Muse Story

Oh Muse, help me tell of my Alaskan adventures..where I learned the hard way that sometimes we rush into things without thinking clearly.…As I woke up, i felt a throbbing pain in my head, as if a batter in major league baseball had mistaken me for a pitch, taken a wooden bat, and slugged it straight to my skull. In my confused stupor, I slowly tried to stand up. Successful, I started looking around and taking in my surroundings. I had no idea where I was..my backpack was missing, my phone..where had I lost the trail? It was starting to get dark though, fast..The last thing I remember was falling.

Mmmmm..the sweet smell of blueberry pancakes awoke me. Just as a worm inches over to a leaf and slowly bites into it, so did I, unwillingly march to the bathroom and trudge into the warm shower. As I was walking downstairs to devour those delicious smelling pancakes, I noticed an exotic picture of the entrancing wilderness surrounding Alaska. I picked the article up and read it, “New mysterious trail discovered earlier this week. A local tribe says it used to be a trade route for Native Americans back in the 1900’s…” Grabbing a scrumptious bite of my pancake, I claimed to the all knowing Charlene(my grandmother) of my determination to venture on that trail within the mountains. Reluctantly she agreed that I could go, as long as I was back by sunset. Looking outside, the realization of having to leave Alaska in another day was dreadful. Just thinking of having to go back to cold, bitter Connecticut, was depressing to say the least. The anticipation of the hike rose inside me second by second, just as the adrenaline within you bursts out as the plane door slides open, slowly..than the gush of air hits you, as does the realization of being 10,000 feet above the ground...than it is time to jump. The all knowing Charlene suddenly slammed on the brakes. Walking along the road was a huge moose, gracefully crossing the road. Continuing down the road, I gazed upon the entrancing wilderness. Out upon the valley were mountains upon mountains, in the distance, snow on top of gigantic glaciers twinkled like the stars on a summer night. A blue sky above, birds chirping, singing as if there was no tomorrow.

And then I saw it, a small opening on the side of the road. I knew this was the place, I just had that gut feeling, where you feel as if an alien like force is commanding your body to give you a hint on your surroundings. Kissing the all knowing Charlene goodbye, I set out on my adventure into the mountains. Following the trail, I came out into a small clearing. Here, the smell of sweet honey was flowing in the air. Wondering where this intoxicating smell came from, I sought it out. Like a hound dog, I slowly but willingly tracked the smell down, sniffing and searching until I found it. Surprisingly, the smell did not come from a bees nest, it came from a wild mushroom patch in the middle of what seemed to be a side trail. Carefully, like a microbiologist taking and examining contagions that, if not taken care of properly, could outbreak and kill thousands and thousands of people, I picked a mushroom up and put it in my backpack. Near this patch, was what seemed like a patch of wild blueberries. Picking a bunch and eating them, I soon realized they weren’t..Following the trail I passed a small indistinguishable sign camouflaged into the entrancing wilderness. Looking at the sign, it stated, “Caution, unstable near cliffs, beware, do not get close.” Not thinking twice about it, I trudged on, enjoying the beautiful view of the glaciers far away. Stumbling, I felt as if a switch had been flicked, from sober to *****.

“This must have been from those wild blueberries I ate before.” In my stupor, I came out to another spectacular view. Standing near a cliff, looking outward,the thought of taking some pictures hit me.

“Who, back in cold, bitter Connecticut, wouldn’t want to see these when I get home in a couple days?” Stepping toward the edge of the cliff to get a picture, time seemed to slow down. As I took out my phone, and walked towards the edge, the ground gave way beneath my stumbling feet. Around me, as the universe continued on its day, the sun started to go down. A sharp pain in my skull awoke me. Looking around, still in a daze from the blueberries I ate before, I checked my surroundings. Gazing into the entrancing wilderness, I thought I saw what looked to be two birds staring down at me from a tree branch. Not knowing what time it was, I had the realization that it was going to