The Keeping(77)
*****
Mel sat in her cabin staring blankly at the computer screen, waiting for it to download the pictures that she’d taken with Ryne the previous day. She frowned at the screen wondering why it was taking so long; there seemed to be a lot more pictures in the file than she thought there should be. Idly she wiped a bit of dust from the screen with her finger, contemplating the fact that she really should buy one of those little laptop cleaning kits when she got back to Chicago. Maybe she’d check out Brown’s General store when she was in town tomorrow—for such a backwoods type of location, it did seem to have quite a varied product line. Adding that to her mental to-do list, she glanced at the screen and sat up straight, a look of anticipation spreading across her face. Ah, the pictures were done downloading.
Disconnecting the camera from the laptop, she put the cable away and tucked the camera back into its carrying case, mindful of the fact that it was just a loan. Then, turning back to the computer, she found her picture file and began to scroll through, looking for her nature shots, anxious to see how they’d turned out. Scanning down the menu, she found the proper folder and opened it up. A bubble of happiness grew within her as she examined the fruits of her labours. Darn, but the pictures weren’t half bad!
After going through the photos twice, she gave herself a congratulatory pat on the back. For a beginner, she felt she’d done pretty well and was eager to show Ryne how they’d turned out. Hmm... Maybe she’d even take a few more on her own and surprise him with how well she’d remembered what he taught her. Glancing at her watch, she saw that it was only four o’clock—plenty of time to go for a walk, snap a few pictures and be back home before dark.
Closing the folder with her pictures, she noticed another folder just above it. Now what had she put in that one? She really did need to sit down one day and organize her hard drive with proper labels, she muttered to herself. Quickly clicking the folder open, she scanned the contents. That was strange—she didn’t remember taking any of these pictures. Huh...and who were those people? As her finger hovered on the mouse, she suddenly realized that these must be pictures Ryne had taken and never erased from the chip. She’d accidentally downloaded them with her own. Well, she’d just delete them later, she decided, pushing away from the table without further thought. She wanted to get outside and take more photos while the light was still good. Chuckling, she thought of the phrase she had just used—‘while the light was still good’ made her sound like she really knew what she was doing.
Grabbing the camera and her coat, she headed outside. From the top of the step, she surveyed her surroundings, considering which direction to head. Hmm... There was a stream not far away; Beth had told her about it. Thinking it might provide an interesting bit of subject material, she headed that way.
A half an hour later, she sat crouched beside the stream, tired from her hike—these people had no concept of ‘not far away’—but pleased with what she was seeing. Recent rain had swelled what she’d been told was a small lazy stream, into a swiftly moving waterway that could almost be dubbed a river. Still, the location provided a number of possibilities and Mel spent quite a bit of time trying to capture images of water drops splashing upwards around rocks and partially submerged bits of log. Occasionally a leaf or bit of grass would go floating by, twirling in the current and bobbing up and down.
Feeling adventuresome, Mel carefully picked her way along a set of makeshift stepping stones that led almost to the middle of the stream. The water and bits of mud that had washed up onto them, made them somewhat slippery, but she was confident in her ability to keep her balance. After all, she could walk on four inch heels. This couldn’t be that much trickier, could it?
Placing each foot carefully on a relatively flat surface, she bent forward, intent on taking a picture of an old weathered log. The water was eddying around it, and the light danced off the surface, shimmering like so many diamonds. It would make a lovely shot.
Slowly she bent her knees to get the proper angle, then she framed the shot in the view finder. Yep, that was it. She snapped a few pictures, before shifting the camera ninety degrees to get a different angle. Even better. Zooming in, she focused on a leaf that was momentarily caught on the edge of the log and, when it finally worked its way free, she stood to watch its progress as it moved down stream. A slight movement to the right had her swinging her head to the side. There at the base of a pine tree sat the largest wolf she’d ever seen. It was as black as the night except for intense blue eyes that seemed to stare right through her.