Inspired by internet discourse. Please view this video for background.
It’s a dreary Sunday morning at the tail end of a rainy, busy week of working and skipping the gym. I’m yearning to move my body and enjoy my day off work alone. I’m not usually a hiker but I’d heard from a coworker that there is a small waterfall about a mile off the beaten path so I decided to check it out. I eat a light breakfast and pack a snack. I’m on my way.
In tow, I have my water canteen and a small backpack with bear mace on a keychain, dangling from the top strap.
I hike about a half mile in 20 minutes, only stopping to take some selfies and watch a couple frogs I’d seen hopping in the muddy puddles along the side of my path.
I can hear the chirping of crickets and birds, and the crunch of leaves under my boots. The sounds of nature broke up the silence in a refreshing hum. I could heard it between my noisy crunching on my snacks I shoveled from the pack around my waist.
Enjoying my solitude, I decide to take a seat on a stump as I near the waterfall. I opened Instagram to post one of my selfies and scroll a bit.
Movement draws my eyes upward.
I look over the top of my phone in the direction I had come. About 40 feet away, I see a man.