First of all, the following is my personal diary. Apparently, I had a weird experience with a friend I don’t remember. I guess I’m putting all of this out here to vent my emotions a little since honestly, I just finished reading these and I’m not quite sure how I feel. Sort of nostalgic? But not really in a good way. It left a bad taste in my mouth after reading these entries. Anyways, I’ve gotta take my morning medicine.
2/4/2024
Well, outside of the typical things that I did today, work, bus ride, a bit of running, etc. You know, the normal things normal people do. Petra and I are planning on heading out to her cottage tomorrow, so that’s one thing to look forward to. She’s always been a good artist so hopefully she can teach me something. I’m looking forward to getting to know her better.
2/5/2024
Today we started traveling to the cottage. It’s a fair bit of a drive, and out of the way, but we’ve both been there before, and it is a very beautiful place so I’m looking forward to being there again. Right now, Petra’s falling asleep, and I’m going to go to bed soon since there’s a bit more driving to do and Petra’s not super fond of it. Night.
2/6/2024
Well, we made it! Doesn’t it suck when you remember something so vividly in a positive way, but when you go back in the future, it doesn’t quite match up to your memories? Well, at least that wasn’t the case here. Petra’s cottage is still nice, if a little bit run down. There’s a decent carpet of moss growing on the roof due to the almost constant rainfall up here. I guess it’s a good thing that both me and Petra like the rain. Since we got lost on the way here, we’re both tired, so it’ll probably be a rest day today. Doing things like reading, drawing, maybe a bit of writing, you know the stuff of course since, well, you’re me! I’m honestly not too sure why I’m writing all of this. Something about it being a good way to get things off my mind but honestly, I don’t really feel that too much.
2/7/2024
Whelp today was most certainly a day. I earlier than Petra since she has a terrible sleep schedule and made breakfast. Eggs and waffles or something like that. Honestly, I’ve got a terrible short-term memory. Both of us do to be honest, it’s kinda funny. We’ll be talking about something or other, and then just… forget how we got to the topic of conversation. It’ll start at something like, I don’t know, breakfast, and we’ll end up discussing why leaf cutter ants would be the most terrifying animal if they were scaled up to the size of a horse. Don’t get me started on that, I’ve got a whole dissertation on that. But now I’m getting off topic. So, after waking up and making breakfast for the two of us Petra mentioned potentially going out on a hike that she likes. Both of us also have a pretty good sense of direction despite how bad our memories are. Me, since I mostly use natural navigation while scuba diving, and Petra since she’s always been someone to explore. A real outdoorsy girl.
Between the two of us, there were four bottles of water, a decent amount of trail mix. Like, the good kind of trail mix with cashews and chocolate, and some quick sandwiches that we threw together before we left. Overall, we were prepared to be out for a while, and I was looking forward to this most of the morning. I left wearing just tennis shoes, but Petra left wearing these big boots that obviously provided lots of friction. Most of the hike was very nice. Good conversation with a friend, being out in nature, breathing in the fresh air, the nice weather (that being rain by the way), and just everything having that nice, earthy, or maybe mossy smell. It’s hard to describe, but if you’ve smelled it before, you’d know it. It’s a unique smell after all. After some time, we made it to the turning point, where we had a great view of the forest, a small road in the distance, the cottage, and a decently sized lake that was just glimmering in the most annoying way possible. The light just reflected straight into your eyes blinding you, so it was hard to see. Overall, though, a very nice scene. Would’ve taken a photo if I had my camera. Sadly, I forgot it before we left. Petra also left hers, which really sucks since she has some great underwater shots.
On our way back, we made sure to stick together, and help each other out as much as possible since the rain had gotten a bit worse. Kind of turning from a drizzle to a respectable shower. Since that happened, the earth was quite muddy, and we were both slipping a lot. Eventually, we reached a steeper section that was super muddy, like, our feet were probably sinking about an inch into the ground with every step. It wasn’t super liquidy which was good, but it was squishy. Think kind of like wet sand, but with a little bit more give. Anyways, this section of the trail had a rope attached between two trees since it’s probably the hardest part of the trail, so, of course we used that to get down one at a time. I was going down first, and when I reached the bottom and looked up, Petra wasn’t there. She just disappeared. Obviously, I was worried since she was there one second, but the next, she was just gone. I tried to scramble my way up the muddy trail, but I just couldn’t quite get enough friction on the ground to do so. The earth was slipping underneath my feet and my hands were starting to burn from the friction of grabbing onto the rope. I called up, asking if she was there, trying to calm down. I think I said something like “Hey! Petra! You up there?”
No response. Just the sounds of the forest. There was the warbling of a bird in the distance. Petra always liked birds. That calmed me down, but I was still worried about her. How could I not be? We’d been friends for years, and then she just disappeared. “I can’t get back up, let’s meet up at the house since it’s not too far.”
No response from Petra, and I continued. I could feel my blood pumping as adrenaline and worry coursed through me. Filling me up to the brim to the point that I could almost pop. It was leaking out of me through my sweat, I was hot. Why was I hot? No matter. Since I was so hot, I took off my jacket and just tried to breathe in the cool air, inhaling the mossy scent from the ground, and just listening to the sounds around me. Once again, I could hear the same bird call off in the distance singing it’s sad, lonely tune. I’ve always loved birds. Especially the birds here. I decided to sit down on a rock and drink some water. There were four bottles in my pack, some trail mix. The good kind with cashews and chocolate of course, and some sandwiches that I threw together on my way out.
A while later, I made it home, and it felt good to be back in the warmth. I didn’t feel quite as cold as I did earlier, which was nice. Gosh, that was just terrible. Sopping wet, without a jacket on, boots caked in mud. After sitting down a while, listening to some music and doing some drawing, I did start to feel a bit better. So, as I was told at some point in my life, I started journaling. Just writing down my thoughts here. Now, I’m feeling way better. I’m more at ease than before, and just a lot more relaxed. Honestly, I’m not too sure why I was so stressed out. Why couldn’t I just be at ease like how I am now? Anyways, that’s getting too philosophical for me today. I’ve got a few more days here before I’ve got to head back to the chaos that is society, so I might as well enjoy them doing the things that I like.
2/8/2024
Well, tomorrow’s my birthday so that’s something to look forward to! I’m going to be spending it alone, but that’s okay. I do make a pretty good carrot cake after all. I’m probably going to be spending today doing the things that I like, you know, origami, drawing, storytelling, that kind of stuff. It should be quite relaxing and I’m looking forward to it.
2/9/2024
Today’s my birthday!! Woo! Or something like that. I don’t really get all of the hype around birthdays. Like, it’s just another day of the year, right? What’s so special about this one? That you were born on it? Are you really that selfish that the day that YOU were born makes it special? Guess what, it doesn’t. Sorry, I think that I’m just in a bad mood today since I’ve got to go back to society tomorrow. Well, I might as well enjoy today while I have it. I did end up making a carrot cake. I messed up the cream cheese frosting a little bit, but overall, it was tasty! Gonna spend the rest of today just relaxing, before I have to head off tomorrow. That mossy smell is still in the air, so might as well enjoy it while it lasts.