The Coyote
I was laying down on the tracks of a train that would never come.
Watching the sun go down, I was singing my own sad and lonely song. The gravel inbetween the tracks and the rough wooden planks wore my legs raw. I saw him approaching from the vanishing point of the hill walking towards me. An older man with dirty blonde hair tied back, shirtless, he was carrying litter he had picked up. I took off my earphones and my sunglasses and looked at him, puzzled. I thought of my own hair growing long and saw myself in him, carrying litter like I had so many times.
"Did you see the coyote?"
"There's a coyote?"
"He's got the worst case of mange I have ever seen, I heard his sickly howl and it tore at my heart."
"No I haven't seen one around here."
"I know what I am talking about, I've got two degrees from down there-" he pointed towards the campus. "I am going to lay out a bucket of dog food, it's terrible. It wasn't you howling was it?"
"No, no I didn't - "
"Did you hear it howl? Made my heart ache."
"No, I had my earphones on actually. Was it nearby?"
"Don't worry, he's no danger to you. I am going to try to catch him and bring him in, he'll die out here."
"That's terrible, but I haven't seen him."
"If he approaches you don't do anything, just pour your healing into him. He's probably not going to make it."
"Wow, I am sorry."
He walked on, slowly working his way down the hill. I thought of the experiences I had read about, being lost in the wilderness and seeing a spirit of nature call out to you trying to lead you somewhere. I thought it was just a coincidence, the connections I was drawing must have been my brain trying to recognize a pattern where there wasn't one. But I saw myself in that coyote, crying out with my own sickly howl. Then I thought of the man, offering the bucket of food.
