A Hike Through Okonazo

A Hike Through Okonazo(Ajala) It was early morning and the dawn had finally jumped over the brink. The sky was a fluster of yellows and whites, all thanks to the rising of the sun. How beautiful it was and how beautiful the plans of the day ahead would be. I had finally convinced my best friend Trey, to go on a refreshing hike through Okonazo trail. It twirled and curved through the deep greenery of forest for miles and miles, somehow seeming endless like a dark abyss. It was the perfect place, I believed so dearly, for us to spend the day.

We walked for two miles or so and decided to take a rest. The sun beamed down on us so brightly, peeking through the tops of the trees with its blazing rays. ”Man, it’s hot! Why did I agree to come with you again?” Trey said full of complaint. He sat down against a tree and wiped droplets of sweat forming against his forehead, while panting as if he just ran a marathon. He was so weak and full of excuses when it came upon things he didn’t want to do.

He was so self-serving, that was all his personality oozed, but yet he was loved by the masses. That may be an exaggeration, but that was how it seemed. Trey Gurant, the star of the school, the celebrity, the famous, the known! He possessed no real talents. No. He lacked intelligence of any kind. He was a monotonous individual hiding behind a chiseled jawline, intriguing eyes, and a desirable frame. He was a pure deception. Exterior blazing brightly, but interior a dull hopeless flame.

Why did they all love him so? No one would ever comprehend how much of an illusion Trey was, they were all too busy being captured under his spell that depicted him as perfect. It was disgusting and sometimes it took me over the edge, entering a world where my blood boiled and my heart raged just from the existence of Trey. I hated him, but I loved him. One always had to outweigh the other because there is no such thing as a perfect balance between love and hate. One always surpasses the other and in this case, hate was closer to the finish line than it had ever been.

“It’s not that bad, Trey” I flung a water bottle at him with fury. An uneasiness seemed to fill his eyes and a twisted joy rose in me from such a sight. He popped the cap and took long gulps, his adam’s apple popping through his neck. I stared at in awe and then soon with repulse, it reminded me of a large trapped insect. One that needed to be cut out, wounded, and thrown away forever. “Are you okay, man?” Trey asked me puzzlingly. He gave me a weird look, probably because I was staring at him so deeply. “Yes, I’m fine.” I quickly answered while pushing all my recent thoughts to the back of my head. “I just want to get up and keep walking, we have a lot of miles to cover.” I stared off down into the endless trail. “Fine. Three more miles and I’m turning back, with or without you. You want to go down this whole thing, be my guest.” Trey slowly got himself back up onto his feet and we began walking again.

As we walked our feet pittered and pattered against the ground, flushing up dirt in the process. I couldn’t help but notice our feet thudded on the same beat, and that immediately shot a dose of annoyance through my veins. Trey was not me and I was not Trey, therefore we should be different in every way. I despised him and I didn’t want to imagine doing even the most minuscule of things, the same as him. I began to immerse back into my thoughts of hatred before his voice rang me back to reality. “You’ve been really quiet today.” Concern was surprisingly painted across his face. “Is everything alright?” he stopped in his tracks and naturally I did so as well. “I’m perfectly fine.” I lied with much ease. “Good, because you were being a little bitch back there. Y’know getting mad about me taking a rest” he teased at me with a devilish grin on his face. I wished so badly I could pry it off with my bare hands, the idea of the pain he would feel from that sent a warmth through my stomach. It was sickeningly comforting.

“Yes. You acted as if we had just run a marathon, Trey. That’s why I was upset. If anyone was a bitch, it was you.” I kept a cool composure and watched my words melt that smirk off his handsome face. “Whatever man, this was a stupid idea to go on this hike anyways! How is this fun?” he said with an astonished look on his face. “What, huh? You want to watch the birdies, the trees, and the extravagant nature?” there was an evident mocking tone in his voice.

I’ve been upset plenty of times in my life. Mad? Yes. Angry? Yes, but right now I felt the true emotion of being infuriated. I was blazing from my soles to the crown of my head and my bones rattled of pure aversion. Trey mocked me with no mercy. This wasn’t the first time, but something in my conscious told me that it would be the last time and for me, that was a miracle. A miracle that I immediately took a hold of and held onto for dear life. I said no words to Trey. I just continued strolling down the dirt path while listening to his complaints fade into the distance, peace slowly drowning me as his voice disappeared. It grew silent and I smiled happily and I traveled my eyes around the whole perimeter of the forest, taking in the sights. As I looked something in particular caught my eye.

