Wolf Dreams
I have always dreamt of a wolf, ever since I was a very small child, though I have also always believed that the wolf of my dream was simply my childhood pet/friend Sugar. She has always been there, in my dreams, an image glimpsed from the corner of the eye, a comforting presence, never absent, though rarely seen full on.
The dream that I will describe here is the first and last time that I have come face to face with her in my memory. And while I do believe that this wolf is indeed Sugar, there is nothing simple about her presence in my dreams.
After Raven flew off down the path and disappeared, I stood, grasping the staff, and brushed myself off. At a loss for anything better to do, I then headed in the direction that Raven had flown, walking at an easy pace, the staff thumping the hard-packed dirt at every other step. There was much in the way of animal sounds from either side of the path, eminating from the far sides of the great hedges. Small animals scurrying, the flittering and chirping of birds, and the occasional scolding chatter of a squirrel from the trees that overhung the path from time to time. All in all, the walk was a pleasant one, with the sun shining down from above, speckling the path with pools of bright yellow light.
I enjoyed it, the fears of the previous mad flight through the woods nearly forgotten, with the broad, firm path under my feet. I knew that finally, even though I didn't know where I was, or where I was going, I was no longer truly lost, and that I would eventually reach a place where I could regain my bearings.
Idon't know how long I walked, as the sun didn't change positions, but it seemed hours, though I didn't seem to tire, dispite the fact that I had not had anything to eat or drink in days. After a time, though, the hedge on my left began to recede, getting shorter and shorter with every step I took, until finally I could have simply stepped over it, and walked off the path, into the light underbrush. I did not, however.
Some time later, I heard a sound that was disturbing... it was the sound of a wolf, or a dog panting as it kept pace with me in the heat of the sun overhead... the animal was on the other side of the hedge that remained on the right side of the path. I say disturbing in a very loose way, however, as I wasn't frightened by the sound, merely curious as to why the sound seemed to follow, stopping when I stopped, and starting again when I continued. This went on until the path finally branched off to the left.
The new path was wider, and smoother than the one I was following, with no hedge blocking the view of the surrounding forest, and I concidered taking it, but as I placed a foot on the path, a large white wolf appeared before me, her hackles raised, and a growl deep in her throat. I decided quickly that I would stay on the path I was on. The wolf kept pace with me for several minutes, as though making sure that I wasn't going to change my mind, and then she suddenly disappeared. It was only then that I realized that the panting from the other side of the hedge had been missing for the whole time that the wolf had been in view, and suddenly it began again.
This performance was repeated several times, I cannot remember how many. But each time I saw another path, the wolf would re-appear, and if I tried to step foot on the path, she would show her disproval by growling at me until I backed off. After a while, I simply ignored the new paths, deciding to keep on as I was going. The paths on the left soon stopped appearing.
Once they did, a new noise arose from the other side of the hedge to my right... sounds that seemed to be the wolf trying to get through... I stopped walking, and began using my staff to try to force an opening for her. Between us, it didn't take long, and soon the wolf burst through, and joined me on what I had begun to think of as MY path.
I was half afraid that she would growl once again, but she did not, rather, she sat on the path, tongue lolling, and seeming to smile up at me, waiting for me to continue on my way. Abligingly, I did.
Soon after the wolf began walking tamely at my heel, the hedge began to get shorter, just as the one to the left had done earlier, until it too disappeared completely, but unlike the other, no paths appeared, branching off of the main on. As the forest opened out to show me it's full glory, the sun finally began to change position, and slowly set.
Just before full dark, however, I reached the end of the path.
It wasn't truly an end, however, as the path continued, but it did open out into what appeared to be a town, slumbering softly in the deepening dusk.
Looking out across the town, I suddenly felt as though I had found a place to finally rest, and so I did. For the first time in what seemed years, I felt joy blossom in my weary heart.
I awoke then, in my bed, feeling rested and alert, for the first time in many months. I still see the wolf in my dreams, though no one else ever seems to notice her, sitting or walking beside me. She is part of me, and I of her. My friend, My guide, My protector. Keeping the nightmares away.
~Moon's Daughter~
