2015-

  She stood on the side of the road in a brown and green dress that looked like it was

  made of leaves. Her hair faintly glowed in the hairdo that lifted it into a bee hive

  above her head. Her skin seemed to match the trees that she stood next to in its

  brownness.

  It was only luck that Denver McGinty had seen her when he rolled by. He put it down

  to two lights reflecting near her. He rolled onto the shoulder of the road and put on

  his hazards.

  Denver didn’t always pick up hitchhikers but this girl seemed more lost than what he

  usually saw in the middle of the night. Maybe she needed a hand.

  He stepped out of his truck. He used it to haul parts for his car repair shop and didn’t

  care how it looked. A wreck would be the best way to describe its dented sides,

  crooked back bumper, and the tape over one of the tail lights.

  “Do you need some help, ma’am?” Denver wondered how she had got out there

  without a bag, or car. He put it down that she was a hitchhiker. He still expected some

  kind of luggage unless she was local.

  “Yes, please.” The girl strode forward. “I am far from where I wanted to be.”

  “No problem.” Denver gestured for her to go around to the passenger side. “I can

  drop you off in the city.”

  “Thank you.” She climbed into the passenger side of the truck. “This is very good of

  you.”

  “I’m heading up to Niagara.” Denver shrugged before he climbed in behind the

  wheel. “New York City is on the way. Are you going beyond there?”

  “No.” She looked down at her hands. “I hope to find work there.”

  “Good luck.” Denver smiled at her. He started the truck rolling down the road.

  “You said you were going to Niagara?” The girl watched the side of the road as guard

  rails and signs flew by.

  “Every year, I go to see the Falls.” Denver looked embarrassed at the admission. “My

  wife and I used to go together, but she died. I carry on with it for her memory.”

  “I’m sorry.” The girl made a face.

  “Nothing to be sorry about.” Denver switched lanes as he looked for the right route

  into the city that wouldn’t cost him that much time. “She had stomach cancer. She

  insisted we go even though the doctors told her not to. She said it was the last thing

  we could do together before she went.”

  “I haven’t met anyone like that,” said the girl. “My mother tries to keep me away from

  suitors.”

  “No one good enough for her?” Denver raised an eyebrow. He had known quite a few

  women who thought their kids were fragile glass.

  “Yes.” The girl nodded. “She drives off anyone I might want to talk to about

  anything.”

  “Is that why you’re heading into the city without any belongings?” Denver thought

  he might have crossed the line with that question, but she looked like she needed to

  talk about what was bothering her.

  Strangers were good for that kind of thing. They weren’t invested, and it didn’t matter

  what they thought.

  “I don’t have any belongings,” said the girl. The lights from the road caught her eyes

  and made it look like they contained explosions of light inside their orbits before they

  faded again. “My mother keeps everything. What’s mine is hers.”

  “And what’s hers is hers.” Denver nodded. “Doesn’t make things easy.”

  “It was just better if I left without saying anything to her.” The girl turned to look out

  the window, or maybe at her own reflection. “She would have been furious at the talk.

  She will definitely be furious when she realizes that I have left and don’t plan to come

  back.”

  “Starting out is going to be tricky in the big city.” Denver glanced her way. “I can

  drop you off further upstate.”

  “That’s kind of you, but the city is what I need.” The girl smiled at him. “It will let

  me blend in while I am taking care of myself. It will make it harder for Mother to find

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  me and try to bring me home.”

  “If you can’t blend in with five million people, you won’t be able to blend in

  anywhere.” Denver smiled. “I wish you the best of luck with that.”

  “I know.” The girl nodded. “I am hoping that eventually I will be able to move further

  away from here. That will make it harder for anyone looking for me.”

  “I get that.” Denver saw an exit he could use to head across the bridge from New

  Jersey into the city. He could drive through and head north again when he was done

  dropping his passenger off. “Any place in particular you want to be dropped?”

  “You can drop me on the other side of the river.” The girl pointed at the other end of

  the bridge. “I’ll have to make my own way from there.”

  “It’s no problem.” Denver nodded. “Do you have any friends you can call for help?”

  “Not really.” The girl shrugged. “Mother always chased off any that I might have

  liked. She wanted to keep me strong of mind.”

  “I see.” Denver did a small shake of his head. He had heard of overprotectiveness, but

  not like this.

