The Trail to Sunrise

“Thanks, but I’m sure we’ll be fine in our tents.  We’ve pitched them on a flat area down the hill and we’re in a clearing away from any large trees.   Justin and I have been in rainstorms before in our tents.  Our pegs are firmly in the ground and our rain flies are tightly fastened.”

“Okay, we’ll probably be seeing you again up the trail, and remember if this storm gets too rough, you’re welcome to come back up here to the shelter,” Jimmy offered.

“We appreciate that and thank you for the singing and guitar playing tonight.  I know we all had a good time,” Father said with an extended arm to shake Jimmy’s hand.

“That was the most fun I’ve ever had at a campfire,” Emma beamed.

“I didn’t think I’d like it, but I did, thanks,” Justin said.

“Good night to all,” Mom said as she and her family to disappeared into the darkness.

Several “good nights,” could be heard from the men in the shelter and the family used the light of the fire to guide their first few steps back to their tent sites. 

As the light faded father said, “Justin, can we please use your flashlight?  I left mine back in the tent.”

“I don’t have one either, Dad,” Justin admitted.

“Nobody gave me a flashlight,” Emma said in a moderately annoyed tone.

“Well, can we make it back to the tents in the dark, or should we go back to the shelter to borrow a flashlight?” Mother wondered aloud.

“No need to borrow one, we have a general sense of where we’re going,” Father said from the lead position of the nightwalkers.  Then, suddenly he could be heard to stumble and say a word Emma knew he shouldn’t have said.

“Are you alright, Tom?” his wife asked.  Even though she knew she could probably reach out to touch him she could see nothing.  The night was completely dark and the lights from the shelter were now as faint as a firefly’s tail.

“Yes, I’m okay but we’ll have to hold hands and walk very slowly.  I’ll have to stick my foot out in front of me to check for any obstacles.  I know now what the saying ‘pitch dark’ means.  I can’t even see my hand right in front of my eyes.  I can’t see anything.”

“This must be what it’s like to be blind,” Justin said.

“You’re exactly right,” his mother said, “and that’s why blind people learn to rely on their other senses to make up for the loss of sight.”

“Good thinking, LuAnn, can you come up front with me and feel above us for tree branches and I’ll feel the ground with my feet.  Justin and Emma, you will need to be our listeners.  Pay attention for sounds that might help us find our way back to camp.”

“Sure, Dad, we’ll listen for any sounds,” Justin said.  “The only sense we don’t need is taste.”

“What if you swallow a bug you can’t see?  You’d probably taste that,” Emma said to her brother by her side. 

“Just be quiet and listen,” he said. 

“Emma you are a very good listener, and we’re counting on you to hear the flapping of the rain flies on our tents,” her mother said as she noticed the wind had become stronger. 

Then, suddenly, a loud clap of thunder could be heard in the distance.  As the rumble faded, a faint flash of lightning lit the sky above the mountaintop. 

“I heard that,” Emma said, “and I also hear the sound of the creek.”