Coyotes

Date: 11/14/2018

I was walking down a path in the woods practicing ninja moves with two sticks as weapons. I did tricks with them, spinning around and pretending to block invisible enemies. The path was deep in some woods, winding through some small hills and down to a narrow river. It was getting late, and once I reached the river bank I thought I should quickly get some photos before heading back. As I stood on a small shore of rocky sand and roots I watched about 50 geese and swans swimming out of a small inlet where a marina was housed. The sun was already setting, spilling golden rays down across the water out of the marina and following the birds as they swam. The water was tranquil; no other people were in sight or audible – it was a beautiful moment. Upon noticing me setup my tripod, half of the geese took off in flight. Others stayed with watchful eyes. A distant coyote called. I found an interesting shot: Long lens, pointed toward a large mansion on the riverside, in place of the marina. As I setup, my cousin, Spenser, emerged from the woods. “Hey, hows it going?” We casually greeted each other despite my initial jolt from an unexpected person bursting out of the brush. My friend Robbie was now with us too. He and Spenser chattered while I struggled to setup my shot. We were now at twilight, and the trees made it incredibly dark for working. I used my cellphone flashlight to assist. Another coyote: closer. Two others responded. I couldn’t see my shot anymore so I aimed my flashlight ahead to compose the scene. Robbie was watching through his camera. “Are you going to get anything here? You’re using your flashlight? It looks weird on my camera,” he commented. “I know. I’m just setting up.” I explained. Coyotes now sang a chorus in unison. Much closer now. Spenser and Robbie started to look tense. I set my shutter super low to expose the night scene. However, when I looked at a test shot, I kept finding problems. It was still too dark; my tripod wasn’t stable enough; I needed a wider lens. Coyotes howled on the other side of the river. “You’re right,” I said, “this isn’t worth it. Let’s get out of here.” I could tell that was a sound of relief to them. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one getting nervous about the coyotes. Spenser and Robbie immediately began walking toward the trail. “Hold on!” I struggled to put all my things safely back in their cases so I was free to walk in the dark. Robbie and Spenser eagerly rushed me, and we finally started moving. As we started down the path, I was still adjusting all my equipment and I lagged behind them. The woods were pitch black, the only light was faint silhouettes of the branches against the hazy night sky and their cellphone flashlights. I took out my phone and tried to turn mine on but my fingerprint wouldn’t register on the touchscreen. I kept making the flicking gesture. “Nate! Hurry up! What are you doing?” They exclaimed, far ahead on the trail. “I can’t get it to work!” I called back. I heard animal footsteps trotting through leaves to my right. Coyote calls surrounded us. Calling and answering like a dinner conversation. I quickly caught up with them and my flashlight kicked on. That’s when we saw it: just ahead of us, a large coywolf loomed in the path. We could only see him because a group of people were huddled together on the ground with their flashlights shining. The coywolf stood very still, silhouetted against the glow. We kept moving. Nervously passing the animal which didn’t run from us, but just stood silently, observing. Coyote howls grew wild around us. High pitched, yipping, yowling, sharp barks and snarls. They were hungry. We ran right past the group, who seemed to be lost and were sitting in a circle. Finally, thankfully, we emerged into a parking lot. Traffic hummed by, headlights and small groups of people provided us with the comfort of safety in numbers. “That was crazy... can you imagine being that family back there?” Robbie said. “Oh yeah, coyotes can maul people to death – especially those that lag behind the rest of the group.” I said. I know this to be highly unlikely in my waking hours but it was very true in my dream. It made me realize: I was the one lagging behind. I was the prey. I woke up to the distant call of a coyote.