Li Meiling has been abroad pursuing a master of political science and environmental studies and was a staunch environmental activist committed to protecting the environment, typically during her school break she would go on forest expeditions at least for three weeks so she could go off-grid and have no distraction to clear her head,.
She did this frequently without problems for several months and decided during her latest expedition unlike in previous ones that she would alone and with no provisions of food except for spices and oil because of her bachelors in botany and she believed in her abilities and was very confident she could get by foraging for food as nature had so much to give. She also took some bear spray and pepper spray, mosquito repellent creams, and anti-venom pills, among other items, just in case she required them.
With her first-aid kit and tent in hand, she informed friends of her two-week hike ahead because the place she wanted to go to had no cell service and left for her hike. Little did she know this would her last time in her single-bedroom apartment.
Hiking by herself during the day and camping at night, she left for the expedition. She foraged, and after finishing, she would set up her tent and then prepare dinner she foraged and developed a routine. Finishing all that, she would spend half of the night star-gazing at the starlit sky, a stark contrast to city life.
Seven days of gathering wild fruits, mushrooms, and edible greens left her satiated. She was very grateful for what nature offered, vowing to go again frequently for such expeditions. She had been on her adventure for nine days experiencing no mishap, just a little sad that her hike was unfortunately ending.
Before coming, she asked her university friends to join her on her hiking expeditions. They mocked her, claiming only one type of people would go to a secluded and isolated forest, discouraging her from going. But this was the only way for her to clear her mind and distract herself from thoughts of her current situation.
She would usually get lonely on her school breaks and returning to her country was not an option as it made her more lonely and miserable since she did not have any relatives.
Her parent died in a car accident, which only she survived when she was young. As for siblings, unfortunately, she was an only child. Her grandparents raised her after her parent's death and her grandfather passed away when she was in high school her and grandmother following him a few year later just when she became an adult was in her first year of university.
The passing of their grandmother affected her the most, as she was the only remaining close relative she had. As for her extended family, they were not close as they treated her like a curse and a disaster child, which made her cut off all contacts with them.
In the afternoon of the tenth day, loneliness was getting to her. She was out of her mind and very distracted, as she had missed human interactions realizing that she had overplayed her hand on this solo hike. She went back home the following day and, making that decision, she felt much better.
Taking some time to write her thoughts in her diary after she took care of an injured bird, she had rescued and talked to it like she would a friend and that made her feel better improving her mood.
It was time for dinner and picked some blusher mushrooms she foraged, washing and slicing. And tossing it to makeshift pan, which was made from some discarded food can and adding spices while frying it. Despite the situation, it was an excellent dinner.
After eating, she pitched her tent, going directly into the tent and skipping the usual start gazing as she was in no mood tonight; she slept for a bit and in the middle of her nap, terrible stomach pain suddenly awakened her. At first thought it was her period, but as time went by and the pain got stronger, she knew it was way worse than her period pain.
Recalling the mushroom that she had for dinner, she knew immediately something was wrong and suspected mushroom poisoning. Her mind reeling with different ideas, but the only thing that made sense was she might have accidentally picked some deadly ones when picking the blusher. As she was out of her senses and was absent-minded today. To seek help, she got up, prepared, and left. Leaving her tent and everything, only taking her map and flashlight.
The pain increased every hour. She managed to just walk for six hours straight but with the pain was so severe she couldn't move anymore collapsing with sweat on her forehead and her lips bleeding as she was biting on them too hard whenever a wave of pain hit her.
Being aware of the fact that she was three days away from the closest civilization, she knew it would take the mushroom less time to kill her and would be dead before seeing anyone. Resting against the ground, she curled into a fetal position as the irony of her situation suddenly hit her.
She would have been okay if a bear mauled her or a snake bit her to death, but of all the causes of death in the world, it was a mushroom that would take her out, and that was very embarrassing for someone like her who had studied plants and fungi for four years in prestigious university just for it to be the end of her.
Despite the pain, she was experiencing an overwhelming feeling of shame hit her because she was sure she would not survive this. She wondered if anyone would miss her after her passing.
Midnight of her tenth day of her hike she lay in silence among tall trees and in the middle of nature that she loved so much, she succumbed to her fate that she came to accept only after an hour of laying there that she would breathe her last in the environment she loved and deeply cared for as consciousness faded away, and in the middle of the forest in a foreign country, Mei died at the ripe age of just twenty-four years old to what she considered an embarrassing death.