What I didn’t expect was how much older I looked. My hair was finally growing out again. I had kept it short as per Army requirements, but the second I was out I let it grow. I loved my hair long, I always had. Spending four years with a buzz cut was awful.
My hair wasn’t the only thing that set me apart.
All the men were clean shaven with baby faces. My stubble was thicker by noon than theirs would be in a week. I shook my head and tried to tell myself no one cared. It didn’t matter that I was older than the rest of the students. As long as I scored well, none of it mattered.
Class ended quickly and I left with pages full of notes. There was a commotion in the back of the class and I just barely caught a glimpse of another female student dashing out of the class.
Something about her was vaguely familiar but she was gone before I could figure it out.
I shrugged.
I would come face to face with the student soon enough. The class size meant everyone would know everyone before too long. Kind of reminded me of home,
I went back to my new apartment and studied both my notes and my textbooks. I was determined to get ahead quickly.
I waited too long to fulfill my dream of becoming a doctor. After working as a medic, I only wanted it more. Medical school was the first step to making that dream a reality and I refused to fail. This was my new mission.
The next day, I had two classes in the afternoon, but my morning was free.
I decided to spend the morning on campus because there were paths that led into the woods. I hadn’t really gotten a chance to look around during orientation, but I loved nature and it had been a long time since I had been on a hike.
I got to campus first thing in the morning and bought myself a bottle of water. With my backpack thrown over my shoulders, I set off through the woods.
My path began behind the library. It was surrounded by small bushes, but I could still see classroom buildings all around me.
I walked faster, wanting to put civilization behind me for a few hours. As I walked deeper into the woods, the trees grew steadily taller. After a few minutes, I was surrounded by them. I smiled to myself and slowed my pace.
Now that I was away from the buildings, I could pretend like I wasn’t on campus. I could focus on the sounds and smells of nature without even remembering my classroom buildings were just a few miles away.
I breathed in the smell of the trees and ran my hands over the trunks. After about a mile of walking in peaceful silence, I pulled out my water bottle and took a long sip.
My pace was natural, not too slow or too fast. I had a few hours before I needed to be in class and I wanted to enjoy this rare moment of free time. I knew that the workload would only get crazier as time went on.
Soon, I wouldn’t have anytime to myself. I would be confined to libraries and laboratories. Then, when clinicals began I would be stuck in the hospital every day for months. I was beyond excited about it, but I wanted to breathe in the fresh air while I still could.
I didn’t know where the path led, but I was eager to find out. I walked a little quicker, noticing that the trees were beginning to thin again. The path curved upward and I felt my legs stiffen at the incline. I pushed forward and soon my muscles relaxed back into a comfortable pace. It wasn’t long before the slope evened out. I stepped around a huge oak tree and looked around.
I was standing in the middle of a clearing with trees on either side of me. In front of me, there wasn’t anything but open space. The grass was so green that it was almost blinding in the sunlight. I looked at the sky. It was a gorgeous blue without a cloud in sight. I grinned and walked further into the clearing.
God, I had missed the States.
As I moved, I noticed it wasn’t just a clearing. On the far edge was a steep drop. I walked up to the cliff and looked down. There was a rocky slope beneath me that was much too steep for climbing, but out further was an endless array of beauty.
There were trees and flowers to the left with a small lake directly below me. Off to the right, I could see tiny buildings. I wasn’t sure if they were office buildings or apartments, I was too high up to tell. Damn, the view was amazing. I could have stood there enjoying it all day, but I knew I didn’t have the time.
Pulling my water from my backpack, I took another drink before I turned back around and headed to the other side of the clearing. The sun was rising ever high in the sky and my first class was at noon. I couldn’t afford to miss it so I glanced at the clearing one last time before I set off back down the path.
A few feet past the clearing, I ran into a couple of hikers. I nodded politely and let them pass. It wasn’t long before I realized this was a popular spot. I got there early, so not many hikers had arrived yet. As I walked back down the hill, more and more people passed by me.
I wasn’t paying close attention to each face as I walked. I was focused on maneuvering down the path without tripping or running into someone.
When I heard a familiar voice in front of me, I was sure I had heard wrong.
I froze, body tense and ears perking up.
Disbelief was a living thing in my body.
There was no way it was her.