The recent wildfire burned down all of our houses. The entire neighborhood is called a ‘disaster area’ and, now, school was closed for a few weeks, including my Grade 6 class. The adults were busy and distracted.
Now us kids had a lot of time to just hang out.
“So, there is a bear that lives over by the concrete ravine,” I tell my two best friends. “Right where the Pipeliners set up their trailer office.” Before the wildfire, the three workers who had come to town to build an oil pipeline through the empty ravine were called the Pipeliners.
Everyone hated them. I thought it was unfortunate that the wild fire did not also burn down the trailer they use as an office.
“You’re exaggerating again, JR.” sighs Pete Salito.
My name is Jacob Reilly, but everyone calls me JR.
I continue with my story. “She is very scared.”
“How do you know it is a she?” asks Natalie Gomez.
“Because she has a cub with her.”
“Then show us,” demands Pete.
“It is very dangerous. What would I tell your parents if the bear ate you?”
They both roll their eyes. “Sure. Ok!” says Pete as they both turn and walk away. They obviously do not believe what I told them about the bear.
I love my friends but they are very immature. In fact, I was surrounded by immature people in all aspects of my life.
“We know you just want to be alone for a while,” says Pete.
“Like you always do,” adds Natalie.
This was true. I planned to rule the world by the time I was twenty so I needed lots of alone time to focus on how to get there.
“And that’s ok. Everyone is stressed out,” says Natalie as she grabs for Pepper, her Yorkshire Terrier.
Pepper escapes from her and runs around wildly in circles. Pepper was the most energetic dog I had ever seen.
As they leave, I overhear Pete saying to Natalie. “There is no way a bear could exist in that little piece of forest. It is only about an acre.” Pete’s mom, Ms. Salito, was a real estate broker, so Pete had learned a lot about land sizes.
“C’mon Pepper.” Natalie signals to her energetic Yorkshire terrier.
They disappear, with Pepper running back and forth between them and me.
Great! I think, now I can have my daily hike and concentrate without being bothered. With the wildfire destroying our house and my entire world – or at least my neighborhood, it was a matter of life and death that I figure out how to help my parents rebuild.
I stroll off down the road. Our burned down school was going to be rebuilt, but first, we would be starting half days of school soon. Just before I reach the bridge by the concrete ravine, with the huge billboard that says:
Welcome to Alcento City, CO. Population 100000
I turn onto a dirt path and walk past the Pipeliners’ trailer. I walk through some recently burnt forest land for about a minute until I come to the concrete ravine.
Five minutes later I am sitting in some bushes. Now I could focus on how to become the ruler of the world by the time I was twenty. But the wildfire had seriously distracted me from my normal daydreams. All I could think about was how to get my family’s house rebuilt.
But yes, there also really is a bear.
*
I look at the bear and her newborn cub through my seat in the bushes. I dig into my backpack and pull out the bag of potato chips I was hiding from the rest of the ALCO Crew – Pete and Natalie.
The three of us called ourselves the ALCO Crew, for Alcento County.
Pete and Natalie would have wanted some of the chips and this type of food is not healthy for them. So, I kept the chips for myself and now, I munch away.
It was restful as I sat and contemplated the moves I would have to make to rule the world, but my thoughts again kept getting interrupted by the effects of the fire. Along with my parents and big sister, I am crammed into a trailer until our house is rebuilt. Then my big brother came from college to help out, but my parents had insisted he go back to university and stop worrying about us. There was no room for him in the trailer anyway.
I believe the wildfires that destroyed the neighborhood had caused the bear to end up in the cluster of trees by the ravine. The ravine was dry from lack of rain and the bear must have crossed it.
The bear had charged me the first time I saw it. I had screamed loudly, and the bear stopped and then returned to its cub. I returned several times and now the bear would ignore me and take care of the cub.
I just knew it would not hurt me.
Suddenly, the energetic Pepper appears from nowhere and runs toward the bear. Pepper must have followed me. Pepper heads straight for the cub and jumps playfully onto the cub. With a great amount of speed for such a large and clumsy looking animal, the bear growls and swipes at Pepper.
Pepper flies about ten feet into the air. The bloodied Pepper gets up and runs past me, howling. I follow her, in shock.
Pepper runs past the trailer used by the Pipeliners trailer and falls to the ground. I reach Pepper and look down at her. She is bloody and in bad shape.
She is also motionless.