Aiden's Quest

by Dane Bagley

Sarah and John lay in the meadow looking up at the blue sky and the pillowing white clouds meandering effortless and lazily. The silence had lasted a long time, though it flew by. Sarah could have laid there much longer just absorbed in the moment, its beauty and peace, her mind clear and calm. John’s mind was active and he slowly became restless. He did not, however, know how to begin. He turned to Sarah and looked at her pretty—truly pretty—face. She had blossomed over the previous year and a half. She was pretty. Some was via effort, Maryanne had taught her well; she was fit, she took good care of her hair, her complexion, her make-up. Most, was just nature’s way of expressing the value of patience. She was growing into a natural beauty. On the outside, she was as John had first seen her on the inside. He appreciated her external beauty, never surprised as it blossomed.

  Sarah turned toward his face and smiled, then turned back to her sky and clouds.

  “Sarah, it won’t be long until the fall…when you turn eighteen.”

  Sarah nodded, still looking at the sky.

  “We’ve been planning our marriage…our wedding, that is, for such a long time.”

  Sarah turned and gazed in his eyes.

  “We’ve…”

  Sarah waited patiently.

  “…never…really made plans.”

  “For our wedding?”

  “No, for after that.”

  “Plans?”

  “Yes.”

  “Oh, where we should live, and such.”

  “Well, yes, and such.”

  “I want to live near my waterfall, at least so near that I can walk comfortably back and forth and spend some time there in a day. It’ll be close to my family, but we don’t have to live right by them. Just near the waterfall.”

  “So, that is ultimately where you want to be?”

  “Yes, I’ve mentioned this before. You know how I love it there, so…”

  “I do Sarah. I’ll build there.”

  “Sarah, would you consider some other places before we ultimately settle?”

  Sarah narrowed her eyes and looked at John searchingly.

  “I’m feeling a little restless, Sarah.”

  “John, I know. I don’t mind you going and doing. Didn’t you enjoy your trip to the far end falls with Kevin.”

  “Of course, I’ve told you all about it. I don’t want or need to get away from you. I’m not interested in space, from you. I want to spend every moment with you. I enjoyed the falls and being with Kevin, but I longed for you. I can’t be away from you, but I need to be away from here…sometimes…for a little while. I thought that we could live elsewhere, for a time. Have some space, an adventure, a little freedom, make our own way in the world. We’d come back, settle down, live near the falls, raise a family and have everything we’ve both talked about. I’d just like something different, for a while.”

  Sarah looked at him, her eyes dancing back and forth between his one eye and the other. Her peace and calm had been disturbed and her mind raced.

  “We’re young, Sarah. We’ve nothing holding us down; no children, no responsibilities. If we settle down now, we’ll never know anything else. I can see our life, from beginning to end. I can see it in the lives of everyone around us. I know it, and you know it. It’s here before us. It’s good, and I want to share it with you. I will share it with you. But maybe we could share something else, first. Try something different and then when we are ready for a family, come back and pick up where we left off and have the good life that we both want, ultimately.”

  “John, people settle these parts because the land is richest here. The crops grow, the livestock thrives and there is support and community around. Are you talking about settling out by far end falls?”

  “I don’t know, maybe. I don’t have a plan; I want to make a plan with you. Far end falls could be nice. Or closer in, where we could make a settlement that would make it easier for people to travel. Maybe the settlements on this land would stretched farther. The land may not be barren; it may just not have been worked. That might be interesting, I don’t know. I don’t know what I want, exactly. I’ve just got an itch that I need to scratch. I don’t want to be apart from you, I just don’t want to be here, for a while.”

  “Okay.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Sure. We’ve got some months to figure things out. I’m okay with trying something. I’m not afraid. I’ll be with you. If it can be done, you can do it. You are the strongest, most capable man in the world. I trust you, and I would help. I want our life so much. I’ll just have to get used to thinking about it. Thinking about what we could do and where we could go. It seems…kind of exciting.”

  John smiled and then they kissed for some time.

  “Sarah tells me that you two are going on an adventure,” said Maryanne.

  “An adventure?” said Kevin. “When are you doing that? Where are you going?”

  “It’s not really an adventure. We’re just going to live away from here, for a while,” said Sarah. “I guess, it’s an adventure of sorts. We’ll try something different before we come back here and settle down. John wants to try something and he should get to. I’m excited to do something different.”

  “How’re your parents taking it?” said Maryanne.

  “Mom’s good.”

  “And your dad?”

  “Mom’s good.”

  “I see,” said Maryanne.

  “John, we’ve been all over these parts. I’m not sure there is an adventure in the promise land, unless you consider trying to grow corn in rocky soil an adventure. If you’re just trying to get away from Maryanne here, you could just tell her to scram.”

  Maryanne took a lemon peel on the rim of her glass of lemonade and threw it at Kevin. Kevin swatted it away, looking pleased with the reaction he got.

  “How’s Megan?” asked Sarah.

  “Ah, Megan, what a magnificent firework she was. One minute she lit up my world with a bang, with the richest and brightest colors, then she was gone, without leaving a trace. Nice memories, though.”

  “You’ve already broken up with her?” ask Maryanne.

  “Well…”

  “I believe this time it went the other way,” said John.

  “You win some, you lose some,” said Kevin unaffected. “And what about the gorgeous Maryanne? Who do you have wrapped around your finger?”

  “I’m not sure you’ve earned the right to ask me such personal questions.”

  “Alright, I’ll just ask John later.”

  This time she threw a piece of ice and hit him in the chest.

  “I want to go for a walk—down by the falls,” said Sarah, looking at John.

  Maryanne took the hint. “I need to get home.”

  “If you promise to stop throwing things, I’d be happy to escort you,” said Kevin.

  Maryanne rolled her eyes playfully. “Will you promise to be a gentleman?” The four got up from their lawn chairs. “Have fun,” Maryanne said to Sarah and John.

  Kevin offered Maryanne his arm trying to look as gentlemanly as possible. Maryanne screwed her eyes and looked at him without moving.

  “Are you playing hard to get?” he asked.

  “Yes, and I’m not playing.” With that she took his arm and they walked away.