Life Flash

Dorothy hears a noise and turns around. She looks down the dirt path where the ranger last stood as Charles stares in the opposite direction at the kids. Twenty yards in front of her at a turning point of the path, a bear, resembling the one at the gas station, overpowers the small, helpless thorn bushes, trampling on top of them like a wave over the sand. The bear’s yellow glowing eyes produce a hypnotic stare, penetrating with an understanding of intelligence. Opening its large jaws and deliberately showing Dorothy the long sharp teeth within, the bear rises to a height of over 10 feet and hungrily, with saliva dripping down the sides of the huge mouth, sniffs into the air. The massive bear with its nose pointed high in the air continues to sniff deeply for a fresh meal. The yellow piercing eyes searching over shrubs and fallen trees return in the direction of where Dorothy and Charles are standing. Dorothy, petrified with absolute fear, watches the movements of the huge creature reaching into the sky with two padded front-heavy limbs. Stretching the furred arms in an almost inviting gesture, the bear swipes at the air with four-inch clawed hands while the powerful head bounces up and down.

Dorothy screams and Charles, looking back over his shoulder, follows his wife’s eyes down the dirt path searching for signs of an animal that may have caused Dorothy’s’ hysterics.

"What is it, honey? Why are you screaming? Did you see something?" Charles turns around and surveys the empty area void of any small or large animal.

"I don’t see anything on the trail. What were you screaming for? There’s not anything out here, honey."

Dorothy had only screamed once, and it was short. The bear was no longer present. Dorothy believes she may have imagined a bear with yellow glowing eyes standing ten feet high with long sharp teeth. Dorothy does believe the story the gas attendant told, but does not believe all the bears were killed.

"Dorothy, what is it?" Charles, now holding his nervous wife steady, asked a second time.

Dorothy’s body trembles as she lowers her hands that instinctively rose to her mouth and continues to look in the direction that she believed the bear was standing a moment ago. Moving her head slowly from side to side, Dorothy searches the area and can find no trace of the bear. Dorothy, realizes the story involving the yellow eyes along with the gas station attendant’s story may have her mind working against her and her imagination did the rest. She believes it would be impossible for a bear to be out here in the woods and actually think clearly. That’s what frightened Dorothy the most. Not the terror in the bear’s eyes or the fact the bear had long sharp teeth and claws. No. It was the fact that the bear had an almost intelligent expression, somehow reasoning a plan of action. Dorothy has never heard of a smart bear but believes she has seen one today, even if it was only in her imagination.

"Dorothy, why do you keep staring at the end of the path? Did you see something?"

"No, Chuck." Dorothy laughs. "It was my imagination playing tricks with me, that’s all."

Charles stares deeply into his wife’s eyes. "Dorothy, I can feel your body trembling. You were frightened. What do you think you saw?"

"You would just laugh at me, Chuck."

"No I wouldn’t, honey. Tell me what you think you saw." Charles, not realizing the force of his grip on his wife’s arms, looks back toward the end of the path.

"Chuck, you’re hurting my arms."

Charles, noticing his knuckles beginning to turn white, releases his wife’s arms and smiles. "Sorry, honey."

"What is the matter with you, Chuck? You’re scaring me more then the bear I imagined."

"You saw a bear?" Charles’ voice stems on the verge of madness.

"Calm down, Chuck. I said I imagined I saw a bear. I didn’t actually see one." Dorothy looks at Chuck. "Did I, Chuck. Did I see a bear? No, forget that statement. Did you see a bear back by the bushes and that was the reason you came back?"

Charles, more in control of his actions, begins his sentence in a calm demeanor.

"No, I didn’t see any bear or bears, honey. I was only concerned of why you were screaming."

"Is that it, Chuck? That was the only reason?"

"Yes, honey."

"You’re not lying to me, Chuck? You’re telling me the complete truth about you never seeing a bear down by those bushes. Because if you did see a bear, Chuck, then what just happened didn’t have anything to do with my imagination and I really did see a ten-foot man-eating bear staring at our family. Is that what you’re telling me, Chuck? You never did see a bear?" Dorothy asked, as her words became more directed and the sound of her voice higher.

"The only bear I have seen, honestly honey, was the one at the gas station."

Dorothy backs away from her husband and, keeping one eye trained on Chuck, uses the other to search the path once again for any sign of the killer bear. After surveying the area, Dorothy turns her complete attention back to her husband. "I’ll believe you, Chuck. But if I find you’re lying, the kids and I are packing up and leaving. With or without you."

"Oh stop it, Dorothy. No one’s going anywhere. Do you really think I would put our children’s life in jeopardy?"

Dorothy gives Charles a hard look, studying his features for any flaws that may reveal the truth. "I hope not, Chuck. I have heard too many stories of people out on a leisurely camping trip being mauled by bears, eaten by bears, and buried by bears. I’ve seen it on Wild Kingdom and documentary shows, such as Terror in the Woods. So don’t tell me to calm down and then ask if I think you’re telling me the truth. Tell me the truth like you’ve always done, Chuck."

Charles listens to every word Dorothy had spoken, and with his back toward his wife asks, "Where are the children?"