Short Story Prompt Link Party 5
Grammy Dee, from our Blogging Grandmother’s group, hosts a blogger’s link party based on story prompts. Each party begins with a story prompt and we all write different stories based on that prompt.
This story has been linked up to the SHORT STORY PROMPT LINK PARTY 5
This is our fifth Prompt Party.
This is the prompt…..As she stopped to catch her breath, she looked back….
Here is my story.
As she stopped to catch her breath, she looked back hoping the bear had lost interest in her. She had finally reached the porch and got inside the safety of her house. Her property at the lake was near the wildlife refuge and she had heard of bears being brought to the area, but she never expected to see a bear on her property.
Maria had walked down to the lake to meditate for a while. She loved the lake, and her bench was just a few feet from the water’s edge. It was so peaceful there, and watching the water and soaking up the sounds of nature soothed her anxiety.
It had rained earlier but had stopped, and the sun was trying to peek through the fog that hovered over the lake. Maria thought she saw something unusual near the water at the edge of her property. The fog was heavy there, so she decided to walk down to get a closer look. There was a small building there, more of a box-like structure where life jackets were stored. The rules at the lake house were strict for the children, no one allowed on the fishing pier without a life jacket.
As Maria walked around the life jacket shack, she found herself face to face with a bear standing upright on its hind legs and towering over her. It must have been over 6 ft tall. She must have startled the bear for it to raise up to a standing position.
There was nowhere to hide. The life jacket shack was no safe place for a bear, as it only had three walls and a roof. Maria had no choice but to run back to the safety of her house.
She turned and started to run, but soon realized the bear was behind her. Maria was running as hard and as fast as she could, and the bear was running too. The bear was behind her and gaining speed. She finally reached the porch and got inside the house.
With her heart pounding and heavy breathing, she called 911. The local sheriff’s dept answered the 911 calls in the small town. They sent the Wildlife and Fisheries Dept out to talk to Maria.
The bear had indeed lost interest in Maria and had wandered back down to the edge of the water, looking for something to snack on. Maria was thankful she wasn’t lunch for the bear.
The Wildlife men brought a cage, and set it up near the life jacket shack. They made a bait trap of donuts and honey. The honey would attract the bear and when it reaches for the donuts the door on the cage will shut. The men waited with Maria on her porch and watch from a distance for the bear to smell the honey. It didn’t take long and the bear saw the honey and entered the cage to get the donuts. The door of the cage slammed shut and the wildlife officers quickly latched it. Other wildlife officers soon arrived in a truck with a special lift that loaded the bear on a truck. A yellow tag was placed on the bear’s ear so they can track her. The officers drove her to the far side of the refuge and released her. Maria hoped that 15 miles was far enough that the bear wouldn’t return.
The morning she had planned for rest and relaxation turned into a full-blown panic attack. But Maria didn’t freeze, she knew she had startled the bear and needed to get away from it. Never mind the meditation on her lake bench today, Maria had all the lake fun she could endure for one day… Thank goodness the wildlife officers brought extra donuts.
3 Comments
Leave your reply.