The Wasting

14-Lonely

Rejuvenated by the peach sugar Izzy ran a half marathon in record time! If the Olympics still existed, Izzy would be a shoe in for the gold! As she ran, she would set mini goals for herself. She panted, "I'll run until I reach the dilapidated barn in the distance." Once she reached her target, she rewarded herself with a little exploration time.

Before heading into unknown territory, she took out her outdated map. "Woodburgh... Woodsburgh..." She fingered the map. "Come on! I've been heading north? Ugh, this map is useless!" She mumbled to herself about the missing the street signs and sinkholes where roads once were (and some other choice words 'young ladies should never say') and sat down on a big rock. Izzy always wished for a big rock of her very own.

Bell once told her, 'Wishing for a big rock a waste of a perfectly good wish.' Izzy objected, "But if you make your wishes attainable they're more likely to come true." And because of this Izzy climbed to the top of the blue-grey bolder and claimed it for her very own. She shouted, "From this day forward this awesome rock shall be Izzy Quest's and all beasts had better stay clear or else!" A voice from inside the barn interrupted her as she was placing an imaginary flag on her rock.

"Or else what?" The voice challenged her.

Izzy slid down her rock in an ungraceful manner. "Is someone in the barn talking to me?"

"Someone or something," the voice toyed with her.

While rubbing her back-burn Izzy decided, she was obviously braver than whatever was hiding in some stupid cowshed. Slowly she pushed back the lopsided wooden door to reveal a sun streaked dusty interior. "Hello?" She creped further inside the barn. "Who in this oversized outhouse is talking to me?" She looked around the barn and saw the usual, a pile of moldy hay, stalls, a broken pitchfork and squish--fresh dung! The squishing sound was followed by peals of laughter. "Okay what's so funny? Who's there?" The laughter subsided with a snort. "I dare you to come out and show yourself you coward. You sound like some stupid boy and I'm not afraid of males of any size!"

"What about males of any species?" the voice taunted.

Izzy took the bait, "Of course you're right to say males aren't human... perhaps you aren't so ignorant after all." She scraped the dung off her Nike with an ancient pitchfork.

The voice became a bit bolder, "And you're right I'm not so ignorant... But I am very hungry though."

"We're all hungry these wretched days... why don't you fish or something? Boys seem to like that sport." Izzy wiped her foot on some dry hay.

"The water is too cold this time of year," the boy-voice whined.

Izzy searched warily, "Well yes, but it's not like you need to go into the water to catch the fish; unless you are a--"

"Bear?" The moldy pile of hay turned around and stood up, showing his full form--a four-year-old brown bear.

"You're a b-b-b-bear..." Izzy backed away and muttered, "I'm going crazy... I caught some dreadful disease in the tunnels and I'm delirious with fever...." She felt her forehead. "Funny I don't feel hot. Perhaps I'm cold and suffering from hypothermia, or dreaming... yes of course! I'm sleeping and having a freaky dream." She backed into the barn door and disturbed a sleeping pigeon which flew wildly into the bear. The bear shrieked and pretended to be a pile of hay once again. Izzy recognized child-like terror when she saw it and her fear of the beast faded. Suddenly she felt wide awake and motherly. "Hey it's okay... it was just a pigeon. You're a bear; you could eat that bird if you like..." Then talking to herself she mumbled, "You could eat me if you like..."