It’s quiet.

It has been a long time since you have seen any of your companions.

You’re scared despite the serene surroundings.

There is an ominous feeling in the air. You can tell something doesn’t seem quite right, it hasn’t felt right for a couple weeks now. Still, you trudge on with your belongings slung over your shoulder. The snow has been coming in thicker and thicker each day.

Although it is only halfway up your calf at the moment, you begin to worry that it will soon reach a dangerous height. But for now the snowfall has ceased and you walk on in silence. You think back to several weeks ago when your friends were traveling alongside you, but everyone went their separate ways in order to reach the final destination. You return to your lonely journey when you hear a noise in the trees.

You whip your head around to see the bushes rustling as panic begins to build. You expected this and you have prepared, but you’re still nervous. You hope all the hours of training will come to good use. Just as you’re in the middle of dropping your bags to prepare to fight the wolf jumps out of the trees and starts to circle you.

As you keep your eyes locked on the beast in front of you, you concentrate on listening around you to see if the wolf has traveled in a pack. Much like yourself, it appears the wolf has arrived alone. The world melts around you as you focus on the task at hand.

You begin to devise a plan of action but before you even realize it, the wolf jumps at you, scratching your face. You can feel the warmth of blood trickling down but you know it was only superficial. The wolf prepares for another leap, you dive out of the way.

At this point you have circled to your original position and begin to back toward the tree behind you that you know to be climbable. The wolf pauses before slowly following you to the tree. There is another pause as you prepare. As quickly as you can, you turn and begin to climb the tree. At first you hear nothing, and then the soft sound of footsteps running behind you.

You climb breathlessly until you start to hear scratching on the tree beneath you. Relief washes over you as you look down to see you are too high for the wolf to reach you. As your breathing calms you wait until the wolf eventually wanders away to find another meal.

After a few minutes you decide it is safe to climb down from the tree. As you descend you reflect on the encounter and you thank yourself again for all the training you put in that has prepared you for this sort of combat. As you continue walking, you start to dread the possibility of another attack. You can feel that there is some sort of inevitability about it.

Despite your preparedness, you're still fearful when you hear the rustling of the bushes that you’ve heard more and more times in the last few years. Still you push on in a tireless search for civilization that will give you safety and peace of mind before you venture out into the wilderness again. Sometimes you wonder if it’s worth all the trouble you put into the process of preparing for a fight but you know when you find your way home it will be worth it.

You are broken from your reverie at the sight of an old campsite. The sky fades from a fiery orange to a deep blue while you light the fire and back up against the rocky cave. The sky dumps yet more snow all around you but the burning embers in front of you bring comfort as your eyelids become heavier and heavier. Before you can remember the last time you had gotten any sleep you are woken by the blinding sun.

You marvel at the fact that you are somehow still alive despite your lack of defense but you pack up your things regardless and continue on your journey. This time with a strange mixture of optimism for the end of your journey and trepidation for any encounters yet to come. Despite your lack of resources, you just have a feeling that you are nearing your goal.

The weather has other ideas as gray clouds accumulate in the sky and as snow begins to fall once more. You journey on as the snow rises higher and higher on your legs. The efficiency with which you travel is greatly diminished by the time the snow is midway up your thighs. Still you trudge on as you watch through thick clouds as the sun makes its way across the sky. Shorter winter days mean less time for travel so as the sun descends you begin to look for shelter.

The likelihood of finding such luxurious accommodations as the previous night is not very good. As you search, you look for a tree that looks suitable for your needs. After a long search, you finally come to find an old, sturdy tree that you begin to climb. Your anxiety that had accumulated throughout the day drops as you meticulously lay out your makeshift bed for the night.

The wind picks up as you close your eyes, strapped in with a large leather belt that wraps around the tree. The constriction brings comfort and a much-needed feeling of stability as sleep washes over you.

You wake up to another clear sky the following morning, this time with a sight that brings you more joy than you’ve had in months. Over the shallow slopes of the forest you see your home town.

You instantly regain your bearings and begin to climb down from the tree as quickly as possible. As you descend you think you will finally reach your destination in no more than an hour until you jump into the soft snow which is has now risen just above your waist. Now an arrival at the end of the day seems more likely.

By this point the snow has stopped and the sky looks entirely clear. The bright blue gives you energy that you didn’t know you had. The concrete knowledge that the end of your journey is just a short trip away gives you great comfort. Still you wade through endless amounts of snow for several hours until you hear another rustle in the bush.

You had almost forgotten about your earlier premonitions but now all hope of returning has fled your mind to be replaced by the instincts that you are more used to. You scan the area to make sure nothing has snuck out of the bushes. After several minutes of stillness, you decide to cautiously continue your journey when you hear another rustle in the bushes, this time louder and clearer.

You drop your things and focus on getting as much information from each of your senses as possible. There is yet more stillness. This time you wait for longer to make sure you didn’t hear anything. As time passes you relax more and continue on your way, but the sounds you heard are a clear reminder of the danger you are in.

The high levels of snow are packed more and more densely throughout the day. But just as you begin to think you might need to spend another night outside, you reach the crest of a hill and you can see your village nearby. It won’t take more than an hour to reach it now! Jubilation takes the place of pragmatism and you pick up your pace once more.

The smoke from the fireplaces look so close you can almost see them. After you finish scanning the town on the horizon, as your eyes return to look directly down at your feet you see something that pushes your heart into your throat. A bear stands not further than the length of a tree branch away and the beast is staring at you.

You are dumbfounded. It’s not fair! You were so close and now this creature gets in your way. Your emotions almost get the best of you before you remember to relax and remember your training. You drop all of your heaviest bags and decide to keep your lightest bags on to provide some cushioning.

You remember how to deal with a grizzly bear this size. So you decide to stand your ground and hope it doesn’t get any closer. To your horror, a brief moment of curiosity from the bear turns into an all-out run in your direction. You know that you will never be able to outrun the beast so you drop down into the snow, hoping that it will provide you with some protection.

You can feel the ground shaking just before you feel yourself being picked up and thrown from your very brief sanctuary. After a surprisingly long period of weightlessness, you land in a heap several feet away with the hot sensation of blood on your back. Suddenly the surrounding snow feels more like a coffin than a sanctuary.

You struggle to regain your footing. Your strength has disappeared in the face of such force as you can feel your body telling you to stop. Bruised and broken, you crawl through the snow, beneath its surface, away from the bear.

Several minutes pass and the only indication you have of the bear’s whereabouts is in the faint sound of its breathing. The breathing gets louder and you can feel the presence of the bear as panic rises. A pressure builds on your arm as you feel the weight of the top of the bear’s body. Claustrophobia sets in and you can’t breathe.

Overwhelmed, you can see no escape. Hope is lost. Or so you thought. Just as the pressure becomes unbearable, it is released. The breathing gets further away and your own breathing becomes more regular.

You wait longer than you need to. And then you wait longer anyway. After more than enough time, you emerge, blinded by the setting sun. Sore, you rise to your feet and gather your belongings. Shockingly, it seems that a few scratches and bruises are all the injuries you have sustained. Regardless, you feel labored now but the end is in sight.

Just a short trip to the village takes longer than expected with your new injuries but you make it nonetheless, just as darkness descends. You reflect on your journey and by the time you find yourself back in your bed, you find peace with your circumstances and appreciate the challenge you have completed. As your thoughts lull you to sleep, the last thing you can remember thinking about is your next trip outside of the village walls.