My dear friend, Peter, was the deviser of our weekend hike. He was a good man, but sometimes his plans needed a little help. For the last few days, I had been in a daze, worrying about the weather. I’d even begun to dissent from his original route.

“I don’t think we should go,” I said, a rare note of protest in my voice. “The river current is strong, and there’s a damn big dam at the end of that path. It doesn’t look safe.”

Peter smiled, a little too calmly. “Don’t be a damn pessimist! The route is fine. Look, I’ve brought you a currant bun to cheer you up.”

I took a bite of the bun and agreed to go. As we walked, a beautiful deer crossed our path, a good omen. We reached a fork in the path, and Peter hesitated. He was looking at a symbol on his map that marked a steep descent. The path wound sharply down to the river.

“It’s a long way down,” I said. “And I don’t want to get stuck. I’d rather not desert the path but this doesn’t feel right.”

Peter’s face was a study in concentration. He was trying to figure out which path to take. The symbol was not a cymbol from a drum kit, of course, but a map symbol he couldn’t quite understand. He needed a cue.

“Try to divide the path into smaller parts,” I suggested, thinking of a maths lesson from school. “The divisor in this case is the number of trees. There’s a queue of people behind us.”

Peter looked up, a little frustrated. “Kyu is a martial arts ranking,” he said. “Not a way to divide a path.” I’d messed that up!

Suddenly, a park ranger appeared. She gave Peter a clear cue to follow her. We stepped off the kerb of the path and followed her to a beautiful viewpoint. From there, we could see a wide, safe path that bypassed the dangerous descent.

“I’m sorry, I was just in a daze for a few days,” Peter admitted.

“It’s okay,” I said. “We’ll have our dessert now and forget all about it.”

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Vocabulary Notes

Pessimist.
A pessimist is a person who always expects bad things to happen.
Example: “Don’t be a damn pessimist!” Peter said.
Similar words: complainer, worrier, negative person.
Opposite: an optimist (a person who always expects good things to happen).

Omen.
An omen is a sign that something is going to happen in the future, either good or bad.
Example: “As we walked, a beautiful deer crossed our path, a good omen.”
Similar words: sign, signal, warning, indication.

Concentration.
Concentration is the ability to think carefully about something for a period of time.
Example: “Peter’s face was a study in concentration.”
Similar words: focus, attention, thoughtfulness.

Frustrated.
To feel frustrated is to feel annoyed or angry because you are unable to do something you want to do.
Example: “Peter looked up, a little frustrated.”
Similar words: annoyed, irritated, disappointed.

Bypassed.
To bypass something means to go around it instead of through it or over it.
Example: “We followed her to a beautiful viewpoint… we could see a wide, safe path that bypassed the dangerous descent.”
Similar words: go around, avoid, circumnavigate.

Story written by Gemini AI.

Image created by Gemini AI.

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