

He woke, his body uncovered by blankets or sheets, his breath deep and slow. It was a brisk morning in the valley. The pillow he clutched was cold, like a reptile. He could hear snoring from the other bed in the simple wood cabin, and feel a dim warmth from the body by his side. His brother. He didn't remember his dreams, but he remembered falling asleep to the same loud snoring, like some strange, angry beast in the night. He had to get up to make himself warm again. The jacket he had worn the night before was on his bag. A dull green, not like the awesome hues of the redwood trees, a constant delight for the eyes to behold. He put it on and walked outside, into the moist air of the forest, to stretch his body and bring warmth back to his sore muscles. Soon the others would wake and come out. He wasn't sure what day it was, or what month. Sometime in autumn. They'd be moving on today, away from the wilderness, towards civilization. He looked around for signs that bears had been by in the night. There were none. He sat down on a stump and listened to the songs of birds.

An hour later they were gone, leaving the cabin behind for good. They'd stay somewhere warmer this night. They rode in a red van, the four of them. Out the window a million giant trees. Tall and unyielding. The road ran alongside a creek down at the bottom of a small valley. 

They came to another part of the forest. Here the road crossed the creek on an old concrete bridge. He didn't know if it was the same creek or a different one. On the other side of the road there was a restaurant, and they pulled into a parking lot with some cabins across from it. He saw a bear jumping on a car in the restaurant parking lot. He and his brother jumped out and ran to get a closer look. The bear was jumping up and down, trying to get at the food he guessed it must have smelled inside. A car drove by. The bear ran down into the valley behind the restaurant. There was a creek there. They ran to the edge of the valley. The asphalt ended in a jagged edge hanging just past where the dirt had eroded to over the years. The bear was gone. Invisible, soundless.

They would stay in one of the nice cabins tonight. These were warm and nice, more like hotel rooms than cabins. They put their things away, then went to walk by the creek and skip stones. It was early afternoon, and after a while they went to the restaurant to get some lunch. They sat down at a table. An oil lamp burning on the red and white checked table cloth. They looked over their menus and watched out the window to see if the bear would return.

