The Adventure

Bills, bills, bills, that was the only topic buzzing throughout Jefferson’s household. Mr. Bill Jefferson lost his job at the wheat factory as a result of the revolution of machines. Mr. Jefferson was the sole provider for the family since Mrs. Melanie Jefferson was taking time off from work to look after the little ones. With no money being brought into the house, the family had to make crucial cutbacks to ensure that food could be placed on the table.

Their eldest daughter, Taylor was asked by the Paris Ballet Company to be a part of their team. That was Taylor parents and Taylor’s dream ever since she joined ballet classes when she was a young girl. When her parents heard about the $2000 plane ticket, it led them to decline Taylor’s offer. Taylor was furious; She was fed up with her parents arguing over money and her father’s slow progress in finding a new job. He blames the economy for the lack of job offers, but in reality, she knows it is because of his desire to lay on the couch and drink beer. The fact that her parents were telling her to get a job, and yet they both were unemployed despite having university degrees, made Taylor even more furious.

To help relieve the anger and disappointment she was feeling towards her parents, Taylor decided to take a walk in the forest near her home. This was a habit she has gotten into whenever she was sad, angry, or just needed to clear her mind. The forest was a calming sensation for her; the quietness it endures with the feeling of being utterly alone, other than the occasional morning jogger, or hiking couple.

Nevertheless, she angrily stomped her way up the wooden stairs, hoping her parents would realize the ridiculous pressure they had placed on her. She went into her tiny purple bedroom and pulled out her hiking bag from her closet. It had the essentials for a long hike; plenty of plastic water bottles, cliff bars for protein, a first aid kit, and her grandfather’s camera. She remembered when she and her grandfather would go for little adventures together, and take beautiful pictures to remember them. Before her grandpa passed away, he gave her his camera to remember him. The pictures she takes with it always remind her of their little adventures together, and it helps her separate from the chaos happening in her life.

Taylor ran downstairs and quickly put on her hiking gear: a windproof jacket, running shoes, and hat, all worn down from previous hikes. The family dog, Jack, came running to her thinking that it was time for his walk. However, she needed to blow off steam and he would only slow her down with his constant urge to smell everything. She felt bad for dismissing him but the smell of bacon coming from the kitchen distracted him from the rejection. With that, she left without saying goodbye to any of her family members since she did not care if she came back at that moment.

All she cared about was trying to relieve her anger so that she could come to accept her new financial state. She plugged her headphones into her iPod Nano and blast the tunes of My Chemical Romance; a band she always turns to, to help relieve her anger. Taylor began her adventure in the forest in her backyard.

The forest was a common activity for families because of its beautiful scenery and family-friendly marked trails. This forest was the main tourist attraction in the tiny town of Halsbury, Alberta. The old and tall trees give off a slight scent of evergreen. As she entered the forest, she quickly noticed how empty it was. Even the daily dog walkers weren’t on its paths. She deems the cause to be the cold and damp weather. She looks up at the grey coloured clouds, which are covered by a large number of tall pine and spruce trees. The weather is making the forest look dark and haunting. Due to this, as well as her isolation, the forest gives off a creepy, haunting atmosphere.

Taylor begins to regret not following the marked path due to her current course being covered with overgrown weeds and exposed roots that she keeps tripping on. She is however pleased that she decided to put on her running shoes instead of wearing her Converse.

As she continues walking, she steps on an irregular object. She looks down to notice a broken beer bottle that some high schoolers probably left at one of the summer bush parties. The bottle takes her back to the summer parties her and her best friend Missy would attend. How she misses those parties; the parties were a perfect distraction for Taylor. She was able to escape the craziness of her family and was able to create lifelong memories with her best friends. She picked up the beer bottle and caught the scent of stale beer it disposes of and placed it in her bag. Despite the distraction, Taylor continues down the unknown path.

Moments later, Taylor looks up to see a large fallen Spruce tree that has fallen in her path. With the tree being so big, it made it quite difficult for her to continue on the path. Stumped, Taylor decides to sit on the tree and pulls out a cliff bar from her bag. She begins to open its red packaging when a curious red squirrel stands right next to her. It was a brave creature since most squirrels would run in the opposite direction whenever they sense a large presence.

However, this creature was interested with the bar Taylor was consuming. She broke off a tiny piece and gave it to the squirrel. The creature looked at it for a minute, analyzing its every detail. The squirrel then took the small piece and ran off into the forest to consume its delicious ingredients.

After her tiny break, Taylor stepped over the fallen tree and continued down her set path. She walked down the path looking down at the dirt road to ensure that she does not trip over another dumb, exposed root. Something catches her eye; something shiny that shimmers in the tiny ounce of sunlight that reflects down from the clouds. She bends down and picks up a key. The key was long and rusty. Taylor wondered if the key belonged to anyone before pocketing it, hoping to find its lock at a later time.

