Glowstone Point

Andrew found nothing enjoyable about camping, but he decided he'd do it once more for Lyla. Making Lyla happy was in his best interest, so he packed up the Civic and drove the 200 miles from St. Louis to Shades State Park in Indiana, determined to set up camp in Glowstone Point for one night. It had taken weeks of begging for Lyla to convince him to make the trek, but he honestly felt no better for relenting.

Andrew turned the Civic into the northernmost parking lot at Shades and winced as the park's entrance came into view. It was an involuntary reaction that he hoped Lyla didn't notice. He really wanted to push Lyla out of the car and jet all 200 miles back home, but he knew he'd never hear the end of it if he did. The dashboard display showed 55 degrees outside now, during what would probably be the warmest part of the day. Lyla grabbed his hand and squeezed. Andrew smiled faintly.

No reason to put this off, he thought. He grabbed his gear from the backseat, a backpack with enough supplies to get through one night, and headed toward the forest that Lyla had already entered, waiting for him to catch up to her.

Glowstone Point was about a mile away from the parking lot, but Andrew still knew the fastest way to reach it. Taking the left side trail through the forest, he and Lyla soon arrived at the wooden staircases, which winded down three landings until Andrew reached the park's low ground, Pearl Ravine. Lyla began to get ahead of him, practically running toward Sugar Creek. Soon she was out of his sight and he was relieved to relax the expression on his face.

Looking around as he trudged through the woods, he longed for music or an audio book, some external distraction. However, Andrew immediately reminded himself that despite the mind-numbing, repetitive display of trees, grass, and dirt, he was there to immerse himself in reflection. Anyway, he knew what he'd hear if he tried.

He heard Lyla giggling above him and he saw that she had found her way to the top of the ravine. He tried to match her enthusiasm for nature, but never could. Sure, there were more important things in a relationship, but Andrew wished he was the type that looked forward to walking in the woods instead of wondering how the Cardinals were playing or who'd be hanging out at Good Luck Bar that night.

As he continued walking through the ravine, Andrew realized that he was whistling a familiar song, "Sour Times" by Portishead, one of Lyla's favorites. Andrew quickly stopped and thrust his cold hands into his pockets. Soon after, the ravine flattened out and he could hear the creek flowing ahead of him.

Sugar Creek ran along the northern border of Shades and served as a boundary. The park asked that people not camp past its rushing waters, but many people did. Lyla and Andrew had themselves broken the rule twelve years earlier, and now Andrew would break it once more. As he reached the shore, Andrew looked across the creek to Canoe Island where Lyla Glowstone, or perhaps the thing that looked like Lyla Glowstone, stood smiling and waiting to lead Andrew north of the creek, up to the campsite that was named in her memory.