Taboo

Keywords: Fugitive,

I knew that all they really cared about was the crop.

"What are you doing?" she stepped up beside me.

"Trying to throw them off track." I said.

I took her hand and led her away, careful to leave no tracks. We moved slowly and carefully until we were several hundred yards away, then we moved very quickly.

I was hoping the men would find the overturned rocks and think she had fallen. A long shot but worth a try.

At my camp, I pulled the fresh bushes from the entrance, then we crawled in as I pulled it shut behind us.

We waited in silence until it was full dark, then I set a small fire and cooked a meal.

She ate greedily.

"So why were you with them?" I asked, finally.

"I was smuggled into the Country, but they never let me go. They made me work, they...they...used me." Her eyes went downcast in shame.

"You are safe now." I told her, not completely sure of that.

No one came after that, several days later I made my way up to the pool. I could see the tracks, they had found my ruse, had they accepted that she had fallen, perhaps died?

I couldn't be sure.

She told me her name was Maria, I told her mine was Dan. Other than that, I simply went about my business, harvesting game, drying some Trout.

I came back to camp to find her weeding the garden. I also saw two small hides she had scraped and hung to cure, and she had carefully clipped the inside thorns that never failed to regrow.

Even the tarp I used for a flooring was swept and cleaned. She simply became part of the camp, part of my life.

I never made a move to touch her, even though I wanted to.

The truth is, I was enjoying her company.

Several times we walked over to a different nearby pool to bathe, she simply stripped and washed, I did the same. I found myself trying to not stare at her with little success, I caught her smiling at that, too.

At night we slept under the hides I used for blankets, sharing the warmth of our bodies.

I kept my hands to myself. That was also a struggle.

But one morning I woke up, feeling an odd sensation. I realized quickly that she was under the covers, and fondling me.

Things progressed quickly after that, she sighed as I entered her. I came quickly, in just seconds, but I never softened. I just kept on.

The thrill of a woman's bare breasts pressed against my chest, the joy of sex again after more than a decade was almost more than I could handle.

I wanted her all the time, we quickly progressed to making love several times each day. We went through the entire Fall and Winter like that.

The warmer days of Spring arrived early, we saw high 60 degree days by March.

I knew what was going to happen, I planned for it.

I watched the trails, one day the three men came again. There was an area of the trail that opened up wider, just before the top of a rise. It was a perfect ambush point.

They were coming up the trail, I stepped out with my shotgun.

They stopped, looked at me in shock.

"Hablo Ingles?" I asked.

One of them nodded.

"Si'. Yes, I speak English." He said, a flustered look on his face.

"This is my land." I told him.

They all looked at each other.

"Here is my deal. You plant your crops, then you leave and don't come back. I will tend it, and leave a mark at the road to let you know."

They looked at each other again.

"When you see my sign, you come and harvest. You will bring me $1000.00, Then you leave again."

"Why do you do this?" the one man asked.

"And why for so little?"

"I can't have you giving me away, and that is all I need."

He smiled, seeming to understand.

There was a short conversation in Spanish, they all began to nod.

Maria stepped out of the bushes, they looked at her in shock.

"She is with me now." I told them bluntly.

They all nodded. Something about a double barreled shotgun with the hammers back ensures compliance.

I lowered the weapon, set the hammers down.

They walked on up the trail. I watched, out of their sight as they walked on past. I went on up to the upper field, I could see they had done their work.

Perhaps they would understand my rules. If not, I knew what would happen.

I think they knew, too.

The next day, I took Maria and we walked up to the pool where I had first seen her.

"Will you stay with me?" I asked her.

"Yes." she smiled simply.

"Will you be my wife?"

"Yes." Another smile.

I took her hand, and spoke quietly, offering her my love. I knew we could not go to a church.

We held each other and kissed, then started the long walk back to our camp, our home, meager as it was.

I did not know how long we had, every day could bring my capture. If anyone knew of me, they would come. I knew that, too.

Life is but a moment. I planned on living it as best as I could.

Tomorrow somone could find me. Tomorrow Maria could leave.

So I live for today.

Keywords: Fugitive,