Darkness spread long fingers across
the landscape. An owl hooted a mournful greeting to the night, leaves rustling
as the huge bird took flight. From the ridge above, a lone wolf howled, a long
drawn out wail, answered by the excited yips of the pack as they gathered for
the hunt. Below, a large animal crashed through the brush, running from an
unseen enemy. His ears detected the telltale swish of tall grass as a small
animal scurried towards the river.
Predator and prey, they would all
converge on the water and then find food. He listened to the voices of the
night, at ease with the familiar sounds. This was his world and he was secure
in the perilous surroundings. His head nodded and he jerked, startled awake by
the death-throes screeching of a small animal as it succumbed. Prey to the predator!
At the sun’s next rising, he’d
cleanse himself so his female would want him and then he would deliver the old
grandfather’s pack to the strangers. His hand closed around the object, tracing
the exterior smoothed by the passing of many moons. Mystical and provocative,
he yearned to know what it contained. Whatever it held, it meant something to
the old grandfather and he’d kept the object to be given to these people. Would
they know its worth or was its value known only to the old one? Whatever the
end result, he would honor his vow as he’d given it. He whispered the secret
word of the grandfather. Jonas!
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