They had been hiking through the woods for days before they finally saw the cabin in the clearing up ahead. It was finally autumn in Colorado and the trees were changing colors. Forrest took Delaney’s and lead the way down the trail scattered with pebbles and stones. 

Forrest was an experienced trail guide who worked in outdoor recovery for explorers that had battled with addiction. They had met years ago when she was a troubled youth in Brooklyn. He was working as a student leader at The Brooklyn Zoo, he was 25 and Delaney was 17. They had quite the summer and had managed to keep in touch through the years keeping a very far distance but orbiting each other social media remotely. 

Even though Delaney had married her college sweetheart Zach at 27, she always knew she would get back together with Forrest in her forties. She always believed in soul contracts and karmic ties and couldn’t fool herself into ever getting over Forrest. When the opportunity to reconnect with him presented itself she thought she might die which is exactly why she went for it. 

Now they were getting closer to the cabin, Delaney took in the moment before they would finally be alone together again. They had been on this retreat that she had learned about from Violetta, Zach’s colleague, who had suggested Delaney go to so she could get closer with Zach. 

After researching it, Delaney had saw Forrest was on staff and decided she would go for it. She had seen him in passing over the years, but could never face him. 

She probably wouldn’t be so desperate or daring, but after all she had met Spencer who had changed her life and scared her more than Forrest. Just a few weeks ago, Spencer had broken into her mansion and surprised her yet again. It was only thirty minutes after she urged him to leave that her husband Zach’s Porsche pulled into their driveway. 

This retreat may have been the only way to escape Spencer’s escalating behavior and she could go dark for a week with no one to know here whereabouts. Maybe after the retreat something would change within her.

When Delaney saw Forrest across the dining hall the first night of the retreat she wasn’t surprise or unfamiliar to his sight. She had just saw him 6 months earlier at the library, although he didn’t see her. They were so familiar there wasn’t anything new, but a deep under current of betrayal and rejection ran strong.

How would she beckon him, could she even play it off like she were to walk past him and just happen to have him recognize her? Just as she thought to herself that this was all a terrible idea, he looked at her from across the room. 

He back straightened so fast that she heard her neck snap. They locked eyes for several seconds before he looked towards the left to another handsome trail guide that he had be talking with. She felt so dumb because she was almost going to wave. She saw him laughing and getting carried away with his company as if he hadn’t even saw her. 

As she grabbed her plate and started down the buffet table of food she felt relieved that at least he was aware of her presence and secretly knew to herself how much trouble that would probably cause him. Undoubtedly he knew their time wasn’t up all those years, after all that is why he never said “goodbye”. 

Days had passed now and Forrest and Delaney had been in proximity because of the many classes and workshops at the camp. They never said much to each other but acknowledged one another in formal group settings as part of the activities. Delaney kept wondering back and forth whether they would speak to each other or if the entire trip would pass and nothing would come of it. Maybe it would just be a strange coincidence while the Holy Spirit pillaged her over Spencer the entire time. 

Was there even an attraction anymore between Forrest and Delaney or was it all deep seated resentment and trauma. She was hoping for a chance to make an amends with him, but respectfully she wouldn’t if it wasn’t right. 

It was at the outdoor seated area that was nearby some waterfalls that Delaney had been journaling in a notebook since everyone’s electronics were collected before the retreat. Forrest was at a table some way off working on paperwork. Delaney got up and walked back towards the trail that would lead to the cabins and passed by him then tripped. He caught her as she fell and finally they kissed.