The Bag Lady

The late morning was clear and crisp as Sawyer stepped out of the travel hostel. He had been looking forward to this trip for a long time. The humdrum office routine was starting to grate, and his psyche needed the fresh air. Sawyer also needed the alone time, “just me and the mountains” was his only thought.

Sawyer picked the medium trail to test his unused equipment. A few years ago trying the urban life, he had given his equipment to his younger brother, thinking the city would be a new adventure. He smiled to himself now, thinking how wrong he was. About half way up the mountain, his new boots were beginning to pain and he sat down to fix his feet and add another pair of socks. He didn’t notice someone near to him and stuck his foot out to stretch.

“What are you doing?” A female voice yelled at him as she was picking herself up from the ground. “If you wanted to meet me, you only had to say hello!” Sawyer suddenly realized he had been lost in the pain of his foot and didn’t see the woman.

“Oh, I’m so sorry, I didn’t see you there. I was concentrating on the pain these new boots are giving me.”

“Well you are new to hiking then. You never wear brand new boots. They have to be broken in!”

Sawyer didn’t want to admit he knew that because he had been a hiker, just not recently, but decided to keep it to himself. Laura offered him a hand up and they started a conversation. Laura also sought respite in the mountain air and the two had a long conversation as they continued on the trail.

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