Traces of Life

Traces of Life



Dry leaves crunched underfoot as Alex made his way through the trees.  The crisp autumn air was cool on his red cheeks. The gear strapped to his back was starting to make his back ache, but he was determined to make good distance before resting.

The loud crack of a breaking twig cut through the near silent air, making Alex jump.  A weird uneasiness had settled over him since his solo trek began.  He could swear he had heard whispers on the wind and felt as though someone was watching him. He pushed the crazy thoughts out of his head and kept up his pace.

He was farther into the woods now. The sun was high, peeking through the tall pines and blinking at him where other types of trees stood with few leaves left to shield it. Alex was lost in his thoughts when his stomach began to growl, reminding him of how long he’d been on the trail. He found himself a large tree trunk to sit against to enjoy the sandwich lunch he had packed.  As he was finishing up, he noticed a brown squirrel a few yards away busily hunting for food for the upcoming winter months. Soon it found something worth keeping then darted up a tree and disappeared from sight.

Back on the trail awhile, the trees are now dense, making him concentrate more on his surroundings. He came upon a tree with a crude marking engraved into it- and swears he passed the same one some time ago. Maybe there is more than one tree with the mark. He presses on. He then sees several fallen trees in a pattern he’d already walked by. “Am I more tired than I realized?”  He asks himself. Alex now becomes frustrated, feeling that he’s walking in circles.

The light below the trees seemed to grow dim too fast. Wondering if clouds were obscuring the sun, Alex found a small clearing and looked up to try and gauge his direction and get his bearings- only to find the sun had almost completely gone down. It was low enough that from where he stood amongst the tall pines he couldn’t tell which direction it had set. “What’s going on here?”  Alex muttered, trying to grasp his situation. He took off his pack and knelt to find his flashlight and compass. As he was doing so, he heard the soft rustling of wings in the breeze above him. When he turned, a beautiful hawk was landing on a nearby tree stump and seemed to be acutely aware of Alex’s presence and was staring right at him! Alex stayed perfectly still, not sure as to how the bird would react to any movement. There was an overwhelming calmness that came over him as this creature pondered him.  Just then the hawk lifted off into the air, circling very low, seeming to beckon Alex to follow.  His curiosity won out over his sensibility as he moved off in the same direction as the graceful bird.

He kept stumbling because it was difficult to keep an eye on both the ground and sky at the same time, but this hawk was leading him wasn’t it? He was beginning to think he was crazy for following it when he caught a glimpse of a campsite ahead of him in the beam of his flashlight. He swept the light across the area. It was obviously abandoned, but there were a few items left behind that would come in very handy. He noted a large piece of cloth that lay crumpled on the ground and a fire pit was assembled along with a small pile of kindling. Alex had momentarily forgotten the hawk and now searched above for it, but it was nowhere in sight. He silently thanked the bird.

He got a fire going first and turned next to the cloth, using it to fashion a tent over a low branch. He found some rocks to hold down the sides. All settled in for the night, he sat by the crackling fire with a full belly and soon his eyelids were heavy. Alex tended the fire and snuggled into his sleeping bag. Sleep wouldn’t be easy tonight, however. Dreams of a dark figure following him, people standing over him and mumbling voices plagued him.

Alex jerked awake. He sat up and squinted at the new dawn light. The images of his dreams were beginning to elude him already. He untangled himself from his bedding and got up.

Outside, he was rubbing his sleepy eyes as a shadow moved among the trees behind him. The sound of something crashing through the brush made him perk up. Unable to tell which direction it was heading, Alex was surprised by an animal as it sprang towards him. A glimpse of dark fur and lots of teeth was enough to get him to his feet.  Running hard, he could hear the wolf’s snorts and heavy panting behind him.

Alex tore through the trees, caught his foot on a root and landed face first in the dirt. He never saw an arm reach out to grab him, but as he turned his head, he did see the wild-eyed wolf leap into the air- colliding with a dark figure and both vanished on impact.

Alex turned himself completely over and squinted into a beam of sunlight, blinking away tears he hadn’t realized were there. There was a silhouette of a bird in the sun above him, and as he tried harder to make it out, the more blurred it became. Alex closed his eyes for a moment. The noises of woods around him began to change slightly in his ears…a bird’s quiet chirping now sounded more like beeping…

When Alex opened his eyes, he finds familiar faces of his family peering down at him. Worry mixed with happiness expressed by them all. “What’s happening?” he manages to whisper with a dry throat. His mother’s gentle hand clasps his tube-covered one and says softly “Honey, you were in a car accident on your way to go hiking.” She paused and smiled wearily. “You’re alright now, though.”


                                                        The End