Bluffing

The short story “Bluffing” by Gail Helgason depicts a couple who has an encounter with a grizzly bear. The man, Liam, runs away and insists that he “meant the bear to come after [him] instead of [Gabriella],” the girl. This is a lie. Liam is only concerned about his own safety, why just last year “he almost lost his nerve… when he realized that the…climber he was guiding couldn’t set up a belay that gave Liam adequate protection.” It’s also made obvious that he does not consider Gabriella much, when he tells her that he will “head down south” instead of leasing a house with Gabriella, which is what she really wants. Gabriella tells Liam what to do but “he isn’t always willing to [listen] [to] people who might know more than he [does].” Also it is shown in the story that Liam is a good liar, he chases away some boys who were also going to the lake by telling them that they found an animal carcass, which must have been a “dandy breakfast” for a grizzly bear. Liam is obviously deceiving Gabriella.

The Gray Lady

She is old and wrinkled. Her skin is shriveled and gray. With hair that is as bristled as an old broom, she is no fashion model. Clothes hang off her slight frame and her shoes are worn through. She lives in an old dirty house, all alone. Children and grandchildren are nowhere to be found. Her life is hard, full of rain and sorrow. No angel has ever smiled on her. Nobody knows but she loves to sing and dance. Her cares are of no concern to others. She has a voice that is scratched like a favourite old record, from years of abuse and smoking. Her eyes are brown pebbles worn by time. Children run from her, they think of her as a witch. If she could she would have a library full of books, but she is destitute. She is old but she still has dreams. Her dream is to travel the world. Jewelry adorns her every limb, but the gems are fake and the structure homemade. Not once has she felt lucky. Soon, she will die and no one will know for she is old and alone.