The
path ran between two rocky shoulders of the hill overlooking the
plantation, through sparse bushes and low trees. The stranger was
keeping up a decent pace, but so was Yuka. In fact, she was mostly
running off ahead and occasionally coming back to check up on his
progress.
The moon was full and the path could be clearly seen, as well as the stars
After a while the path started bearing more and more to the north, away from the hilltop. The stranger seemed to notice that and stopped for a moment hesitating. He then almost immediately turned off the path and started trudging through the undergrowth straight towards the hilltop. Yuka followed, even though she had to zigzag quite a bit to avoid bushes and rocks that the stranger simply stepped over.
After a somewhat arduous fifteen minutes in the thickets, the dog and the human reached another path, that forked in three directions. One led west, to a couple of taller peaks, one south down to the coast and the last one directly to the hilltop overlooking the plantation. The stranger deliberated for a second, then took the latter path.
The top of the hill was completely bare and consisted of some big rocks and boulders piled loosely together. The stranger quickly strode up to the highest point and sat down. Yuka attempted to do the same, but encountered an impassable obstacle on the way. There was a crevice in the rocks deeper than her height and wider than her step. She couldn't cross it. A search for alternative routes proved hopeless too: there were none, so she thought. The stranger seemed to disagree on this point and tried to guide Yuka to a surface a bit further down that seamlessly led to his position. That surface, however, was a slightly narrow ledge with a dead branch cutting through its middle. To Yuka, who was afraid of heights, this was impassable.
After several unsuccessful attempts to coax the dog into joining him, the stranger got down from the summit and headed back in the direction of the forked path. Yuka, overjoyed to be on familiar turf again, sped to the path intersection and immediately turned left, hoping that the stranger would follow her down into the valley. This was not his plan, however, as she discovered when he continued on straight ahead in the direction of the taller hills. She retraced her steps and tagged along.
This path dipped into the saddle between the hills and then wound methodically up the side of one of the taller ones. Even though it got steep sometimes, there were no big obstacles or stretches of loose rocks, so it was easy going for both and they reached the top in an effortless twenty minutes.
Once there they saw a seemingly forsaken house that nonetheless had a respectably threatening "private property" sign in front of it and was flanked on the western side by some trees. The hilltop itself was bare save for some tall bushes and other undergrowth, staples of the region's flora.
The stranger again stopped and started looking around at the landscape and up at the sky. He looked like he was enjoying it. The view was indeed in a way extraordinary. To the east lay a flat strip of coastline, teeming with yellow, orange, and white lights from the nearby cities and towns. As one's gaze turned to the west, however, one beheld a sudden decrease in lighting where the coastal valley ended the hills began. The hills themselves marched in seemingly endless rows of grey and black humps from the north to the south with occasional valleys or towers radiating light here and there.
The stranger started in the direction of the hills, stopped (as if contemplating whether or not to go further), and finally turned to the direction whence they came. Yuka followed.
They soon reached the intersection of the paths again. Once more the dog turned left intending to finally leave all elevations behind and once more the human continued on straight, heading for the rocky hilltop that she could not scale earlier that night. This time was no different: the same crevice, the same directions from the human, the same result.
This time, however, the stranger seemed determined to cross over the top. After several unsuccessful attempts to lure the dog up to the rocks, he came down himself and sat down on the ground. Yuka ran away down the hill, hoping again that the stranger might join her, then returned and approached . Then he moved in closer, slowly extending one arm towards the dog. She ducked down, but stayed put. The stranger picked her up, she started shivering. Holding the dog, he sprang over several boulders then set her down on a rock. She instantly found a path down from there and sped to a lower spot on the hillside, then turned to check if he was following. He was still at the top, looking around. one could see the compound, a whitish rectangle at the foot of the hill.
The stranger seemed to be enjoying the view of the hills to the north and the plantation directly below. Yuka, however, was not. For one thing, being a young and active dog, she wanted to run off somewhere. Then there were also the height and the big rocks: she liked neither and wanted to be away from them as soon as possible.
She waited, impatiently. Finally, he started the descent. The hillside was steeper than any of the previous ones and the path was full of loose pebbles. Yuka kept speeding down home, but the stranger was making miserable progress down the slope, slowly trying to find a solid foothold, slipping constantly and even falling from time to time. When he finally caught up with Yuka at the foot of the hill he was covered in dust and had a little blood on the left palm.
They were on one of the orange fields and a dirt road led them directly to the home compound. The main gate was closed, it being past midnight at the time. The stranger tried the back door, but it was locked too. He then proceeded to climb over the low wall and head into the house. Yuka waited a little bit and then ran over to a familiar hole in the wall on the other side of the compound and thus ended the night.
