Monologue

Around two summers ago, my friend James and I had been ceaselessly excited–the reason?  In about a week from then, we would be heading upstate to one of his relative’s summer homes.  The area was enveloped in a thick wood, with a rather large lake a few miles north.  While we initially couldn’t wait to leave, with time, we would realize that the experience would be more excitement than we could handle.

When we arrived to the house, we were informed that there was a wonderful picnic spot by the lake–and his uncle insisted we head up there with family and friends.  Without hesitation, James and I agreed and packed our bags meticulously.  We were escorted to the lake on foot, walking through the thick, trailless woods.  The picnic itself was a wonderful experience–as I was immersed in the dissonant songs of nature and the gentle touch of the cool breeze.  After eating, both James and I explored the nearby woods until twilight approached.  On our walk back to the picnic site, we realized we could no longer hear the chatter and laughter as we did before. To our disbelief, when we finally returned, everyone was gone.  It had been as if they all forgot about us, and as we had no service on our phones, there was no way of contacting anyone.

I immediately noticed the panic treading through James, as sweat began dripping from his head and his hands began to shake.  I remained calm and thought logically about the predicament at hand, as panic would not achieve anything.  With no other option, we went back into the woods and walked slowly in the general direction we came from.  James’ fear eventually led to anger and resent–he was clearly too emotionally involved to help at all.  Through basic navigational techniques, I realized the sun was setting, ergo wherever the sun was, that was west.  I was able to verify the direction, and reinforce my position when I noticed that moss was growing thicker on one side of the trees–which indicates we were heading north.  Knowing that the way back was northeast, I was able to gain a step forward;  I simply thought about the situation rationally, and hoped for the best.

With both these navigational concepts in mind, I successfully got back to the house safely, with a calm and collected attitude.  James began to calm down when he noticed we were there, and his relatives apologized, as they assumed we followed them.  Although the experience may have initially been a traumatic one, in retrospect, the both of us simply laugh it off and treat it as another addition to our vast collection of life experiences.