Words:
Bear
Bears hibernate for up to 50 days
Bears are generally loners
You cannot outrun a bear
A bear’s sense of smell is 2,100 times better than humans
Bears live in hardwood forests, dense swamps and wetlands
Average bear weight/height.
Fear
You can inherit fear
Oxytocin can help override fear
You can smell fear in sweat
Fear is physical
Swap
Fears hibernate for up to 50 days
Fears are generally loners
You cannot outrun a fear
A fear’s sense of smell is 2,100 times better than humans
Fears live in hardwood forests, dense swamps and wetlands
Average fear weight/height
You can inherit bear
Oxytocin can help override bear
You can smell bear in sweat
Bear is physical
Secret Truth:
Grizzly Fear
When my father died I inherited his fear, a beast of a thing with pine needle fur that got under my skin and sharp claws that dug dug dug but never got to the bottom of things.
He sloped in at dawn when I had barely slept and slipped between my sheets until dusk, when he would wake with a great hunger and wander the streets of my town looking for answers. Whether he ever found them I would not know because he never told. He kept himself to himself, growling, prowling around the rooms of my house, sinking low into my shaggy sofa.
A fear comes with responsibility. I knew that having children was out of the question when I saw his huge shaking paws. I’d inherited my father’s fear. I was damned if I’d inherit the rest. An adult fear can weigh up to 217 kg. On its hind legs, after a night out drinking, it can rise to over two metres in height. An adult fear can roar in the middle of the night, scaring the household.
I placated my fear with sweet words and honey. On those days he huddled up close and slept easy. When I fell for the local beekeeper, the smell of our love sent him deep into hibernation even though it was June. After fifty days he awoke, slipping away into the dense woods surrounding our land.
Still I know that a fear can smell you from miles away, over woodland, through swamps and salmon falls.
If there’s one thing I know, it’s that you can never outrun a fear.
Julia Ruth Smith is a mother, teacher and writer. She lives by the sea in Italy. Her writing can be found in Flash Frog, Vestal Review, New Flash Fiction Review, Cutbow Quarterly, Full House Lit and various anthologies. She loves a good prompt! You can find her these days @juliaruthsmith.bsky.social