Be Careful What You Wish For: Part II
Off on a wander~
Leg 1: Straight North:
Figuring I had no real plan of where to go, I decided to see how far I could go in one direction. Down the road and into the woods at the end, after only a couple of hundred meters I find a nice tree to sit in, and start reading. The book in question being "Look to Windward". I took it out a couple of days ago on the basis that I liked "Excession", but have been lacking time to read properly. As I read, the noise of traffic was still quite loud in the background, despite being quite far from it and having the sound muffled by greenery; I soon grew used to it though. Not so easy to get used to were the mosquitos, which annoyed me, but I don't think I got bitten. I also got to witness a squirrel fight.
Leg 2: Still North; Through the Woods:
Starting to ache from the uncomfortable sitting position, and with light fading, I set off again deeper into the woods. There's a surprisingly straight path going through them, which I followed, stopping off briefly for a lie down in some sort of ivy. I figured this'd be a nice place to sleep, but I never got back to it :( Slightly rested, I went north still, and into the next town. This proved to be the stopping point of my northern route; I had some idea what was east, so I went west.
Leg 3: West:
Getting deeper into town, it seemed most of the shops were closed; I continued on in the hope of getting to the major shopping center in the next town. A couple of uneventful miles later, I did, and it too was closed -- the only thing open late at night was McDonalds. Seeing as the town was getting populated by groups of youths with their ghetto music (the word "ghetto" was featured in every sentance. Literally. "Livin' in the ghetto. With ma bitches in the ghetto. Ghetto ghetto ghetto. Homies in the ghetto. Yo, it's the ghetto.", etc), I turned round and went back.
Leg 4: East:
Going back, I get the feeling I managed to intimidate people, what with being large, teenage, dark clothed, alone, etc. Some random guy seemed quite relieved after I'd been following him for a couple of miles, then passed without mugging him. I got back to the first turning point, and then further onwards. Mostly along main roads, I stopped a second time for another chapter. Still mostly uneventful, I went north for the second time.
Leg 5: North:
Going along another main road, this one being in the middle of nowhere, I noted a massive number of snails. That was all. Eventually I got to the river, and started pondering Narcissu, with the characters going on their journey with no particular aim. I would've continued through the river, but I figured hypothermia was bad, and I was carrying a library book I shouldn't get wet. So, further east.
Leg 6: East:
Going through the more residential area, there are a lot of houses which all look the same. I've no idea how far I walked, but it was quite a way, until I ended up nearing my school, which was also closed.
Leg 7: South, Homeward:
Figuring I was getting tired, I set my target to be the nice tree I'd been reading in right at the beginning, so I could get some sleep. The route was quite similar to the one I normally take home, but walking through woods with no light was a lot harder than normal -- thankfully, the path was very dark grey in contrast to the surrounding dirt's black, so I managed to get through without trouble. Popping into the second bit of woods, it was too dark to see the path at all; after a couple of hundred meteres stumbling through brambles, I turned back :(
Leg 8: To Home:
Getting out of the woods as painfully and blindly as I got in, I gave up hope of spending a night with nature, and went home as per normal. Part I picks up the end of the night, which was terribly anger and depression filled, compared to all the fun I'd been having all evening...
2005-09-13 06:34:01 -0500