Henry and Juliet are fighting their way through the West Pacific woods. They move slowly, burdened by their big backpacks. Juliet collapses onto the muddy forest floor.

“I give up.” She slides under a big cedar tree, fleeing the downpour of icy rain. With a strained groan, she unshoulders the camping backpack and sits on it, head tilted downward in defeat.

~

Two months earlier, Henry and Juliet sat in front of their laptop in their warm, dry house. They were flipping through surveillance footage of their living room. People in costumes chattered and scurried across the screen at 4x playback speed.

“Stop.” Juliet pointed toward a person in a Bigfoot costume entering their pantry. Henry slowed the footage. They watched the figure enter the room and exit with a bottle.

“There it is…” Henry murmured under his breath. “Do you remember who wore that Bigfoot costume at the party?”

Juliet shook her head. “No… and I don’t believe any of our friends would take your whiskey.”

Henry zoomed; the video got blurry. He creased his forehead, digging through his mind palace for the guest list from their Halloween house party. That 12-year-old Macallan whiskey in Bigfoot’s hands was not the only alcohol in the house that night. Total blackout.

“Maybe… the real Bigfoot entered our house and wasn’t noticed because of all the costumes.”

Henry raised an eyebrow. “Are you serious?”

Juliet shrugged. “The woods behind our house go pretty far…”

Henry sighed. He played and rewound the video multiple times, zooming and scrolling, biting his nails. Juliet scrolled on her phone.

Then, he slapped his knees.

“Well, let’s go then.”

“Go where?”

“Find Bigfoot.”

~

Two months of searching later, Juliet sits on her backpack, shivering from freezing rain.

“Please, Henry, it’s nearly Christmas. We have to stop. I cannot do it anymore.” Her face is white from the cold and exhaustion.

Henry looks down at her. “You have to power through! When we find him, we will be rich and famous! We are so close!” He wipes the rain from his forehead. “This is nothing, just a light drizzle. Do you want some tea?” He pushes Juliet off the backpack she was sitting on to search for the lukewarm thermos. She jumps up, splattering her clothes with mud.

“I didn’t think you would seriously go on search missions every second of our free time.”

“There’s so much at stake! Riches and fame and my whiskey… and I can’t go alone, I might get hurt! Besides, we love camping and hiking, right?”

Juliet sighs. Her back is still sore from carrying the giant backpack. With a low voice, she finally says, “Lea. Lea wore the Bigfoot costume.”

Henry throws his hands into the air. “Finally! I thought I’d never crack you. Let’s go home now. I can’t feel my fingers or my toes.”