Bigfoot, Bigger Heart- The Traveling Story
I was asked to create a personal project that would allow other people to participate and engage with the project. The result: a traveling story called “Bigfoot, Bigger Heart”
“Writing reawakens my childhood fantasy more than anything, opening up new creative worlds” -Tim Voors (Creative Director and International Keynote speaker)
This project started with a composition book, instructions, and a bag of colored pencils. I started the story off with the sentence, “After the third ring, I finally turned off my alarm.” The rest of the story is the result of my friends, roommates, and coworkers reading the entire story when they received it, and continuing it with their own ideas and creativity.
My goal was to encourage creativity, imagination, and relaxation through the act of writing.
The Instructions
Bigfoot, Bigger Heart
Title created by Nicole Kiriazis
Chapter 1
After the third ring, I finally turned off my alarm. When I looked at the time I realized I was 20 minutes late for work.
I ran to the bathroom and quickly splashed my face with water. I brushed my teeth, combed my hair and quickly changed. I then jumped on my bike and started riding to work.
As I was riding, I noticed a noise following behind me, I turned around but didn’t see anything. I set my gaze ahead and told myself I was just imagining something.
Since I was on a trail in the woods and no one could see me, I became worried about what could be following me. All of a sudden a Sasquatch popped out behind a tree.
I fell off my bike because I was so shocked. I looked in my bag frantically searching for my phone so I could snap a pic… he then reached for my phone and took a selfie of us.
“You Know how to take selfies?” I asked. “yea, big selfie guy right here, let me show you my mud hut, we squatches are more civilized than you may think.” His giant furry paw then grabbed my small hand as he led me deep into the woods. I felt butterflies in my tummy when his big furry finger stroked my hand. We approached a giant rock that resembled Patrick Star’s rock home form Spongebob. This was squatchy’s home. As he lifted the rock with his giant arms I was in awe of his strength.
When he showed me around his underground home, my jaw dropped. He lived in a home that looked similar to mine, in ways. He had running water, electricity, a game cute, tv and selfie stick. “In reality, we squatches are just normal people like you, but we hide because of how humans treat each other and we don’t want to be a part of that world… but I could sense you’re different. You have a good soul, I can sense it.” He rubbed his paw down the side of my face. His giant size intimidated me, but my heart told me to go for it. I reached up my arms towards him like I used to as a toddler to indicate I wanted to be picked up. He lifted me up to him so our eyes met. His were golden brown, so deep and handsome. He then kissed me with so much passion my heart felt like it was going to explode…
Chapter 2
I woke up sweating… was I dreaming.. did I create sasquatch in my head? It all had felt so lifelike… his lips still felt warm on mine.
I tried to proceed with my day but all I could think about was him. The sasquatch man and his home in the woods it was all-consuming… a fantasy… but yet a reality I didn’t realize I wanted.
A few days later I decided to recreate my “dream.” I hopped on my bike and rode down that trail. I was desperate to find an indication that he was real. That this feeling of wonder, love, and adventure was inside me all along waiting to come out.
I searched for clues… for a sign that what I had experienced was real… that's when I saw it glimmer in the distance. A reflector from my bike was lying off the trail… I hadn’t even noticed it was missing… I followed it looking for more clues… that's when I stumbled upon it… the rock home… It was hidden behind bushes and trees but I was certain this was it. I knocked on the outer shell butterflies swarming in my stomach…
Was this the man or sasquatch I had dreamt about?
There was no answer. Suddenly, I remembered the selfie we had taken together before we shared before we shared our breathtaking moment. As I scrolled through my phone, there was no trace of the photo. I checked all of my social media, and the only thing I could find was a picture I had taken of myself when I had taken a break from my bike ride. Something felt very familiar with the tree that looked over my left shoulder. After examining, zooming, and carefully evaluating the photo, I spot a long, dark hair close to my chin. Since I am a strawberry blonde, there was no way it was mind.
How did this hair get on my I wonder? I think back vividly about my memories with Sasquatch. Maybe I’m not going crazy, but then again I’m in the woods searching for a mythical beast.
In frustration, I sat on a fallen tree looking up at the skyline. The forest was quiet, just the wind blowing along the treetops and chipmunks scurrying around. Shifting my attention to the chipmunks I saw three mushrooms in the dirt.
Slowly walking closer I could see them glisten. Should I eat them I questioned?
Chapter 3
The mushrooms tasted pretty horrible but after eating two of them the taste became bearable. After my snack, I continued deeper into the woods. Walking became much easier and continued on that courage for some time. Eventually, my legs grow tired and I sat down in a tranquil meadow.
Chapter 4
It turns out this meadow was far from the tranquil oasis I thought it was. Only minutes after I sat down, I heard what sounded like a motorcycle revving in the distance. As these motorcycles drew closer, I heard the chant “Squatches rule! Humans drool!” My heart sank. 4 of them road into the meadow, even bigger than the one I first met. They began to circle me, all the while still chanting. Finally, they stopped after a solid 15 minutes. One of them looked at me, presumably the leader, and took off his xxxxL helmet. “Where’s my friend?” I should. “He’s in sasquatch jail for befriending a human. It’s strictly against the squatch code, he shoulda known better. Now come on guys let’s get out of her.” Just like that, they rode off into the distance, chanting all the while. It was then that I knew what I had to do. I had to save my sasquatch boyfriend from sasquatch jail.
I knew it wouldn’t be easy. But when was anything worth doing ever easy?
I set off along the tracks left behind by the “squatch squad” when they rode off. Oddly, it seemed they had made no effort to conceal where they were going. I followed the tread marks in the dirt on foot for about half an hour before quickly realizing I’d left my bike back in the clearing with the mushrooms. How could I have forgotten about that! But it was too late for me to turn back now, so I continued onward. After another twenty minutes or so, I had passed through a large field and come to a point at the edge of the trees where the paths diverged, and there was no clear sign of which way the squatch squad had gone.
I decided to go left because it was my left hand he grabbed to lead me to his rock. I started to run faster and faster through the woods trying to save my sasquatch boyfriend. As I ran, the woods got thicker and darker. Off in the distance, I hear what I think to be the motorcycle gang who jailed my boyfriend. As I got closer, I realize its running water. A river, a massive river with rapids and rocks and alligators. In the middle of the river there is the jail, and in the tallest tower, was MY sasquatch. Crossing the river was easy for his sasquatch brethren, but I was a small, strawberry blonde, mushroom girl who would have to think of a way around.
I stood on the bank of the river surely thinking that this would be it. I would never be together whit my sasquatch boyfriend again. The water was much too deep and swift and the tower much too tall. I sat and contemplated and began to feel very dizzy.. and drowsy… and the next thing I knew I woke up next to a small stream. I regathered myself trying to remember what had happened and stood so quickly to try to locate my Sasquatch. I looked upstream and couldn’t believe my eyes. There he was! My SASQUATCH BOYFRIEND! Perched on a large log in the stream. I ran as fast as I could and embraced my boyfriend almost in tears. He asked, “where have you been my love?” I replied exclaiming to him run in with other sasquatches, the giant jail tower, motorcycles, and alligator-filled river. Sasquatch looked at me as though I had actually gone insane. “What are you talking about?” he said. “I have been waiting here for you all day.” And this was the moment I regretted snacking on those 3 glistening mushrooms.
