Juliette Bowers: “Tradition” – Third Place – a Connect In South Valley short story
Tradition
By Juliette Bowers
David woke up with a start. It felt like Christmas all over again. He looked at his clock, 5:00am. No one else would be up for hours. They had all stayed up until midnight to watch the ball drop, but he had watched it fall at midnight east coast time. His parents still thought he did not know the difference, but he was ten, he had known for a long time. This year however, he wanted to be well-rested, so he let them continue to believe he was in the dark.
The tradition was, that each year on New Year’s Day, his father and two older brothers hiked to the top of El Toro and now that he was ten, he was finally allowed to go with them. In previous years, he had to stay home while mom made Turkey Barley soup and cookies. The soup was delicious, but this year, as it warmed his hiker’s soul, it would be even better.
He jumped out of bed, putting on the clothes he had neatly laid out last night. No reason he couldn’t start getting snacks ready for the trek. He went to the kitchen and started making baggies of trail mix from the superstore bag in the cupboard. He filled his water bottle, from the tap like his brothers, his mom always used the filtered water, but he wanted to be one of the boys. He filled up his backpack and was ready. Too bad it was only 6:00am now. A good breakfast was in order and then he played with new toys to fill his time.
By 11:00am everyone else was up and ready. Then he heard a knock at the door.
“The Brown’s must be here,” his dad said, zipping up his own backpack.
Sure enough, their neighbor, Mr. Brown, and his daughter Samantha were at the door.
“Why does she get to go?” David asked when he saw Samantha.
“She is ten now too,” his father said, giving him the look.
“But it’s a boy’s thing.”
“Hiking on New Year’s Day is not a boy’s thing,” his father replied, shaking Mr. Brown’s hand, “Happy New Year, glad you could join us.”
“Thanks for having us. Samantha has talked about nothing else all week.” David rolled his eyes.
“David!” His mom called from the kitchen, she always knew when he rolled his eyes. His brothers were laughing as they donned their own packs. Easy for them to be okay with Samantha coming, they got to do this every year. Their dad ran through a checklist of safety items for hiking and then they were ready to go.
David had lived at the base of El Toro his whole life, and the secluded entrance to the trail was only blocks away, allowing them to walk straight there. Well the guys walked, Samantha was skipping. David took off when they reached the trailhead.
“Watch out for rattlesnakes!” His dad yelled. It had been a warm winter and the snakes could still be out, especially with the sun so bright today. David knew, as the entire family did, to look out for rattlers and mountain lions, though no one had seen any mountain lions in this area recently. They were also really careful about poison oak since their mom was really allergic. It is harder to avoid poison oak in the winter without the red leaves, but they knew from experience that people can still get the side effects. They had seen how bad it got on their mom, all itchy and weepy and gross. They would strip in the laundry room and their dad would wash all of their clothes when they got home, just in case.
There were small groups of hikers on the path and everyone waved and wished each other “Happy New Year” in passing. There was a sense of camaraderie as people acknowledged this fresh start to the new year. The sheer number of people made the chances of seeing a deer really slim, so David didn’t bother trying to be quiet. Instead he enjoyed the methodical clomping of one foot in front of the other and the sounds of scurrying animals in the surrounding brush.
The path got steeper the further along they went and David was surprised to see Samantha right behind him the whole way. His legs were beginning to burn slightly and his breathing grew deeper. Much to David’s chagrin, Samantha was an asset because his dad’s rule was that no one could go ahead without a buddy and David’s brothers were plodding along, taking their time.
The start of the trail had been mostly long, wild grass, but as the group continued their ascent, the bushes grew bigger and denser. It felt like the path was shrinking as the abundant overgrowth condensed on the hikers. The colors all fell in a muted color palette, mustard yellow grasses, bushes with olive and a hint of Dijon, army green oak trees with tawny branches. The way that one color moved to next matched the way the wind blew the foliage in sync.
As the trail got steeper the oaks gave way to manzanita. He could never resist running his hand along the smooth red bark of this gorgeous tree, but he held back because he was afraid Samantha would tease him. The path wound about and the increased number of turns and rugged terrain decreased visibility. David’s dad had a secret code for situations like these and David had been trained his whole life. His dad would whistle a few notes and the boys would then reply with the same tune.
