Forest
Forest
Is this what early humans felt when sleeping in their caves — always frightened, always on guard...?
Forest
A sudden sound awakens her. Instantly alert, she scans the dark outlines of trees, searching for signs of danger. She hears a faint noise, maybe only the residual echo of creatures clattering through brush, moving down the embankment to the pebbled creek. Her pulse quickens, the taste of fear is on her tongue. Adrenalin rushes through her, preparing her for fight or flight.
Is this what early humans felt when sleeping in their caves — always frightened, always on guard, ready to do battle at every moment? Is it any wonder their lifespan was so short?
A snap from a nearby pine, something falls to the forest floor. She jumps up from her leafy bed now, fully aware and on her feet. She listens and waits. The stream, the rocks, the leaves, half-hidden in the shadows cast by the moon, are all silent. She hears only the hiss of the fire left smoldering in its ring of stones. Her breath returns to normal.
She looks over to where her husband and son are sleeping peacefully under the moon, cradled like contented babies in the arms of nature, even here in the remote, unpredictable nature of this wilderness.
Not everyone is meant for sleeping on the ground, under trees, exposed to starlight. This is her first time camping, and, if God is good, it will be her last.
Yep! Camping in the woods can bring scary moments like this, for sure. Well-written!
Ha! That’s very similar to my wife’s and my attitude to camping. Give us a hotel room any day.
I think most of human history has been lived maybe one step away from camping.