Day 1

____Daybreak in the village of Franklin Point. I spent last night triple-checking my supplies before eventually drifting off into an uneasy sleep. At the last minute, I find myself having doubts about my mission. Is it smart to explore the Menewshan wilderness on my own? Well... no.

____Enjoying one last cup of tea, I glanced over at an overstuffed trash bin full of things I planned to leave behind. At the top was a schedule for the local train. Hopping a train and going home certainly was a tempting thought, but I'd come too far to turn back now. Feeling more certain, I hoisted my heavy backpack onto my shoulders and took my first steps out into the morning light.

____Despite its small size, Franklin Point turned out to be an excellent spot to sojourn in preparation for my trip. The people were friendly, the food was fresh, and the water clean: a rustic sanctuary in the sparsely inhabited western coast. Even so, calling it a "town" was a bit of a stretch. The hamlet consisted of just a handful of families, primarily employed as fishermen, as well as a wealthy couple who're rumored to own a plantation nearby.

____My lodging was provided nearly free of charge by an elderly widow whose late husband had built the cabin by hand. She'd spin fantastic tales about his life as a young sailor whenever I dropped by for tea. I wondered what happened to her husband, but I never could bring myself to ask. I stopped by her place to return my house key and say one last goodbye before leaving.

____"Watch out for nimsies!" she called behind me as I trudged down the dirt path into town. I turned and assured her that I would, although I didn't really buy into that sort of hocus-pocus nonsense. Local legend tells of malevolent pixies that spy on travelers in the forest, hiding between the leaves so they can spring a trap when their victims least expect it. There are plenty of dangerous things lurking in Menewsha's woods, but pixies rank fairly low on my list of concerns.

____I stopped at the edge of town and asked for directions to the next village which would take more than a day's walk to reach. The bamboozled local repeated his directions several times, probably thinking I'm dumb to go by foot while the train is still running. I finally convinced him I was capable of making the journey myself after agreeing to take some extra food along with me just in case.

____I walked quickly toward the thicket ahead and pretty soon the town of Franklin Point was no longer in view. I felt like I'd finally started on my journey. Yet several hours of trekking through the grass and shrubs turned out to be surprisingly uneventful. I soon realized that in preparing for worse case scenarios, I'd neglected to realize just how boring such a long, solitary trek might be.

____Feeling hungry, I decided to stop for lunch in a forest clearing. I sat down atop a log and took off my backpack. First, I decided to check what was in the bag of food I'd received earlier. Inside were six potatoes. I grimaced, realizing that I'd been lugging them around for hours.

____I sighed and chucked a potato at a nearby rock out of annoyance, which made a satisfying "tpff". Then suddenly I heard a suspicious rustling in the nearby trees. "What was that noise?" I armed myself with a potato and looked around. I caught a glimpse of a shadowy figure, almost shaped like...

____I heard a loud rustle behind me and yelped, "OMG is that a llama!?" But when I turned, it was nothing of the sort. In fact, it was quite small and cute. "Hey, there little guy," I called out to the brown creature nibbling on the grass at my feet. "I've seen something like you before in a textbook. Are you a capybara?" The animal said nothing but started sniffing my potatoes. "Go ahead," I said dropping the sack in front of it. "I'm going to see if I can find something better to eat around here." I'd been eager to put my survival skills to the test since I read 101 Wild Foods That Won't Kill You.

____I searched around the clearing until I spotted a fruit tree. "That looks edible." I clambered up the tree and plucked several fruits from the branches. I returned to my backpack to discover that my new friend had started nibbling on the corner of my bag. "Hey!" I ran over and wrenched the sack away, accidentally dropping a fruit on the ground. The large rodent seemed to find that more appetizing, and started nibbling on it instead. I sighed, but reminded myself, "Oh well, I've got another one of those, unlike my backpack."

____Fortunately the fruit turned out to be a satisfying meal, and I was soon off on my journey again. When the light began to fade, I sought shelter under a rocky outcropping. I felt more comfortable setting up a campfire away from the trees and underbrush, lowering the risk of forest-wide conflagration. After spending a few hours writing and contemplating this journal entry, I settled in for the night and went to bed.

