“You know,” Nick says, stroking my hair. “Everyone needs someone sometime. Humans are social creatures by nature.”

I say nothing, just allow him to lecture me, knowing that he’s right.

I’m horrible.

Broken.

The goal was to become whole, but I’m just a hypocrite. I profess to be in love with Nature, of working with her, going with the flow…
When I’ve been denying myself the most human of needs.

Tim…
Maybe we would’ve been friends for the rest of our lives. Maybe it would’ve been “Until we died.”
But I ran away. I shoved him, everyone out of my life.

And it took me this new stranger to make me realize that.

I pull away gently from Nick, and look into his eyes. I see a broken soul, just like mine. Nick’s got a past, too, I know it.

We all do. Some people run away from their pasts.

I’m running away from my future.

I smile out on the lake, because I know exactly what it is I have to do. My next trail is laid out before my eyes.