The Tragedy of Bernie the Homeless

     After his mother chased him away, Bernie enjoyed a simple life off the grid, but acorns, berries, and grubs grew boring and harder to find, and they didn’t always suit his digestion. Then winter struck and froze his butt. Also, he thought he’d eventually find company in the wild, but others who shared his freegan, opportunivore ways shunned him. Ran from him, in fact. Were afraid and thought him loony.

So, Bernie finally quit living in the forest...

"Bernie" [1000 words] was accepted for a April 15, 2016 publication by the Dark Mountain Protect, an international post-environmentalist/artistic network, in their bi-annual journal, in particular, Issue 9. Read a DMP description of the volume and find ordering information HERE.  You can read the story free HERE. UPDATE: 9/19/16: The story was published again, this time at the Rapid River Magazine.