Page 26 of Wildly Yours
Serena kneels while I lift it, and together we stand it back up after digging into the soil a bit. Then we clear out the area around it so that it is obviously a gravesite.
"Now what?"
"Now I know where it is, so I can make sure we tend to it. I want to honor his wife's wishes, even though there aren't any living family members in the area. I might be the only person who will come up here to visit this grave."
"If she had him buried here, he must have loved this land. And you love this land. So I think it's just fine if you are the only one to visit him."
She dusts off her hands and picks up the shears.
"Should we clear it a little more just in case?"
"Knock yourself out. Seems like you need more outdoor time. When was the last time you went on a hike?"
"You mean besides today?"
"Yeah."
"Years."
"Fishing? Hunting?"
"Years. My dad brings me a bit of deer meat here and there, but it's usually just enough to remind me that I haven't been out in the woods in a long time. Hey, wait! We need a picture of you here for our community blog. It's the perfect feel good story. Park Ranger finds long forgotten grave of Park Founder."
Serena pulls out her cell phone and directs me where to stand. She backs up a couple feet to get a better view, and just as she's framing the photo, she trips over the damn shovel and falls on her ass.
"Ouch, oh crap!"
She wraps her hands around her ankle as tears break through her lashes.
I fall to her side, and gently pull her hands away so I can take a peek.
"Think you sprained it?"
"It was a nasty twist I just did."
"I stupidly left my first aid kit back at the visitor center. I'm going to grab a few things to stabilize it."
"Are you hiking back down there?"
"No. I'm not leaving you up here by yourself. I'm going to grab some pieces of wood. Hang on."
I push through the brush and back toward the shed. Along the way I find some soft wood I can cut with my Bowie knife. I grab a few pieces and then head back her way, just as the noise from the mining operation kicks up a notch.
"Wow. That really is noisy. I can see why you're going to all this trouble looking for a way to put a stop to that."
"It is. Now, this isn't going to be pretty, but it should work." I cut two pieces of wood down to fit on either side of her ankle, then pull off my coat and hoodie, stripping off my Henley so I'm down to my t-shirt.
"Um, what are you doing?"
"Making some binding cloth."
I strip off my t-shirt and put my Henley back on. Then I cut the t-shirt into long strips, so I can tie the wood to her ankle. She's not going to need to walk on it, but I don't want her twisting it anymore if she bumps into anything on the way back down the hill. Once my makeshift splint is ready, I put my hoodie and coat back on, sheath my knife, and then get up to a kneeling position.
"You ready?"
"I don't think I can walk on it, even with your brilliant surgical skills."
"You won't have to. I'm going to carry you."
