4PG005 - Nathan Catlin

You’re wandering through the forest and it’s not dark yet, but the sky is that blue that signals a childhood conditioning to go back home. You think you’re going the right direction but you’re not sure; weaving around large rocks and fallen trees prevents a true straight path. Where a few minutes ago were happy chipmunks and chirping robins are now unidentifiable scuttles and squawks. The ground gets softer, spongier, squelching water in your footprints. You have a light but it doesn’t seem bright enough. A tattling magpie hops between branches, watching, reporting back to Nathan Catlin.