“Closer than before. I think she’s slipping. Getting tired. I’ll try again tonight.” The very last page was blank, except for a smear of dirt or dried blood across the bottom corner. Evelyn snapped the journal shut. She looked up slowly—and found the mother bear watching her from across the clearing.
Not with hostility, but with something closer to exhaustion. Beneath her, the earth was disturbed. Trampled. As if someone had once stood there… and had been driven off. The larger bear huffed and began pacing the tree line, restless. The message was clear. There was more to find. More to understand. And they needed her help.