I’m in the alley calling out Yuni’s name. She’s not there. I walk into the yard and climb up the rope ladder into the tree house. The pillows and blankets are just as I’d left them. I sit in the rocking chair and close my eyes. The sound of passing cars puts me to sleep. Minutes later a cool breese wakes me and I get up for a blanket to cover myself with. I sit in the rocking chair again and curl up under the blanket. I hear a meow. I look out the window and see an orange striped cat in the neighbor’s yard. It meows again. It’s a different meow than Alan Turing’s. This cat’s meow is timid. It’s a shy meow. I’m sitting, wondering what might have happened to Alan Turing. My thoughts turn to Yuni. I remember the old lady at Wal-Mart and the phone call I got when I woke up on the roof and Yuni was gone. V was the woman’s name. Soon I’m asleep again.
I dream that I’m walking along a trail in the mountains. The air is cold and I can see my own breath as I walk. I come to a fork in the path. One path is much like the one I’ve been on and the other path climbs up toward the top of the moutain. I choose the path that goes up. As I begin up the trail a voice behind me says, “I wouldn’t go that way. It’s dangerous up there.” I look back and see an old man sitting on a fallen tree several feet from the path.
“What’s up there?” I say.
“A lot of hiker’s have gotten lost and never return.”
“Have you been up there?”
“A few times, but never far.”
“I’ll be careful,” I say. “Thank for the warning, though.”
“How about you let me join you, then? You wouldn’t mind the company, would you?”
“Wouldn’t mind at all,” I say.
The old man gets up and we both head up the trail. He introduces himself as Claude and tells me he’s here with his wife Shannon.
“I asked if she wanted to come for a walk,” he says, “but she decided to stay and catch up on some reading.”
We’re both walking at a brisk pace and I’m surprised at how fit the old man is. There are a lot of forks in the path and we always pick the path that goes up toward the mountaintop. The trail begins to thin out and it’s hard to know which way to go. The old man is right behind me and tells me we’re doing fine. Now there is no trail to speak of, but I continue climbing. It’s starting to get dark and I think it might be time to turn back.
“You think we should be heading back, Claude?” I turn and he’s not there. “Claude?” I start walking down the way we came. “Claude?” There’s no sign of him. The sun is setting and it’s getting dark. I keep walking down the mountain. Nothing seems familiar to me, but I figure down is the only way to go. When I get to a valley I’m sure we hadn’t crossed, I wonder if I should start looking for firewood before it’s completey dark or should keep trying to find my way back. I’m starting to get very cold.
Then sounds from below wake me from my dream. It’s Zan. I get up and as I’m folding the blanket I wonder how long I slept. I can’t tell if it was ten minutes or an hour. That was a strange dream. It felt very real and I’m glad it’s over. I put the blanket in the corner, on top of the others, and head down the rope ladder.
Zan is pruning one of the bushes. He feels around with one hand in order to determine where to cut off the branches. It feels strange to go up to him, but he’s the only person who might be able to tell me about Yuni.
“Hi,” I say. He stops what he’s doing and looks toward me. I can’t tell if he’s looking at me or not. “I’m a friend of Yuni’s and I haven’t seen her lately. I thought you might know something.”
“I’m afraid I can’t talk about the girl,” he says and returns to his pruning.
“I’m worried about her, that’s all.”
“Please understand that I can’t talk about her.” He’s not facing me now. “I can get into a lot of trouble.”
“Trouble with who?”
“I work for some very powerful people. You don’t want to get in trouble with powerful people.”
“No. I guess not,” I say. “Sorry to bother you.”
I walk out into the alley and go home.
Chapter 14
