The Long Walk

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Jake walked slowly down the path, scared and trembling as he went. It had been almost an hour since it had happened, and he had walked at least two miles in that time, but he still felt as though it had just happened. He recalled the events as best as he could in his frightened state of mind.2

He had been at the mall and had decided to take the bicycle path home. It was a long, slightly winding path with a small bend in it here and there where it had to bypass a rail bridge or overpass. It had been around the second one of these bends where it had happened. Jake had turned the corner and there he was, the man in the sweater. The man had pointed a gun at Jake and demanded all his money and any valuables. Jake had tried to take the gun, but the gunman must have knocked him out because that was as far as Jake could remember. 3

After that he had awoken laying on the pavement. He thought that the robber must have been frightened off by something because he still had his money, and none of his other belongings were missing. But if that was the case, what had scared the man? It didn't matter really, the important thing was that he was okay and on his way home. He had been trying to get home fast when he had chosen the path. The night before, he and his girlfriend had had a big fight and this morning he had gone to the jewelers at the mall to buy her a gift to apologize with. He wanted to make sure to be home when she got back from work so he could give it to her as soon as possible. 4

The thought of his girlfriend steadied his nerves and Jake began walking faster. Three more bends, just three more, he thought, and he would be behind his apartments. All the way to the first bend Jake thought about how badly he had treated his girlfriend the night before, and how she must have been hurt deeply by some of the things he had said. He didn't mean any of them though, and this necklace would show her that he really did love her. He knew she would love it, she would realize he had just been drunk and forgive him immediately. But, what if she didn't forgive him? Did he really think that he could just buy forgiveness? That all the terrible things he had said would be erased from her mind as soon as she opened that box? He had to think of what he could say to show her that his apology was sincere and that he knew he had been wrong, and he had to think of it fast because he now only had two bends left. 5

Jake looked at his watch, which he saw was apparently winding down. It showed that it was only three P.M. but it had been a quarter 'til three when he had left the mall. Then it occurred to him, he must have hit it on the pavement when he fell during the fumbled robbery attempt. Obviously something had happened to it, because he knew he had been walking the path for at least two hours now. 6

Jake continued thinking of what he would say to his girlfriend. Would he just say sorry and give her the gift? Would he beg her to forgive him? Would he admit to being wrong and promise to never do it again? Should he promise to never drink again? Maybe he should just give her the gift and not say anything, maybe it was in the past and could only hurt to stir it up again. Maybe they would fight again if she thought he was trying to buy his way out of this mess. But he knew she couldn't stay mad at him, not after what he had gone through to get this gift to her. Not after he had tried to take the gun from an armed robber just so he wouldn't lose the necklace before it got to her. Not after he had been knocked unconscious and was lucky to be alive. 7

He tried to remember when the robber had hit him, and then it occurred to him, how long had he been lying there? If it was nearing five-thirty now, as he guessed it should be, then he would have to make it home within a half hour, shouldn't be hard though, he was passing the final bend now. As Jake rounded the corner a glimpse of a man in a sweater passed through his vision. It was HIM! He had been following Jake and had somehow gotten ahead of him. He was going to finish what he started. NO, that was just his mind playing tricks on him, he assured himself. He looked around, nobody to his right, nobody to his left, nobody behind him, and nobody ahead of him. Just clear path all the way to the next bend. But he had just passed the last bend, hadn't he? 8

Jake decided that the blow that had knocked him unconscious must have screwed him up a little worse than he had thought, he had obviously miscounted. Anyway, this must be the last bend coming up, and he would be there in about ten minutes. Then it was under the overpass, through the brush, and into his backyard. He would make it home just before his girlfriend if he hurried. 9

Jake sped up his pace and prepared his story of the days events to tell his girlfriend. He would tell her how he woke up and thought about the night before. How he had almost cried when he remembered the look on her face as he had shouted those terrible words at her. How he had vowed never to yell at her again, no matter what happened. And how he had decided that he was going to take her out for the best night in their whole relationship together. Then of course he would give her the necklace that he had walked so many miles just to buy special for her to wear that night. He would make up some comment about how he knew that someone as beautiful as her, deserved a necklace as beautiful as this one. Of course most of what he said would be bullshit, but it would keep her from leaving him. And if she was still angry then he would tell her all about what had happened to him on the path, in detail. 10

In detail... but what were the details? He had rounded that bend, just as he was rounding this last bend now, and the man had been there. The man had pointed gun at him, and had demanded that he hand over all his money and any valuables. He had tried to take the gun, and... then what? Jake looked up... no overpass... but surely he had passed all the bends by now, he had been walking for what? three hours? maybe even three and a half? He looked at his watch three P.M. He remembered, broken. He looked off into the distance at the next bend, no overpass. He walked back around the bend and looked back at the bend before it, no overpass there either, so he had not passed it on accident. He looked at his shadow, and at the sky. It was a beautiful afternoon, but something was wrong. It should be getting dark by now if he had indeed been walking as long as he thought. 11

Then he remembered. The man in the sweater, the gun, trying to take the gun, and then the gunshot. He had not been knocked unconscious. The robber had not been scared away. Jake had not survived the robbery. And now Jake knew what had happened, and he knew what was going to happen next. He was going to keep walking, thinking about his girlfriend and how he had mistreated her. He would think about how if he had never said those things he never would have gone to get that necklace. He would know that he would never see her again. In trying to keep her, he had lost her forever, but if he had been better to her, he would be home right now eating dinner with her, laughing with her. 12

But now he was stuck on this path, and he knew, this was his punishment for being so cruel, this was the hell crafted specially for him. To be alone, walking this path, thinking about what he had thrown away, forever. Jake looked forward through his tears and began walking, no use counting the bends in the path now, he already knew that there would be more than he could ever count. And he knew that it was his fault. Jake took the necklace out of his pocket and removed it from it's box. It was a simple light gold heart with a diamond hanging in the middle. He had bought it because to him it said "I love you", clever, he had thought, now he would not have to say it as often. He had chuckled when he first thought of that bit of humor. But now, he just wished he could say it one more time, and this time, he would mean it and say it with all the feeling that he had inside of him. 13

Why had he never realized how much she meant to him before? Jake forced a false laugh at himself as he thought about the irony of the situation. That it would take death to make him realize how great his life was. But it wasn't funny. Jake looked at his watch again before throwing it in the bushes, no use to him now. He wrapped the necklace chain around his wrist and, with the heart held in his hand, rounded the next bend.14