There are many creatures in the world who roam the wilds and watch the workings of men. In the days of old these creatures were shrouded in mystery and fear, but as man grew, science and order pushed into the very soul of nature, until man’s need to document and understand had made even the most noble, mysterious and dangerous creatures mundane and timid. Yet, mankind is lazy, and in the darkest forests and deepest fathoms of the ocean, thin shreds of magic live on, hidden and watching for the chance to judge men for their crimes.
Celeste and her brother Jacob were hiking in the trails around their camp site. They were on vacation with their parents and had decided to go exploring. “be careful not to get lost” their father said as they speed off into the trees and they laughed and ran full tilt, dodging branches as they went. The crisp smell of morning due hung lightly on the branches of the ancient pines and towering birches wrapped in ghost white bark. The two ran for a long time, far from the camp sight, well out of their parents view and into the lonely woods.
The farther they got the thicker the trees got, until they found that they had to slow down, soon they were pushing their way through the sticky, sap covered needles of the pines and picking sharp branches of rose bushes from their legs and arms. It wasn’t fun any more, now it was hard work to move through the forest, and painful as thorns scratched their hands and faces. In the distance they heard a wolf howl and both froze in their tracks, gripped in fear. The lonely note hung in the wind and rose and fell like their panting chests. Celeste looked at her brother not wanting to go on, but not wanting to go back through the thorn bush either.
“Jacob, maybe we should go back. Father will be worried.” She said. Jacob nodded and looked around at the trees.
“Yah, but which way do we go? I don’t want to go back through the thorns. Maybe we can go around the bush.” he suggested. Both looked to either side, but neither could see the edge of the bushes. It was a blind guess to decide which way was faster. Jacob thought for a moment then began to walk to the left. Celeste followed, trusting that her brother must have had some reason for picking that direction. They walked for an hour, following the edge of the rose bush, sometimes they would rejoice to find that it curved left toward their camp, only to find later that it turned back right again moments later forcing them back away from the comfort of their tents. They walked and walked, occasionally hearing the howl again in the woods, each time louder and closer. Finally they collapsed under an old ash tree. Jacob held his stomach and Celeste cried, her tears sprinkling the moist earth.
Suddenly a twig snapped behind them and a solitary timber wolf stepped out of the bush. He stalked up to them and Celeste leapt to her brother, terror flowed through her veins with her blood making her shiver and sweat at the same time. “Why do you cry little one?” the wolf asked. The children gasped and stared slack jawed at the talking wolf. “Why do you cry, who make the whole world suffer?” the wolf asked and began to circle closer to them.
“We’re lost, and we can’t find our way back to the camp” Jacob answered. The wolf laughed and stopped circling.
“Come with me, man pups.” The wolf said then trotted off into the forest, the children looked at each other in dismay as the wolf trotted away from the thorn bush. Celeste got up and brushed off her shorts.
“Maybe he knows away around the thorns.” She suggested and trotted off after the wolf. Jacob got up and ran to keep up with them as the wolf led them deeper into the forest. A great mountain loomed over their heads. Finally they arrived at a small pile of rocks where the ground began to climb. The wolf darted between the rocks and into a tiny cave entrance. The children looked at each other, and slowly squeezed in behind the wolf.
Inside the cave the floor was sandy and the walls were smooth and covered in drawings. Light came in from holes in the stone ceiling, and they could see rough sketches of wolves and men. In the center of the cave sat a naked Indian man sitting cross legged. He gestured for the children to sit and they did.
“Many years ago, my brother and I lived among your people” the Indian began, speaking with the wolf’s voice. “We lived in the forest, free wolves.” He pointed at a drawing of two wolves surrounded by trees. “We were happy in those days, hunting, swimming, and watching, always watching the men who lived nearby.”
“One day, my brother and I strayed to the far edge of the forest, hunting. Some men were there; they became afraid and ran away. After that, men came to our forest, and followed our tracks through the woods until they found us sleeping. They put us cages and carried us, whimpering, out of our green forest. They brought us to their city to a prison where they studied us and fed us cold, rotten meat.” He said, pointing at a picture of a man in a lab coat. “Eventually they let me go. My brother had crossed the river in that prison, and they let me out in a different forest, far from my home.” He pointed to a picture of one wolf, larger than the first two, surrounded by trees.
