A Star, Sky, And A Blossom

 

            It was not like Cherry to get lost, and maybe normally she couldn’t. But, she was learning to track, and one thing led to another.
            She had noticed a set of small canid style footprints in the very Home Clearing. She figured that they must have been visited during the night by someone very small and doggish. She wondered if it might be Sky, Jumpstart’s son, and she was very curious about him coming around alone.
            Ralph was off hunting, and Ramona was in close conversation with Thaga at the fire circle. Cherry was left to her own devises, so, she decided to track the creature and see if it was, in fact, Sky. Maybe he was lost, and needed help.
            Maeve was busy elsewhere too.
            Where there was soil she followed the tracks, and where there was grass or clover or whatever, she looked for pressed down leaves or blades, until she got to the next set of tracks. She followed them out of the Home Clearing on the path by the Rabbit burrows, where the prints were very clear, but they kept on going.
            Soon she was clear of the forest, standing near the Silver River. The tracks continued down to the riverbank among the river pebbles and the great erratic boulders. It wasn’t a straight trail. Small canids don’t travel in straight lines. This creature had visited many rocks, turning some of them over. Maybe he was hungry and looking for food, Cherry thought. There were signs of digging here and there.
            It took some thinking, but she could see which tracks were the older, and which the newest. She followed the newest.
            They led directly to the biggest boulder facing the river and stopped right there, as if her quarry had passed right into the substance of the rock. She was stunned and confused. She put out her hand as if to confirm that this was a boulder by touching it.
            Cherry’s hand didn’t stop at the surface of rock, it passed on through, and she fell right into it. It was dark, not like her pleasant world. It was like no world at all. She fell some distance, and landed on a damp cold stoney surface. A chilly breeze blew in this darkness. Cherry had never felt so alone.
            There was no light. It was utterly dark. And when she put out her hands, she felt nothing. Nothing, utterly, nothing.
            “Mama?” she said, but it was like her voice was swallowed. She brought her arms in to her chest because it was so cold. She made herself as small as she could. “Mama,” she thought to herself. She closed her eyes, so as not to see the blackness. “Help me,” she whispered, finally.
            A small cold nose poked her in her cheek. It sniffed. Then she heard whimpers.
            “Sky, is that you?” Cherry said.
            “Yes. I’m lost Lady Cherry,” Sky said sadly. “I fell down here and I don’t know how to get out.”
            “I don’t know either,” said Cherry. But, she gathered the little coyote into her arms, and they shared warmth with each other.
            “Somehow, we will get out of here, I know it,” said Cherry.
            “I want my mama, and I’m hungry,” said Sky.
            Cherry told him she felt the same, and they waited together for a time.
            When that time was over, there was a speck of light far off, like a star. It was blue, and it was coming to them. It was the most beautiful thing that Cherry had ever seen. 
            “I’m afraid,” said Sky, shivering.
            “Don’t be afraid,” said Cherry. But she shivered a little too, because she didn’t know that blue star, and it was getting closer very quickly.
            When it was right before them, its light cast some illumination over both Cherry and Sky. They could see each other, and the shining blue light, which seemed round one moment, and covered with many points the next moment. It pulsed slowly and peacefully.
            “Don’t be afraid. There is a way out of  here,” said a soft young voice. “I heard you cry out and I came to you.”
            “But, who are you,” said Cherry, in astonishment.
            “I am Koba. You must follow me,” said the blue star.
            “How can we follow you,” said the girl child, still holding Sky.
            “Close your eyes, don’t let go of Sky, and come with me,” said Koba. Then he laughed a little boy’s sweet laugh.
            So, Cherry held on to Sky, and he didn’t wiggle at all, and she closed her eyes, determining to go wherever Koba led her.
            Eyes still closed, the first thing she noticed was warmth. And a dry soft breeze. Then there was light. Then there was the sweet smell of the forest, resinous and familiar. It felt like home, so she opened her eyes.
            And there, before her eyes, around the fire, were Ramona, and Thaga. Also, there was Ralph. Maeve was just landing from above and Jumpstart was trotting into the Home Clearing from the Meadow. No one said one word at first.
            Cherry put Sky down, and he ran to his father. Together they trotted off to find Sky’s mama.
            Koba settled down on the forest floor, becoming once again a small golden child, taking Cherry’s hand as he stood beside her.
            “I don’t understand,” said Ramona. “You’ve been gone all day..”
            “We were lost, Mama, and Koba found us in the dark,” said Cherry.
            “Mouth of the Mountain,” said Maeve. “No wonder I couldn’t find her!”
            “Sky fell in, then I did too. We waited and Koba brought us home,” said Cherry.
            “I still don’t understand,” said Ramona.
            Just then, Twigg and Leely appeared. Leely gathered Koba into her arms.
            “Remember what Mak said, Mona. When he is with us he will be like our children, when he is with human people he will be like a human child, but if he needs to, he will be like a star.”
            “I do remember,” said Ramona. “But, hearing and seeing are two different things, Baby.”
            “Yes!” said Ralph. “That’s for sure!”
            Looking around at the group, Ramona started thinking that she should make dinner. When she mentioned it to Thaga, that lady said, “Let’s have everyone come up to my house. Ooog will love the company, and I already have a big pot of bean soup on the back of the stove.  You’ve had enough for one day. Your daughter lost and found. Your grandson revealed to be a miracle. Let me do this for you, Ramona.”
            “You’re right, Thaga. I am still stunned,” said Ramona.
            So, Thaga invited everyone up to the stone cabin for dinner, including Blue. They had Thaga’s good soup, with bread and butter, and some baked apples she made while they were eating soup. Ooog had a great time telling stories and playing host, after he had heard the best story from Cherry and Koba.
            After dinner, Twigg and Leely and Koba, who was getting sleepy, were the first to leave.
            Ramona sat holding Cherry like she used to when Cherry was smaller.
            Ralph looked thoughtful, but didn't say much. When it was getting dark, he walked Ramona and Cherry home.
            “I’m going to the river for a few minutes, Mona,” he said.
            “You want to come along, Maeve?” he asked the Raven. She did, of course.
            In the near dark, with Maeve on his shoulder, Ralph confronted the Mouth of the Mountain for the last time. He began to sing and people down river thought that there must be a thunderstorm up in the mountains.
            “I send you to your own darkness,” he said at last. And he watched until the boulder was no more.
            “Amen,” said Maeve. “For evermore!”
            Then they walked home, and Maeve spent the night in the cave with everyone, because Ravens don’t really like to fly in the dark.

💙