Miscellanea from the Lost Quarter and beyond.

Autumn Nights

He picked her up in town while the dusk was still creeping through the air. They left the streets behind and soon were passing yellow fields. In the distance a few combines made steady progress, stalked by trucks waiting to be filled. To the west the hills loomed, great shadows on the horizon, the sun hidden behind them, though its light remained for now. He turned off the road onto a narrow laneway, ignoring the private property sign. The trail descended into a valley ending at an irrigation canal. Water flowed through it along the valley, low and dark against the concrete banks, unheard over the sound of the wind slipping through the grass and trees. The valley was dotted with them in the low points where water gathered in spring, golden sentinels watching them as they walked along the levee. 

 They had not spoken aside from their first greeting when she had climbed inside the truck. Now they did as they made their aimless way along the bank, pausing when she saw some fallen leaves gathered beneath a tree. She never missed a chance to hear the sound of them crackling beneath her footsteps. Small pleasures. They spoke of inconsequential things. Days that had passed, days still to come. The things left unsaid were what mattered. Being there together, alone, as the day became night. They turned back once the canal began to climb out of the valley. Hand in hand they went to the truck as the moon rose in the east.