As she continues, she notices in the distance a rattlesnake sunning itself in a bit of light falling through the trees. Fear expresses itself in Taylor’s body as butterflies begin to flutter in her stomach with her footsteps quickly approaching the terrifying predator. The predator is oblivious to Taylor’s presence as its main focus is trying to absorb the tiny ounces of sunlight. However, the snap of a branch breaks its focus and its black eyes lock onto Taylor. It hisses at her warning her of its presence and begins to rattle its tail to let her know that this is its territory. The rattlesnake slowly begins to slither its body towards Taylor. Taylor notices this and runs in the opposite direction of the snake for the fear of getting bitten by its venomous fangs. She does not look back as her strides begin to quicken as she runs further and further into the forest until she hits a large object, the impact is so grand, that she stumbles backwards.

Expecting to see a large tree in front of her, she looks up to see an abandoned house surrounded by a rotting fence. The faded white fence was to protect this once beautiful Anne of Green Gables looking house. She opened the fence and walked onto the path leading to the door. The abandoned house was painted white, but similar to the fence it has lost its shine. The house had a green trim that surrounded the faded white paint. It would have been a gorgeous sight many years ago, but now it is just wood and broken windows. Her thoughts lead her to wonder what the inside looks like. She wonders if there is any furniture that the family had left behind. She begins to imagine the leftover family photos she would find. Her curiosity got the best of her as she tried to open the screened porch door and to her disappointment, she found it to be locked. She remembered she pocketed that rusty key. There is no way that this key would unlock this door, she thought to herself. But she was desperate; her curiosity was running wild at the thoughts of the treasures she would find behind that locked door. She turned the key in the lock and to her surprise, it worked. The squeaky door opened and revealed a deserted interior.

The wooden staircase that was found at the front of the house was rotted and wasn’t safe for anyone to go up. She continued into the house until she found herself in a living room. To her surprise, the majority of the furniture was left over, the living room was tidy and well lit by the numerous windows found in the tiny room. The green couches were organized around a tv stand where a tv once stood. On the wooden coffee table, there were magazines and newspapers dated 5 years prior. She entered the dining room next to where she found a table covered by a white sheet. She removed the sheet to see an antique wooden table. The chairs were wooden to match the table and there was a white cushion on each chair.

There was a family photo hanging on the wall. It was a family of five. The father looked stern and protective of his family. The mother looked caring and loving with a smile that lit up her face. She was very gorgeous. Their eldest daughter had on a fake smile; probably forced by her mother to take this family portrait. The two younger siblings were twin boys, both resembling their fathers stern appearance while wearing their mother’s smile. The family photo resembled Taylor’s own dysfunctional family.

She suddenly heard footsteps behind her. Afraid to turn around in fear that maybe one of the family members still lived there. She turned around slowly, only to see a black cat wander into the kitchen. She approached the cat, slowly sticking out her hand. The cat was skinny and its hair was falling out due to the lack of nutrition the cat was receiving. The cat leaned against Taylor’s legs and she slowly crouched down to pet the cat. A sense of sadness overwhelmed her as her thoughts began to think of the cat’s lack of food and love.

With this, she picked up the cat and decided she would bring it home.

She left the abandoned home and continued on the path with the cat in her hands. She was anticipating her parents’ reactions when she would walk in the door with a black cat. Her mother was always superstitious and would freak when she notices the cat’s black coat. Nevertheless, she was going to bring the cat home and convince her parents to let the cat stay with them. She was not worried about this since Taylor had always been very good at convincing her parents to give her what she wants as long as money was not involved.

Taylor began her task in trying to find her way out of the forest to go back home. She began following the trail she believed she took but ended up at a stream which she did not remember passing. She decided to take a short break and she sat on a rock beside the stream. The cat laid beside her and was looking at its reflection in the water. The cat was fascinated by its reflection and hopped off the rock and began splashing in the water. This was an odd sight for Taylor since she always believed that cats disliked the feeling of water. She knelt down to the stream and took some water in her hands. She placed the cold texture on her face to wash off any dirt and sweat she received while on her journey. She picked up the soaking cat and continued her adventure out of the forest.

Hours passed, and she reached the end of the forest. As she stood at the edge of the cliff she began to ponder her existence. She took a seat at the edge and stared out at the lake below. She held onto the cat tightly for fear that if she let it go, the cat would fall off the cliff and into the depth of the lake.

She looked out at the scenery and seriously considered jumping off the cliff and reaching her death. She never considered suicide a way for her to go but as life is getting harder and more unknown, it makes her worry about her future. The constant bickering with her parents about her grades and their expectations of her did not help. The lack of support she is feeling from her friends did not help her have a sense of belonging to the world. She wipes the hot tears rushing down her cheek with the back of her jacket.

But something catches her eye; the yellow eyes of the cat that is staring back at her. What would happen to the cat if she jumped? Would it follow her? Or would it continue in the forest to starve? These unanswered questions made her begin to feel her existence in the world. Although she does admit that it is a tad ridiculous that the reason she is not jumping is because of a cat, if the cat is the only keeping her here, then that is that. She stood up and continued back into the forest where she returned home where her parents did not even notice she left.

THE ADVENTURE