hands and pulled.
At first it was
resistant to its imminent removal and she pulled even harder.
Leaning back, she used her weight to aid her efforts. There was a
screeching sound as the nails began to give way, then suddenly Mel
found herself stumbling backwards, the sign clenched in her hands.
Unable to regain her balance, she felt herself falling and
scrunched her face in anticipation of the pain that would surely
accompany her sudden stop. Surprisingly enough, the impact with the
ground was softer than she thought it would be, probably due to the
fact that she’d landed in one of the few remaining snow-banks that
were heaped along the side of the road.
Mel lay on her
back and stared up at the sky, regaining her breath before easing
herself into a sitting position. Bits of snow were sliding icily
down the back of her neck and she reached around to pick them out
of her collar. Well, at least the sign had come off. Gingerly, she
stood and moved about, checking for injuries. Besides a slight
tenderness around her backside, and some bruising to her ego, she
felt all right.
Checking again to
make sure no one was around, she approached the gate once more and
dropped the ‘No Trespassing’ sign face down on the ground. Her
rental vehicle was pulled to the side of the road already, so she
wasn’t blocking traffic if she left it there for a little while.
Not that there was much chance of traffic in such an out of the way
location. She hadn’t passed a single house on her way here. It
really was an isolated area. Still, if Taylor specialized in
photographing nature, she supposed it made some sense for him to
immerse himself in his subject.
Shifting her purse
onto her shoulder, Mel studied the gate. It was made of wood and
almost a foot over her head. She considered going around it, but a
fence extended from each side for about fifty feet in either
direction. Beyond that, a large ditch filled with water from the
melting snow formed an impressive barrier to keep people off
Taylor’s property. There was a slight gap along the bottom of the
gate, but Mel knew she’d never be able to wriggle underneath. Going
over it appeared to be the only option.
She jiggled the
gate once more in the vain hope that the lock would pop open. Of
course, it didn’t and she made a mental note to learn how to pick
locks, before taking on another such assignment. Then, giving a
resigned sigh, she began her ascent. Grasping the top of the
structure, she pulled herself upwards, while trying to gain a
foothold on the latch. It wasn’t the most dignified sight she was
sure, but at least she was wearing jeans and not a dress. With a
good deal of huffing and puffing, she finally managed to pull
herself to the top of the gate and sat astride the structure,
catching her breath and savouring the sweetness of success.
The feeling only
lasted a moment however, since the top of the fence was decidedly
uncomfortable to sit upon. Cautiously, she swung her leg over and
stared at the ground below. It suddenly seemed much farther away
now that she had to jump down. Mel wasn’t overly fond of heights
and while six feet wasn’t that high, her stomach still gave a funny
little lurch as she contemplated her next move. Realizing that
delay wouldn’t make things better, she took a deep breath and
jumped.
The landing was
less than stellar and she wouldn’t get any points for form or
grace. She ended up on her hands and knees in a muddy patch on the
driveway. Wincing, she got to her feet and brushed ineffectively at
the mud on her pants. Her hands were filthy and her efforts at
removing the mud were only making matters worse. Looking around,
she decided to make use of the remaining snow and scooped up a
handful using it to wash off the mud. It was cold and stung, but at
least the filth was gone from her palms.
Drying her hands
on her coat sleeve, she hitched her purse over her shoulder and
happily set off down the driveway. At least the hard part was over.
Walking
At first it was
resistant to its imminent removal and she pulled even harder.
Leaning back, she used her weight to aid her efforts. There was a
screeching sound as the nails began to give way, then suddenly Mel
found herself stumbling backwards, the sign clenched in her hands.
Unable to regain her balance, she felt herself falling and
scrunched her face in anticipation of the pain that would surely
accompany her sudden stop. Surprisingly enough, the impact with the
ground was softer than she thought it would be, probably due to the
fact that she’d landed in one of the few remaining snow-banks that
were heaped along the side of the road.
Mel lay on her
back and stared up at the sky, regaining her breath before easing
herself into a sitting position. Bits of snow were sliding icily
down the back of her neck and she reached around to pick them out
of her collar. Well, at least the sign had come off. Gingerly, she
stood and moved about, checking for injuries. Besides a slight
tenderness around her backside, and some bruising to her ego, she
felt all right.
Checking again to
make sure no one was around, she approached the gate once more and
dropped the ‘No Trespassing’ sign face down on the ground. Her
rental vehicle was pulled to the side of the road already, so she
wasn’t blocking traffic if she left it there for a little while.
Not that there was much chance of traffic in such an out of the way
location. She hadn’t passed a single house on her way here. It
really was an isolated area. Still, if Taylor specialized in
photographing nature, she supposed it made some sense for him to
immerse himself in his subject.
Shifting her purse
onto her shoulder, Mel studied the gate. It was made of wood and
almost a foot over her head. She considered going around it, but a
fence extended from each side for about fifty feet in either
direction. Beyond that, a large ditch filled with water from the
melting snow formed an impressive barrier to keep people off
Taylor’s property. There was a slight gap along the bottom of the
gate, but Mel knew she’d never be able to wriggle underneath. Going
over it appeared to be the only option.
She jiggled the
gate once more in the vain hope that the lock would pop open. Of
course, it didn’t and she made a mental note to learn how to pick
locks, before taking on another such assignment. Then, giving a
resigned sigh, she began her ascent. Grasping the top of the
structure, she pulled herself upwards, while trying to gain a
foothold on the latch. It wasn’t the most dignified sight she was
sure, but at least she was wearing jeans and not a dress. With a
good deal of huffing and puffing, she finally managed to pull
herself to the top of the gate and sat astride the structure,
catching her breath and savouring the sweetness of success.
The feeling only
lasted a moment however, since the top of the fence was decidedly
uncomfortable to sit upon. Cautiously, she swung her leg over and
stared at the ground below. It suddenly seemed much farther away
now that she had to jump down. Mel wasn’t overly fond of heights
and while six feet wasn’t that high, her stomach still gave a funny
little lurch as she contemplated her next move. Realizing that
delay wouldn’t make things better, she took a deep breath and
jumped.
The landing was
less than stellar and she wouldn’t get any points for form or
grace. She ended up on her hands and knees in a muddy patch on the
driveway. Wincing, she got to her feet and brushed ineffectively at
the mud on her pants. Her hands were filthy and her efforts at
removing the mud were only making matters worse. Looking around,
she decided to make use of the remaining snow and scooped up a
handful using it to wash off the mud. It was cold and stung, but at
least the filth was gone from her palms.
Drying her hands
on her coat sleeve, she hitched her purse over her shoulder and
happily set off down the driveway. At least the hard part was over.
Walking
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