Something Like Stories - Volume One (Something Like..., #7)

by Jay Bell

A lonely flight. Then a rental car, the interior silent. GPS and a map were his guide now, instead of a comforting presence behind the wheel. Ben cruised down time-worn roads, passing a rickety gas station where an old man polished the glass door, his back to the street. He continued through neighborhoods filled with small homes and narrow yards, the memories that had been made there no longer spoken aloud. When Ben reached the lake he stopped, not daring to enter the subdivision where he might be recognized. He walked along the far edge of the shore where no houses were built. Overgrown brush and muddy ground made this difficult, but he pressed on. The woods were dark when he entered, more than one ghost needing to guide him if this was going to happen. If he found it, it would be a sign. If not… Ben stepped into the clearing. He wasn’t sure at first. So many years had gone by, and it had been just one hour among all the others they had shared together. He took off his backpack and carefully set it on the ground. Then he walked around the edges of the clearing, getting on his hands and knees to be sure. There it was. The broken remnants of a shelter. He walked to the center of the clearing and knelt in front of the backpack, feeling guilty when his fingers touched the cardboard box which held a sealed bag. Not where the ashes normally resided, but he had to fly and the airlines had guidelines about such things, which was maddening. All of this felt so crazy that he consid...