Nine months later
A gentle breeze caused the newly emerged leaves to wave excitedly. Birds filled the sky as they flew back and forth in intimate aerial mating dances. Closer to the ground, bees busily buzzed from flower to flower. In the middle of the path, a litter of newborn bunnies tumbled around as they wrestled one another.
The rider paused and laughed at their antics. It wasn’t simply because spring was his favorite season. He had finally escaped from the city. He knew that this newfound freedom would be short, but he was determined to enjoy it.
The horse neighed impatiently and strained against the reins to continue their journey.
The rider pulled the data pad from its pouch on his belt and checked his position. When he left Philadelphia early that morning, his instructions were simple. Follow the gravel path running along the Delaware River as it meandered north. It was nearly impossible for him to get lost but he still worried about being so close to the frontier.
The monitor indicated that he was almost to his destination and the sun was still high in the sky.
He slid down from the saddle. He was anxious to reach the village but knew that nothing would begin until he arrived. Tomorrow would mark a momentous event. An event that was so important that the festivities would begin tonight with a banquet in his honor and continue through the next day’s ceremonies.
The simple sounds of nature called seductively to him. The silence was deafening in contrast to the constant activity of the city.
Succumbing to the desire, he led the horse off the path and through the sea of brightly colored flowers of the meadow along the slowly moving river. He could not waste the opportunity to enjoy a spring afternoon away from the city. He would readily give up his life in the city, but that choice was not his to make. His calling was to serve the people of Philadelphia. He knew that with more seniority he could submit a request but it was unlikely that he would ever be reassigned. Societal needs dictated that these decisions were seldom based on the desires of the individual. It was ironic that because of his junior status, he was getting his wish, even momentarily by being dispatched to the smaller villages in the area.
The solitude of the moment was broken by the sounds of voices drifting up from the river. Ferrymen navigated the Delaware carrying goods between the villages of Pennsylvania and the Port of Philadelphia. Since it was spring, the boats were lazily drifting home on the currents after dropping off supplies upriver.
As the boat disappeared around a bend he returned to his solitude. He wasn’t going to allow this disturbance to ruin his enjoyment. He had lived in the city long enough to accept a constant stream of interruptions. Despite the best efforts of the government to contain it, Philadelphia continued to grow. During the mid-summer festival the population soared to ten or sometimes fifteen thousand people packing the city to the point of bursting. These visitors strained the resources of the standing population of nearly four thousand. It was difficult to imagine that the stories of the old city could possibly be true. It seemed almost nonsensical to believe that the region could support the million or more people that were rumored to have once lived here. He knew that he wasn’t going to melt from a little rain, so he closed his eyes again.
Heavy clouds rolled menacingly across the darkening sky. A deep rumble of thunder signaled the impending arrival of a much more serious storm. The light mist abruptly changed into fat rain drops that pelted the man.
He opened his eyes and realized that this was going to be more than a mere inconvenience. As he struggled with his pack to find his rain slicker, he looked into the disapproving eyes of the horse. “Don’t say it. You were right. If we hadn’t stopped we wouldn’t have been caught in the rain.”
The horse continued to struggle as if trying to escape, its eyes wide with terror.
The man looked back to see what was causing the horse this distress. In the distance beyond the road, shadowy figures emerged from the trees and advanced toward the man and his horse. He choked. His heart was trapped in his throat. He knew that he had ventured to close to the frontier.
Previous: Chapter 1
Next: Chapter 3
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