Wondrous —
Nervousness pervades. The trail is enshadowed and the flashlight is weak and spits out random flickers. This feeling is not unreasonable — copperheads are inclined to rove at this time in July. Mind you — they do not rove around looking for human prey. Suppose you were you to ask any copperhead the following:
On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being ‘I would like to attack a human’ and 10 being ‘I would like to avoid a human at all costs’, how would you rate your interest in avoiding humans?
The copperhead would answer ‘11’
Still, it is best to not strike first by stepping on one in the dark
Carefully, little by little as the echoes of sunset and the errant flashlight allow. Truth: there will be no fangs tonight, and the destination is a cabin with friendly porchlights and a bourbon manhattan. But until reaching the outer edges of the mothbeacons — the mind plays tricks with every stick, and each step is full of heart