brought us one source of income: going where no one else wants to go.” I stood up and looked out over the river. “Face it, Jake, it’s all we were supposed to do.”
“Not good enough, little brother. I keep thinking there’s a purpose behind this, behind everything that’s happened. I can’t explain it, but I’m trying to figure out what it is.” Jake seemed as if he was about to say something else, but he stopped himself.
“What does your gut say, Jake?” Julia asked, interrupting the silence.
Jake looked at her. “It says we were meant to do more than just be garbage collectors.” Over our protests, he said loudly, “Let’s be real. We go and risk our necks for crap that other people haven’t got the guts to go get. When does it end? When do we reach the point where everything anyone has ever wanted is going to be collected?” Jake looked out over the water to the West. “I just have been feeling lately that there’s something more we’re supposed to be doing.”
“Well, big brother, when you figure it out, you let me know. For now, we’re collectors,” I said, stretching out and watching the stars slowly blink into existence in the purpling sky.
“Something to think about, Aaron,” Jake said.
“Now what?”
“Why are we saving our money? What’s the point?”
“What do you mean?” I had to admit I hadn’t been expecting this line from Jake.
“We’ve got a lot of money from our collecting. Why? We don’t need food or shelter. We’re able to go into the grey zones and get whatever we need. Why the money? What’s our end game with it?” Jake sounded like he had been giving this a lot more than just a cursory thought or two.
“Go to sleep.”
“Just wondering, little brother.”
I closed my eyes, but Jake’s words had struck a chord. What were we getting paid for?
Chapter 14
We packed up early in the morning and got underway while the river and the surrounding countryside were still asleep. The sun hadn’t come up yet, but the grey dawn was turning blue and the sun was very close behind.
We passed Ottawa and Morris, and there was a bit of urgency in our strokes as we got closer to home. Julia was more anxious than normal, and we would be happy to walk familiar paths once again.
Around mid-morning, we pulled into the dock. Our big motorboats looked at us in askance, wondering when we would take them out for a stretch. Across the river, at Eagle Island, the livestock wandered to the river’s edge for their morning drink. I looked up towards Eagle Point, but as usual, no one was there. It would have been nice to see a couple of tall figures standing there, but as I had come to expect, that probably wasn’t going to happen.
After tying up our canoe, we walked in silence up the hill and across the lawn. It hadn’t been cut in several days, and was starting to get a little fuzzy. I could see Jake scowling at it and I knew he would be out cutting it as soon as he could. I never figured out why Jake did that, it was something he picked up a couple of years ago. I guess it kept him busy.
We passed the guesthouse, which once upon a time was the Visitor Center to the park we lived in. I don’t know why we had a guest house, since we lived in a lodge that had hundreds of rooms, but we needed it for something.
Climbing up the stairs, we went from forest floor to forest canopy. The landscape spread out before us, and as always, I was struck by the beauty and solitude of the place we called home. The river, the forest, the rock formations, the canyons, and the trails, all made this a fantastic place to live. The only thing missing was differentiated company, but we got enough of that on our travels to the various towns and cities.
Once inside, we dropped our gear in the storeroom and went our separate ways. The first thing on my list was a shower, and I didn’t doubt it was first on the
“Not good enough, little brother. I keep thinking there’s a purpose behind this, behind everything that’s happened. I can’t explain it, but I’m trying to figure out what it is.” Jake seemed as if he was about to say something else, but he stopped himself.
“What does your gut say, Jake?” Julia asked, interrupting the silence.
Jake looked at her. “It says we were meant to do more than just be garbage collectors.” Over our protests, he said loudly, “Let’s be real. We go and risk our necks for crap that other people haven’t got the guts to go get. When does it end? When do we reach the point where everything anyone has ever wanted is going to be collected?” Jake looked out over the water to the West. “I just have been feeling lately that there’s something more we’re supposed to be doing.”
“Well, big brother, when you figure it out, you let me know. For now, we’re collectors,” I said, stretching out and watching the stars slowly blink into existence in the purpling sky.
“Something to think about, Aaron,” Jake said.
“Now what?”
“Why are we saving our money? What’s the point?”
“What do you mean?” I had to admit I hadn’t been expecting this line from Jake.
“We’ve got a lot of money from our collecting. Why? We don’t need food or shelter. We’re able to go into the grey zones and get whatever we need. Why the money? What’s our end game with it?” Jake sounded like he had been giving this a lot more than just a cursory thought or two.
“Go to sleep.”
“Just wondering, little brother.”
I closed my eyes, but Jake’s words had struck a chord. What were we getting paid for?
Chapter 14
We packed up early in the morning and got underway while the river and the surrounding countryside were still asleep. The sun hadn’t come up yet, but the grey dawn was turning blue and the sun was very close behind.
We passed Ottawa and Morris, and there was a bit of urgency in our strokes as we got closer to home. Julia was more anxious than normal, and we would be happy to walk familiar paths once again.
Around mid-morning, we pulled into the dock. Our big motorboats looked at us in askance, wondering when we would take them out for a stretch. Across the river, at Eagle Island, the livestock wandered to the river’s edge for their morning drink. I looked up towards Eagle Point, but as usual, no one was there. It would have been nice to see a couple of tall figures standing there, but as I had come to expect, that probably wasn’t going to happen.
After tying up our canoe, we walked in silence up the hill and across the lawn. It hadn’t been cut in several days, and was starting to get a little fuzzy. I could see Jake scowling at it and I knew he would be out cutting it as soon as he could. I never figured out why Jake did that, it was something he picked up a couple of years ago. I guess it kept him busy.
We passed the guesthouse, which once upon a time was the Visitor Center to the park we lived in. I don’t know why we had a guest house, since we lived in a lodge that had hundreds of rooms, but we needed it for something.
Climbing up the stairs, we went from forest floor to forest canopy. The landscape spread out before us, and as always, I was struck by the beauty and solitude of the place we called home. The river, the forest, the rock formations, the canyons, and the trails, all made this a fantastic place to live. The only thing missing was differentiated company, but we got enough of that on our travels to the various towns and cities.
Once inside, we dropped our gear in the storeroom and went our separate ways. The first thing on my list was a shower, and I didn’t doubt it was first on the
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