CASCADE - Chapter 21
BEYOND THE VEIL
March 18, 2023
BEYOND THE VEIL
The day after returning from Man, Liam and Aika sat outside on the deck as the sun peaked through the clouds. The temperature at this time of year fluctuated between cold and mild, but today was still cold enough for a sweatshirt. They both sipped coffee. The sound of a speedboat darting across the lake interrupted the chattering of sparrows. A hawk wailed in the distance.
Aika set her cup down and inquired, “What were Naoma and Man like?”
Liam answered, “Mountains and hills surround them. Both fir and hardwood forests went on for as far as the eye can see. When looking down from a mountaintop road, it was like being in Hilton’s Shangri-La.”
Aika looked toward the sound of a chattering Sparrow. “That landscape does sound beautiful.”
Liam sipped coffee, “Contrasting, Beautiful and simultaneously, wild, and foreign.”
“The people were friendly.” Liam paused as if to say more.
Aika, sensing something, said, “But what?”
Liam took a deep breath and clarified, “But I also saw poverty and hardship. I read a historical marker in Man recounting the 1972 Buffalo Creek Disaster. One hundred and twenty-five people died, and thousands were homeless from a coal sludge impoundment failure.”
“That must have been awful.”
“Yes, it was.” He turned to Aika and said, “There is beauty, but something is under the surface. I spoke with a diner waitress who said it’s not discussed openly because people need jobs. Something beyond the veil of the forest. Something dark. Foreboding.”