Walking in the twilight zone

Elaine and I drove out to take a walk in the woods around a lake on Monday. We entered the woods after walking a long stretch of pavement that runs alongside the lake. A complete circuit around the lake is about five miles. Think of the woods as a box, five miles in length, with a way in or out at each end.

Walking on the pavement, toward the woods, we saw a young woman walking toward us, from the woods. She wore glasses, pink headphones, and a branded sweatshirt. We walked about a mile and a half into the woods before turning around to head back to the pavement and our car. And on our way out of the woods, we saw her again, walking toward us — glasses, pink headphones, and a branded sweatshirt. Why was she walking back into the woods? Had she lost something on her walk? Who knows.

Driving back into town, we saw her again, walking on a sidewalk. We were now about two and a half miles from the lake. She had not passed us on our way out of the woods.

[A true story.]