Living in New York City, there aren't many moments you can spend quietly taking in your surroundings away from distractions. One of the places I felt I could escape the hustle bustle of New York City was Upstate New York. Located off a highway, my dad pulled the car over only to tread carefully into a hunting reservation. With branches and twigs scattered over the ground, the car rocked side to side as we pulled in. There were trees on either side of us and as we treaded in further, until we reached an open space. As he parked, a swarm of mosquitoes greeted us and didn't allow us to leave the car for a while.

The silence was deafening. Even the sound of the car door slamming seemed muffled by the silence. My dad led my brother and me to a tent that was parked to the right of the car. It was similar to a double truss styled tent and gave off a weird aura. It gave the impression that we were trespassing. We didn’t linger around the tent for long. Afterwards, my dad showed us where he would practice his shooting. About 100 yards away, the target stood riddled with holes. My dad was an outdoors kind of guy; he would go fishing frequently and his skin would turn red from the exposure from the sun. I would compare the rust colored skin of his arms to the milky white skin of his legs. Hunting was another hobby of his. He would stop by at our apartment to say goodbye before leaving to hunt in Upstate New York.

My dad was excited to show us the area, though he didn’t show it on his face. We went on a hike to look around. There was a trail that lacked grass and showed the auburn colored dirt. The plants were bursting with life. He led us into the bushes and proceeded to chop away at branches that interfered with the path. My brother and I got tired of the hike and my dad pointed my brother and me to the direction where the car was and gave us the car keys. After walking back to the car, my brother and I tried to get into the car without letting the mosquitoes into the car. Being isolated in the hunting reservation gave me a sense of security. I didn’t think that a horror movie was going to take place in the reservation and we were all going to die. An hour passed. The sense of security vanished as the hour passed and my dad didn’t return. I began to think of the worst case scenarios: he got lost or he got injured. What if something really bad happened? How would my brother and I get home? I began to cry out of worry and the fact that he didn’t pick up his phone didn’t help ease my worrying. I called my mom crying and told her how my dad hadn’t returned. She told me to wait and she would try to call him. Suddenly, his figure appeared out of the trees walking towards the car.

Sometimes you have to leave your surroundings and go somewhere unknown to value what you have, who you have, and where you can go.