Vanishing Creek Trail

 

            The leaves were beautiful up here. Jane was glad that she’d decided to do the hike this morning. Breathing in the crisp fall air, Jane felt better than she had for the last week. She had several exams coming up in her classes, and the worry about them had slowly been eating away at her. She’d studied so much in the past few days that she had trouble focusing on anything else.

            As Jane hiked, she felt some of her worry slip away. They’d had an unusually mild fall this year, so she only had a light jacket on. When she reached the place where the trail went over a creek, she paused. Having done this hike several times before, she knew that from here, the trail continued another couple of miles to the viewpoint.

            Today, she saw another trail that followed the creek. “Hmm. I’ve never noticed that before. I wonder where it leads?” Making up her mind, she followed the little side trail. It obviously hadn’t been used in a long time. Grass and brush nearly covered it, making it hard to see.

            The trees grew closer around her and the creek grew louder until it opened up unexpectedly and Jane found herself standing outside a quaint little cottage. It was dark and abandoned and obviously hadn’t been used for many years, but the lawn around it was exploding with color.

            Several maple trees stood guard over the little cottage with leaves of bright red, orange, and yellow. Staring in wonder, Jane stood rooted to the spot, drinking in the magnificent scene. Taking out her phone, she took several pictures before turning around and heading back.

            The hike back to the main trail took longer than she thought. It took so long she started to think she had gone too far. “No, I would have seen the bridge,” she whispered under her breath.

            Finally, the bridge came into view, and Jane sighed in relief. Anxious to get home now, she memorized where the side trail was before she headed back to her car. She definitely wanted to visit again.

            Jane felt rejuvenated when she got back home. Her worries about her exams didn’t return and she ended up doing really well on them.

            She wanted to go back to the cottage, but she was never able to find it again. No matter how many times she went back and forth along that trail, the little path remained hidden. She loved looking back at the photos she’d taken, but when she showed them to others, all they saw were dead trees surrounding a dilapidated shack.

            However, that’s not what Jane saw. She firmly believed her life had been touched by magic. Somewhere along Vanishing Creek Trail, there was a beautiful secluded cottage surrounded by maple trees.