This Time Is Different

This time is different.

The hundreds of times I had gone with Aiyana it had been considered a result of our misbehavings.

A punishment.

But this time is different.

It’s an adventure.

It’s a new perspective.

It’s a chance to save ourselves from a terrible fate. 

*****

I follow Aiyana’s dark, chocolate-brown locks that shimmer from the water’s reflection. Her animal pelt dress glows in the dim moonlight like a lantern, trailing farther and farther away from me. 

“Wait up, Aiyana!” I call, as I pause to gulp a breath of air. She slows down and strides toward me. I can see pools of glistening water filling up her emerald green eyes, which reflect all the fear she’s been holding back. 

“We can’t wait, Chenoa! I know we’ve always been scared of the woods, but this time is different! We have to save our families from dying!” She says, voice trembling. Even scared, her voice sounds like the blooming of blossoms. 

“I know!” I yell, channeling my fear into anger. “Don’t you think I know that? But running aimlessly isn’t going to help us! It’s just going to get us lost! We need to have a plan!” 

It all started a couple weeks ago, when the river that we drink and hunt from started losing water. None of us knew what to do, so we ignored it and carried on with our lives. The water lessened and lessened, and yesterday was the final straw. The huge, normally gushing river of water had decreased into a thin, pencil-like stream of liquid. We needed to find the source of our problem, and get rid of it. 

I soften my voice, realizing that fighting isn’t going to help anyone. “Do you have any ideas?” I ask gently. 

Aiyana nods her head towards the river. “I think we should follow the river upstream and find what’s causing the river to stop flowing.”

“Good plan,” I reply as a soft breeze ruffles my locks of wavy, copper hair over my honey tanned shoulders. “C’mon,” I say, as I lead Aiyana upstream. 

As Aiyana and I trek through the woods, I notice many differences from all the other times we’ve been here. The shadows of trees caused by the moonlight are peaceful, almost like a version of the tree sleeping. They aren’t twisted shadows that resemble demons from the depths of the Earth. The soft humming of the cicadas is beautiful compared to howls of animals with sharp teeth and claws I swore I heard every time we’ve been here. As I gaze into the dehydrated river, I notice the silver scales of tiny fish reflecting in the moonlight, nothing like the sharks that the elders told us about. The more we head upstream, the more I realize. 

My mind’s imagination is wild, and it twists everything around. And the obvious truth.

This time is different. 

After an hour of hiking, I hear a low growl. 

“Did you hear that?” I whisper. Aiyana nods her head, and we pause to look around. 

Finally I notice a pair of bright yellow eyes, shining like a beacon in the night. The eyes vanish and I hear the sounds of leaves being crunched on. The leaves rustle around us and I catch glimpses of sharp teeth reflecting in the moonlight. It’s a couple of minutes before the first snow-white wolf prowls towards us. 

I cautiously back away from the wolf, grasping Aiyana’s hand. The wolf continues to pad towards us, and I notice 2 more wolves behind the white one, obviously the alpha. Then 3 more follow, then 4, then 5, until we’re surrounded by 15 wolves, all baring their teeth at us. Some of the wolves are ash gray, speckled with black. Others pitch black with spots of white, resembling the night sky. 

I know I shouldn’t be thinking this, but why are they not attacking?

Aiyana leans over to my ear, and repeats my question out loud.

“Why are they not attacking us?”

Aiyana and I continue backing until we are cornered up against a tree. 

The alpha prowls up to us, growling. Then, points his head to the moon and releases a wounded cry. 

And then I notice, why doesn’t the pack have any pups?

The snow-white wolf meets my eyes, and nods his head, almost like it’s telling us to follow it.

So I do. 

I run with the wolves, and Aiyana starts to follow, not doubting my actions. 

The wolves run upstream for a while, before they pause and turn to face us. And finally I see a couple of pups all dangling from a high branch of a tree. ‘

“Aiyana,” I say, “can you stand below the branch and catch pups in case they fall?”

“Sure, Chenoa,” she replies. 

She paces to a spot underneath the high branch and I start shimmying up the tree. I gently grasp a pup, and climb down with it and bring it to the pack. I do this a couple of times, but the last attempt doesn’t go so well. As I’m ready to grab the last pup, it’s paws lose balance and it tumbles down the tree.

“No!” I shriek, expecting the worst. But Aiyana comes to the rescue. She jumps and catches the pup, landing like a superhero. 

I exhale slowly as I make my way down the tree. I look around and notice the wolves are gone.

“Where did the wolves go?” I ask. Aiyana half-heartedly shrugs and walks up to me.

“C’mon, let’s go,” she says. 

I walk, side by side with Aiyana, exhausted. When I finally walk into a tree, Aiyana and I agree to take a break and rest for the rest of the night. 

I wake up to the warm, golden rays of the sun which blanket my face. I look around and see Aiyana, tiny freckles dusting her nose and high cheekbones. I lean over, and gently shake her awake. In an instant, her emerald green eyes pierce into my golden honey ones. 

“Chenoa, we have to hurry!” She yelps when she sees the sun in the sky. She jumps to her feet and starts walking towards the river. 

My heart drops at the sight of a thin line of mud which used to be a river filled with life. 

I walk up to Aiyana and we take off, sprinting upstream, the wind at our backs. After a couple miles of sprinting, we decided to pause for a while. 

“How much longer do you think it will take?” Aiyana pants, her cheeks flushed red from the wind. 

“Not long!” I exclaim, despite the fact we’re exhausted. I enthusiastically point at a humongous birch, splayed across the river, droplets of water spraying everything around it. 

We walk up to the birch and examine it for a while. 

“How are we supposed to move this?” Aiyana complains. 

Just as she asks this question, the wolves appear and Aiyana backs away.

But I don’t.

I recognize these wolves, and they recognize me. 

They recognize I need help.

Karma is wonderful.

The alpha beckons the other wolves to follow as he pads past us to the birch. The wolves line up against the tree and they start to push. And slowly, almost imperceptibly, the birch starts to move. I walk over, and Aiyana follows and we help. All of us strain our muscles, pushing as hard as we can and finally the birch budges and moves out of place. We watch as the birch explodes into tiny smithereens, and as the river seems to escape its prison.

Then, we run.

Aiyana, the wolves and I run with the river as it starts its flow downstream again. 

And I learn, there’s many different ways to be in a situation. 

After all, the hundreds of times Aiyana and I have been out in the woods, it hasn’t been like this. 

This time is different.