Bear Child (Book 1)

Chapter 6

          6. The Encounter

          I was still wandering around the forest, trying to find my way back. But I felt like I was going around in circles, which wasn't totally impossible. And it was beginning to change, also. Giant pine trees were beginning to replace the trees that had autumn touched leaves. "I don't think I'm going in the right way. I don't remember any pine trees anywhere around town." I was beginning to worry.

          I finally decided to stop after walking around for 7 minutes. "Ugh, who am I kidding? This is hopeless." I sighed a deep sigh of distress. "How am I supposed to get back? I won't last very long out here if it gets dark." Then I heard my stomach rumble. "And it’ll be an even shorter time without food."

          Then a spark went through my mind. "Oh, wait. I brought those snacks." I stuck my hand in my pocket, taking out the two bags of trail mix and jerky. Personally, I don't really eat mix or jerky, but I was hungry. I put away the bag of jerky and began to snack on the trail mix. "Wow. I'm so hungry that this stuff actually tastes good." I continued to eat the mix as I walked through the never-ending forest.

          After about 3 more minutes of hiking, my wrist started to burn again. I dropped the bag of mix and clutched my left wrist tighter. "Ow. Oh, man. It's starting again." I began to rub the area around my wrist trying to calm down the pain. I picked up the mix and put it back in my pocket. Now that the munching of mix and the sounds of my feet walking through the leaves were no longer there, it became very quiet. It was a little too quiet for my liking. But I could actually hear everything around me. I could hear the distant chirping of birds, the sound of a woodpecker pecking at a tree, and the babbling of a river. "Wait a second. A river!" I exclaimed. I began to follow the sound of the river.

          "If I find the river, I'll be able to get out of this forest! Maybe I'll find something familiar or if I just follow the river, I'll find my way back to town and get back home!" My excitement grew with every step I took. But let’s just hope it’s the Matanuska River and not some other random river around here. I thought to myself, hoping. The sounds of gushing water from the river began to grow stronger. It was getting closer and closer. My speed increased.

          I finally got close enough to hear the rushing river. It was a few feet away now. "It's close, I know it!" The running water was so close that I knew that it was only a few steps away. I began to run in the direction of the sounds of running water. Taking my last few steps, I ran through the bushes, hoping to see the river.

          "Yes!" I exclaimed. At last, the river. It was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. There were rocks that were sprinkled here and there along the river. They were big enough for me to jump on them. The water was a deep blue, and the bottom of the river was pure smooth stones. I stared into the water, as if in a trance. It seemed very fresh, and with all this hiking, I was so thirsty.

          I got on my knees and dipped my fingers into the water. It was so fresh, so cool. I took my fingers out of the water and rolled up the sleeves of my black sweater. It hurt when I rolled up the left sleeve. I gently rubbed my wrist, messaging it, trying to make the pain go away.

          "Ugh. Man, I think I sprained it." Then the piercing burn of fire spread through my wrist and hand. "Oh, God!” I clenched my wrist tightly again. The coolness of my finger seemed to help a bit. I gently put my wrist into the river, messaging it as the cool water of the river gently flowed. It was barely hurting now, but I knew it wasn’t healed.

Ignoring the remaining pain, I cupped my hands, holding fresh water. I bent down, bringing my cupped hands up to my mouth, gently drinking the water like if it was wine. I brought my head up to breath. A drop of water rolled down from the corner of my mouth. I sighed in satisfaction. “Water has never tasted so good.” The water felt so fresh running down my throat. I cupped my hands again, getting more and more water, and drinking every last drop.