You travel to a neighboring town in the middle of the day. The wind whistles in the streets. The town has green trees and flowering bushes. Birds sing. You spot a herd of elk. You have not seen another car in hours. There are no people anywhere. Every door is locked.
The bears that wander into town are tranquilized and set free. The strangers that wander into town are not.
There is an aspen tree in your neighbor’s yard that was not there last week. A fully grown aspen tree. The markings in the bark resemble a face. The newspapers have piled up in the driveway. It is time to move again.
You and a group of friends are walking down the street when a screaming cyclist flies down the bike path. The screaming stops as he rounds the corner. You are the only one who saw him.
There is a dispensary across the street from your work. You only ever see people enter. No one leaves the dispensary.
A poster on the crosswalk pole reads: “Missing dog. Responds to Spot. Please call if found.” There is no number or any other information listed. The creature pictured on the poster is not a dog. The poster has been on the pole for weeks and, despite last night’s rain shower, shows no signs of weather damage. You quickly cross the street.