back and shoulders. He was tall, taller than he appeared to be. When she thought of it, he must have been handsome before his accident. Not that he was some kind of model, but still very pleasing to the eyes, as her mum would say. Whatever accident it was, it must have taken a toll on him.

“What kind of accident?” she asked.

“If you don’t mind, I don’t want to talk about it.” David waved his hand, cutting off the conversation. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to talk; he just needed all his breath to keep walking.

“Sure, no problem,” she mumbled, but that was only to be polite. It was a problem. She needed the distraction of some banter.

They must have walked at least for an hour when Ava noticed something.

“I’m not sure if we’re going the right way,” she said, seemingly out of nowhere.

“Whadoyoumean?” David said between two wheezes.

“The tower,” Ava pointed, “it doesn’t seem to get any closer. It looks as if we’re at the same distance as when we started walking this morning.”

David shrugged.

“I haven’t seen any other road or path,” he answered. Ava knew he was right. There had only been one road, no crossings, no sidetracks, just the one road they were walking on.

“Maybe it’s one of those optical illusions, you know, where you think something is far away, but in fact, you’re standing next to it. You will see we reach the tower in no time.” David said.

Ava nodded, but she had no clue what he was talking about. It probably had something to do with maths or physics. Two subjects she had skipped as much as possible in school.

She was wondering if he was right. Not only did it appear the tower wasn’t getting any closer, it even seemed further away than when they started the walk this morning.

There was something strange going on. Wouldn’t it be better if they went back to the inn? Back to the sisters, back to the haven of Saul’s rest, with its apple trees, and strange rooms?

Ava heard David softly huff now and then, while they continued their walk. His face was pale, sweat pearling on his forehead. His mouth was a straight line. He looked like he needed a rest, but he was trying so hard to hide his exhaustion. He was in worse shape than he appeared to be. Ava knew he would never ask for a pause.

When they passed a particularly lovely looking meadow, enveloped by some tall birch trees, she let out a long-drawn-out sigh.

“I can’t feel my feet anymore, let’s take a break here,” she said and didn’t wait for David’s response. She dropped down in the grass, at a sweet spot in the shadow. A quick peek over her shoulder taught her that David was following her. His footsteps were dragging and barely audible. He sat down a whole lot more carefully than Ava. First, he put down his hands and let his body sink slowly to the ground as if he was an older man.

For a while, they sat in complete silence.

“Listen, I was thinking...” Ava started, but David didn’t let her finish her thought.

“You want to go back.” His eyes looked straight into hers.

His straightforwardness left her speechless for a couple of seconds.

“I don’t think this road is going anywhere,” Ava admitted. “Maybe it’s better to go back and try again tomorrow.”

“It’s okay,” he continued, “you can go back. I don’t think you will have problems replaceing your way,” he said, “but I will continue. I’ve waited long enough. If I go back, I will never try it again.”

Ava looked at his pale face, at the bags under his eyes. She remembered how empty his gaze had been when they met. And one thing became clear. This man was dying.

She didn’t know what exactly had happened to him, or what he called an accident - if he had an accident with a car, if he was giving in to some succumbing illness or if he was dying from an overdose. It didn’t matter, because he would be gone soon. Maybe the tower was his last hope for a cure, to go back to the land of the living.

Then she became angry at herself. Why didn’t she think before she did something? Without thinking anything through she had dragged a visibly ill man along on a seemingly hopeless road trip, just because she had thought it was a good idea to walk to a tower in a place she had never been before, in a place that was very different from the world she knew.

Her impulsiveness had caused problems before - it was the one reason she was here. Looking at David, this was also the one time she had to finish what she had started. No way she would let him walk continue on his own. She would reach that tower, even if she had to walk a hundred days.

“I’m not going back,” she said, without enlightening him what made her change her mind.

He raised an eyebrow, a slightly sarcastic smile around his lips. She caught a glimpse of the person he once was. “Sure?”

She nodded. Never had she been so sure about a decision.

Something relaxed in his face. “It’s the road, you know. It’s playing tricks on us. I heard stories from other people, but I never experienced it myself.” He pointed in the distance. “See? It’s much closer now.”

Ava followed his gaze. The tower was taller and brighter than ever. It sparked a new determination in her. And David was right, the tower really appeared to be closer.

She brushed some blades of grass from her clothes.

“Let’s go. We still have a long way to go,” she said and walked off, never looking back if he was following her. She knew he would.