Page 35

35

GAP Mile 0, Cumberland, Maryland

one month later

T he Great Allegheny Passage terminated in a small park in Cumberland, Maryland, where it connected with the C&O Canal Towpath. A simple stone marker indicated the trail's official endpoint, a quiet celebration of the journey completed.

Bodhi stood in front of the marker, his pack light on his shoulders after days of hiking. He'd returned to the trail in late summer, drawn back to restart and complete the journey that had been interrupted. Along the way, he'd stopped to revisit the communities and people who had become unexpectedly important to him.

And now, he’d reached the end of the path. He'd finally completed the full trail, from Pittsburgh to Cumberland, moving at his own pace, observing the changing landscape with clear eyes.

Summer was in full bloom in the valley. Wild roses burst, fragrant and delicate, bordered the park. In the wildflower meadows, purple sage, cornflower, and bee balm rose from the grass, waving in the breeze as fat bees and elegant butterflies danced through the fields.

Bodhi settled on a bench overlooking the Upper Potomac. Sunlight sparkled on the river’s surface, glinting silver. He removed his kraft journal from his pack and opened it to a fresh page to record his reflections on the final day of his journey.

He bent his head and began to write in his small, neat printing:

A journey that began as a solitary quest for clarity, a chance to walk alone with my thoughts, became something far more complex and valuable—a lesson in the power of collective vision, in the importance of seeing beyond oneself.

He wrote faster, filling the page and then another.

When a shadow fell over his journal, he looked up.

A tall, slender figure with distinctive white-blonde hair stood over him, a camera hanging around her neck.

“I heard a rumor you’d be here,” Rory said.

He closed the journal and stood. “And here I am.”

“Diana said you planned to take the bus back to Pittsburgh tomorrow.”

He nodded. “That’s right.”

“Well, we’re having a community potluck at the Tri-Town Center tonight. There’ll be lots of vegan options, and we thought you might like to join us. Julie’s waiting in the parking area, with the AC running in her car. Can’t let her makeup melt.” She laughed. “And Aaron can give you a lift back to Pittsburgh after dinner. He’s got a late flight out to OAC’s corporate headquarters for some training seminar. There are a lot of people who’d love to see you.”

A slow smile spread across his face. “I’d like that, too.”

He was part of many communities—his sangha, his circle of friends back home, and the people he encountered in his travels. One thing he’d learned is that they all had something he could contribute, and they all had something to offer him. Tonight, in addition to friendship, it might just be Dot’s chickpea salad followed by a slice of Will’s vegan carrot cake.

He returned his journal to the bag and followed Rory to the parking lot. They stopped halfway there so she could squat in the meadow to take a picture of an iridescent blue dragonfly that glittered in the sunlight like a suspended jewel.