Beneath the Tree

Although the summer evening was balmy, Liza pulled the tattered shawl closer around her shoulders and slipped out the cabin door, closing it softly behind her. She pressed against the rough-timbered siding and listened breathlessly, heart pounding in her ears. As her eyes adjusted to the dark, she could make out nothing in the night but shrubs and the outline of the tree line as they came into focus. Only a half mile, Sam had said. Only one half mile through the woods to the meeting point beneath the trees. Carefully she stepped forward, her dress catching about her ankles as she made her way towards the trees. Only a half mile and Sam would be waiting with the bag of clothes and small provisions to make it from Hollow Plantation to the next stop. One half mile, beneath the tree.

Liza's back and arms ached from a long week of harvest. She winced from the sweat stinging the forming scars on her back but pushed the pain to the back of her mind when she envisioned just a half mile until a chance at freedom. The ground was uneven, but with each quick step she was closer to the trees, now looming closer.

The ground changed beneath her feet, becoming softer with needles of pine and clumps of moss. The night took on a new form as noises overwhelmed her senses. She pressed forward, swallowing hard against the fear and ignored the parching dryness in her throat and hunger pangs in her stomach. She must be close to the first marker. She paused. A twig crackled and she froze, hardly daring to breathe. Silence.

Her eyes caught sight of a faded red piece of torn cloth. Beside it, she could make out a narrow game trail. Hurriedly, she scrambled to the branch, removed the fragment of woven fabric and pressed on.

The woods were becoming thicker and the game trail was barely noticeable through the thickening underbrush. Berry bushes snagged at her skin, but she kept thinking, just a half mile, beneath the tree.

A warm breeze shuttered through the trees and the moon began peeking out from behind the cloud cover. Another marker, than another signaled that she would be to the clearing with the tree... and Sam...

Moonlight was casting a pale glow across the path and trees now, making it almost impossible to hide behind or from anything. Her feet hurt. A cut from a berry bush that she hadn't felt or noticed was beginning to sting and ooze crimson.

The clearing was just ahead. Moonlight spilled across the dry grass like a lantern gleaming across tarnished silver. She was almost there. Suddenly, there was a rustling. It seemed to come from everywhere. Beside, above, around. She felt dizzy with heat and fear and braced against a pine that was almost too small to support her, swaying to a stop. Her breath was ragged as she tried to stay motionless. Movement caught her eye in the bough of a tall spruce and two glimmering eyes met hers. A gentle hoot both startled Liza, but permitted her to breathe again. The tawny brown owl shrugged carelessly and stared on, neither interested nor eager to report the fugitive.

A few more feet and Liza made it to the clearing, her eyes resting on the burly outline of Sam, a knapsack and a large oak. Tears left glistening stains as they trickled in hot streams down Liza's cheeks as she ran forward and met Sam. It had seemed like forever, but had only been a half mile to reach freedom and Sam beneath the tree.