The Stranger with his dog
Written by: Margaret
As the path steepened, Joe slowed down to keep in step with Nina. She was so enthusiastic as they set off hours ago, full of energy, eager to climb her first mountain.
But now he noticed how she’d slowed down, her breath coming in short gasps as she suggested that they take a break.
Joe stopped in his track, searching Nina’s face anxiously for signs of fatigue or pain. The apprehension he’d felt when Nina told him she wanted to accompany him on this tour still hung over him.
“Are you OK, love?”, he asked affectionately, stroking her cheek with his hand.
“I’m fine,” she gasped, between deep breaths. “Just a bit out of breath, that’s all.”
“Let’s sit down here for a while,” Joe suggested, spreading the cover he’d taken from his ruck-sack over the nearby patch of grass and stones.
Nina sat down thankfully. She hadn’t realized just how strenuous the climb would be. Maybe I should have given myself a bit more time to recuperate after my illness, she thought, with a frown.
Joe was quick to fill up a mug with warm tea from the flask.
“Here you are, love”, Joe said, as he handed her the mug. “You’ll feel better once you’ve had a few sups of tea and a bite to eat. This mountain air doesn’t half give you an appetite.”
After resting on Joe’s chest for longer than they both realized, Nina felt her strength returning and suggested that they carry on with their trek. It was turning chilly and they needed to reach the top and still have enough time to descend before it got dark.
Hand in hand they continued along the serpentine course of the path, admiring the view opening up as the thick forest cleared to reveal a breath-taking panorama before their eyes.
As wonderful as it was on the summit, they couldn’t while there for long. The clear blue sky was slowly disappearing behind a mass of thick cloud.
“We’d better get a move on,” suggested Joe. “I don’t like the look of that sky!”
With quickened steps they got back onto the path. They hadn’t got far when they felt the first drops of rain. What started off as a drizzle soon turned into a heavy downpour. Joe knew how fast the weather could change in these places and felt annoyed with himself for not checking the forecast before setting off that morning.
Suddenly, a dense fog arose, impairing visibility to a minimum. Terrified, Nina clung onto Joe’s arm as they threaded their way forward, unable to see exactly where they were heading.
The path – or what they thought was the path – came to a sudden end. Joe’s stomach felt queasy as he realized that they’d come away from the route. They were lost! He could feel Nina’s body trembling with cold and fear. They were both soaked to the skin. He knew they had no choice but to keep going, there was nowhere to shelter. If only the fog would lift, he thought, with despair.
“Listen!” cried Nina. “I can hear a dog barking.”
They stopped in their track, trying hard to focus through the fog.
“Joe, look! Over there!”
Joe could just about make out the faint contour of a man with a dog facing them a few metres ahead. He had his right arm stretched out, pointing his finger in the other direction, while gesticulating frantically with his left hand.
“Hello there!” shouted Joe, “Are we glad to meet you! Can you help us? We seem to have lost our way in the fog.”
Without answering, the figure turned and started walking to the right while gesturing with his hand to follow, his dog close by his heals.
Joe and Nina rushed forward to follow but no matter how fast they walked, they couldn’t catch up. The stranger with his long, old-fashioned overcoat and his dog were always twenty steps ahead.
“He seems to know where he’s going,” said Nina, quickening her step to keep up. “Joe, make sure we don’t lose sight of him!”
“Strange that he doesn’t say anything,” said Joe.
“I don’t care if he talks or not, as long as he helps us to find our way down,” answered Nina.
Now and again the stranger held his hand up giving them the sign to keep following, but never once turning around to check if they were still there. He just kept on going, his dog, obediently by his side.
After what seemed like hours, the fog began to lift, the rain became a drizzle and Joe and Nina could, at last, see their surroundings clearly. They caught sight of their “helper-in-need” as he hurriedly took the next bend.
“Where did he go?”, asked Nina, as they followed around the bend. Joe looked all around him but there was no sign of either man nor dog anywhere to be seen.
Miraculously, the fog had cleared completely and Joe caught sight of a wooden hut not far ahead. Keeping their eyes open for the stranger, they carried on until they finally reached the warmth of the hut. Exhausted and relieved they pushed the door open.
“Hello guys,” welcomed the elderly owner. “Come in, come in and warm yourselves beside the fire. You’re lucky to have found your way here through that thick fog!”
Both Joe’s and Nina’s eyes searched the tables full of fellow hikers but there was no sign of the stranger with the long overcoat and his dog.
“Excuse me, did a man and a dog come in here just before us?” enquired Joe, his eyes still looking around the room.
“A man with a long, old-fashioned overcoat?” asked the owner, his eyes suddenly wide open.
“Yes!” replied Joe, excitedly.
“Oh, I’ve been asked that question many a time,” smiled the owner. “But, no, you won’t find them in here.”
“We were completely lost,” said Nina.
“He showed us the way,” added Joe. “We want to thank him. God knows, if it hadn’t been for him, we would have strayed further and further from the route.”
“I’m afraid you won’t be able to thank him,” remarked the owner. “Sounds like came across old Tom Mcdowell, he was well know in these parts – spent most of his life walking these mountains. He’s been dead these past forty years.”
“What!” Both Joe and Nina couldn’t believe what they’d just heard. “But….but….he….he was there…right in front of us!” stuttered Nina.
“He could well have saved your lives,” continued the hut owner, “There’s a very dangerous spot not far from here, a deep drop – impossible to see in dense fog. It’s where Tom and his dog lost their lives.”
Joe put his arm around Nina, she was unusually calm as she closed her eyes and sent a prayer of thanks to their helper and his dog – wherever they may be.