Crosswind
There is a place in the wild; away from the city; away from the road; away from the reach of man, except for the most daring. A place where Man’s effect has not yet been seen, except for the small footprint of a few. It’s a place where an old brotherhood between Man and nature was abandoned.
But, despite the decades that have passed, it is still alive, because that’s what nature does. It survives and it remembers.
The trees remember the appreciation for their shade and their laughter. The rivers remember the appreciation for their fish and their cooling waters. The lake remembers the appreciation for its peace and its beautiful views.
Three boys and a Father. They were not just visitors here, they were Family. They were brothers to the trees, nephews to the rivers, and children of the lake, always welcome with open arms to take what they needed.
It was not a one-sided exchange. Nature received something back that it valued more than any number of fish and animals that the men could claim. Appreciation. One of the most simple and common things that Man can provide, but so rarely is willing to give.
The oldest, being intelligent and focused, was the Eagle.
The middle son, being charming and curious, was the Fox.
The youngest, unplanned, but welcomed, was strong and independent. He was the Bear. He would later make two transformations, into the Raven, and then the mythical Thunderbird, but that story is for another time.
The Father was the Frog, a mystical creature capable of living in and moving between two different existences.
Alone, they were nothing remarkable, but when they were together they were the Triad, and everything moved in their favor.
All three sons were loved, but the Bear was most like the Father in His nature and behavior. For this reason He shared with him secrets that nobody else knew.
He showed him how to separate from his body and go on journeys while he slept.
He showed him how to pull in a portion of other being's essence and feel the way they feel, to better understand them.
He showed him how to see glimpses of the future, to better protect His family.
He showed him how to ignore pain and the limitations of his body, so that He could accomplish many things.
There was only one sign that could be observed when they did these things. Their eyes would change temporarily. They would get bigger and brilliant, like the eyes of the Raven.
Father would have willingly shown these secrets to the Eagle and the Fox, but He knew they would be incapable of doing these things. Being young animals, they would have been jealous of the Bear. So, Father, being wise, taught these things to Him while His brothers were out hunting.
Despite His efforts to hide these lessons, the Fox and the Eagle eventually realized what was happening. They attacked the Bear, ripping Him apart together, over and over again. But the Bear endured the onslaught and only showed love back to His brothers.
The Fox was cowardly, and he would never attack the Bear without the Eagle first doing so. But it was the Fox that grew tired of the battle and eventually realized it was unwinnable. The Eagle, proud and defiant, refused to admit defeat.
The Bear, being wise and patient like His Father, waited for the Eagle to grow tired of flying and finally land on the ground. The Eagle decided to land on the lake and fish for salmon while his Father was resting on the shore with the Bear. He assumed that the Bear would not attack while their Father was present, and he was correct.
What he did not expect was that Father would tell the Bear to attack the Eagle at this moment, and that is what Father did. Father nodded at the Bear and the Bear charged at the Eagle with such strength that the Earth trembled, the trees snapped, and the water erupted. The Eagle was helpless, without a chance to flap his wings even once.
The Bear enveloped him, showed him the strength of a thousand mountains, lifted him to the sky, higher than the Eagle had ever dared fly, and then drove him back into the earth. Softly.
The Eagle had finally been defeated, but he had not been harmed. The Bear showed him the reason that He was Father's most loved son. The Bear was kind and He loved all, even His brothers that had torn Him apart.
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