I walked in the woods again today — there was a path of dry dirt... and I noticed that, wherever there was moisture, the dirt was more like mud...
Fearful weeds
The second thing I noticed was that parts of this dry dirt path had been overgrown with tall weeds... and what I mean by TALL is that they often reached up past the cuff of my pant leg...
The First Person I Met
The first person I met on the path was a man who was wearing a white hat... and his hat had a train on the back of it (I'm probably using the wrong word to describe this feature — I mean to refer to the part of a bride's wedding gown that is called the "train")
Dogs
...& this man also had two dogs, which, when I passed on the path (for they were loitering there), he used a whistle to regroup...
One dog had fine white fur, and one had fine black fur (I mention the dogs in the order that I encountered them)... but these creatures did not heed the sound of the man's whistle — they continued foraging in the woods, perhaps looking for chipmunks or smelling various exotic scents that do not exist in their master's abode...
Swamped!!!
I walked in the woods until I came to a bend in the path... and this bend was swamped, by which I mean that it was covered in water... and there was no telling how deep the water was... so, if I wanted to continue traveling in the same direction, I would have been forced to enter into the thick of the woods (off the beaten path) and climb onto trees to circumvent the terrors of drowning...
Retreat & LOST
So I turned back in cowardice and retraced my steps... I mean, I assumed that I was retracing my steps... but I did not end up at the place where I intended to be — I found myself leaving the woods at an unfamiliar exit...
We Meet Again
But now something strange happened... Upon departing the woods, I met the same man who was loitering at the beginning of my journey... he had his two dogs, white and black; and he asked me: "How was your walk?"
And I answered: "It was good — but a part of the path was flooded, so I turned back in fear!"
And he said he was surprised that the water levels were still so high...
The End
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| Massacre en Corée (1951) by Pablo Picasso |
P.S.
My latest paperback is now able to be rifled through on its Amazon page, by using the "Look Inside" feature... I mention this NOT to encourage purchases (for, on account of the cost of manufacturing such a sizable volume, it's priced too high) but simply to celebrate the accomplishment.