Writing Exercise 15: Finish the story
My teeth were chattering…
I didn’t want to stop but I knew it was time. How did this happen? I was experienced, being stuck out in the wilderness when the temperature was expected to drop to 40 below zero, wasn’t supposed to happen to me. I decided to have a pity moment and sat down underneath a pine tree. Simba stopped frolicking and cuddled up next to me. I was so glad that at least I wasn’t alone, I had my one and only companion in the form of a golden retriever. He whined a little and bounded back up, digging his front paws into the snow and play bowing in front of me.
“This is not the time,” I said with mild irritation but a hint of a smile showed through. Leave it to the dog to lift my spirits. “Alright,” I stopped my pity party and stood up. Daylight was fading and we’d need a shelter. I was wary of any caves because of the mama bears that might be hibernating, but I didn’t know what else we could use. Whining mixed in with a little bit of howling, Simba took off. I waited for a moment until I realized he wasn’t coming back. Getting nervous, I walked a little bit faster until I was jogging, trying to keep the dog in my sight. It was dusk by now and I was losing light to see my dog. Fear started to coil in my stomach as I kept jogging trying to follow the paw prints in the snow. “Simba,” I called desperately. I had to stop running, my legs were cramping up. Feeling defeated I stopped and a tear ran down my face. I glanced back up and saw Simba waiting for me up ahead.
I gathered my last bit of strength and started quickly walking toward him. He waited and when I got to him he walked a little bit farther ahead of me, turning to check to make sure I was still following. By this time I was weak with exhaustion, this hike was only supposed to be a half day, I only had one energy bar in my little backpack left. I was about to give up when I saw where the dog was headed. He had found a quaint cabin in the middle of nowhere and there was smoke drifting up through the chimney. I ran to catch up. I ran to the warmth of a shelter and to the thought of food. I might have had the bad luck to get lost in the wilderness in the dead of winter, but I was lucky to have such a smart dog.