“I eventually found my way here, where mankind couldn’t find me. On this side of thorn bush was a wildness man had never touched, a magic he had never driven out of the land. I’ve lived here, watching as man came ever closer to my new home. And now, you have entered, and already the stink of your civilization, the unnaturalness of your ways, these things you wear and carry in your clothing are killing the magic here. Soon I will be a silent wolf again.” The Indian said and closed his lips into a firm, hard line of anger. His eyes bore into the children.
The children sat in stunned silence. Celeste cried quietly in sorrow for the wolfs pain. Jacob looked around at the drawings. “How do you know English?” the boy asked. The Man-wolf closed his eyes disdainfully.
“I learned some of these words while I was in the cities. I learned what they meant when I crossed the thorn bush, just as you learned to understand my tongue when I was a wolf. You don’t realize you know it, but you understood me when I spoke, the same is true now.” The Man-wolf answered. Jacob laid a hand on a drawing that showed a camp fire.
“I’m sorry, we didn’t mean to come here, can’t we go back?” Jacob asked. The Man-wolf shook his head.
“My brother and I were taken because we strayed to close to your homes. You have strayed into ours. I was set free, but my brother was not, therefore, one of you shall go home. The other one will stay.” The Man-wolf fell silent and waited.
“Is there any way around the thorn bush?” Jacob asked. The Man-wolf shook his head.
“The only way back is the way you came, through the thorns.” He answered. Jacob looked at his sister.
“I’ll get dad, we’ll come back for you.” he said, then bolted for the exit. Celeste called out to her brother, shocked that he had left, but he didn’t answer, only ran harder into the forest. The Man-wolf suddenly blocked the cave exit and Celeste began to cry anew.
“What will become of me?” she asked. The Man-wolf smiled slightly.
“That is for you to decide. I could turn into a wolf and eat you now, or, you can turn your back on the poison that is the unnatural habits of men, just as your brother turned his back on you. The choice is yours.” He said. Celeste cried harder. He waited and when she had shed all the tears she had she looked at him with her puffy red eyes and nodded.
“All right, I want to live, please, tell me how?” she asked. The Man wolf smiled kindly.
“You must rid yourself of everything you were not born with. The cloth, the leather, everything that is not your own and is not natural must go. Then, when you are as I am, free of the unnatural trappings of men, only then will you have a chance to live.” He said. Celeste nodded and slowly shed her clothing, her face flushed as she tried desperately to cover herself as she laid aside her shirt, pants and undergarments. The Man-wolf shook his head.
“You still don’t understand. You’ve gotten rid of the outer trappings of man, but you cling to the inner trappings. Only when you have shed these as well, and become at peace with your natural form will the magic here embrace you and let you live.” The Man-wolf said. Celeste winced and wiped away her tears. She would cry, but her eyes had run out of water to shed. She closed her eyes and slowly relaxed. Her hands slowly, hesitantly dropped to her sides. Somewhere in her mind she heard a voice, as soft and sweet as her mothers, telling her that it was all right, that it would all be all right.
Celeste opened her eyes. She looked at the Timber wolf sitting in front of her. his large yellow eyes and shaggy fur seemed strangely comforting. “Wolf, how do you become a man?” she asked.
The wolf lowered its maw. “Embrace yourself, and understand that you are but a part of nature, one portion of its being, and with the magic of this grove you can be anything.” The wolf said, and this time she heard it in the form of barks and whines, but the meaning echoed in her head clearly. She understood, and she closed her eyes.
Moments later two wolves emerged from the cave. The male was older and relaxed, the female, young, still on the edge of being a pup, and timid. She was unsteady on her legs but as she sat in the dirt outside the cave and saw the sun sinking toward the horizon, she let out a howl that was thick and full. It was a farewell to her former life, and a greeting to the new.
