The Girl by the River

The Girl by the River

The girl walked that way every morning. She had a small black and brown dog, the kind he had taken pleasure in submerging in a barrel of water and watching it squirm when he was a boy, a scruffy oversized rat.
The dog led the girl along the grassy track by the river. They walked down the bank and disappeared beneath the bridge. He wondered that her parents had not advised her against walking in such lonely places.
Once, he'd followed her. She'd been gone some time. He knew because he had checked his watch just after she'd vanished beneath the bridge, and he had sat on the bench to read his morning paper. As time passed, he'd become concerned, so he'd folded his paper under his arm and followed the path that the girl had taken. There was a scum on the surface of the water. Sweet paper and beer cans had collected in the reeds at the edge of the river, evidence of the drinkers that congregated there in the evenings. Her parents really ought to tell her not to go there.
A few minutes later, she came into sight. Even at a distance he recognised her. Her brown ponytail bounced as she walked. The orange fleece that she wore was a vibrant splotch on the landscape. She was walking briskly towards him. He slowed his step. He didn't want to come upon her too soon. He didn't want to startle her. He tried to adjust his features into a suitable expression as she drew nearer. He could see the dog now. She'd taken it off the lead and every now and then it stopped to sniff at the tress on the bank.
'Come on, Max.'
She didn't slow her step and the dog, after sniffing some more, broke into a trot to catch up with his owner.
He hadn't been this close to her before. He noticed that her skin was stained with acne. He could smell the damp, musty smell of the dog whose coat was wet from the river. They were just feet away now. He looked directly at the girl, a hint of a smile on his lips - but not too much, that would be inappropriate. She kept her head down, attention focused on her navy runners. The dog ran slightly ahead of her. They passed him as though he were invisible. The half-smile vanished from his lips.
He kept walking as the girl's steps once again widened the distance between them. He checked his watch, and then increased his pace. He wanted to know how far along the river the girl usually walked. Did she walk to the end of the man-made trail where the grass had grown wild and the fields had been forgotten? It wasn't a safe place for a girl. She would learn that in time.