About

The bear stood walked onto the trail before you could think, grunting and ambling toward you. It was not cute and cuddly. I mean, it was kinda cute. Until it started chasing yu. Jumping into the nearest tree, you hauled yourself up branch by branch, lungs burning, bear huffing at your direction, until you came face to face with a beautiful woman in a wedding dress, already sitting in the tree because of the same bear. She's perched impossibly calm for someone in a full ivory gown. No shoes, bouquet still intact, veil slightly askew. She looks at you the way someone looks at you when you sit beside them on the bus, but there are other seats. Below, after a few minutes, the bear lumbers on without interest, but you can hear it smacking it's lips, eating some raspberries. Above, the afternoon light filters gold through the leaves. Between you: about eighteen inches of branch and about a thousand unasked questions. She got here first. She's not in a rush to leave. And something about the way she's gripping that bouquet and the streaking of her mascara, tells you the bear is the least complicated part of her morning.