The Frozen Pond

The Aura Borealis shone its colors on the bright, white snow that covered the hills, pine trees and tops of houses. It was a beautiful night to go mushing, as no one ever knew how far the colored lights stretched out. Panuk and his friend Silla had agreed to go and find out for themselves -unbeknownst to their parents. Panuk’s trusty pups, Amak, Nanuq, Atka, Pukak, Siku and Kima loved going mushing. After all, they were young, energetic, and easily bored inside their corral. Boredom made them destructive. Prior incidents included them chewing through the wire mesh of their enclosure and digging tunnels that went under the fence to get away and freely roam those snowy, frozen hills. As Panuk quietly approached the door of the corral with the harnesses in his hand, Amak, Atka and Pukak whimpered in excitement. Vapor formed in the cold air as they happily panted and wagged their tails. Nanuk only lifted her head and perked up her ears with curiosity- as if knowing that this was not the right time for their daily run. Siku and Kima snored gently. Siku opened one eye, then both, then turned his body around to continue sleeping. Kima lifted her head as well and was about to close her eyes again when the commotion got her attention. She got up and ran over to where her master was, hoping he had brought food or maybe extra treats. “SHHHH!!”- whispered Panuk to them, “Be quiet! We are not supposed to be doing this!” But the pack did not care. Their master was met with jumps and generous licks as he opened the corral door and went in. Silla waited peeking from behind a nearby shack and acted as a lookout. Things were going smoothly thus far.

Silla was excited about riding out into the night with his friend- and his dogs! His family was a little poorer and could only afford to keep one pup. Rumor had it, his parents were deceived by the seller who told them his pup was purebred. After seeing how aggressive he was becoming as he grew and how difficult it was to train him, they decided to get his DNA analyzed. It turned out, the dog had a very high wolf content, and this meant, that he would be difficult and unpredictable all his life. His father wanted to get rid of the dog, but Silla cried to him and begged him to exhaustion. The dad finally gave in- with the condition that the dog remained in the confines of their property, to avoid any incidents. Neighbors thought he looked frightening, with his large size, blue eyes, and thick black fur. But he was beautiful and unique to Silla. He was not allowed too much time with him either, as his parents were afraid that the dog would someday act out violently. Silla did not believe this and as he reached inside through the openings of the mesh on his enclosure, he would pet the dog saying: “I know everyone is afraid of you- like I also know, that under that black fur, you have a heart of gold. Don’t listen to what they say about you. You are as good as all the others”. The wolfdog blinked his eyes and wagged his tail gently, as if in agreement with that statement. Silla had named him Tikaani or “Wolf Warrior”.

As Panuk was finishing fastening the harnesses on his dogs, he turned around to signal Silla for him to come over and help hitch them to the sled. But to his surprise, there stood behind him his little brother Yuka. “What are you doing?”- whispered Yuka. “None of your business!”- an annoyed Panuk whispered back. “Go back inside! And don’t tell mom and dad!” Yuka made a sad face. “I wanna go too!”- “No!”- retorted Panuk. “You will ruin everything! Go back inside!”. Yuka hung his head low and walked away sobbing- his little feet leaving footprints on the fresh bed of snow. Before going back in, he turned around and said: “I’m telling!” and stuck out his tongue. Panuk shrugged his shoulders. After they finished hitching the dogs up, Panuk announced: “Let’s go!” and Silla got on the sled with him. “All right! Hike!”- announced Panuk, and the dogs took off, with Amak as the lead. The pups ran with steady strength and focus, their barking echoing against the snowy sides of the mountains. “Haw! Haw!”- commanded Panuk, instructing the pack to turn left to avoid a large tree stump that had solid ice on it. The pack kept on going in a straight-lined formation until a red-backed vole (a type of wild rodent), crossed in front of them. The lead dog lost his focus and started chasing the vole. The boys continued being dragged well outside the trail as they yelled at the dogs to stop. Finally, the vole burrowed itself inside a hole. The dogs stopped and looked confused. Amak sniffed around. “He is gone your silly dog! Now look where you took us!”. All the dogs suddenly perked up their ears and tails. They began growling in unison, staring into the darkness. A great roar jolted the boys and out of the darkness jumped a big grizzly bear! The frenzied dogs started barking and jumping but could not go forward and attack the bear, as they were tethered to the sled. Silla got off the sled and slowly walked backwards as he whimpered: “We are going to die!” Panuk was frozen in terror, not knowing how to react. The thought of the bear killing the dogs and possibly them, scared him even more. The dogs kept on barking and the bear charged at them. Amak and Atka valiantly tried to hold back the bear, but the beast swiped at them. One of the dogs yelped and Panuk screamed in horror. Silla grabbed him by the hood of his coat and pulled him backwards, trying to drag him across the snow: “Forget them! Let’s go or he will kill us too!”

