Paranormal Suspense
Date Published: May 20, 2025
Publisher: Acorn Publishing
Matteo Ferrari has always been different. Gifted with unsettling clairvoyance, he sees shadows where others see light and hears whispers from the unknown. But when he fails to protect the ones he loves, his abilities vanish, leaving him lost and desperate. To reclaim his powers and find a new path, Matteo abandons his old life and ventures into the Alaskan wilderness.
Gabriella Valentina knows the pain of loss all too well. Once enchanted by the spotlight, she now flees from her past, seeking refuge from fear and sorrow in the same wild expanse.
When Matteo and Gabriella’s paths cross amidst the eerie beauty and hidden dangers of the Yukon, they must confront not only the shadows of their pasts but also the dark forces that lurk in the forest, waiting to claim them.
30. AWAKENING
GABRIELLA
I hit the ground with a thud and felt pain on my left side
where Golden had slapped me flying over the edge of the hill. The bear ran at
Matteo, and I heard him yell, “Run, Gabriella!”
With abandon, I rolled down the steep hill unable to stop
myself. Tumbling over and over, I glanced off trees and came to a rest far down
the hill. I lay dazed and confused. Various sized boulders were all over the
hill and at the bottom. Miraculously, I had missed all of them.
I had careened off a few trees and felt lucky, hardly able
to move. I opened my eyes, lying face down in the dirt. Turning my head I
looked straight into the eyes of a small white mouse that stood on its haunches
looking at me while sniffing the air. He ran off, and I felt like telling him
to come back. It reminded me of a time long ago when I raised pet mice, and
they all became my friends. When I came home from school, they would all gather
around the cage until I allowed them out to sit on my shoulders as I walked
around the house. My stepmom thought I was crazy and was afraid of the harmless
creatures. But I needed their company. And I wanted this wild mouse to stay
with me now. I crawled to the nearest tree and leaned up against it. Checking
my body, I had no serious injuries, just multiple bruises. Still in shock, I
gazed up to the top of the hill and noticed the great head of Golden staring
down at me. I reached for the .44, but it was gone, taken by the miners. I
sighed, looked up, and Golden turned and disappeared from my sight.
I sat still for a while thinking of the tragedy that had
just unfolded, and felt devastated that I could not help Matteo, a loss I did
not wish to endure. Now that he was gone, my affection for him poured out, and
I began to cry. I wished I had treated him with more fondness but was unable to
ditch my emotional cage. Never had I met a man such as Matteo, so kind, so
attentive, and always there for me.
What a fool, and now he was gone, and I must forge on, but I
felt like dying instead. I thought for a few minutes and decided to climb back
up and deal with his body. He would do that for me. If Golden was there, then I
would perish with Matteo. Gathering my senses, I stood and began the arduous
climb to the top. Trying to remain as quiet as possible. I rested every twenty
feet, trying to maintain strength to avoid tumbling to the bottom again. I
looked at myself. I was covered with dirt and pine needles, and I reached up
and felt my hair. It was a rat’s nest. I muttered to myself that I must blend
in well with my environment.
Halfway up, I paused and began to think, which in my case
could be dangerous. I had run from my past in a rampaging effort to locate
something to fulfill myself. I did find extreme value and reward in learning
the fine art of fly-fishing and becoming adept at teaching it. I’d studied and
mastered the requirements of becoming a dedicated ranger. I’d learned to handle
and shoot a gun, something this model never even imagined.
In so many ways, I had accomplished my goals and felt
fantastic but was still unfulfilled. Yet often the answer is so obvious that it
can’t be seen by someone looking too hard. It’s like someone must drop the
proverbial brick on my head. Naturally, even obsessively, I searched and
consciously avoided people and events countless times, dismissing everything
and everyone while always seeming happy.
Perched on the side of this hill, covered in dirt and pine
needles, it dawned on me that whenever folks act happy all the time, it means
the opposite, sadness. Rubbing my eyes to clear the tears, I now understood the
glaring solution to my frustrations, and it had been swirling around me over
the past few weeks, making me laugh and cry with intellectual compassion and
humor meshed with Matteo’s own tragic tale. And now he was gone as fast as he
had arrived. Pouring his personal life onto me was like pure mountain stream
water bathing my mind of negativity and ultimately, and shockingly, it spurred
me to enter his tent and reveal some of my discombobulated life.
Trying again to justify the fact that I had known him for
only a few weeks failed miserably because something about him had eased my pain
with the noninvasive power of persuasion. I had a chance to exorcise my demons
by simply accepting this warm, blessed being who stood patiently in front of
me, washing me with humor, with keen discourse, and with compliments. But no, I
retreated again to my defensive position and screwed myself in the process
while discouraging him at the same time. Although he still stood in front of my
blinded eyes. Sighing, I began to climb again, quiet as a mouse. The task ahead
of me seemed insurmountable and deadly, but I pushed ahead.
As I approached the hilltop, I sank into cold fear created
by the realization of my impending end of life, and here I was about to
experience it for the third time in one day! I knew bears seldom abandon their
kills for fear of others pilfering their catch. I hoped the .44 magnum would be
close as it would be my only chance. Stopping a few feet from the edge, I lay
quietly in the dirt and pine needles, and oddly I felt remarkably comfortable.
I smiled at the frivolity of my effort, sighed, and gathered my wits for the
obvious mayhem that lay ahead. I had hoped that most of Matteo would be intact
for a decent funeral, as it was his wish to be buried in the remote woods of
our majestic wilderness.
My heart skipped a few beats as I cautiously peeked over the
hill and first saw multiple body parts scattered about. I suppressed a scream
and pulled back gasping for breath until I calmed down. Gathering my strength,
I stuck my whole head up and scanned the setting. My heart jumped as my gaze
settled on Matteo slumped over still tied to the tree! I noticed well-picked
bones scattered near him, but no blood on Matteo, and no sign of the killer
bear. I refrained from yelling at Matteo as I noticed a glitter to the right,
the .44 magnum near the torn remains of our dead captors. After hesitating for
a final look around, I bounded over the hill and rushed to the gun. No bear. I
ran to Matteo, he looked up, startled, and I hugged him repeatedly.
About the Author
A graduate of UCSC and UCSB, Navy brat Bryan Burnell majored in creative writing and English literature. After selling his successful office furniture business, which he ran for three decades, he started paying more attention to the story ideas that had accumulated in his mind over the years. Free time allowed him to finally bring life to his first book, Saving Yukon. This long-time Santa Barbara resident loves the meditative aspects of swimming, gardening, golf (despite his high handicap), and an occasional shot of good bourbon. He is married with two grown children and a spoiled Labradoodle named Nelli
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Instagram: @bryanburnellauthor
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This looks like a great read. Thanks for sharing.
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