Maybe it was wishful thinking to not check the weather forecast before I headed out. I had been itching to go hiking all winter. At the first sign of spring, I grabbed my backpack and went for a long walk in the Hoosier National Forest.
The weather started out beautiful. I could smell the pollen floating from the flowers, hear the wind rustling through the branches. The rocky trail threaded through dense parts of the Indiana forest, difficult enough that I didn't expect to see any others that day. I wasn't worried, though. I was a petite woman but I kept in shape. I had my phone and a hunting knife if either were needed.
By midmorning the clouds were converging. I didn't mind the cool air as I stopped by a stream to rest. I watched the clear water washing away the dregs of winter, dead leaves and branches floating to a distant grave. My own life had just gone through its own renewal. My girlfriend of three years had finally moved out, after realizing I was never going to propose. Something about commitment, she said. If we could get married in some nine other states, why didn't we? I didn't want to be a wife, I said. She didn't want to be my girlfriend, she said. And that was the end of that.
Mother Nature could be my girlfriend, I thought as I watched the water. She's a little moody but always there.
