The Word Burners Chapter 5 Please, Please Read!

Family

Family is the first thing children know.  A family is the last thing dying people know.  A good family is supportive.  They care.  Mothers give you a hug when you cry.  Fathers congratulate you on your successes.  Brothers teach you how to play their favorite sports.  Sisters trust you with their secrets.  It’s all part of family.

I heard the most beautiful howl again.  The reason why I was sprinting back into the cave, my moccasins skimming against the stone.

I didn’t hear footsteps behind me.  All I heard was the song in front of me.  It was like a melody chorusing through my head.

I didn’t trip once.  Until I felt a force so strong it knocked me backwards.  I opened my eyes and discovered I could just barely see in the dim cavern.  I felt a soft fur on my arm, holding me to the ground.  The wolf holding me down had gray, almost white fur.  It let out a soft howl.  I knew that this was my wolf.

“Hello.”  I said, trying to keep my voice calm.

The wolf howled back.  It sounded like it said Uuuulfaaree.

“Hello there Ulfari.  My name is Bhaiki.”

“Baaaykee!”  Ulfari howled back to me.

Amazed by this wolf’s intelligence, Bhaiki stared at Ulfari in astonishment.

More wolves gathered round Ulfari and me.  They glared down with stone cold eyes.

“Bhaiki.”  I said calmly.  I figured that if the sound of their voices drove me crazy, maybe it would work the other way around too.  I was wrong.

The biggest wolf snarled at me.  I slowly stood up, my hands raised, and started backing away.  The wolves followed, showing all of their sharp, pointed teeth.  They crept towards me.  I spun around and fled, running even faster than when I had first come.  After about ten minutes of my fastest sprinting in my life, I realized that the howls were gone.  I also realized that I had been able to keep running away from the wolves, even when they were calling to me.

“Bhaiki.”  I heard an unfamiliar voice say my name with a heavy accent.  I looked around.  And I saw Ulfari.

“Ulfari!”  I yelped.

“Yes, yes, I can talk.”  Ulfari said impatiently.  “Just keep walking.”  We were nearing the end of the tunnel again, but the rosy sky had already turned black.  I obeyed Ulfari, not sure if I could believe what was happening.

Finally, once we were back into the fresh air, Ulfari spoke to me again.

“Bhaiki, not all wolves are friendly.  You must beware.”  I nodded.  “Heed this warning- Those who seek fortune find scarcity.  Those who seek glory find shame.  And those who seek changes, not for themselves but for others, they find just what they’re looking for.”  And with that, Ulfari turned, her tail swishing in the light breeze, and disappearing back inside the cave.

I thought about Ulfari’s message.  Was I delusional?  Or was it a warning?

As Bhaiki contemplated so many words, those said by Ulfari, those said by Trehynk, and those she read in books, she began walking home.  Bhaiki wondered what Ulfari’s wolf family was like.

Ulfari had been kind, giving me advice.  For her sake, I prayed that her family was better than mine.

Because the second I got home, I heard the most horrific noise I could have imagined.  And the words were coming from the most frightening of any of my family members.