The Girl was exhausted by their deep discussion on the Nature of God, the universe, and reality. She was also recovering from what looked like a significant beating, which showed on her face, and the parts of her arms and legs that were visible. Bear was very much aware of how tired she would be, so encouraged her to lie on the couch when she had begged not to be left alone, to stay in the great room with him. He also sus...

The two friends sat together, watching the stars emerge in their crystalline thousands. Finally, Bear got up. “Follow me,” and walked off the porch. The Girl followed him, but put her hand on his back to guide herself, watching the ground to keep from tripping. It was very dark. He walked for a few minutes, then sat, and waved his paw at the sky. “Look,” was all he said. She looked up, then turned in a circle and gasped....

When Bear returned from getting his lunch and marking the boundaries of his territory, Girl was again asleep in the rocking chair. One hand was trailing down the side, her head lolled against a shoulder, and she was drooling slightly. He stopped to look at her, and again shook his head. “Poor kid.” He gently picked her up and carried her into the great room of the cabin. She stirred, smiled, leaned her head against his ch...

The Bear yawned and stretched, then walked out into the sunlight. He thought it was about time to patrol his territory, marking it out, and making sure other carnivores weren’t taking liberties. That Mama brown bear seemed particularly to like trying to nudge her boundaries over onto his, but he guessed that was because she had two littlies to worry about now. So, Bear started ambling along, enjoying the day, checking tha...

This is not my story, it’s Chrissy’s story, and you’ll understand why she’s not telling it in a while. And it’s a true story, though I’ve changed the names and places for obvious reasons. The beginning of the end happened when my wife and I drove, frantically, along NY-68 south from Canton in upstate New York, near the Canadian border, looking for Chrissy. We actually drove right past her, then Jenny called out and made m...