1

Every spring, folk meandered through wilderness to find themselves. There was always something to be found—something new to discover, something which could not be described.

Nikola’s brother could never describe it, however often he wandered in and out of wilderness, and he always returned home a few days older, dirtier. Nikola was always prepared that his brother would someday find himself and return someone anew. Lucas was after Lucas after all, until one day Nikola was invited to camp with him one lush summer.

The lace flowers were blooming along the side of a dirt road. Hikers shared the road with shepherds, sheep, cattle, wagons, puddles, mud, gnats, grasshoppers.… Corn stalks grew in formation in the fields. The sound of crickets hovered, sparkling.

A trail split from the road and lay beneath the fixed sign for Pearl Lakes Park between two wooden columns. From there, trees covered the land and shaded the road. Breezes drifted in the shade and along the trail up to the park ranger’s office. Morning sunlight hit the cedar tiles of the building; sunbeams split through the forest.

Lucas exited the office and fit an unfolded map in the spread of his arms. Young Nikola trailed him.

He wondered how Lucas could so easily read the swath of terrain. The way that his brother stood—tall, certain, a master of adventure—his poise was awesome. With all the time Lucas spent away from home, no wonder he seemed to have an air of wisdom, an aura of rugged! Camping did that! …But three hours….

“Is it really going to take three hours?” said Nikola. “Three hours just to get there. Three hours!”

“We can do it,” said Lucas. He handed Nikola the map.

Nikola stretched his arms wide to keep the map open. “Look at all these lakes! They can’t all be that different, right? It’s just water.”

“They say they are.”

Nikola pulled down the top of the map. Lucas was hurrying up the trail that went into the trees. Folk were coming up from the road and crowding the trail and park ranger’s office. Nikola rushed between hikers. The map crinkled and wrinkled.

“I still feel like we forgot something,” said Nikola.

“We probably did.”

“I hope not. Look at everyone else’s packs.”

Nikola bunched the map. He watched folk amble with their bulging packs. He wondered why it seemed that packs weren’t enough to hold things. Rolls of bedding were stacked and tied at the top of backpacks, pots and pans hung from straps at the bottom, dangled tin mugs clattered where laces tied down pack flaps, bundles of cloth were saddle-fastened. Was it so necessary to pack so much? …Maybe everyone else was simply well prepared?

“We definitely forgot something,” said Nikola.

“We’ll find out. Plus, that’s how you learn.”

Nikola felt he had much to learn about camping. He knew that the first thing to find was their campsite. So far there was a lot of hiking. At least there was shade. The sun was so hot that it was heavy!

The shaded trail lay under them. It curved out into the sunlight along the edge of a lake. Lucas paused and gazed upon the lake.

Nikola stared agape. It was the first of many gorgeous lakes, if he correctly understood Lucas, the park ranger, and the map.

The water was choppy. The edges sheened pearl. Warm wind pushed broken ripples along the jagged surface.

Over the rough trail, Lucas beckoned Nikola along. They passed the lake and strolled into the next shade of trees. The canopy waved in the wind. Sunlight dappled around the shadows of leaves on the trail.

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Nikola remarked that not a soul was ahead of them. He understood then why Lucas had insisted they go early. The views couldn’t be that different with people around, though, could it? Probably; Lucas almost always knew what he was talking about. He even seemed to know the trail by heart.

The trail curved around the edge of another lake. The distant other side was softened behind the haze. Grasses grew in the lake. Bright inflorescence bobbed above the grasses in the wind.

Nikola squinted at the sight. He marveled at the scene and felt glad that Lucas had paused as well. He was eager to hurry along the trails so they could pause at all the lakes. The rest must be just as powerful. Yes, Lucas knew what he was doing. He picked the best park!

Nikola stretched his arms out wide. The map crinkled open, and it bent with a scoop of wind. Holding tight, Nikola read the name of each lake along their hike.

He was sure that the farther they hiked, the more grand the lakes would be. The colors were already amazing! What trick of the sun!

