Dear Potential Reader,
The weather is warming up, and mountain laurels are starting to bloom all along the east coast. It might be worth the hike to the national and state forests, so long as you don’t find yourself trespassing, stumbling off the beaten path, disturbing an unnatural order as they do this short story . . .
MOUNTAIN PASS is an old tale from 2012, the 34th short story in a goal to write 1 short story a week for the entire year. I’d over achieve on that goal and while not all are gems, it’s fun to keep returning to this tale, which was so vivid in my mind as I was also hiking almost weekly during this period—often times alone which is a great way to let the mind wander into all the what ifs.
Last year, I took a hike with a fellow writer and a few snafus in the morning had us arrive late, and so on our way down the mountain we began racing the sunset, ending up two miles away from our ride when we were plunged into darkness. Every root a possible injury and those noises in the leaves . . . well, one hoped not every creature was stirring just yet.
Of course, I’m telling you this tale, so you know it turned out fine in the end, but not every is so lucky as you’ll find out in this short story . . .
Hope you enjoy.
All the best,
DAN JIRE
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