It's pitch black outside, with no cars and no houses around to stop the night from taking over. A clear chilly night with no clouds and you could see every star in the sky. No sound except for my dad and I, with the dogs, trackers, and headlamps, snapping twigs as we walk around waiting for the dogs to howl, a clear sound in the dead silence meaning they have a coon in one of the bare trees. That sound is either the sound of success or defeat.
The time ticks by as we walk, our beams of light dancing in the trees, hoping for a glint of a coon's eyes in the darkness. There wasn't many in this woods this year, or anywhere else. Where we would get at least four to five coon out of each woods we visited, we were lucky to even see two. And even those were not worth shooting, for they weren't worth much or they were too small. But the excitement of each hunt was the part I love the most.
This was a time and place where I didn't have to worry about what I did. I didn't have to watch what I said or spend three hours trying to figure out what to wear so I wouldn't be teased and laughed at. Here, in this woods with my dad, I am free. Free of the torments from my classmates. Free of arguments with my mother. Just free of not living. Here in the woods, I can finally breathe and live a life that isn't constricted of the endless demands of high school and cliches. A life worth living. It may not be much, but it's worth it.
We walk along, hearing nothing but our breathing and the sound of our synchronized footsteps, with mud making a squishing sound from our weight. Dad paused a few times to check a tree or to make coon noises. They almost sound like cats when they hiss but there's more of a sound with it that I don't know how to describe. It sends chills up my spine every time I hear it.
As soon as we are about to give up and go home, we hear a low, drawn out howl in the distance. Dad and I stopped and waited to see if the howls would stop or if one of the dogs actually ran a coon up a tree. There was a short pause, but they didn't stop.
"Well it looks like they got one,"Dad said as he pulled out the GPS,"either that or they smell a possum or the scent of a coon that's not there anymore."
"Hopefully it's a coon that is there and it stays in the same tree this time and we can actually get to it," I replied, and together we ran towards the dogs, who were both at the tree at this point. They went out further than usual, probably because of the full moon. It sounds strange but moon phases actually have an effect on these dogs.
I went on a different path than Dad because the one he was taking had burrs and thorns everywhere. My path was okay for a little bit but I soon regretted my decision. There was a fallen tree in the way, its branches thrown everywhere. It was like a dead end in a dark cave, with no way to go around it. I was all alone.
As I looked for a quicker way out, I noticed that for each branch, there was a wrinkle in my life. Each one led to a smaller wrinkle, until each one was all connected to some part of my life or to a part of who I am. All my problems were fanned out in front of me in the form of a fallen tree.
I mentally traced a path through the branches, starting with a small twig. It symbolized homework, which led to my grades, then that led to how many credits I had for graduation, which led to how soon I could graduate, which led to job opportunities and college applications, all leading to how my life will go. If I messed up on one small part, I could end up flipping burgers and serving nasty, greasy French Fries to people for the rest of my life.
"Is that really what I where I want my life to go?" I thought to myself, thinking of that life that would lead nowhere. I liked to cook, but the thought of serving overly preserved chicken nuggets that aren't even real chicken and fries that have been sitting under a heat lamp for a few hours was enough to make my stomach turn with nausea. Nope, it's not the life for me.
I found another path and traced it around the tree, for this one was a longer, more twisted branch. This one was my dad. The smallest part was how dizzy he got from time to time. Then came the random blackouts, then the bipolar, then the tumors, his knee, brain damage from all those years he spent riding bulls, which all led to how much time he had left. I didn't want to lose my dad, so I was always trying to help him out. But in the end, I knew he wouldn't be around forever, that everything has an end.
One of the dogs let out a howl and snapped me back to reality. What felt like an eternity was a mere few minutes. I had to get around this tree. But how? I looked around for an opening big enough I could get through. Needless to say there wasn't one.
I started to break parts of the tree off and tossed them aside, labeling each one as I went. Good bye, trying to fit in. Good bye, procrastinating. Good bye, fighting with my mom, not listening, and caring what others think about me. By the time I was done labeling everything, there was a large hole just above the trunk of the tree. Now I could get past the tree and get to Dad.
I climbed through the opening and started to run towards the sound of the still howling dogs. I didn't get far before I realized that all I had to do to iron out the wrinkles in my life was exactly what I did with the tree. Start small and work on the little things first. That way, once I got to the bigger problems, I would be ready to face each one head on. I wouldn't have to turn back and avoid them, leaving all those problems to pile up and haunt me each time I did something.
I started running again, this time with a new plan. When I finally made it to the tree the coon was in, Dad had already shot it and was now hooking the dogs to their leashes. He handed me one of the leashes and then he grabbed the coon. It was a good one, with a good hide and bushy tail. It was probably the best one of the season.
"What took you so long to get to the tree?" Dad asked,"You were right behind me, but then you vanished."
"I took a different path. The one we were on was slowing me down because of all the burrs and thorns. Then there was a dead tree in the way so I had to break the branches to get through,"I replied, recalling the incident.
The thing is, I didn't expect to learn how to deal with my problems that night. But I came out of the woods with a new plan and the courage to face life head on. I found a way to be happy, to get rid of all the bad things in my life. That night, I learned how to charge forward, no matter how big the obstacle may seem.
Ok guys I don't know what's going on with this story but after I published it, I went back to make sure it was all correct. But I saw that parts were cut out. I'm going to try to fix it and hopefully it will work.