Brian got up from his desk and scanned the view of the forest from his tower once again. The idea was to spot forest fires before they got too big to control, but there was nothing unusual for the moment.
Brian switched to the other side of the tower. There was some sort of disturbance several miles in the distance. It didn't look like a fire, but there was something going on. He considered calling the main ranger station, but decided against it since there wasn't much to report.
For the next two hours, Brian did some studying and then did a final check of the forest. The disturbance that he noticed earlier was closer. Still, he hesitated to call the ranger station. He didn't want them to think that he was some scared little kid.
An hour later, the disturbance was no more then a mile away and Brian finally decided to call the station. The person answering the radio wasn't terribly impressed with his report and gave a vague promise to get back to him.
Brian made another check of the forest, but this time he didn't see anything unusual. The sun went down around nine and he decided to go to bed.
The next morning, Brian was making breakfast when he heard something outside. He turned off the stove and descended the outside stairwell to the ground level.
As Brian walked the perimeter of the tower, a giant creature emerged from the forest. Brian immediately turned to run. "Wait...stop... I won't hurt you" The intruder pleaded in an unmistakably feminine voice.
Brian stopped and looked at his visitor. The creature was nearly seven feet tall and covered with light brown hair, A tunic of sorts covered most of its body and its face was that of a young woman.
"Forgive the question, but what are you?" Brian stammered. "I am a mixture of two peoples. My mother was human. My father was what you would call "Sasquatch" or "Bigfoot." The creature answered.
Brian laughed. "This is a joke right?" The creature looked hurt. "I am not a joke and I'm as real as you are." "I'm sorry" Brian said. The creature held out her hand. "My name is Julie" Brian took the huge hand. "I'm Brian" he said.
Julie went on to explain how her mother had been hiking in the Oregon wilderness when she encountered her father fishing in a stream. At first the two became unlikely friends and then later something more.
"Have there been others like you?" Brian asked as gently as he could. "I have heard stories of others, but I have never met anyone like myself." Julie answered.
"What happened to your parents? Brian asked " "My mother passed a couple of years ago. She taught me your language when I was a child. My father passed last month. "It is lonely with no one left to talk to."
Brian knew all about loneliness. "I'm not the most exciting guy around, but you're welcome to visit me." I would like that Julie said with a big smile.
For the next month, Julie came by almost everyday. They talked for hours and Brian looked forward to her visits. One day, Brian taught Julie how to play Chess and in a short time she was beating him.
One morning near the end of Summer, Brian trained his binoculars to the west and spotted a plume of smoke. He informed the ranger station and not long after a recon plane flew over the area.
The pillar of smoke grew larger and Brian could tell this was a major forest fire. He immediately thought of Julie. Would she have a place to go that was safe?
It took a week for firefighters to get the blaze under control and Brian had just about given up hope that Julie had survived.
One morning Brian was setting up the Chess board and there she was. After a back-breaking hug, Julie explained that during the fire she had to help the older members of her people go to a safe place and didn't have time to let Brian know she was ok.
Julie took her place at the Chess board and in no time at all, he heard her say the dreaded words: "Check Mate."
Brian switched to the other side of the tower. There was some sort of disturbance several miles in the distance. It didn't look like a fire, but there was something going on. He considered calling the main ranger station, but decided against it since there wasn't much to report.
For the next two hours, Brian did some studying and then did a final check of the forest. The disturbance that he noticed earlier was closer. Still, he hesitated to call the ranger station. He didn't want them to think that he was some scared little kid.
An hour later, the disturbance was no more then a mile away and Brian finally decided to call the station. The person answering the radio wasn't terribly impressed with his report and gave a vague promise to get back to him.
Brian made another check of the forest, but this time he didn't see anything unusual. The sun went down around nine and he decided to go to bed.
The next morning, Brian was making breakfast when he heard something outside. He turned off the stove and descended the outside stairwell to the ground level.
As Brian walked the perimeter of the tower, a giant creature emerged from the forest. Brian immediately turned to run. "Wait...stop... I won't hurt you" The intruder pleaded in an unmistakably feminine voice.
Brian stopped and looked at his visitor. The creature was nearly seven feet tall and covered with light brown hair, A tunic of sorts covered most of its body and its face was that of a young woman.
"Forgive the question, but what are you?" Brian stammered. "I am a mixture of two peoples. My mother was human. My father was what you would call "Sasquatch" or "Bigfoot." The creature answered.
Brian laughed. "This is a joke right?" The creature looked hurt. "I am not a joke and I'm as real as you are." "I'm sorry" Brian said. The creature held out her hand. "My name is Julie" Brian took the huge hand. "I'm Brian" he said.
Julie went on to explain how her mother had been hiking in the Oregon wilderness when she encountered her father fishing in a stream. At first the two became unlikely friends and then later something more.
"Have there been others like you?" Brian asked as gently as he could. "I have heard stories of others, but I have never met anyone like myself." Julie answered.
"What happened to your parents? Brian asked " "My mother passed a couple of years ago. She taught me your language when I was a child. My father passed last month. "It is lonely with no one left to talk to."
Brian knew all about loneliness. "I'm not the most exciting guy around, but you're welcome to visit me." I would like that Julie said with a big smile.
For the next month, Julie came by almost everyday. They talked for hours and Brian looked forward to her visits. One day, Brian taught Julie how to play Chess and in a short time she was beating him.
One morning near the end of Summer, Brian trained his binoculars to the west and spotted a plume of smoke. He informed the ranger station and not long after a recon plane flew over the area.
The pillar of smoke grew larger and Brian could tell this was a major forest fire. He immediately thought of Julie. Would she have a place to go that was safe?
It took a week for firefighters to get the blaze under control and Brian had just about given up hope that Julie had survived.
One morning Brian was setting up the Chess board and there she was. After a back-breaking hug, Julie explained that during the fire she had to help the older members of her people go to a safe place and didn't have time to let Brian know she was ok.
Julie took her place at the Chess board and in no time at all, he heard her say the dreaded words: "Check Mate."
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