Sunset
I sat in the woods, lost in the silence of thought. It was worth it, seeing the sunset this time of the year is one of the most beautiful things I have ever known to be. I came here often, I would disappear from my home and find my usual perch atop one of three different trees. Just sit there and watch the Sun go down, signaling another day gone where I didn't do anything.
There's nothing to do here, well unless you like drugs and getting The privilege of becoming a prison nancy before the age of twenty. So I would go here to my trees. Most people would say it's just as bad to be here, the cougar population has boomed since new regulations were put into place barring their hunt without proper tags and such. While I had yet to see one, I had seen the victims splayed out, almost unrecognizable. One of which I had crossed seemed like it was a family pet at some point, though there wasn't enough forensic science in the country to determine who's pet it was.
I just moved on, not like there was anything I could do at this point anyway, moving an old kill might piss one of them off. I wasn't in the mood to deal with that at the moment, or anytime, ever. I moved on about another half mile deep until I found my spot. I climbed up the tree in the middle this time after having a pointless agreement with myself over which tree to sit in. All three gave me about the same angle, the same climbable height, and the same amount of clearance. I sit in the highest branch that can support my weight, lay back and watch the ensuing scene.
Against the light cloudy sky brilliant shades of orange develop, varying every shade the color can in an acceptable spectrum. I watch the color grow from just beyond the horizon to almost over my head. So beautiful that a camera would ruin the moment. It was the kind of scene only properly reserved in memory, where it only has space to grow like a legend. The kind of memory told as a story upon old age. All to entice others to go out and experience the same. The silence only interrupted by the final sounds of the birds of the day. The various songs speaking whatever message they may. Then the Sun started to fade in the manner of a freshly lit cigarette left unattended. When the color of the night thoroughly surrounded me, I decided to leave my seat and head back home.
It's always a slow climb down the tree, just at the speed where I won't break any of the thinner branches with my weight. Once down it's just a simple walk to my door, a few minutes in which I intersect with the first stirrings of the nocturnal creatures here. I usually see a fox or a raccoon somewhere along the path. Every once in awhile I see a mountain lion in the distance, it speeds my walk home quite a bit. Bright green eyes follow me, it never goes beyond this and I pray it never will.
I feel it watching me as the hair on the back of my head stands on end. I feel my senses heighten to the point that I hear every rustle In the litter of leaves and pine needles below me. My speed and the loudness under me increases slowly as I get closer to my home, soon I am at a sprint. I reach my door and stumble to turn the key with trembling hands, the keys clatter as I wish my teeth could but my jaw is clamped shut in fear. I hear a roar behind me as the door finally opens. He is right behind me about to make a final pounce. I rush through and start to shut the door, the cat makes the door slam and I am thrown to the floor by the force.
After a moment of shock I go to turn the deadbolt and check my windows. Then I call the police and tell them what happened. They say they will search for the culprit within the hour and to stay indoors. I didn't have a problem with that, still shaking slightly, I headed to my living room and turned on the TV.
The first thing to air is a story about a woman who had been attacked by a mountain lion a couple of states over. They had found her off of the side of a trail a couple of miles from a popular resort in the area. While the details of what they found were not released out of sense or common decency for the squeamish, I can only imagine what they saw. Seeing the claws of such a beast firsthand, what might have happened to me if I hadn't got into my house, or if it had entered with me. The thought makes me shudder.
That was the last time I viewed the sunset, it was the last time I went into that forest in general. While the creature had been caught and relocated to a more remote part of the country. I just couldn't get myself to go outside my back door anymore. I missed the peace, seeing the day end in the most natural setting possible. I laid in my bed, watched it in the window, caged by my fear. Afraid I couldn't escape a second time, afraid that I would have only the sunset to guide me into whatever lies ahead.Â
