Entry #152

Apocalypse Now?
by Charlene Watters


Today was the day; the day that he would leave the mess that mankind had made of the world and live in one of the few unspoiled places that remained.

Paul had searched for years, afraid that he would run out of time before he found a place that suited his needs. It had to be isolated, close to a fresh water supply, and within his budget.

But he found it. He immediately started preparing. Every weekend, he trekked in rations of freeze dried and canned food until he had stored enough to last at least three years. That would give him enough time to prepare himself to live off the land.

He had learned how to trap and hunt. How to identify plants that could be consumed and plants that could kill.

He was finally ready. Ready to survive. He quit his job, closed his accounts and moved into the cabin.

After six months, he realized the flaw in his plan.

How would he know? How would he know if civilization still existed? The cabin was a nine hour trek in from the road. No planes had ever flown overhead. How would he know?

A shadow drew his eye skyward and his heart leapt for a moment at the thought that it might be a plane. But it was just a hawk.

As he watched it soar, Paul felt a yearning so fierce it almost stopped his breath. He realized he didn’t want to survive.

He wanted to live.