Higher roads

Sam recoiled, oscillating beams of light bouncing off of his tired eyelids and jolting him fully back into reality. It had been hours since another car had passed, and for this reason alone it felt like divine intervention - he hadn’t even realised that he was beginning to doze off. The realisation of his condition set in and Sam sat fully upright, taking in a deep breath and winding down his creaking window so just enough of the sharp winter air could reignite his senses. 

‘Think it’s time for a pit stop’ he muttered to himself as he turned a winding corner. The next gas station or diner would have to do, anything that could provide him with a dose of caffeine and maybe a quick bite as dusk began to settle. He wouldn’t linger however, this trip was already way overdue. Over the past few weeks his grandfather's mental health had deteriorated rapidly, sending him into a state of mania. Sam had always loved his grandfather despite his quirks - a man who routinely talked of conspiracy theories and extra-terrestrial encounters. These eccentric little character traits had been incredibly endearing to Sam as a young boy, as if his grandfather was a personal guide to a world more fantastical than the drudgery of normal life. When bedtime stories of beings from another planet had been outgrown however, Sam just found him amusing. He also never forgot the feeling that had been ignited in him as a child, a bridge to another place through the vessel of his grandfather's absurd stories. Sam's parents had always rolled their eyes with a smile on their faces, not so much his mother who had distanced herself from her dad due to these very reasons. 

‘A really good person who lives in a totally unreal world’ she had described him as once when Sam had tried to get to the bottom of her dismissive nature of her father. This assessment had always stuck with Sam for reasons unknown to him. Now, the task of checking on his wellbeing and the six-hour drive had fallen on his shoulders. Sam lived on the outskirts of the big city, his parents in the middle of it. Both his mother and father were incredibly career driven people and since Sam had taken some time off work he had no excuse not to. He was also overcome by a sense of strange nostalgia after hearing what his grandfather had been up to, calling the house in the dead of night ‘rambling about heaven knows what’ as his mother had put it. The stories up until now had always remained that, just stories. Now the old man had begun sending email after email to both Sam and his parents, talking as if the barrier between reality and fiction had been blurred almost totally in his mind. Sam's mother suspected dementia. His father flipped between amusement and concern, more concern lately as the severity of his apparent delusions had increased. 

‘To my finest and brightest Grandson, 

I am writing to you to bestow a great and enormous honour. A communicator and vessel of that which lies in higher roads. The call of those beyond is becoming too loud, the lights that whistle overhead too frequent. Know the further. It lies within you too!

Yours sincerely, Granpop’ 

This had been the last email his grandfather had sent. Sam figured he would go up there and make sure these cryptic messages were just a way of getting attention, a lonely old man who had been isolated for a little too long. Up until a few months ago, he had always been able-bodied and of sound mind, living deep within the forest near the mountains, alone and totally self-sufficient. Sam's parents had pleaded with him to move into a quiet bungalow on the edges of the city to be near if his health did begin to deteriorate at some stage, to no avail. The old man was as stubborn as he was strange. Sam smiled as he whistled down a long road, the mist of the mountains before him in the distance like some kind of all encompassing grey blanket. The highway before him seemed almost totally empty, as if people had fled in respect of the approaching forest's ominous presence. Suddenly a sign came into view. 

‘Tracy’s Diner, 1.5 miles’

Perfect. Sam would eat and drink quickly and arrive at his grandfather's place around 9 pm, if all things went to plan. The closer Sam got to the great forest and mountains the calmer he felt, and before he knew it the flickering crimson neon lights of an old school diner came into view. He pulled up outside, only noticing one or two other cars dotted around and felt a kind of warmth growing inside of him as the light reflected off of the bonett of his car. He was grateful for rest and a little sleep-deprived as of late, so the thought of a quiet seat in a strange place was most appealing to him. Rain began to lash down again. Better get inside before it got torrential, Sam thought. 

Sam pushed open the door to diner and heard the abrupt ringing of a bell above, immediately realising he had barged through clumsily in an attempt to shield himself from the elements. Just as he had gotten out of the car a wicked flash of lighting had split open the sky, sending rain cascading down. A storm was now blowing over. The diner was nearly empty; two elderly gentlemen with large shoulders and caps pushed down low over their thick eyebrows glanced up from their coffees momentarily as Sam had made his entrance. A waitress around his mother's age stood behind the counter in the middle of the diner, her hand on one hip as she ferociously chewed gum and awaited his order. 

‘What can I help you with sweetheart?’ she said in a dull tone. Sam made his way over to the counter and sat down, pulling a menu from the stand in front of him. 

