It\u2019s always a struggle just to get out of the house. There\u2019s the desire to walk, and the need, and the opportunity. Then there\u2019s the stairs, and the long sloping path to the road. Almost always, my lethargy wins, and the road out isn\u2019t worth the walk that might follow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But when I do get out, climb from my domicile into the world, and stand on the edge of the road, looking back down, I already feel a sense of accomplishment. I\u2019ve done that. The hard part is over, and I turn to the forest with brighter eyes and a spring in my step.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The path beyond the gate, well it\u2019s really a road, meanders. Up and down, side to side, coming quite quickly to the five ways depression. So many directions to choose, but straight ahead, up and over, is the preferred route. If you walk long enough it\u2019ll take you to the top of the mountain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Today the sun was gentle, the breeze soft and warm, and walking was easy. The dip that normally signified my turn-back point was just ahead, but I felt like continuing. There was an intersection not far beyond, and I thought I might turn back there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I never quite went the distance, though. As the path curved again, I saw something that made me stop. A small grey deer, and a black wallaby, facing each other on the side of the path, staring curiously. As I watched, they both leaned in, noses touching. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then there was a noise on the path ahead, another walker, a jogger, coming down towards us. The animals, previously calm and curious, both startled, and bolted in opposite directions, leaving me wishing I\u2019d remained alone. The jogger, realigns what she\u2019d disturbed, looked towards me with an apologetic smile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As the woman passed me, I wondered if the two animals might meet again. And, I wondered if anyone would believe me if I told them what I saw.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It\u2019s always a struggle just to get out of the house. There\u2019s the desire to walk, and the need, and the opportunity. Then there\u2019s the …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":783,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\n\n{excerpt}\n\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[24,8,11,10],"class_list":["post-784","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mountain-life","tag-morte-oakley","tag-mountain-ash-chapter","tag-story","tag-writing"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pff1uY-cE","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3244,"url":"https:\/\/mountainashchapter.com.au\/?p=3244","url_meta":{"origin":784,"position":0},"title":"Short Horror #2","author":"Morte Oakley","date":"February 7, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"The neighbourhood is quiet. 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