“Halt! Who goes?” “Relax, private. It’s Major Jessop.” “Password – Sir!” “Seriously? You know I’m your CO, right, Private Tyson?” “Yessir, I know – but I still need the password. Sir!” I smiled, “’In England's green and pleasant land,’” I quoted, “And well done, Tyson. I would have skinned you alive if you hadn’t insisted. No one gets past you without the password. Not even General Byng.” I nodded as I walked past, then t...

The Road Not Traveled I know it’s an awful cliché, but it truly was a dark and stormy night. The rented car I was driving didn’t make it any easier, either, as the defroster didn’t work worth a damn. As a result, I was almost driving with one hand, and wiping the windshield – I mean “windscreen” – with the other most of the time. It seemed like such a nice idea to drive from Sligo to Donegal in the afternoon. An easy driv...

When Girl woke, she stretched and was pleased to find that she didn’t hurt as much as she had earlier. She lay in bed, and smiled at the ceiling, enjoying the feeling of just being lazy. It was a feeling she had not had very often in her life. She wondered what time it was – then realized that it was the first time she had wondered about the time of day since she had come here. Other than the sun rising and setting – and...

Afternoon was getting on. The Girl had spent a lazy day, rocking on the front porch and looking at the mountains, feeling very much as if they were looking back at her. Later, she had discovered some jigsaw puzzles in a closet and selected one. She laid it out on the sole table and started sorting the pieces, looking for the edges. Bear wandered over after a while to see what she was up to, then started pointing out piece...

The day dawned clear and cool, giving the two friends a break from the hotter weather than had lived there for so many days – and reminding them that winter wasn’t that far away. It never is, in the mountains. So, when she arose from her night’s sleep – dreamy and sensuous – she felt refreshed by the air, the sun, and felt a sense of gratitude and joy, the wonder of being alive. It was the first time she could remember in...

The days passed in lazy friendship, while Girl’s bruises and aches slowly started to heal. Finally came the day when she was tired of behaving sensibly, and hanging around the cabin all the time. No matter how entertaining – or infuriating, or amusing – the Bear could be, she was aware that the world around them was beautiful, and she was seeing only the part she could witness from the cabin’s porch. So, they began a seri...

The Girl was exhausted by their deep discussion on the Nature of God, the universe, and reality. She was also recovering from what looked like a significant beating, which showed on her face, and the parts of her arms and legs that were visible. Bear was very much aware of how tired she would be, so encouraged her to lie on the couch when she had begged not to be left alone, to stay in the great room with him. He also sus...

The two friends sat together, watching the stars emerge in their crystalline thousands. Finally, Bear got up. “Follow me,” and walked off the porch. The Girl followed him, but put her hand on his back to guide herself, watching the ground to keep from tripping. It was very dark. He walked for a few minutes, then sat, and waved his paw at the sky. “Look,” was all he said. She looked up, then turned in a circle and gasped....

When Bear returned from getting his lunch and marking the boundaries of his territory, Girl was again asleep in the rocking chair. One hand was trailing down the side, her head lolled against a shoulder, and she was drooling slightly. He stopped to look at her, and again shook his head. “Poor kid.” He gently picked her up and carried her into the great room of the cabin. She stirred, smiled, leaned her head against his ch...

The Bear yawned and stretched, then walked out into the sunlight. He thought it was about time to patrol his territory, marking it out, and making sure other carnivores weren’t taking liberties. That Mama brown bear seemed particularly to like trying to nudge her boundaries over onto his, but he guessed that was because she had two littlies to worry about now. So, Bear started ambling along, enjoying the day, checking tha...

This is not my story, it’s Chrissy’s story, and you’ll understand why she’s not telling it in a while. And it’s a true story, though I’ve changed the names and places for obvious reasons. The beginning of the end happened when my wife and I drove, frantically, along NY-68 south from Canton in upstate New York, near the Canadian border, looking for Chrissy. We actually drove right past her, then Jenny called out and made m...