The Owl and the Hot Tub

Harbinger of change

Landing with a thud at the bottom of the embankment Scott checked himself for broken bones. He was okay but there would surely be bruises. Perhaps the biggest bruise was to his pride. He was a skilled trekker and the fall he took was the sign of a neophyte hiker.

He was glad that he was alone and no one saw his tumble. But then he realized that if he had indeed broken some bones then there would have been no one to help him. And there was no cellphone reception this far out in the wilderness.

Scott sat down on a boulder to rest and compose himself. He worked as a trek guide taking groups of people on long hikes into the wilderness. In the winter he worked as a ski instructor. For the last six years he worked outside year round. He considered himself lucky but lately he had been feeling a yearning to move on to new places and new experiences.

Sometimes when there were no group treks scheduled Scott would take a solitary one. He had to always be moving and felt stifled if he was not. While he enjoyed immensely his solitary hikes he preferred trekking with a group. He noticed that people change when they are out-of-doors. Far out in nature their basic and best features seemed to come out. Out of their element, their interactions with the others were more sincere and engaging. When they were forced to rely on each other a lot of their prejudices and mental gamesmanship seemed to fade away. People were so different indoors.

Scott thought about Tanni, his girlfriend. She was a trek leader, too. They met and fell in love five years earlier on a four-day trek they jointly led. They had taken many treks since then, just the two of them. Usually they were taking out different groups so whenever they had a few days off they would go out alone. Sex was so much more passionate out-of-doors.

Scott was quickly filled with guilt as he remembered an incident from a few weeks before. He was out in the wilderness with a group and as camp was being set up he went out to gather firewood. Realizing that he was being followed, he turned to see a young woman approach him. Before he knew it they were kissing. But then Scott stopped it, telling her that he had a girlfriend. That was as far as it went but since then he could not get that kiss out of his mind. He was filled with both guilt and excitement.

Turning his thoughts back to Tanni, he realized that they had not taken a hike together in several weeks. He missed the outdoors Tanni. He lamented the fact that he loved the outdoors Tanni more than the indoors Tanni. She was like a different person indoors. Curiously, she once told him that he seemed like a different person indoors, too.

Sadness blew over Scott like a soft wind as he realized that he and Tanni had been drifting apart.

Looking across the rocky gully near the boulder he was sitting on, Scott suddenly noticed an owl standing atop a boulder on the other side of the gully. The owl was staring intensely at him. The sadness melted away and was replaced with a sharp dread.

Owls are nocturnal but this owl was watching him in the middle of the day. Scott knew that some native people believed that owls sometime bring bad omens — especially during the day. He could feel his skin tingling.

Letting out a screech, the owl abruptly took flight and headed in the direction of the lodge.

Standing up from the boulder Scott took some deep breaths then put on his backpack. With his fresh bruises he decided to cut the hike short and head back to the lodge.

On the way back to the lodge Scott kept thinking about the hot tub he would soon be in. He knew he would be sore in the morning but a long hot soak would surely help.

At the lodge he went into the locker room and stashed his backpack and clothes in a locker and, with just trunks on, he went into the hot tub room. He had barely stepped into the room when he saw Tanni and John, the lodge administrator, in the hot tub.

They were kissing.

They kept kissing, unaware that Scott had entered.

Scott yelled out, “John!”

Tanni and John broke apart and looked at Scott. They froze like deer caught in headlights.

“John, you’re just the man I wanted to see. I hereby give you my resignation, effective immediately.” With this Scott turned and left the room.

He went back in the locker room to get dressed. A moment later Tanni, a towel wrapped around her, came barging into the locker room.

“Scott, what happened? Why are you back so soon? And, oh my god, what is that gash on your shoulder?”

“I had a fall. And an owl told me that I should come back to the lodge so that I could see you and John kissing.”

“I’m so sorry. I… I… I… An owl?”

Scott held up his hand, “That’s okay. You don’t need to say anything. Go back and finish your soak.”

“Oh Scott, I’m so, so sorry. I… Uh… What are you gonna do? Why are you quitting? Don’t do this because of me. I’m so, so sorry…”

“Tanni, I need a change of scenery. And I need to get away from you — the indoor Tanni. I think I’m gonna go to Alaska. It’s one of the wildest places left and it’s far away.”

As Scott finished dressing, Tanni broke into tears.

Slinging his backpack over his one good shoulder, Scott leaned towards Tanni and softly kissed her on her cheek, adamantly avoiding her mouth, “Good-bye.”

It was not long before Scott was in his Jeep Wagoneer headed for the nearest airport. Several miles into the trip he passed a mile marker sign atop which sat an owl. He wondered if it was the same owl.

Copyright by White Feather. All Rights Reserved. This is a work of fiction.

Speaking of running away…