Two Roads

A short story by Megan Leavitt

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”
-Robert Frost
But what of the road traveled twice?

She woke with a groan, the day having just broken from the night. She simply wanted to crawl back into bed, but not today- he had come to visit and time was not to be wasted.

He had been there for her for years, with the exception of the one just past. They had been through a lot together and had grown together, apart, and up. His visit was no surprise. Soon he would be leaving.

When he arrived the plan was set- a hike. A hike to a lake. It was early spring, and being further north than usual would mean running into snow, but that wasn’t a problem they had been through a lot together.

The road was blocked off; the pair would have to walk a mile to the trail head. No matter, they were young and had all the time in the world, or so it seemed.

Winter still clung to the air, and snow clung to the floor. She couldn’t help but think the hike would be better in a week or so, the trees would be greener and the path easier to travel.

The mile to the trail head passed in amiable silence. The road was wide and the way was clear, no need for the two to walk too closely.

And then the trail head, marked with a map and a rest room. The climb was not hard, and they spoke of trivial things, and for a long while played remember when. Remember when the sun was shining? Remember when it was summer? The time passed, and they took the trail slowly.

The trail itself was not a pretty thing to behold, muddy with puddles and droppings from animals, and every so often a mound of brown snow.
He tried hard to make sure she didn’t fall behind, stopping frequently and offering his hand to help. She thought it sweet, but kept her distance. For all his good intentions, a close proximity would inevitably make her trip and fall, always landing in the mud.

The pace was slow, but worked well for the pair and the first leg was easy; the reward was even greater. The overlook to the lake made her sigh, if only it were greener she thought. If only it was later in the year. Her thoughts of if only were broken by his hazel green eyes peering at her unobtrusively. They were full of questions that she knew would be answered in due time. They continued on the path, the real destination being the lake was still a few miles out.
Their pace quickened on the downhill, and in the mist of their travels they caught a glimpse of a moose. This was an immense moose; both had seen but only for a shadow of a moment and then it was gone.

Their path continued, two switchbacks, and a marmot investigator later they found a pile of snow barricading the trail. The questions were posed. Do we go through it? Around it? Turn back? It seemed around would be the best choice for them, and around they went. The snow quickly melted in their shoes, making walking uncomfortable and squishy. They stopped at a bridge that was bathing in sunlight and sat. The water rushed by and the sound was soothing. Soon they found themselves lounging, a funny picture if anyone had happened to walk past, with their heads propped up on one end and their feet nearly hanging off the other. Here they simply sat in the sun, it was pleasant and that was all they needed.

Time inched by and the sunny spot quickly turned to shade. He sat up, and she followed suit. He led the way, but quickly stopped and inquired if they should continue on to the trail, or head home; there were things to do in town and people to meet along with it. The consensus was to head back. The trek back seemed much harder, the switchbacks more straining and the trail seemed to have accumulated more snow, or at least it seemed that way. He stopped often and inquired of her health. She thought the gestures kind, but kept them at a distance.

The overlook was once again beautiful; if not at the same time a bit of a disappointment, for her anyway. They walked slowly back to the car, the extra mile seemed much longer, and harder. The hike past pleasantly enough, but she couldn’t help but think, if only it were greener, if only it were warmer.



And then the next week came. With the next week came a surprise, a surprise that made her stomach leap and her smile silly.

He was coming to visit. She knew all too well that soon he would be moving up, and she would get to see him much more often, which was preferred, but this visit was so much anticipated. Another hike was planned, this time would be right; this week was greener, yes this week was warmer.

The road had opened, and the mile to the trail head was gone in the blink of an eye. Matching shoes and hands clasped they set out.

For her it was greener, the trail less muddy, the sky more blue, and it was warmer. It was no lie for either of them that he was much more actively inclined, so the pace was faster; not just that, but the couple had started later in the day. She wanted nothing more than to keep up with him, to not slow his pace. She had determined from the beginning that she would keep his pace. This was not hard on the ascent to the overlook, and the down hill was cakewalk.

He pointed out things that caught his eye, and explained what the fuzzy animals were called, especially when she asked them in her silly six year old stance. She would smile and ask politely what the particular animals name was. Of course she was looking for a name like Bob or Joe, Sally or Tammy. She thought perpetually of what was on his mind, not sure what to say and determined not to slow up or let him down. This hike was different; this hike was less muddy, greener, and especially warmer.

After the switchbacks, the fork in the road came. The couple took a different way, bound and determined to make it to the lake, and to make it before the sun began to set. His pace quickened, and her heart lightened, she was excited to finally make it to the lake, something she had missed out in the previous hike.

They continued, happy, excited, determined.

They came to a stop.

A moose. A deer. Both on the trail. The moose a juvenile and the deer a doe. He held out his hand, still single-minded in making it to the lake, they would go around. Giving this moose some space was the best idea. Giving the moose plenty of space, but still keeping direction in mind, they traveled around.

Another stop.

A bigger moose.

The biggest moose. The wide path they had cut to avoid the smaller moose had led the couple to this massive moose. He stopped, backed away slowly and caught her by the hand. They were going back, and quickly. The encounter had shaken him, but for some reason she had not been affected. In fact, she giggled for some time at his shaken state. She had never even sensed danger, she attributed this to him.

The moose encounter had taken up time, and the quickly fading daylight was threatening to put them in the shadow of the mountain.

He turned to her, disappointed; it was too late to make it to the lake. She shrugged, it was a disappointment, but his hand was in hers and the way was set. Back up the switchbacks. She huffed and puffed bringing up the rear, still more determined than ever to not slow him down. The uphill was his forte, and he showed the way.

He tried hard to make sure she kept up. She smiled at this, but couldn’t help but be aware of her sweaty brow and slow pace, but the challenge intrigued her. She loved trying her best to keep his pace; however, his worry continued and he insisted that she take the lead and set the pace. This she did not like, she couldn’t keep up with him if she was setting the pace, so she decided to take up his pace, or her perception of his pace.

Legs on fire and sweaty as ever, in her case at any rate, they made it back to the overlook, the couple looked towards the lake, the destination that had never been gained.

The travel back to the car was quick, and relatively painless. They had taken time at the overlook to breathe and make friends with a few squirrels. In her eyes the hike had been a success; the path had been greener, and the day had been warmer.


Two roads, neither diverged, neither the same, neither gaining the prize of the destination.


She sat and pondered these two roads, alone on the edge of a lake. She had decided that the destination was the key.


For now she would have to be content to sit at the edge of the lake alone, smiling at the sun as tears fall to the water.