‘Let's see here… burger and fries… coffee. That should do it, thank you very much’ he said with a wide grin. The woman looked at him and flicked back her overly curled hair, rolling her eyes. 

‘Coming right up’ 

Sam sighed and then took off his jacket, sending rainwater flying into the air. He then went to place it on the stool beside him but then realised someone was leaning over the counter to order also. A thin blonde woman around his age, a vibrant face and eyes bringing with her a noticeable aura of someone who did not belong here. 

‘I’ll have the usual please Tracy!’ she said as she finally got the waitresses attention. She then sat down right beside Sam, glancing over her shoulder as she pushed her hair back. 

‘You’re not from around here are you friend?’ she asked. Sam had just begun sipping his coffee and nearly choked, swallowing his drink a little too fast so he could respond. 

‘No… I’m visiting my granpop. I mean grandfather’ he replied, feeling himself flush a little with embarrassment at having referred to his grandfather as his childhood nickname. The blonde woman chuckled and turned to face Sam, and he realised she was truly beautiful almost immediately. Ease washed over him as he realised this was a place far from his hometown and he would probably never see the woman again, he would enjoy the moment as if it was some strange kind of dream. She continued to look at him blankly, awaiting further explanation with a bewildered smile. 

‘He lives up by the base of the mountains deep in the forest… we think he may be getting a little too old to be there all by himself’ Sam concluded as he took another sip of his coffee. The blonde woman's order arrived just at this moment, taking her attention away briefly. A glass with a grapefruit sliced in half next to it and a small helping of key lime pie. She then began squeezing the juice from one half of the grapefruit into the glass with an endearing level of concentration on her face. 

‘Wait… your granpop… does he live in that lovely old cabin by the creek? I know an old timer called Jim who lives up that way’ she replied as she continued to squeeze her juice into the glass. Sam smiled in disbelief.

‘Yeah, that's him. Always got a strange story and a kind word to tell’ Sam said with a hint of sarcasm in his tone. The blonde woman chuckled. 

‘Oh that he does’ she replied through a wry grin.

Sam felt relief wash over him slightly and turned towards the woman in genuine interest. 

‘How is it that you know him?’ he enquired. 

‘I drive high up into the mountains quite frequently, it's beautiful. A good place to spot UFO’s too’ she said as she took a fork and began eating her pie. Sam chuckled, interpreting her comment as a joke. 

‘So that’s why the crazy old boy lives up there’ he said as his food arrived also. He then glanced at the woman and realised she was not joking, a strange kind of smile on her face. 

‘You city folk… there’s a lot more out there than you would guess’ the woman replied with a hint of knowing as she took a sip of her drink. Sam became genuinely interested; this woman seemed intelligent and well mannered yet was hinting that his grandfather had placed himself in a prime location to spot aliens.

‘Oh really? Tell me what you have seen’ Sam replied feeling like a child once more. The two began conversing about all kinds of sightings, myths and legends. What she had seen personally and heard lurked in the woods. For some reason Sam let this information wash over him, feeling lifted by it. The way she spoke of these encounters had an air of absolute reality, opening the door to make him believe that these kind of things were possible. Soon the woman had finished her food and started to leave. She also told Sam her name was Mia, leaving her number. 

‘I’ll see you around Sam! Let me know if you want to go stargazing one day’ she said as she opened the door to the diner and ran to her car through the storm. Sam felt a little flat as she left but was aglow from the experience. He then realised he had barely eaten his food and so wolfed it down, glancing at the clock. 7:30pm. Sam had been chatting here for around forty minutes and was behind schedule, and so he left quickly, giving the surly waitress a large tip. Soon he was back on the now dark roads, heading for the mountains. He had paused slightly just before leaving to key his information into the navigation system stuck to his windscreen, knowing he had no hope of making it without it. Soon the roads had changed from long and flat to uphill and winding, twisting through dense trees on the edges of the mountain range. The storm still raged on. Sam's navigation system began flickering, as if the gloom of the mountain had begun to suck the life from it. Suddenly something slammed into Sam's windscreen as he toyed with his navigation panel, shattering the glass on the outside. He instantly slammed his breaks and then pulled over to the side of the road. Upon getting out of his car and inspecting the road behind him Sam realised a large branch had snapped in the heavy winds, falling onto his car. He also could not find his navigation system and so stood in brooding silence for a moment, scratching his head as he looked around baffled.

