2016 – Day 12

Start writing a story that...

Step 1: takes place: in a forest

Step 2: include this sentence: Time goes by so fast that...

Step 3: add a character who: stumbles and falls

Step 4: add a character who: doesn't have any hair

Step 5: add this word: hug

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The hike was meant to be low-key and less structured than other cub scout events. Eight boys and their parents on a Saturday afternoon would walk along a trail in the Pineway Reserve, a small forest and nature preserve situated at the intersection of four suburban towns. Bonnie had never been a scout herself, nor did she have any interest in scouting, but Trevor had begged to join with his friend Allen and so she felt compelled to sign him up. As a single mother dealing with an inattentive ex, it fell to her to manage all activities for her two boys. She tried to sign them up for anything they expressed interest in doing, else she would feel the gnawing guilt over not giving them every chance at normalcy and happiness. Time goes by so fast that they'll be grown before I know it, she thought. I need to spend my time with them now.

The morning of the hike began with a light drizzle that dissolved into gray skies as they pulled into the parking lot. Trevor darted out of the car the moment it stopped, leaving Bonnie to gather the backpacks and jackets they had thrown into the back seat. She hadn't been on a hike in 15 years, and so she steeled herself for a stressful afternoon. Between her last hike, which resulted in a terrible case of poison ivy, and other outdoor experiences that caused painful, allergic reactions, she had come to one conclusion: her body hated nature and nature hated her back. As such, Bonnie attempted to avoid nature wherever possible, venturing only onto manicured lawns and maintained paths, never into wilderness, and always at a distance from any flying or crawling creatures.

The scouting had ushered in a period of detente between Bonnie and nature in which she had, several times, ventured into wilder territories than her front lawn. Still, this hike represented her biggest attempt to make peace with the natural world. She tightened her boot laces while leaning on the car, then made her way toward the edge of the parking lot. From there she could see the group of scouts and parents gathered near a large sign at the Reserve's entrance. A winding, rocky path led downhill from the parking lot to where the group stood. Bonnie walked quickly to the path and began making her way down. But after only five steps, her foot caught on a large stone, and she felt herself flying to the ground and then continuing to tumble down the path. She threw her arms out to try to stop herself from rolling, but felt only pain in return as her body was scraped and bruised. Finally, she came to a stop at the feet of the scout leader who had come running toward the path when he saw her fall.

"Are you okay?" he said, grabbing her face in his hands and looking into her eyes.

Bonnie stared up at him. She knew the baseball hat he wore sat atop a large, shiny, bald head, but suddenly she found herself wondering how he kept from getting sunburns and bug bites in the areas the hat didn't cover. She was still staring when Trevor ran over and grabbed her in a hug.

"Mom! You okay?"

Bonnie looked at Trevor and saw that he was frightened. She forced herself to focus on his face and told him that she was okay. With help from the scout leader and another parent, she managed to stand up and limp over to a bench made from a large tree trunk. They helped bandage up her cuts and she assured them that nothing felt broken. She made some joke about her pride being broken, but she wasn't sure if anyone laughed. They asked her many times if she wanted to go home or wait for them at the entrance, but she insisted that she wanted to go on ahead with the hike. As the group began to make their way toward the trail entrance, Bonnie looked at the forest ahead. Nature had won the first round. The next one was hers.