Two-Month Contract

The vibrations of the rails came from under my feet, and the blazing headlights engulfed my vision. At the moment of dying, what Lorne heard was another sound - the howling wind and snow, the roar of the brown bear, and the girl's breathless breathing: "Lorne... Run..." … "Ahem——!" The pain in his chest exploded, and the cold air mixed with the smell of blood poured into his throat. Lorne's eyes shot open. Not railroad tracks. It's snow. The left arm was bent at a weird angle, and at least three ribs were broken. He had just been slapped off the cliff by a brown bear. "Why did I... Run away again?" No. He dug into the snow with his right hand that could still move. His fingernails cracked, but the severe pain kept him awake. My father's voice penetrated two lifetimes of time and space, roaring in my mind: "The real pain is not death, but being forgotten by the world." "Live well."