In the Brassiness of the Leaves

In the Brassiness of the Leaves
Nick Hilton
He had run past that old decrepit oak tree which always tells him that he is five miles in.  But I don’t think run is the correct word to use there, he glided by, silently, feet padding against the soft dirt of the trails without making a sound.  It was just him and the forest today, noone else.  No teammates to bug him and talk to, no cars, like on the crowded byways of the town he lived in.  Just him and his thoughts.  Him and his beloved solitude. 
He fairly flew through the forest, charging up the hills and around the various twists and turns of the trail.  Taking in the sweet smell of a forest in October, when all the leaves are a either a brassy yellow or a brilliant red, as if the forest was engulfed in friendly flames that just wanted to show off their beauty.
He took it all in, noticing a deer scamper off every now and then, or the occasional thudding sound of a woodpecker, which would echo through the woods for miles around.
He lifted his knees and put on a burst of speed, just to feel the thrill of it.  The sound of the wind rushing past his ears, the sight of the ground being eaten up by his long, crisp, and quick strides.  Watching the forest disappear behind him, only to be outdone by the endless stretches of the trees in front of him.  Darkness had started to enfold him completely and he was losing track of the trail.  So he stopped to turn around, and instead of immediately beginning in the opposite direction he stood there, steam pouring of him in the evening chill, staring eye to eye with an enormous bear.  It was brown, so he guessed that was a grizzly bear, and it just stood there on four legs and stared at him.  Not knowing what to do, he just stood his ground and stared back.  The bear was enormous with thick matted fur and eyes that pierced him deep into his soul.  The bear then stood on its hind legs and let out an awful earsplitting roar.  He did not cringe, he stood there in his solitude and continued to stare the bear directly into the eye.  The bear came off his hind legs and looked curiously at the human just standing there, not running, 
And he continued to just stand there in the brassy yellow glow of the autumn of the leaves, the moment seemed to last for centuries and millennia  until the bear finally gave in, not understanding the human, and just disappeared into the twilight of the fall wood.  And he still stood there, now thoroughly chilled and thought about what had just happened, but thinking about it made him even colder, he couldn’t comprehend it, it was something he just didn’t know. A phenomenon that baffled him for years afterwards.  It was something he never shared with anyone, but it was something he replayed in his head on many a run after that day.  It would be something that he would carry with him to his grave, something that he would wonder about all his long life.