Fear can change a person; here is how it changed me when I was ten. It was my friend Phil’s birthday. A few of our friends were planning to spend the night camping in the forest behind his house. The mid June air had grown humid earlier in the day, and the evening brought little relief. Soon, dusk approached.
We pitched our tent in a soft, grassy clearing surrounded by several towering trees. This spot was about a quarter mile from Phil’s house.
“This is the perfect spot,” Phil explained. “The ground will be really comfortable for us to sleep on.”
“Looks good to me,” I said as we loaded our sleeping bags and supplies into the tent.
We pictured ourselves as fearless adventurers in a deep jungle, spending a night in the forest by ourselves.
Little did we know our bravery would soon be called into question.
Starting up at the roof of the tent, we could see the outline of the trees that stretched above us. After dark the forest stirred with a bit of activity. Otherwise, the night remained very peaceful.
Later, we decided to tell scary stories about creepy monsters. With each story the idea of an entire night in the woods grew scarier, too. Suddenly, we heard a soft whoosh, followed by a loud thump! A mysterious shadow flashed onto the top of our tent. Screaming in terror, we scrambled out of our sleeping bags. Sprinting furiously back towards Phil’s house, we felt certain that we had narrowly avoided an attack.
When we arched the house safely, Phil’s father set out to search the area.
He returned with some surprising and embarrassing news.
“What was it? Did you find it?” we inquired anxiously.
“Yes, I think I found the culprit,” he said smiling. “ When I got their, the neighbor’s cat was climbing up into the tree above your tent,” he chuckled.
“She must have fallen out of the tree and given you a scare.”
“Oh. How strangely hilarious!” Phil exclaimed.
The mystery had been solved. However, we all sheepishly admitted that we had no desire to return to the tent. We slept safely and peacefully inside the house. We were the brave survivors of a harrowing adventure. In conclusion, I learned an invaluable lesson about the causes and effects of fear.