Two mornings later the strangers got into the van with the Owner and left. A little over an hour later the Owner returned with the van, but without the strangers.
The moon was full and the path could be clearly seen, as well as the stars
After a while the path started bearing more and more to the north, away from the hilltop. The stranger seemed to notice that and stopped for a moment hesitating. He then almost immediately turned off the path and started trudging through the undergrowth straight towards the hilltop. Yuka followed, even though she had to zigzag quite a bit to avoid bushes and rocks that the stranger simply stepped over.
After a somewhat arduous fifteen minutes in the thickets, the dog and the human reached another path, that forked in three directions. One led west, to a couple of taller peaks, one south down to the coast and the last one directly to the hilltop overlooking the plantation. The stranger deliberated for a second, then took the latter path.
The top of the hill was completely bare and consisted of some big rocks and boulders piled loosely together. The stranger quickly strode up to the highest point and sat down. Yuka attempted to do the same, but encountered an impassable obstacle on the way. There was a crevice in the rocks deeper than her height and wider than her step. She couldn't cross it. A search for alternative routes proved hopeless too: there were none, so she thought. The stranger seemed to disagree on this point and tried to guide Yuka to a surface a bit further down that seamlessly led to his position. That surface, however, was a slightly narrow ledge with a dead branch cutting through its middle. To Yuka, who was afraid of heights, this was impassable.
After several unsuccessful attempts to coax the dog into joining him, the stranger got down from the summit and headed back in the direction of the forked path. Yuka, overjoyed to be on familiar turf again, sped to the path intersection and immediately turned left, hoping that the stranger would follow her down into the valley. This was not his plan, however, as she discovered when he continued on straight ahead in the direction of the taller hills. She retraced her steps and tagged along.
This path dipped into the saddle between the hills and then wound methodically up the side of one of the taller ones. Even though it got steep sometimes, there were no big obstacles or stretches of loose rocks, so it was easy going for both and they reached the top in an effortless twenty minutes.
Once there they saw a seemingly forsaken house that nonetheless had a respectably threatening "private property" sign in front of it and was flanked on the western side by some trees. The hilltop itself was bare save for some tall bushes and other undergrowth, staples of the region's flora.
The stranger again stopped and started looking around at the landscape and up at the sky. He looked like he was enjoying it. The view was indeed in a way extraordinary. To the east lay a flat strip of coastline, teeming with yellow, orange, and white lights from the nearby cities and towns. As one's gaze turned to the west, however, one beheld a sudden decrease in lighting where the coastal valley ended the hills began. The hills themselves marched in seemingly endless rows of grey and black humps from the north to the south with occasional valleys or towers radiating light here and there.
The stranger started in the direction of the hills, stopped (as if contemplating whether or not to go further), and finally turned to the direction whence they came. Yuka followed.
They soon reached the intersection of the paths again. Once more the dog turned left intending to finally leave all elevations behind and once more the human continued on straight, heading for the rocky hilltop that she could not scale earlier that night. This time was no different: the same crevice, the same directions from the human, the same result.
This time, however, the stranger seemed determined to cross over the top. After several unsuccessful attempts to lure the dog up to the rocks, he came down himself and sat down on the ground. Yuka ran away down the hill, hoping again that the stranger might join her, then returned and approached . Then he moved in closer, slowly extending one arm towards the dog. She ducked down, but stayed put. The stranger picked her up, she started shivering. Holding the dog, he sprang over several boulders then set her down on a rock. She instantly found a path down from there and sped to a lower spot on the hillside, then turned to check if he was following. He was still at the top, looking around. one could see the compound, a whitish rectangle at the foot of the hill.
The stranger seemed to be enjoying the view of the hills to the north and the plantation directly below. Yuka, however, was not. For one thing, being a young and active dog, she wanted to run off somewhere. Then there were also the height and the big rocks: she liked neither and wanted to be away from them as soon as possible.
She waited, impatiently. Finally, he started the descent. The hillside was steeper than any of the previous ones and the path was full of loose pebbles. Yuka kept speeding down home, but the stranger was making miserable progress down the slope, slowly trying to find a solid foothold, slipping constantly and even falling from time to time. When he finally caught up with Yuka at the foot of the hill he was covered in dust and had a little blood on the left palm.
They were on one of the orange fields and a dirt road led them directly to the home compound. The main gate was closed, it being past midnight at the time. The stranger tried the back door, but it was locked too. He then proceeded to climb over the low wall and head into the house. Yuka waited a little bit and then ran over to a familiar hole in the wall on the other side of the compound and thus ended the night.
Two mornings later the strangers got into the van with the Owner and left. A little over an hour later the Owner returned with the van, but without the strangers.
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