Episode 7: The Rover

It was a bright, sunny day and I was weeding out the garden - my punishment for last night's behaviour. Thankfully, my parents just thought that I left the party early but reached home late because of a few wrong turns. They weren't that far from the truth.

Grandpa sat on an old folding chair, eyes closed, soaking in vitamin d. This was my chance. Maybe he could give me the answers I had been looking for.

"Grandpa?" I asked casually.

"Hmm?" he replied, half dazed.

"Are there people who live in the woods?"

"That's absurd. Those woods are wild. No human being, I know of, has ever been able to settle in that land. Ofcourse, many tried. But it's like the forest does not accept them."

Grandpa's last sentence reminded me of the old man who had attacked me the first day. I shrugged the thought away.

"Do you remember how you used to tell us stories about the forest when we were young? You used to tell us that the forest had its own secrets."

"Did I?" he looked at the sky thoughtfully. "Old-age is taking over me. I seem to forget things a lot these days."

An unknown fear stirred in my heart. "No, you aren't old. My grandpa's evergreen," I smiled and hoped it was convincing. He smiled back.

"But it is true. The forest has it's own secrets. When I was younger, a lot younger than you are now, we had a group. We called ourselves Rover." Grandpa paused a little, eyes closed, probably recalling his lost days. "We were bent on searching for mysteries, seeking adventures," grandpa looked up, smiling gleefully. He looked surprisingly younger and high spirited. "That's how I ended up here, in Meadow Town."

"We aren't originally from here!" I exclaimed, greatly shocked.

"You are, dear. In all aspects, you have always belonged here. Your parents were born here. They grew up, fell in love and had you here. Your roots are here. As for me, I was a wanderer. Rover was a group of five guys, brazen, youthful and hot-blooded. Spring time of our lives. We travelled from places to places, searching, and our group got smaller as one by one they found something that interested them enough for them to stick around. I was the only one who couldn't be held back. Ofcourse, it made me sad that I had to continue by myself and I tried to be happy for them that they had finally found their destiny. The Bluebuds have always been susceptible to loneliness. You must know it well."

I did. I knew that feeling of drowning ever so deep. I knew giving up hope and embracing the darkness and wanting to drown deeper. I knew the dark void of numbness. I felt it all.

"After running after vain adventures, I finally came to Meadow Town," grandpa started again. I looked up at him. His face was bright. "And I finally found my destiny, the mystery I have been seeking all my life; the home I couldn't find anywhere else and the company I have craved for so long. I found the love of my life. Your grandmother," a wide grin was playing on his face. It warmed up my heart.

"What was she like?" I asked him.

"Like the cherry blossoms of my spring. The cure to my loneliness. She was a home to this rover."