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Sometimes chance intervenes in our lives and causes destiny jumps the tracks. When this happens, fate steps in and realigns destiny’s course to bring us to where we need to be. But, as with the course of true love, the road of realignment doesn’t always run smooth.

Part 16 – Moonlight

Stephanie stood at the window in her bedroom staring out as she absently petted Tigger who had deigned to acknowledge her existence finally, after a two-day absence.

A heavy sigh escaped her as took comfort from the soft fur of the cat in her arms.

She didn’t have to look at the clock to know it was well past midnight. Given the exhaustion she felt in her body, it was probably past two by now, but her mind wouldn’t allow her body to sleep.

“What are we going to do, Tig?” she asked.

Her response was a slightly louder purr.

Today had been a huge day. It was hard for her to believe that only two full days had passed since she had met Ranger on the road. It seemed almost a lifetime ago. In many ways it was.

Her exhaustion, though, was preventing her mind from focusing on only one problem. It was constantly hopping from Ranger to Charlie to the information she had found to the danger they were in to what still needed to be done. Underlying all of those thoughts, however, was the ache in her heart at the thought her family believed her to be dead.

Another sigh escaped and Stephanie decided she needed some physical activity to calm her mind. “I’m going for a walk,” she informed the cat, allowing him to jump down from her arms.

It only took her a few minutes to get dressed and find her hiking boots. She also paused to get her service weapon. Though she’d never had to use it, it was good to have at hand just in case she needed to discourage a creature from attacking. Better safe than sorry.

Carrying the boots downstairs, she slipped out the side door and sat on the step and slipped into her boots. After making sure they were tied tightly, she stood and glanced around at the moonlight-gilded landscape.

It didn’t matter how long she stayed here or how many times she saw it, the land here was a different place in the moonlight. The stark contrasts between the silvered surfaces and the black shadows stripped away the softness of the day, leaving the land looking like something from a fairy tale – or a nightmare.

Most nights she enjoyed her walks in the moonlight, taking comfort from the fact this same light was falling on her family and friends in Trenton. Here in the shadows of a slumbering land, she could commune with a world unseen, unknown, one that had become little more than a shadow to her mind and heart.

At night, away from civilization, had become the only time she allowed herself to think or acknowledge her past. It wasn’t until this afternoon she realized how much she hid from herself, even in the safe cover of darkness.

She continued on the familiar path she walked on these solitary journeys, enjoying the rustling of the grasses and leaves, the occasional call of a bird and even the rustle of small creatures.

City lights, nightclubs, and dense population had colored the night world in Trenton. Things best not acknowledged meant it was never safe to be out on her own.

The night world in Montana was colored by moonlight, leaving the world looking as if fairies had come and frosted the rocks and plants, sprinkling magic and wonder on the surface. There was danger here in the night as well, but not like in Trenton. The trouble she could run into here was something she could handle.

She came to the small stream that ran along through the side of her property and stood still watching the glittering water tumble and churn over the rocks.

Settling on the ground next to the stream, she stared out at the landscape and allowed the gentle burbling to sooth and quiet her turbulent mind.

It didn’t take long until her mind was blank and the tension began to seep out of her.

Continued in Part 17 – 008. White Noise

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