07/07/2025
Creative nonfiction from Soul Poetry, Prose & Arts Magazine Vol 1, Issue 2 Spring 2025
Wildlife Encounter
by Allen Billy
Hiking can be dangerous—one moment it’s just you and the trees, the next moment you could be facing an aggressive wildlife encounter. Once, while resting alongside a trail listening to forest sounds—a bird chirping, a creaking tree limb, I caught a sudden movement out of the corner of my eye. A swirling, twirling, tumbling, tornado of butterflies was charging directly towards me. Stunned, frozen in place, I was unable to dodge the oncoming mass. I held my breath, hoping not to attract their attention. The creatures landed as a lava-colored ball—yellow, black, and red—on my leg. The butterflies rested for a brief moment, then rapidly flexed their wings and flew as a unit into the woods. My elevated heart rate eventually began to subside. I inhaled the fresh, pine-scented air, grateful to be alive. I had survived a butterfly stampede.
Allen works on projects for two provincial regulatory colleges – in Education (handling professional misconduct hearings in the K-12 education involving teachers, principals, and superintendents); and in Social Work (Council Member, Alberta College of Social Workers). Allen has also worked in emergency management (alpine and wilderness search and rescue), wildfire management projects in northern Alberta and Northwest Territories). His Zoology degrees are from the University of Texas at Austin (Ph.D.) and the University of British Columbia (M.Sc. and B.Sc.). His hobbies include geocaching, metal detecting, and bird watching.
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