  “Don’t worry.” She smiled at him. “I can take care of myself. It should be okay once

  I have done some thinking, and figured what I can do to be successful.”

  “Good luck.” Denver knew the city chewed up young people and spit them out. He

  had seen more than few as he traveled across the state. He hoped she did better than

  he expected.

  They rolled across the bridge silently. It resembled a glowing ribbon leading to a set

  of lit spools in the distance. Blackness stretched out to either side, with occasional

  lights from boats plying the river.

  Denver reached the end of the bridge, ignoring the signs for the Port Authority. His

  passenger didn’t need to be dropped in the snake pit that marked the end of other

  people’s journeys to the big city.

  “Can you take me up to the park?” She pointed in the direction she wanted to go. “I

  think I can start there tonight.”

  “The park is dangerous at night.” Denver frowned at her. Central Park had gained a

  bad reputation over the years. He didn’t want to give it another lamb to slaughter.

  “Don’t worry,” she said. “Mother might have denied me basic comforts, but she did

  show me how to protect myself. I feel like the park will give me a better view of what

  I need to get started. A lot of my skills are in forms of gardening.”

  “I suppose the city will need another gardener.” Denver knew the Mayor was big on

  natural spaces. She would have to work to get through the application process if she

  didn’t have some kind of extra education.

  He doubted her mother wanted her to attend a college from what had been said

  already.

  “I have other skills.” She smiled at him. “It’s just I am best at gardening. If I can get

  work in the park, that will make things easier. If I can’t, I will look for something else

  to do.”

  “I suppose you know what’s best for you.” Denver held back any comments. He

  doubted he would see her again. He didn’t want to hurt her feelings by thinking that

  she could do better closer to her home.

  “Thank you,” she said. “You’re the first person who has said that to me. I know I

  seem like a bumpkin, but I will be fine.”

  He smiled back. At least she was confident in her ability and had tempered her

  expectations some. Most didn’t have that when they tried to make a life in the city.

  “There’s the entrance to the park.” Denver pulled up to the curb. “I’ll let you off here,

  and head up to where I am going.”

  “Thank you for your help.” She opened the door and slid out. “What’s your name?”

  “It’s Denver McGinty.” He smiled at her. Then he reached in his pocket and pulled

  out his wallet. “Let me give you something to get started. It won’t be much, but you

  should be able to get something cheap to eat for a couple of days.”

  He handed over a couple of twenties. It wasn’t much, but it was better than nothing.

  “Thank you, Denver.” She put the money in her dress. “My name is Kisara, Princess

  of the Genn. I will remember this.”

  “Kisara Princess?” Denver raised an eyebrow at the weird name. “Be careful out

  there, Kisara.”

  “The same to you, Denver McGinty.” She closed the door and started for the entrance

  to the park. The nearby lights made her hair gleam like a low fire as she walked away.

  Denver watched her go. He hoped she took care of herself. She seemed like a nice

  girl.

  He pulled away from the curb and headed north in the maze of city streets. Once he

  was clear of the city, he could head for Canada with no problem. The Falls sounded

  in his imagination. It would be good to settle in his old place to hang out for the next

  few days.

  He hoped Kisara did well. He didn’t think the park would be the best place for her to

  start. Too many human animals occupied it after dark.

  At least she knew her own mind, and what she wanted to do. He didn’t think he had

  that when he was her age. It had taken him years before he found a job he liked and

  fitted what he thought of himself.

  Luckily, he had Bonnie to help him over the rough spots then. She brought out the

  best in him when he didn’t think they would make it. Her encouragement had kept

  them afloat through the years.

  Now she was gone, and he was headed up to their vacation spot alone.

  He briefly wondered if it had been worth it. He decided that yes, everything had been

  great as long as Bonnie walked along with him. He was being maudlin because he

  was alone for the first time ever. He could do better than that.

  He drifted through Manhattan with his mind on the past. He saw the signs for Sleepy

  Hollow and smiled. At least he didn’t have to worry about headless horsemen.

  He knew the world was a strange place, but he was sure that Washington Irving’s tale

  of Ichabod Crane and his phantom pursuer was one of those things that had been

  made up out of old cloth.

  And he was sure his pick-up could outrun a ghost on the modern roads that cut

  through the Hudson Valley.

  The memory of his hitchhiker faded as he looked forward to reaching his annual spot.

  She was in the past, and he had to look forward for the next few days.

  He planned to keep an eye on the papers out of the city just in case.