That Was By Choice

Bill Nelson : Chance Encounters in the Garden of Light

Robin Williamson : The Rocks of Pleasure

Rain comes,
said Eveneye.
Yes, said Whiteclaw.
They fastened the sacs
around their necks
and began to make
their way back home,
through the forest.
Again, a wolf howled
in the distance,
closer though.
Twigs and branches
snapped under
the bears’ paws
and the wind whipped
through their fur.
It became harder
and harder to see
where they were going
as the moonlight became
obscured by rainclouds.
Fortunately, Eveneye and Whiteclaw could have walked the path home with their eyes closed. The two bears had encountered far worse than rain and darkness in these woods. When they were younger, they had been caught in the woods during a blizzard and were forced to take shelter as it passed. They had made a shelter from a couple of fallen trees and huddled underneath them for fifteen hours before the storm had finally gone. When they had emerged again, they recognized nothing of the forest and it had taken them almost two days to find their way home. There had also been a time when human hunters had ambushed the two bears on their trail home. Eveneye and Whiteclaw were fully grown bears and they had dispatched the humans rather quickly, but not before suffering wounds from the humans’ spears. They could spend a night telling tales of their forays into the forest and often did. The woods were dense and had a layer of underbrush, not found in all forests. The canopy was high and wide; it was a very old forest. It was said, in the lore of the bear, that the elder bears did not choose this forest to build their kingdom, but that the forest chose them to be its protectors. This was passed down as birthright to all bears. Respect the forest; protect the forest. It was mother to them all. Lightning flashed, thunder rumbled and it began to rain. Whiteclaw grumbled and Eveneye chuckled. What’s the matter? We were already wet from the stream. That was by choice, replied Whiteclaw. Both bears laughed heartily as lightning flashed across the night sky. Eveneye stopped laughing and perked his ears. Do you hear that?
Hear what? The rain?
--Dylan Lee Peters
Everflame