Day 2

____I had the strangest dream last night. I was flying through the air the back of a giraffe. I held on tightly to its elongated neck, but I wasn't afraid. It flew gracefully like a bird on two wide feathered wings. I could see a bright beacon shining in the distance and felt drawn to it. Then suddenly, I was at home. My mother asked me why I hadn't cooked dinner yet. She said we were having bacon but we didn't have any pork. I ran to the store, but they were out too. Desperate, I started asking strangers where I could get some meat. I tapped a man on the shoulder and asked, "Excuse me, could you tell me where I could find a pig, please?" But as soon as he saw me, he laughed and walked away. I looked down into a puddle by my feet and squealed in horror.

____Suddenly, I awoke and felt my face. "I must still be dreaming..." I thought, and pinched my checks. I was startled by the pain and it slowly dawned on me that my swollen face wasn't just a nightmare. I dug into my backpack and pulled out a compact mirror. The faint morning light was too dim so I relit my campfire to better see. "Ughh..." I must be allergic to those berries I had for dessert. Grumpily, I pulled out my notepad where I'd kept a catalogue of the notable plants and animals I'd seen so far. I furiously erased the words "edible" and replaced them with "DO NOT EAT!"

____After indulging in a few more minutes of self-pity, I convinced myself to start on today's journey. On a positive note, it was good that I discovered my allergy now. I only had a few berries, which I shoved into a custard pastry for dessert. It would have been disastrous had I consumed a whole bunch. I made a mental note to be more mindful in the future. "Fruit aren't always friends..."

____A few hours into my journey, I was already feeling much better. My lips were a bit puffy, but I looked fairly recognizable. For lunch, I played it safe and dug into my food supply rather than scavenge in the woods. Just as I was about to pack up and start walking again, I heard a strange noise. It was faint, but it sounded like a child crying. "Am I that close to a town?" I thought, not expecting to reach civilization for at least another day.

____I rose from the stump I had been sitting on and slung my backpack over my shoulders. Unfortunately, the noise was sporadic and hard to follow. Not certain of where it was coming from, I picked an arbitrary path and trudged off through the woods. Luckily, I seemed to be going in the right direction as the sound grew louder and clearer.

____I entered a shrubby clearing and soon came across the source: a small girl, sobbing intermittently, appearing either lost or looking for something. I hesitated for a moment, checked that my lips were only slightly swollen, before going nearer. "Hello there," I called in what I hoped was a nonthreatening tone. "Are you lost? Can I help you?"

____The girl abruptly stopped crying and looked at me with doe eyes. She nodded and smiled. "Aww, what a sweety I thought," as I started walking towards her. As soon as I was in arm's length, the little girl latched her arms around my legs and I stumbled to maintain balance. "WOAH! That was close! Do you think you could let go, please?" But the girl squeezed tighter and I tumbled to the ground.

____It was at that moment I realized my mistake. The leaves, shrubs, and trees erupted in laughter. The last thing I remember was a small white and golden blur flitting through the air, making a high-pitched giggle. Then, everything went black.

____For the second time that day, I awoke with a start. For a few dazed moments I looked around, but saw nothing. "Hmm... I appear to have gone blind." But when I touched my face, I discovered that a blindfold had been wrapped around my eyes. I pulled it off, and winced as my eyes readjusted to the light. By the looks of things, not much time had passed. "Nimsies..." I muttered.

____I felt around my body, but I didn't appear to be any worse for wear. "Wait a second... my bag! It was here a moment ago, I know it was!" I searched frantically until I spotted it leaning against a stump not far away. Fortunately, the nimsies didn't seem to have taken much. I lost a few coins and some food, but nothing critical to my journey. Then I remembered what the locals said about forest pixies: "They love playing tricks on travelers. Especially the little things, like switching a sign post or stealing your underwear."

____I dug through my spare clothes and found my underwear safely intact, but unfortunately my socks were less lucky. "Where did that hole come from?" I wondered as I examined the first pair. Then the next. All of my socks were now riddled with fresh holes. I stuffed my porous socks back into my bag and yelled as I left the meadow, "Well, ha ha! I hope you're happy!" I heard a titter coming from the tree branches above and trudged off to make camp elsewhere. Far, far away.