Natural Love

He had worked there for sometime. Clearing the paths, maintaining the signs, keeping an eye out for those who were visiting, picking up trash. He really couldn't have asked for anything else. It made him happy seeing others so pleased with their visits.

Every day was a new adventure and he awoke each morning with a smile on on his face. The magic of it was that it never got old.

Over the years he had seen it all. Families laughing and playing in the large open meadows, rescues of hikers who had dared to get too close to one of the waterfalls - even flash floods. But his favorite was always the different couples that managed to come and go. All different types - from new couples that were trying something new, never having camped together before, to men proposing to their significant other on the top of Half Dome. He had worked weddings and receptions, witnessed a father passing along his daughter's hand in marriage - the surprise on a man's face learning that he was going to be a father. Honeymoon hikes were something he had become accustomed to - guiding them through the lush forest, pleased to see the look of pure bliss on their faces. And sometimes it wasn't all so pretty. A few times he heard arguments echoing from deep within a campsite as he walked by, or tears streaming down a flushed face. But he wasn't too concerned - he knew things would eventually work themselves out.

His favorite couple only proved that.

They had been coming there long before he had begun his tenure. He had heard their history - how they had been visiting since the fifties. Once a year as the summer months began to die down and the winter winds had begun to creep over the mountains into the valley. When he had first heard of them, he was determined to meet them, but thought otherwise, not wanting to disturb their time together. Eventually he met them in passing and each year their relationship grew slightly. They had first bumped into each other down in the meadow sunbathing and from that moment on they were inseparable. Not only did they return each year to honor their love and where they first met, but just being there made them feel young again. Both in mind and at heart.

When he made his rounds, closing the different trails and paths, he'd find them atop of one of the bluffs, overlooking the valley floor. Coats pulled up against their chins, hunched down in the wind, just soaking it all in. Remembering their past visits in silence - just relishing each other's company. He knew it was his job to hurry them along, guiding them back to the resort, but he always let them linger for a few extra minutes. He didn't have the heart to cut their time there short.

It was the spot that they ended each and every evening. Where she had said "I do."