‘Where the hell are you up here old man’ he asked himself under his breath. And then, there was a whistling sound. Someone was trying to get his attention. Sam squinted as he looked forward. Around fifty metres ahead of him a figure stood in the trees, waving his arms. 

‘Over here my boy!’ the clearly identifiable voice of his grandfather said in the night, before his silhouette took a turn back into the forest down an offroad track. Sam lurched forward in disbelief and then doubled back to his car, starting it and beginning to follow frantically. Both fear and concern rose within him. What was he doing out here? Sam revved his old engine up to the spot his grandfather had been stood and then paused briefly, putting on his full beams to ignite the road ahead. Nothing except a narrow dirt path and dense trees met his eyes. Still, he sped down wheels spinning as he frantically looked around. Within a few moments he realised there was no sign of his grandfather and began to panic, opening his window. 

‘Granpop! Where are you?’ he shouted as his voice filled with exasperation. Whistling rose from somewhere deep in the woods, followed by shouting on the winds of the storm. Still he continued in his car, branches of this narrow dirt road appearing from almost every direction. Sam would roll slowly forwards and then hear a whistle or shout, turning down whatever path seemed closest to the noise. He soon realised he had been so blindly pursuing his grandfather that he had no idea whatsoever how many turns he had taken, or from what direction he had come from. Soon the whole situation had become like some kind of twisted nightmare and he got out of his car with his hands on his head in disbelief, shouting into the darkness of the forest. A whistle sounded mere steps away from him up ahead in this panic. Sam withdrew his phone and turned on its torch, revealing an absurd sight. His grandfather stood beckoning him from just behind a large surface of rocks that had spilled off of a woodland hillside. He had the same expression of playfulness Sam had known as a child - both relief and slight frustration washed over Sam that he had managed to find his grandfather in such a state. Sam jogged through the shrubbery and his grandfather backed away, behind the rocks.

‘Stay right there granpop you’re lost!’ Sam shouted, but when he rounded the corner there was no one to be seen once again. Instead, the opening to a large clearing in the woods met Sam's gaze. A night sky filled with an unbelievable array of stars. Sam walked out into the tall grass and looked upwards. There was silence now, no storm. From all the way across the opening, Sam saw his grandfather, pointing upwards into the sky calmly. Sam looked up to see an astonishing white light descending, as if the very stars themselves had fallen. He recoiled, and then slowly became absorbed by this light, its majesty all-encompassing. Soon he had no perception of where he was, or what he could feel as a force began to lift him. There were blurs of voices, shouts from beings in the brilliance of the white light. And then, he was somewhere else entirely. Sam looked down to see his feet meeting soft purple grass. It felt incredible, unlike anything he had ever experienced. 

‘Look how beautiful it is out here. Look at what I can see’ the voice of his grandfather said from right next to him. Sam looked to his right and saw his grandfather standing next to him - instead of his old tired appearance however, he looked younger, at least ten years so. The pair were stood in a meadow, but they were not on earth. 

‘Where are we granpop?’ Sam asked. He realised his voice was youthful also, he was a child once more. 

‘Oh you know deep down my boy. We’ve been here plenty of times’ 

Sam smiled, an unbelievable warmth growing inside of him. He marveled at the alien sky above him, stars visible in the red sky as two suns peeked over a large mountain ahead. Sam knelt down and picked a beautiful white flower, handing it to his grandfather. And then like a flash, it was all over. 

Sam awoke in his car, his head pounding. He was leaning forward and slowly put his hand to his temple. Blood. From looking around he had crashed into a tree after veering from the road. The storm had pushed him to his limit. Slowly he took a deep breath and opened his car door, revealing a grey morning light as the sun began to rise. Something unbelievable had happened. Sam was right outside his grandfather's cabin, the sounds of the rushing creek meeting his ears. Slowly he approached, worn after passing out and feeling concussed. The dream must have been induced by his head injury, he figured. Upon entering the cabin there was no immediate sign of his grandfather; and then he saw him. His grandfather was lying stock still in his bed, a hint of a smile on his face and his hands interlocking on his chest. Sam gazed at him, slowly realising the worst. His grandfather had passed on, the grey hint in his complexion apparent. Sam fell to his knees, sobbing as he clasped at his grandfather. Through tearful eyes Sam grabbed his hands, muffled apologies falling from his lips. Something met his touch as he did this however, and he gently lifted his grandfather's limp palm. A peculiarly soft, unearthly white flower fell from his grasp. Sam laughed and looked out the window at the rising sun. He knew he would see his grandfather again.