Bluffing

In the short story, "Bluffing", Gail Helgason tells about a young couple, Liam and Gabriella, who go on a hike in the woods and find themselves in a bear encounter. Liam foolishly runs away and is attacked, but later he informs Gabriella that he did it on purpose. While lying in his hospital bed, Liam tells Gabriella he ran away so that the bear would chase him, instead of hurting her. Should Gabriella believe that he would have performed such a selfless act for her? It doesn’t seem so. First of all, it is not proven that Liam is very committed to her. When Gabriella is anticipating signing the lease for their house, Liam tells her “[he’s] gonna head down South.” He is also quite vain, and it’s hard to believe that he would have purposefully have gotten the bear to go after him, with the possibility of it ruining his looks. Before the accident, “Liam’s thick black hair was cut as fashionably as ever”, and “[he] truly believed that “one day he would have his photo in glossy magazines for high-tech outdoor gear.” Lastly, Liam is very proud, and “[isn’t] always willing to learn from people who might know more than he [does]”. Would a proud person like him admit to making a mistake, like running away from a bear, or would he cover it by saying it was to save someone? Gabriella will never know. Either way, it doesn’t look like Liam’s going anywhere, other than the hospital for checkups, now.

                                                           A Reminiscence of the Past

A woman, more than a century old, is sitting in her rocking chair. Her skin, made of leather, sags and wrinkles, creating intricate patterns all over her face and hands. The frazzled hair on her head protrudes from her large hat, the zigzags of grey ending just below her chin. Despite her harsh looks, she is kind. In her hand she possesses a cigarette, the smoke billowing and dancing up towards the sky in swirls of white. It reminds her of her past. As she watches from her chair, her two young granddaughters frolic on the front lawn. A fleeting thought of puppies that’ve just learned to walk, that have fully realized the freedom of movement, passes through her mind. She thinks back to when she was young, when walking and breathing were simple tasks. She reminisces about the times when she used to frolic with her sisters, full of energy and life. Although fully aware that her time is coming to an end, she does not take the life that she has for granted as she used to. As she reapplies her fading pink lipstick with a feeble hand, her granddaughter calls to her. For the penultimate time, she sets down her cigarette, and her hard expression relaxes into a smile.