A Hero's Secret

one

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This town wove between an endless view of nature, its growth halted by the lack of buildable landscape. It sat along a river where the water flowed from a semi-round lake dug deep in the center. The mass of oak, pine, and birch trees covering the area like guards protecting a castle drew Dray Dinley in.

She could take a staggering amount of photos from her doorstep alone and her blog would be rich of various posts, each exploring a different side of the same place. Unlike her last residence, a cramped studio apartment a few blocks from the beach, she didn't see repetition being a problem. The warmth from the sun on her skin and the soft sand between her toes had been her favorite part of any day, but only so many shots could come from such a short stretch of sand.

Dray was glad to move on. She had spent too much time in a big city and her blog desperately needed a change. Perhaps she needed a change in life, too, or maybe just a change in rent. The several thousand resident town of Hero proved to have the most affordable rent in the area—for a photography blogger's salary—while still being located near the necessities of food, gas, and entertainment.

Dray fiddled with the corner of a pamphlet she picked up earlier at the local gas station south of downtown. She learned Hero's name originated from a self-absorbed, money-scheming maniac named Alexander Hero. Not quite the man to look up to, but as far as she could tell, the town strayed from his footsteps.

The waxy paper stuck between her fingertips and didn't crumple in her grasp, so she folded it in half and flung it over by a stack of empty boxes that got ruined during the move. More stacks of untouched cardboard boxes leaned slightly to the side next to the garbage pile. The items she needed to live found new homes and she only had to dig through boxes maybe once a day, but as it stood, Dray should have cleaned up the mess a week ago when she moved in.

She decided to ignore the piles a little longer.

Like most of the town, her cozy two bedroom house lived in the trees. Twisting trails sprung west and north from her front door. She imagined she could see miles of the forest from the wall of windows in the living area. It did little for her motivation to unpack.

Pushing the stool back from the kitchen counter—a lovely breakfast bar—Dray stood up and grabbed her camera. The itch to explore tingled through her fingertips.

The sun shined bright and peeked through the fluttering leaves. Dray inhaled the fresh air and it flowed through her body. A small smile rose to her face. The pecking crow on her lawn joined the other monotonous noises and disappeared in her relief. With her head up to the sky, she bounced down her front steps.

Today, she went straight. Going south into town on Main would take her right along side the lake and while excited to spend time by water, she managed an impromptu shoot there the first day she arrived in town. Plus, after the lake the paths stretched into downtown. Main ran through the entirety of Hero, at least the entertaining part of Hero, so she knew there would be plenty of chances to take that route.