Finding Paradise: A Way Home - Walt & Lillian Disney’s 1925 Honeymoon (Part 3)
Newlyweds Walt and Lillian Disney, July 1925 (Courtesy of the Walt Disney Family Museum)
“What was that?!” Lilly cried, her fingers bunching the fabric of Walt’s coat as she clung to him.
“I don’t know, but I sure don’t want to wait around and find out.” He looked up at the sky in frustration, wishing the moon would speed its arrival and show them the way back to the inn.
Walt’s fingers itched for a cigarette, for the soothing practice of inhale and exhale to calm him. But he had left his cigarettes at the inn, not wanting to risk the ire of his new bride, who frowned whenever he struck a match.
A match. His lighter!
Easing Lilly out of his arms, Walt quickly shoved a hand into his trouser pocket to retrieve his lighter. “Hold on, Lilly, I’ve got us a way out of this mess.” Flicking the striker wheel with his thumb, he breathed a sigh of relief as the tiny flame came to life, casting a warm glow between them.
“Why didn’t we think of that sooner?” Lilly exclaimed, laughing in relief.
Walt grabbed Lilly’s hand and held the small gold lighter aloft, illuminating a tiny piece of the dirt path. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to make progress, at the very least.
“I think we should go back the way we came, and hope we run into a trail marker of some sort,” Walt said. Lilly nodded, and they slowly reversed course, hoping to run into some familiar landmark to point them back to safety.
The wispy fog muffled the night sounds of the alpine forest as they slowly made their way through the darkness. The low-lying clouds that had felt so magical when they first started out now felt like they were taunting them, swirling by like menacing ghosts and threatening to extinguish their meager flame.
An owl hooted, and Walt could feel Lilly’s fear as she gripped his hand tighter. “I am sure it’s not too much farther, darling,” he assured her, though in truth he was just as worried as she was.
The owl sounded again, and Walt took a deep breath, trying to keep focused on the task at hand and not let his mind wander to another owl he had known in the past, back in Marceline.
As if she could read his thoughts, Lilly suddenly said, “It wasn’t your fault, dear. You know that.” She pulled his arm closer to her, hugging it with her other hand to try to comfort him from the ugly truth that had plagued him since he was a little boy.
A lump formed in Walt’s throat, and he swallowed it down, his eyes burning.
It was a silly thing to get upset about. Just a foolish mistake. And yet, it haunted him, always.
Want to keep reading?
Continue Finding Paradise on Substack to read the exciting conclusion of Walt and Lillian Disney’s 1925 honeymoon adventure!
Mount Rainier’s Historic Paradise Inn
More Disney historical fiction is coming soon! I am currently writing a full-length novel set in 1955 Disneyland, and I can’t wait to share it with you. Stay tuned!
Ready for more Disney history now? Explore my other books here.