A dusty, black shale rock stared back at me. Its edges were defined with significant sharpness, an ability to break through anything with enough force. I immediately picked it up and rubbed its smooth surface and fiddled with it in my hand. Its bottom exterior was cool to my fingers, while the top surface let out a warmth. “Hate and Hate” I whispered to myself. There was the warmth of blazing hatred and the coolness of cold shouldered, numbing hate. Two feelings I felt simultaneously for Trey.

I held the rock tight in my hand and sprinted down the pathway waiting for Trey to come into sight. I felt wild and alive, all the energy in the world seemed to surge through my body. The time had finally come for me to fix the problem that had been fiddling in my head for what felt like forever, to execute the plan I had only dreamed to complete for so long, but never really had the courage to. The courage had finally arrived and I wasn’t taking it for granted.

Trey’s outline slowly came into my view of sight and my body pushed for me to come into contact with him even faster. He was walking slowly which made catching up to him even easier. It was no surprise that he lagged so. He was weak. I was strong. I possessed power. He didn’t. “Trey!” I yelled out to him and watched him immediately stop in his tracks. I slowed down to a walk, clutching the shale rock so tight that my palm began to seep blood. It dripped down onto the dirt creating a dotted gory trail behind me. As I approached Trey I could hear him sincerely try to seep apologies from his lips, but they flew right past my ears. “Your hand is bleeding man!” he grabbed me by the shoulders and looked at me waiting for a response. I just smiled at him and switched the rock briskly to my unwounded hand. Then I brought it up slowly and rubbed my blood onto his gorgeous face. He was still attractive even with the works of blood mushed into his pores. “What the hell is wrong with you man!?” pure surprise filled his voice. Trey gripped the bottom of his shirt struggling to wipe the blood off his face with it.

He was bent over as he did so, such a vulnerable position it was and I took full advantage of it. My fingers pulsed with all the rage Trey had ever infused in me and it traveled into that symbolic shale rock. Then that shale rock came down with a force so extravagant, and tore through the skin in the middle of Trey’s back. He let out a blood curdling howl that reverberated throughout the forest, sending a flock of birds to take flight. His knees met the hard Earth and he bent over in pain.

I snatched the rock out of his back and watched his body jolt from shock, taking no time I let my knee meet his face with much force. He rolled over onto his back grasping his face, as if that would protect him from my wrath. His cries of pain amused me and I couldn’t help but let a few snickers escape. “Why are you doing this man?” Trey winced out helplessly. “We’re best friends.” A tear slowly seeped from the pools of his eyes, escaping quickly. I showed no interest in his words and let the sharp rock dive into his chest and jerked it out. The action made Trey’s eyes roll back and caused his breathing to rapidly slow down. My problem was almost gone, just one more push over the edge and Trey would no longer exist in my world. “You’re a piece of shit!” Trey spat out at me followed by a hunk of mucus he let come my way. So many emotions flying through the air. Cries for help then cries of insults, it was all confusing yet, comical in every way. “Wait for me in hell Trey.” I whispered to him calmly and stabbed him one last time through his forehead. The crushing noise it made sent a chill up my spine, but it soon erased from my memory.

I looked at Trey’s deceased body with a pride that rang loud. That beautiful face of his slowly began to lose color and a paleness flushed his skin. His eyes were dead pools of nothingness and the rock stuck deep in his head made him unappealing most of all. It bothered me deeply though, that if that rock was not there Trey would still have been beautiful even submerged in death. I slowly rose to my feet and dusted myself off as properly as I could. Trey’s deceased eyes gazed up at me in such a dreamy way, it was comforting. I broke away from the stare and took his cold hands into mine carefully and dragged him off the pathway. We traveled for 30 minutes or so deep into the forest. I finally placed his hands down and threw dead leaves over Trey’s corpse, it went hand in hand. He wasn’t covered completely, but it was enough to make me satisfied. I stared at him one last time, a tinge of remorse ached but not enough to make any tears shed. This is what I always wanted, and I finally grew the courage to fulfill my want. “I should be proud.” I whispered under my breath through the slight breeze flew opposite. I followed its path never looking back at my beloved best friend.