Toraldor was relieved. His constant worry might soon be eased. His wife Liandra was so wise. “I think it was a brilliant idea to ask Thorundur to come with us to the palace. My parents are constantly asking me to stop him from running around in the forest with the creatures there, but you know Thorundur. He doesn’t listen to anyone.”

“At the palace I think he will start to think and behave more like an elf. We have probably given him too much freedom,” Liandra said.

“Yes, I know, but it’s not easy to control Thorundur. I didn’t mind when he played with the forest creature as a child but he and the girl are growing up and I’m getting more and more worried about how it will end.”

“I know,” Liandra said. “But spending more time with elves will probably do him good.”


Thorundur shook his head. “Forest creature!” Was that supposed to be Roe? He didn’t mind to visit the palace, but if his brother and Liandra thought that he would stop seeing Roe they were mistaken. “There’s no need to worry dear brother”, Thorundur said silently to himself. “Roe is my sister.”


Roe had arrived to the meeting place late last night. She looked forward to the competitions that would start tomorrow.

“Hi, I’m Bear, son of Squirrel and Wolverine”, the boy bowed to Roe and she answered the greeting.

He sat down next to her and Roe felt a little annoyed. She was thinking about the competitions tomorrow and Bear was disturbing her concentration.


The first competition was to throw a spear at a target. Competitors who hit the target passed to a new round. For each round the distance was increased further until only the winner hit the target.


“Bear is the winner and Roe is second,” they judges announced.

Roe felt that she hated Bear when she saw his content smile. She had tried so hard to win and he had just been lucky.


Next competition was to run through an obstacle course. In the end of the course the judges had hung a foxtail in a tree. The one that first grabbed the foxtail would win. Roe scratched her hands and knees so that her blood left a track behind her. Normally she would never be so careless but this was not a normal hunt. This was a competition where the winner would be the quickest competitor, not the wisest. Roe felt as if her lungs would explode when she triumphantly grabbed the foxtail.

“Roe is the winner,” the judges announced.



That should show Bear who’s the best hunter, Roe thought. To her annoyance he didn’t look disappointed. Instead he looked admiringly at her.


Wolverine approached Wolf. “Your daughter is a very good hunter,” he said.

“Yes, I’m very proud of Roe,” Wolf agreed.

“It will soon be time for her to think about getting a suitable mate. My son Bear is also a good hunter. I think that they would be a good couple. Maybe they could be joined at the next meeting?”

“We’ll see,” Wolf said. “Roe is still young, but I will consider your suggestion.”

Wolf had avoided thinking about Roe getting a husband although he had known that it would inevitably happen some day not very far in the future. He had hoped that Roe would find a mate that had a sibling but there were not many young Forest people with siblings. It was too much to ask that a young couple would support four aging parents. The future could be grim for aging Forest people without children. Bear would be the best husband that he could wish for Roe. He was strong and a good hunter. It would probably be good if Roe got a husband soon so that she stopped running around with the elf.


When many of the Forest people were gathered together the presence of the spirits of the forest and the ancestors were always closer than ever. The flames of the fires, the rhythm of the drums and the dances made the spirits approach the people and everyone was part of an entirety, joined in the passed and the present. That was how it was supposed to be, but Roe’s mind played tricks with her tonight.


She didn’t feel the presence of the spirits at all tonight; instead images of Thorundur’s face filled her mind. If only she could share this night and experience with him! Then her mind played a new trick with her and another image filled her brain. A toddler was asleep in a hut. It was a child of the Forest people. The child woke up and opened the eyes. Roe could see that the eyes were as blue as the sky.


Roe woke up. It was still dark and everyone was asleep after the dance with the spirits yesterday. Her throat was terribly dry. She felt an irresistible urge to go to the creek in the forest near the camp. It was full moon and fog was covering the damp ground.

When she came to the creek there was a woman standing on the other side. The woman was obviously not one of the Forest people.


“Roe of the Forest people I have been waiting for you. We missed you yesterday. Everyone but you joined their mind with us.” The voice sounded distant although the women stood there right in front of Roe.



“Who are you?”

“Don’t you know, I’m your mother.”


Roe thought that she must be dreaming a very strange dream. The woman in front of her didn’t look anything like her mother, Otter.

“Is this a dream?”

“Look into your heart and you will know.”

Roe concentrated but her heart didn’t tell her anything. She could feel the cold of the night touching her skin but maybe that was possible also in a dream?


“You will have to make a choice in your future and that choice will affect many people. Be careful to make the right choice.”

“How will I know the right choice?”

“Your heart will tell you. Keep your mind open and follow your heart. But remember that your heart can also delude you.”

This was really not very helpful, Roe thought. Was the woman joking with her? Roe didn’t think so.


“The dawn is getting closer and I have to leave, but remember my words, Roe with the brave heart. This is a gift from me to you, my favourite child. It will keep your spirits up when times are difficult.” The woman put something on a stone besides the creek. The mist became denser and the woman turned around and disappeared as if she had been absorbed by the night and the fog.


Roe went back to sleep. When she woke up together with everyone else in the morning she didn’t know if she had dreamt a very strange dream or if she really had met the incarnate Forest people’s mother during the night. She touched the necklace around her neck, the necklace that the woman had put on the stone at the side of the creek.