The second time that David replied, Samantha came up behind him.
“Can you teach me?” She asked timidly.
“You just copy my dad,” David replied.
“Not the notes,” she sighed in frustration. “Can you teach me to whistle?”
“Oh. Sure.” David replied, but when he attempted to explain it, he could not find the words. “Well, uh, first you make this face, like a,” he puckered his lips in thought, “like a fish,” he decided on.
“Or like a kiss,” Samantha smiled as she understood. David blushed.
“I guess,” he mumbled.
“And then what?” She asked.
“And then you blow air out. It’s kind of like singing. You have to use your muscles to get different notes.” David demonstrated, whistling the first few notes of “Imagine,” the song his dad had just whistled.
Samantha tried, causing air and a bit of spit to come out of her mouth, but not music.
“When I was first learning, I would try sucking the air in,” David suggested. “It was much easier for me.”
Samantha tried this as well. On the third try, she was able to produce some semblance of a note. “I got it!” She exclaimed excitedly. She gave David a big hug, which surprised them both and he awkwardly hugged her back. He quickly picked up the pace to gain some distance between them.
The final leg of the hike was the most difficult. It required the use of branches and footholds to lever yourself up. When David reached the top though, it was well worth it, and left him in awe.
“Wow,” he breathed out and he heard Samantha say something similar behind him. Walking to all the points of the compass, he viewed the valley from every angle. It was amazing to see his world so small below him.
“There’s my house!” Samantha pointed, “And if you follow the street down, you can see our school!” Sure enough, David was able to find his house and P.A. Walsh Elementary. He followed the line further until he could see Britton Middle School where his middle brother went and the new construction there that stood taller than the older buildings surrounding it. Live Oak, his oldest brother’s school, could be seen further down Main Ave. Anderson Dam was a little to his left and from this height he could see the reservoir wall. He remembered his conversation the night before when he asked endless questions about El Toro, his dad said that the mountain, part of the Santa Cruz mountain range, was 1,427 feet high. A little higher and he might be able to see Henry Coe, east of Morgan Hill. In the valley, there were thousands of homes. From here he could see the cute pockets of neighborhoods formed by natural land formations or by human design.
Walking to the other side, David immediately saw Chesbro and Uvas Reservoirs. The land on this side was much less populated with tons of chaparral, a great food source for the deer, and it led straight to the coastal mountains. He loved driving with his dad through the back roads on this side of El Toro and then on to the beach. One day, he would have his own car and be able to take leisurely drives through the countryside.
David’s family had finally made it to the top and each was breathing heavily and exploring the vistas. His brothers made whooping sounds as they finished their ascent.
“Did you see the soccer fields?” David’s oldest brother asked. He was a competitive soccer player and their family spent many weekends on those fields.
“I was trying to not see the fields for one day this year,” David’s other brother retorted. David left them to their teasing and sat by Samantha, offering her some of his trail mix.
“It’s the good kind,” he said, holding out his bag.
“Oh, chocolate pieces! Thanks,” she took a handful of the mix. David was rewarded for his generosity some minutes later when Samantha reached into her bag and pulled out some fruit snacks.
“Thanks,” he said taking the package she handed his way. “Sorry I said girls couldn’t join us earlier,” he mumbled as he ate.
“That’s ok, I wouldn’t want my older sister coming. She would go super slow and worry about keeping her shoes clean.” David relaxed a little on the inside, glad that she understood, he knew he would fumble if he had to explain further.
David and Samantha pushed up off their rocks and went to share with their dads all the sites they had seen until David’s dad gently told them it was time to head back.
With careful footing and occasional slipping in the ruts and grooves, they conquered the initial descent. Hiking partners mixed and matched as they made their way down the mountain. At one point when David found himself paired with his Dad he asked, “Do the Browns get to have soup with us?”
“Of course! That’s the only way to finish a New Year’s Day hike.”
“Cool.” He reacted with a satisfied smile.