Entropy
The Retreat

Even though I had resorted to backtracking, I made good time and wasted little light on the return trip. Backtracking, retreating, and surrender, aren't activities I pursue often, so it came as a surprise when I noticed my step had remained light and the way easy. I smiled at the discovery, as most outings where the need to retrace my path is more of a guttural and barbaric affair. Not today, I thought, watching a flock of geese soaring high above the magnificent landscape. I admired those big ornery birds, more than most. In fact, I would say they are the most favored of all the birds I've encountered. Smart birds; strong and loyal, Canada Geese are ferocious protectors of their young, their family, and occasionally, the more timid birds in the vicinity. During countless encounters with the giant fowl, I have developed quite a sentiment for them, and smile each time I'm outnumbered and surrounded by a large group of hissing, agitated geese. I nodded at the giant formation in the sky. "See you in the spring", I called out, with a touch of envy in my voice.

This brief detour shouldn't take too long, I remembered thinking at the precise time my boot came down atop a large mound of dog s&*t. This caused me to lose my footing for an instant, setting off an unconscious series of reactions coursing through my body. Rippling muscle tissue and stretching sinew, responded to the synapses firing in my cortex. My body engaged its ingrained mechanisms, desperate to avoid the seemingly imminent groin strain that was unfolding. As luck would have it, I narrowly avoided an awkward and embarrassing spill, but an overstretched groin muscle would be the toll of that...