Son of Shadow

Blinded by the light of what he could be, he had to turn his senses towards the shadows…

Talib rose out of bed late in the afternoon; sometimes he would wake up and lay in bed for hours, trying to remember his dreams…but this particular morning, he woke only to his fantasies of “Living The Good Life” and a few minutes of social media scrolling.

The day had a scent of adventure to it that Talib is quite familiar with. He was always ready for some kind of journey, as long as it didn’t involve too many responsibilities or stink of mundaneness - such a thing would lull him right back to sleep.

After tea and meditation, Talib made his way to the one place guaranteed to satiate his addiction for adventure and magic…the forest.

Each forest offers initiation and a place where you can get found getting lost. It is where our village persona comes to die, and if one is lucky, it might offer a few secrets.

This particular forest was the home of ‘The Great Medicine Tree’, and was called ‘Aapattohsspitsii’ - ‘Spitzee’ in English…which means “tall trees along the river”.

Talib followed an old road into the forest, that led to a once riverside acreage, before the flood that happened a few years ago evicted the village dwellers on that land.

He was comfortable exploring the forest all by himself, and would often reminisce over his memories of riding bikes on riverside paths with his older brother and childhood friends.

It is a curious thing when we feel into the memories of childhood; if we have the right knack, we can almost trail the essence of who we were before all the voices we grew up with told us WHO we are.

Wandering about, his mind was filled with a mosaic of those very voices, and the trodden paths of his childhood only made it richer. Until, he heard a faint sound deep in the forest, “who…who are you?”

He was so used to people asking him the dreaded: “what do you do for living?”. So his response sounded like an apathetic hundred headed Hydra, with an answer ready for whoever was asking…

He didn’t even realize what this voice was whispering, it had a sincerity to it that he had not heard in a long time. And that was enough to divert his attention from the Saskatoon berry bush where he was searching for a juicy berry amongst the shrivelled bunch.

Along the berry bush path there was an open meadow to his right, and a thicker part of the forest to his left. He stopped for a moment and heard that voice again…”who…who are you?”

“Where is that coming from?” He asked to himself. “It sounds like its deeper in the forest…but I’ve never been that way, and I might lose my way back to the path…” he murmured.

So Talib, ridden by curiosity leapt to an opening in the forest where it looked like some deer had passed through. He stormed through the thicket and had his tour knocked off a few times whenever he looked up to see the tall trees. He had done his share of bushwhacking in the past, but something was different this time. It felt like something was watching him.

When he had finally made it out to an opening in the forest, the first thing that caught his eye was a tree standing by itself in the middle of a long grassy patch. The second thing…was a great Owl flying off to a thicker part of the forest; its wings were like flapping shudders against the setting sun that glared in Talib’s eyes.

He felt his heart racing and ran past the tree into the meadow. He was in awe, and allured in motion to follow the Owl. And as he stood there, he heard that same voice ”who…who are you?” …only it felt a bit cheekier to him this time, and a touch more daring.

Talib knew he was losing sunlight, but he knew he HAD to follow this calling. It was an adventure that didn’t show up in the form he was used to. It wasn’t glittery, nor comfortable.

The instant he decided he was going to get a closer look at the Owl his eyes caught a glance of something in a shade of grass. It was a giant feather!

If the forest had a mailbox, this was it…and there was an envelop with an invitation for Talib waiting for him.

He reached enthusiastically for the feather, the same way you rush to the door when a package is delivered to your door. He knew this was for him!

If this was all he found on his adventure today, he would be delighted. But he wasn’t quite lost enough to find what he was REALLY searching for when he took that first step into the forest.

So Talib stretched out his fingertips, felt the corners of his lips perk up in joy, and the moment he grabbed the feather…SWOOSH…a blanket of darkness covered his eyes. He held the feather in his hand, but he couldn’t see a thing! Either the sun vanished from this world, or he was blind.

Whatever it was, he could no longer see the tall trees or any paths that would lead him back to where he first entered the forest. His heart was racing and it felt like the roots of all the trees had pulled him under into the dark dirt.

The moment felt turbulent with mystery, and Talib began feeling a little flakier in his commitment to find his Owl. And suddenly…"screeeeech!"…a ringing wave crashed down inside his ears and brought a silence to his chattering mind.

Talib stood in darkness, and heard up in the trees: ”Who…who are you?” …

There was no hundred-headed hydra to answer. Talib could hear so much clearer this time! Yet, he still had no answer.

Again: ”who…who…who are you?”

Talib wasn’t focused on answering it at this moment though. He was more curious about who was asking and the invitation in his hand.

He knew if he refused the invitation, he’d never see again. But the gloom of that thought was overshadowed by the fascination of his new found hearing. He could hear a leaf falling on the river, miles and miles away, and could even hear ants telling each other to get to work!

However, his fascination barely outweighed his stubbornness. Talib still wanted to see…he didn’t know how to navigate the forest otherwise.

Talib may have been stubborn, but he wasn’t easily flustered. So he took a deep breath, and instead of seeing the way forward…he could feel it, with all his other senses. He took another deep breath, and with his courage took a step forward in the dark forest.

The Owl kept calling, “who…who…who…”

And every time it called, Talib would take one step closer, trailing the one asking the question he had never been able to answer.

Only this forest, of the great medicine tree, truly knows if Talib ever answered the question, let alone made it out of the forest. Some secrets can only be told, when you’re left in the dark.