This story was originally published in our Sept/Oct 2023 issue as "Embracing the Darkness." Click here to subscribe to read more stories like this one.
Night falls in the Black Rock Forest in Cornwall, New York. I walk the path to the reservoir without a flashlight. Even though a new moon shines brightly, the trees shroud the forest floor. I tread lightly to avoid falling off the trail into the brook, where bullfrogs croak and peepers peep. In the shadowy woods, a pair of eyes twinkles between the shrubbery. I sense what I hope is a deer tracking me; this is black bear territory, after all.
