ralpho58
Half a decade.
Five long, excruciating years since Michael Wheeler could do nothing but watch as his best friend, girlfriend, his favorite person, and everything good in his life was snatched from him while he could do nothing but watch.
Life moved on after a month or two of collective grieving.
Mike tried to move on. Truly, he did. He started writing novels that actually gained some traction, mostly of fantastical retellings of his childhood. A surprising amount of it wasn't far from reality.
But his only real respite was the local bar, even that didn't really work. He wrote to force his brain to concentrate on something that wasn't El. His delusional hope that El was alive had died for the most part as the five year mark came and went.
So, when he finds a flyer for a opening for a watchman position in a nearby national forest, Mike decides a change of scenery was for the best. It was something new, and it would give him ample time to write. A breath of fresh air.
For better or for worse, Mike hadn't considered how many forgotten trails he'd rediscover in the pines.
(Inspired by Firewatch by Campo Santo)