Week 10 Storytelling: A Shift in Thinking

Image Information: An ominous clearing at midnight. Source: Pinterest

Growing up, all Maya heard from the ancestors of her village were stories of their original ancestors. There were many, and as she grew, Maya came to know each of them very well. But even though everyone in the small village told the stories with hints of reverence for the shape shifters in their voices, she had always felt that the stories were just that—stories that parents told their children to keep them in line and explain away the inconsistencies in history.  

            That all changed when she was sixteen, however. Wandering in the woods on a daily exploration for berries and firewood, Maya came upon a clearing unlike any she had ever seen before. This immediately put her on edge, as having wandered these woods for more than a decade, Maya had been sure that she knew every square inch of the area. So she approached with caution. Sun filtered in through the few, heavy branches that stretched beyond the trees and out above the clearing, letting in just enough sun to break up the darkness and lend an ominous air to the whole clearing. Goosebumps erupted on her arms and crawled up her neck, causing Maya to twitch in response to an abrupt shiver that worked its way down her body.

            She had no idea where she was and no idea what she should do, but the thought of turning back and forgoing whatever was happening here was not an option. The monotony of the village had left her restless and, honestly, a little reckless, and so with a small breath to gather her courage, Maya took a step into the clearing.

            Only for nothing to happen.

            For hours she walked the clearing, looking for anything out of the ordinary. But instead of anything exciting, she only grew exhausted. Her travels and exploration had drained her of energy and she knew that she would never make it home without resting first. So she decided to nap for a little bit at the base of one of the large trees that framed the clearing. As she laid there, lost in thought, the sun slipping below the tops of the trees, her eyes began to slide closed. She fought it for as long as she could, only to eventually have her eyes close for good.

            It felt as if she had only closed her eyes for a moment, but when she finally awoke it was obvious that much more time had passed. It was now pitch black and the moon was high in the sky. Startled, she scrambled to her feet, only to freeze once she saw the clearing transformed in the light of the moon.

            The tame trees that had once framed the perimeter of the clearing were now tangled, shells of their former selves. They had grown together, blocking the exits to the clearing. She was locked in. Once again, she felt a sense of wrongness slide down her back, and sprout goose bumps up and down her arms. Rubbing her arms to stave off the cold, she called out a shaky, “hello?”

            There was no answer. But then again, she didn’t need one. For at the moment the words left her lips, she spotted something hanging off a tree far on the other side of the clearing. Cautiously she made her way towards it, only to stop as soon as the object came into full view of the moonlight. It was a bear pelt.

            “Well hello there, little one. You look a little…” the voice paused, and gave a small chuckle, “lost.”

            She screamed. Everything went black.

Author’s Note:

I was inspired by all of the stories this week about animals that could turn into humans by shedding their animal pelts (The Piqued Buffalo-Wife, The Fox-Woman, The Bear-Woman, The Dog-Husband, and the Youth Who Joined the Deer). I wanted to make the story both more sinister while simultaneously also paying homage to these shape shifters. So I decided to write a story far in the future from these stories about a young woman who was dealing with doubts of her own about the supposed ancestry of her people—only to be confronted by the very figure she was doubting. A lot of the stories implicated human and animal relations, and I wanted to make it seem less normalized and more sinister.

Bibliography:

The Piqued Buffalo-Wife. Tales of the North American Indians by Stith Thompson (1929).

The Fox-Woman. Tales of the North American Indians by Stith Thompson (1929).

The Bear Woman. Tales of the North American Indians by Stith Thompson (1929).

The Dog-Husband. Tales of the North American Indians by Stith Thompson (1929).

The Youth Who Joined the Deer. Tales of the North American Indians by Stith Thompson (1929).