Here's my #fiftywords story for this week's challenge prompt: forest. I have a few things to say about this story. See the commentary that follows.

A walk in the forest

(Image credit: Geran de Klerk, Unsplash)

Sierra walks the remote trail. The forest is alive with sound--the crying of scrub jays, the steady, monotonous hum of june bugs, and the purring of wind. She hears a crashing sound; a cute baby bear lopes onto the path. She hears a louder sound behind her: the mama bear.

Thank you for reading!

My true confession is that the scenario in this story is pretty much my most paralyzing fear. I have done many brave things in my life. I have traveled alone. I have moved to a city where I knew no one. I have driven by myself from one side of the continental US to the other. I even once jumped out of an airplane. But the idea of encountering a bear in the woods makes me tremble. And the possibility of finding myself in the vicinity of a baby bear and its mama (or worse, coming between them, like in this story) just about makes me soil my pants.

Sometimes, I think writing is partly about making sense of our fears, our emotions, and the things that cause us anguish. I believe writing out fear, anxiety and emotion can be very healing. Maybe the fact that I wrote this story will help me with my paralyzing fear of meeting up with a bear in the woods.

I love writing these little 50-word stories. I typically start by searching for an image that will go with the prompt, and then I see how that sparks my writing.

Here's my collection of 50-word stories:
The church mouse
The farmers' market
The tiny hunter
The map
Ghost fair
Departure from Castle Island
Conspirators and lies
Getting to know you
The man in hiding
Mermaid dreams
Time to say goodbye