All the lakes along their way glittered.

“And this one must be Feral Mane Lake,” said Nikola.

The water was smooth. Shallow waves slapped the banks. Sparrow wings flapped overhead. Crickets hushed.

Lucas put an arm around Nikola’s shoulders. “Listen.”

Nikola stood still. He nary budged an iris.

He felt he stood very, very still! So, why could he not hear anything? Was there a better way to listen? How come Lucas could hear something?

Lucas looked at him. Nikola searched his brother’s eyes, and they shared smiles. Lucas turned his gaze to the lake and dragged in a deep breath. He let it out long and slow.

“Deep Breath,” said Lucas. “C’mon, your turn.”

Nikola inhaled.

“Feel that?” said Lucas. “How salty it is. Fresh and clean and pure.”

Nikola breathed deeply and listened. He waited…for anything…. He was curious about the salt and the fresh and the clean and the pure. What was Lucas talking about? What salt? What was there to listen to? The silence?

“This is the best,” said Lucas.

Nikola chewed his bottom lip. He felt certain he was breathing wrong. He stood on his toes and sniffed.

Lucas eyed him. “Makes you relaxed and you can think about all the things that really matter. Can you smell it?”

Nikola smelled air. “I think so.”

He frowned. If Lucas smelled something that made him think about things that really mattered, why didn't it work for him too? And what did that mean for Lucas? What was it that really mattered? Why couldn’t he be made to think of things that mattered too? Just one more try….

“You coming?” Lucas called, walking off.

Nikola rushed three sniffs and sprinted after him. The scent of peach was in the air. The aroma was light in the shade of the trail, and humid and sticky under the sun by another large lake. All around, peach trees dangled fat fruits from crust-barked branches over the water.

Nikola tilted his head. He compared the lakes he’d seen. Why was this one so still? Was it even water?

Lucas pointed. “Oh, they look delicious, don’t they?”

“We can eat them?”

“Yeah, we’re allowed.”

Nikola’s gaze roved the peaches and the water and the peaches. He thought he could taste juice in their meandering fragrance. Were they truly delicious? Since when could Lucas pick out delicious fruit? This was a new side to Lucas!

Swollen peaches hung from dipped branch tips. A sparrow leapt from a cluster of peaches, and the branch bobbed and swayed. The bouncing peaches flashed silver off their downy skins.

Nikola smiled. He mused that peaches were furry like a wild beast. Would a baby wolf be just as small when balled up? Just barely fluffy? Hey, what would Lucas think?

“All right,” said Lucas, and he strolled up the trail.

Nikola stumbled after him. They crossed a breeze, and Nikola tilted his head and took deep whiffs. The smell was juicy and peachy and wet and ripe. He mused that the scent was tugging at him, as if it didn’t want him to go. Laughing, Nikola turned to gaze upon the lake once more before they entered the next wooded part of the trail.

Beneath the stretch of a branch where peaches hung…the water rippled in full circles….

The canopy came over their heads, and tree trunks drew over the view of the lake. Leaves rustled. Peach breezes split around trees.

Nikola’s gaze fell to his boots on the trail. He wondered what really mattered to Lucas. Didn’t everything matter? It must be part of the finding himself that Lucas always talked about. Did everyone do that when they camped?

“Nikola,” said Lucas. With his chin he pointed at a clearing down a path beside the long trail they followed.

Exhausted, panting, Nikola read the painted sign on a short post. “T44!” He rushed to the campsite and slumped on the ground.

Lucas laughed and set his pack beside a ring of stones. He rummaged and pulled out a tied cloth bundle. A few pinches untied the knots, and the corners of the cloth fell away to reveal monster marshmallows. Lucas picked one up and tossed it and caught it.

“Yes!” said Nikola. His eyes widened. He guessed that the marshmallow was as big as an apple. How roasted—how toasted!—would the first bite be?

“After we set up camp?” said Lucas.