Black Heart on the Appalachian Trail
Page 17
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I walk the road to the edge of town, step over the sand-clogged gutter and angle toward the graveyard. Pop’s marker stands alone, marked by a headstone that slopes toward Hawkinsville. I step carefully through the weeds, wary of rattlesnakes, see only a lizard on a pile of rocks.
At the headstone, I kneel and shove sand under the edge, tamp it down. Try to think of something good about Pop. He was true to his job, I’ll give him that. He never let a dog go, killed every last one that wasn’t claimed by its owner. I wonder what he was thinking when he pulled the trigger, if he thought of me or if he thought of anything at all.
The sun is setting, a fire to the west, clouds an orange tint. Now is the time when horses come to the spring, but I don’t remember how to get there. I wipe sand off my hands, watch the trickle turn to dust in the breeze. I tell Pop that I am not him, that I will never be him, that I am a different man from the boy he knew. I tell him about Richard and Simone, and how we hiked the Appalachian Trail. I tell him life never turns out like we want it. I talk to him until dark, say good-bye, and head for town. There are trails to walk. I feel them inside me, a gravity that tugs me in their direction. I need to keep moving, can’t stay in one place long, and don’t know why.
I do know one thing for sure. Death is not the answer.
Death is never the answer.
Acknowledgments
KERRI KOLEN, MY editor, brought out the best of this novel. I am humbled to have worked with her.
My heart goes out to my agent, Leigh Feldman, and I’d like to thank her for being the first person to read and believe in Black Heart on the Appalachian Trail. Without her I’d still be in that little attic in Virginia.
Too, I cannot forget the hard-working volunteers who maintain the Appalachian Trail. Some of these folks have maintained the AT for years, asking nothing in return. Without them the mountains would reclaim the trail and the AT would cease to exist.
I’d also like to thank the Appalachian Trail Conservancy for their ceaseless efforts. This organization does a great job creating and maintaining the wilderness experience.
About the Author
T. J. FORRESTER has been a fisherman, a subsistence farmer, a bouncer, a window washer, and a miner. He is one of the few hikers in the world to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail, the Pacific Crest Trail, and the Continental Divide Trail. He is the author of the novel Miracles, Inc., and his stories have appeared in numerous literary journals.
For more information, visit www.tjforrester.com.
ALSO BY T. J. FORRESTER
Miracles, Inc.
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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either areproducts of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2012 by T. J. Forrester
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First Simon & Schuster trade paperback edition October 2012
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Designed by Jill Putorti
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Forrester, T. J.
Black heart on the Appalachian trail / T. J. Forrester
p. cm.
1. Hikers—Crimes against—Fiction. 2. Appalachian Trail—Fiction. I. Title.
PS3606.O74865B53 2012
813’6—dc22
2011048689
ISBN 978-1-4391-7561-3 (print)
ISBN 978-1-4391-7563-7 (eBook)