Read The Evensong for Free Online Page A

it.”
    “Yeah. It’s a good view of the place,” he said, following my gaze. “But not the whole thing. Have you ever walked through it all?”
    I shrugged, fiddling with the zipper of my hoodie. “Most of it, I think.”
    “Alone?”
    “Yeah,” I replied, briefly glancing at him. “My friends don’t exactly like it that much.”
    “That’s crazy,” he laughed, picking at the long grass growing next to him. “I love this place.”
    I laughed weakly, embarrassingly nervous.
    “Come on,” Stranger said, standing, “I’ll show you my favorite places. They’re kind of across the place, but it’s not that far.”
    He offered a hand, and I looked at the tattoos peeking out from under the sleeve of his jacket. It reminded me of something—something tied to the swamps—but I couldn’t quite recall it. So I took his hand, letting him pull me to my feet.
    I followed him down the edges of the swamp, stepping in the impressions his shoes made in the sponge-like ground. We passed by everything familiar; trees I’d marked in my mind to just remember where I was going. It was easy to get lost here, but Stranger led the way like he’d done it a million times, like me. Walking around one bend of trees, we had to balance on a precarious edge, one that slanted down into the murky water. Stranger held his arms out for balance while I just gripped the few thin branches that came every now and then. I almost slipped in once, and my right shoe was partially soaked.
    “You okay?” Stranger asked, stopping to turn and look at me.
    “Fine,” I replied, embarrassed. I shook some of the water off, but I could feel it seeping into my sock.
    “You haven’t ever gone this way, have you?”
    I gripped the next branch and kept moving, stopping when I stood next to him. “No, but it’s all the same to me. Ready?”
    He grinned and nodded, facing forward again. I was slightly annoyed by his positive attitude, but it could have been an effect of being embarrassed by my near-catastrophe. That would have been brilliant . . . me falling into the swamp, coming up soaked and stinking of stagnant water. At least there was that little handful of meager branches to help me out.
    Passing the balancing act, we walked on solid ground again, and I was beginning to wonder where he was going. The trees were starting to thin out, signaling the edge of the swamp. But he stopped at a sort of small cove-like area where the trees hung with lacey moss and ferns lined the shore.
    “This is one of them,” he said, stopping and spreading his arms wide. “If the water were in better condition, I’d definitely swim.”
    “It is nice,” I admitted, walking towards the edge. The water even seemed a little clearer here. If the sun were out, it would have come through the opening in the canopy of trees, lighting the ground where I stood.
    “And it’s close to home,” Stranger added.
    “It is?” I asked, frowning as I turned around. Looking past him, I only saw more trees, though they were getting sparse in that direction. He nodded and turned around, walking the opposite way. I paused, but then went after him.
    Coming out of the trees, I saw we had come to a further side of the town where the people preferred more seclusion. The houses were space far apart, though there was one right in front of me. The white two-story home was almost on the very edge of the swamp itself.
    “Wow,” I said the second I saw it. “That’s where you live?”
    “Yeah,” Stranger smiled, rocking back and forth on his heels.
    “Alone?”
    He nodded as we kept walking towards the front door. He said he didn’t mind it at all since he was used to being somewhat solitary. I just nodded, still staring at the place in amazement. It was beautiful, really. The framework was subtle but elegant, and pillars surrounded the wraparound porch. A wicker table was on the front porch as well as a swing, which was peeling white paint over the floor. As we climbed the stairs, I