The winds were angry and violent and loud for the past few days, and it made the water from the sky angry and violent and loud and sharp. I stuck my snout out of my cave once in awhile to see and smell what was going on, but the crashing of the sky and the vicious hurling of dirt and maybe small creatures like mice (I did not see any but I am sure it is traumatic to be one during such times) sent me back to the corner of my cave each time.

I waited for everything to calm down.

This morning, it seemed like most everything had calmed down a tad. The wind was still very much upset, but the sky was blue and welcoming and nothing sharp was flying around (not even the birds (again, it must be traumatic to be one during such times)). My snout led me again, this time taking me beyond the entrance of my cave. I was cautious as I lightly pawed the ground and nervously looked to and fro, trying to not be overwhelmed by the forest tricking me into running nose first through the angry wind again.

Everything was okay.

I was relieved.

And then I felt some stabbing in my paws as I continued to walk. It hurt to make even the lightest step forward, and when I looked down to see what was hindering my gait, and that is when I saw the mutilated remains of a tree. Bits of bark and branches were everywhere, scattered all around the forest floor and covered in mud and more tree mutilation and withered leaves. The tiny destroyed leftovers of a tree(s? I do not know) were everywhere I went.

The sharp points of the tiny remains pierced my paws and made me uneasy in every way imaginable. The pain made my walking intolerable and I grew anxious as I pondered how the fallen trees I shuffled through felt about me inadvertently desecrating what little was left of them.

I was only a few paces away from my cave when I stopped. I had planned on going to the river and drinking to ease my dried mouth, but I could not. I settled for a small puddle at the entrance of my cave. It, too, had little bits of tree in it. As I went back to the corner of my cave to wait until I could handle going outside of it again, I hoped that most of the trees in the forest were okay, and I hoped the ones who I stepped on were okay with me stepping on them, and I was very tired.

So I napped.

I am a bear.

If you would like to try being a bear, why not read some of the bear adventures available on this very site? 

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