The two boys started running in the opposite direction. They could still hear the dogs yelping and the bear growling and snarling. Panuk cried as he ran “He’s killing my dogs! And it’s all my fault!”. Silla ran faster, but he held on to his friend’s coat so he would not be left behind. They usually went around the lake to get to their community. But the regular way seemed too long for the emergency they were having. “Let’s go across the lake- it will be a shortcut!” said Panuk. “Really? That ice does not look so solid to me!”- retorted Silla. Their town could be seen across- the outline of the rooftops made clearer by the light of the Aura Borealis. “Let’s go!”- insisted an annoyed Panuk. “We will run fast!”. Silla refused- but Panuk took him by the wrist and dragged him into the frozen lake. “Let’s go! NOW!” yelled Panuk. Silla took a very deep breath- and sprinted across as fast as he could. A sweaty, visibly scared Panuk ran a few feet behind him. In his rush, Panuk fell onto the ice hard, and Silla heard a crack. He quickly turned around and saw an out- of breath Panuk laying on the ice, grimacing in pain. “Get up! Let’s go!” Panuk could hardly move and as Silla ran over to pick him up, the cracking sounds got louder. They saw the ice splinter and crack around them. Their life flashed before their eyes as the last cracking sound plunged them into the painfully cold water. Both boys bobbed in the water, hands splashing around trying to stay afloat. “Help!”- they yelled. They knew it would not be too long before either the temperature dropped more, or they went into hypothermia. They were facing their end.

At that moment, lights from flashlights shone across the lake, from the shore at the town. “Hang in there! We are coming to get you!” Panuk recognized the deep male voice that had yelled. It was his father!! He was so glad to see him. They threw a rope across, with a wheel attached to its end, so it would roll across the ice easily. When the wheel stopped where they were and the rope had reached them, another man yelled: “Grab the rope boys! We will pull you in!”. Silla held on to Panuk with one arm and draped the rope around him and himself. He heard the pitter-patter of little feet running across the ice. He looked up and could not believe his eyes! It was Tikaani! His wolf warrior! He had come to save the day!! “Boy, am I GLAD to see you!”- cried Silla as his pup rushed to him. Tikaani sunk his sharp teeth into the hood of Silla’s jacket and made it secure inside his very strong jaws. He stepped backwards, slowly as the men pulled on the rope at the same time. Finally, as they were pulled to shore, the boys were taken back into town by jeep. The adults quickly stripped them of their wet clothes and put on warm ones. They were given hot liquids and moose stew. As Panuk came to his senses he asked about his dogs. “Have any of you seen our dogs? We were attacked by a grizzly bear! Oh father, I am so sorry!! I think I got them killed! I am so sorry” said Panuk as he broke down crying. Thankfully, his little brother Yuka had made good on his threat of telling their parents. Their father, along with other townsmen went after their trail on their pick-up trucks, carrying guns, flashlights, and other dogs. They shot the Grizzly bear and saved the dogs. Amak was not too badly injured, and the town vet was kind enough to tend to his wounds at such a late hour. The gash across his once perfectly beautiful face needed immediate closing and disinfecting. The adults had arrived just in the nick of time.

Panuk apologized to his father and to all the adults. In the other room, Tikaani was the center of attention as all the men told how he helped save the boys. Neighbors petted him. A lady brought him a generous piece of steak. Another one gave him a new dog bed. A man offered to adopt him or buy him. “He’s not for sale. He is family. I am sorry” affirmed Silla’s father. Night faded into daylight and as Panuk was much better and the last neighbor left, his father spoke to him. “You know you are getting a consequence from this, don’t you?”- “Yeah”- replied Panuk. “I know. I am ready to accept responsibility”. His father smiled. Although being tempestuous and stubborn were the traits of a boy, assuming responsibility for one’s actions, was the trait of a man. Silla was also in trouble with his parents, but after an apology and a long list of chores assigned to him for the week, they returned to their serene selves and went on about their day. Silla had to sleep- as well as they. The only difference was that now, Tikaani got to sleep inside the house and get treated like a regular dog. Silla went to him, as he lay by the fire on the bearskin rug. “You, see?”- said Silla, as he too lay down by his dog. “I told you that you have a heart of gold, and you are as good as the others! You believe me now?” But Tikaani did not answer. He was very much enjoying the scratching behind his ears and the belly rub he was getting. He smiled, with his big, wet nose and exhaled a breath. His blue eyes closed with both sweetness and satisfaction. They boy hugged him and whispered: “You are my hero”. And they both fell asleep.