I thought I heard another set of footsteps crunching on the misty gravel trail, so I took out one Airpod and turned around.

Nothing.

I put my Airpod back in and kept walking as daylight faded. Summer wasn’t even technically over yet, but tonight I could feel spooky season setting in.

I noticed some big orange mushrooms that had popped up after the rainshowers earlier in the day and crouched dow...

The water fed off her frenzy. It picked up pace from lazy to sloshing to roaring, til finally it mirrored her inner state and made her feel like the entire world was chaos. A moment of relief as muscle memory worked the paddle for her. She pushed hard off a rock, avoided going sideways down a rushing drop, felt the water swallow her plastic boat over and over again before running off its sides.

T...

He had always wondered if this day would come. Six years ago, he’d moved off grid into this tiny house to get away from all the restrictions of modern life.

Back then, as he’d made his preparations, he couldn’t believe how excited he was to get away from it all. He hadn’t even felt a bit of nostalgic hesitation. He was over his girlfriend - they saw the world so differently. She had bought in com...