In the mountains of California
I took a hike
With the creator of Beat Saber

We walked past the remnants
Of a tiny house which burned
Two years earlier with a small boy
Trapped inside
It was never rebuilt due to
The remoteness
The sadness
The ghost

At the top of the mountain
We stumbled across a grizzly bear
Who grew in size and stature
When it became aware of us
Running back down the mountain
It took chase
Until a black bear ambushed it
Scratching and frothing and tearing with teeth
The whole mountain rumbled

My companion and I were separated
I'd gone left and he'd gone right

Coming to a cliff's edge
I'd made the wrong choice
But ever prepared
I took out my climbing gear
And repelled down the mountain

The boy's shade chattered at me the whole way down
The bears continued to thunder above