Julia Andersen took a deep breath of the crisp fall air, pausing with her leg on a log just to take a good look at the view before she got more immersed in fine details. It was absolutely beautiful this time of year in the Adirondacks – it was beautiful every time of year, of course, but fall was especially gorgeous. The changing colors of the leaves, the wildlife making the most of the last of the summer warmth before winter set in… she just adored it. She could have lived without the half-drunk hunters she seemed to run into at every twist and turn of the trail, of course, but not everything could be perfect, after all.
It was almost enough to take her mind off her breakup. It still stung, even though it had been nearly a month since she'd called it quits with Joseph. The relationship had lasted barely a year – though it was hard to say how long it really was, given how notoriously awful he'd been with commitment. He hadn't even called her his girlfriend until two months after they'd started sleeping together. A parade of red flags, looking back on it, that at the time had just seemed like quirks she had to wade through to get to the golden heart she knew he was hiding from her. He was just damaged, she'd told herself. He was just waiting to make sure she could be trusted. If she just proved that she could be everything he'd ever dreamed of in a woman, then he'd finally come good and surprise her with all the romantic gestures and words of love she'd dreamed of.
In the end, he'd dumped her via text message. So much for fancy words.
At least she was out of the city. New York was exciting, but unbelievably draining … especially over summer, when the wet heat and swarms of tourists had been especially grating on her. Working as a freelance wildlife photographer was a stressful gig, never sure where your next paycheck was coming from, relying mostly on residual income from her various online platforms to make rent and make sure she could eat for the next week at a time. So, when she'd been offered this gig upstate, exploring the Adirondacks and getting some spectacular fall footage for the state's tourism board, she'd leapt at the chance. The timing had been absolutely perfect, too. She didn't want to be in the city – not when it reminded her so much of Joseph. All his ideas for dates had just been walking the streets of the city – promises to 'show her the real New York'. She'd been living there twice as long as he had, but she'd gone along with it anyway, pretending to be amazed by the fairly pedestrian attractions he 'showed' her...
Julia gritted her teeth, aware that her mind was straying back to resentful thoughts of the breakup again. She'd promised herself she wouldn't do this. Joseph had always hated nature – that was why getting away upstate to get some shots of the Adirondacks was such a great idea for her healing process. Besides, the hefty paycheck she'd been offered was enough to cover her steep studio rental for a full six months. Not bad for a fortnight of work… so long as she delivered on her promises of great footage.
So far, she was doing okay. She'd gotten lucky a few times – earlier that day, she'd got some gorgeous shots of a couple of squirrels who seemed to be playing in the fallen autumn leaves. The nature shots were a piece of cake, too. There was a creek around here, surrounded by red-bedecked trees reaching up into the clear, flawless fall sky… she'd spent an hour there getting more footage than the tourism organization could use in a year. But the hunters were making it difficult. They always did, but this year seemed particularly bad. Barely an hour went past when she didn't hear a distant – or not-so-distant – shotgun blast, followed by shouts and cheering. Julia had always hated hunting. She'd had a soft spot for animals her whole life – it was a huge part of why nature photography had always drawn her. Knowing that there were people who reveled in shooting the animals she so admired with lead, not with cameras… well, it always made her feel sick to her stomach.
She could take solace, this year, in the fact that none of the hunters