Alaska

Alaska.

Alaska's a beautiful place.

No people.

She was talking to herself again,

Walking in the fields with a muddy dog.

Isolated.

Family gone.

Two-twenty.

Alaska,

She repeated.

Or perhaps Newfoundland.

Somewhere there's just me and land.

She felt a wave flow up inside her,

A surge of energy as if her body was trying to reply.

She tried the words again and tuned into the sensations.

Alaska.

The surge flew up into her shoulders and into her back and out of her fingertips.

This is fun,

She thought.

She tried the other.

Newfoundland.

A small surge reaching as far as her navel and then dropping down again.

Right.

Alaska it is then,

She said,

Sniffing as an icy gust of air hit her face.

Two people passing at the end of the field averted their eyes.

She could only guess at their thoughts.

But those days were over,

Thank God.

Limping along,

Head down,

Hair straggling,

Muttering to herself.

She smiled,

Looked up.

Dog was gone too.

Maisie had always had a wild streak,

Which Sarah loved.

She tried to whistle.

She found if she sucked her breath inward,

The whistle was sometimes louder.

So she tried again,

Was quite surprised by the power of her whistle today.

Maisie's muddy head appeared through a muddy hedge.

Mud legs outstretched,

She galloped up the muddy field,

Clods of earth sprinkling sideways as she arrived.

Maisie,

Sarah said,

Breaking muddy rules as she pulled her through the muddy barbed wire carefully.

Maisie,

She repeated.

She felt her heart warm.

I do love you,

She said.

She clipped on the lead,

Icy fingertips from fingerless gloves causing her to fumble,

Time stretching,

And a small knot in her stomach.

She went back into her thoughts.

Alaska then.

And walking back home,

She showered off the dog,

Rubbed her dry,

Rubbed off her own hair,

Pulled on a dry top,

Made a hot cup of tea,

Sat in her favorite place on the side of the kitchen table that looked out over the fields,

Lifted the lid of her green laptop,

Flicked on the power,

Took a big breath,

And then,

With the quirky fingers she'd learnt so long ago,

Typed A-L-A-S-K-A,

And her adventure began.