Lost & Found At Sunfish Pond

“Watch out for poison ivy.”

“Remember, I grew up in the woods. Sit in the shade.”

Balancing on a flat rock, she eased off her boots and applied band-aids to her toes. She felt the bump on her arm from last year’s break. Claude had seemed sorry. Annie closed her eyes and tried to conjure a cool breeze for a moment’s relief from the searing heat. She heard the leaves rustle.

“Ready to go?” Claude reappeared drenched like he’d jumped in a river with sweat dripping off his chin.

It was nearly dark when they arrived at the summit ninety minutes later. All the flat camping spots had been claimed. They found an unoccupied area on a steep incline. Despite his shopping spree, Claude hadn’t thought to buy a flashlight. Annie succeeded in finding the port-o-potty but couldn’t locate Sunfish Pond in the unbroken darkness.

They erected their tent on the hill. Claude lit his camp stove and added water to the freeze-dried stew packets.

“This is perfect,” Claude said. “The food smells great. Doesn’t it?”

“I’m famished.”

He divided the stew between two plates and went to the tent to get a clean tee-shirt. Annie opened two cans of beer. Claude, confused in the darkness, sat directly on the plates of stew which vanished into the dirt and leaves.

“Goddammit, Annie why’d you leave the plates there?”

Recoiling to avoid his slap, Annie got smaller.

But Claude seethed and drank his beer in silence.

Exhausted and miserable, Annie crawled into their tent and into her sleeping bag. Now sociable, Claude drank more beers and chatted with nearby campers. Her muscles ached, her blisters oozed, her soul wept. Annie fell asleep at once but woke when Claude barged into the tent stealing all the air. A wave of claustrophobia overwhelmed her and she flailed, as if to save her life. He backed out cursing and knocked down the tent.

“Now, this is real camping,” he said.

Annie braced herself for Claude’s tirade, but in minutes Claude was snoring contentedly while mosquitos buzzed his head. Annie lay awake watching the stars struggle to shine through the thick foliage. Their endeavor was futile, as was hers. She sobbed realizing Claude would never change and it was pointless to waste more of her life to preserve their marriage. Given Claude’s track record she could be next to be discarded when he chased the next shiny thing.

As dawn broke, Annie rose and followed signs to Sunfish Pond while Claude slept on. The mist on the calm water beckoned. It faded little by little as she floated on the icy surface in her underwear, the lone witness to the blue of the sky growing strong. She was quenched and buoyant.

Annie dressed and hoisted her backpack onto her shoulders. It wasn’t heavy anymore. She trekked down the path, shared water from her canteen with passing hikers, and hitched a ride home. Hours later, Claude returned to their empty home covered in poison ivy blisters and mosquito bites.

She’d found what she needed at Sunfish Pond.