THE GEM OF THE NORTH
Staring at the dirt road through a blur of tears, I refused to let go of my husband.
“I thought you were dead!” I sobbed.
Matthew had been riding his bike alone, and, as he recounted to me, took a wrong turn into a national forest speckled with signs urging people to stay out. After taking another turn in his attempt to escape, he had somehow wound up deeper inside the dry bowels of the same forest.
Meanwhile, I was waiting for Matthew at our designated meeting spot. When he didn’t show up after three hours, I started getting scared. In the area, dead trees from a prior fire were precariously leaning over and collapsing without a second’s notice. Bobcats had also been witnessed roaming the area. So, I started my own search and rescue. An hour later, I spotted him in his bright-orange vest on an unmarked road.
“I know,” he said, as I wailed about the dangers that
