Don't Forget About Me

11. A cold reward

Chapter 11

A cold reward

“We should head back.” 

Jupiter slowly wakes me up from my slumber, but I don’t want to wake up just yet. The grass is so comfortable to lie on and I’m using his shoulder as my pillow. I dreamt about a million butterflies and they were so pretty. I want to run around and chase them, but that wouldn’t be possible. It was just a dream.

“Home,” I whisper. “Do you think I can get stronger? Will I be able to actually run with you in the forest one day?”

“If you eat well and train more,” Jupiter says gently. “This is the perfect pack to start in. Ask your mother or your Alpha.”

I get up into a sitting position. I feel deeply worried by my weakness. I know I never can be physically strong like the other wolves, but I can become as good as I want to be. I must try harder. I must eat more and focus a lot.

“I should start by walking back,” I decide and reach down to pick a few berries on a small bush. “Blueberries,” I whisper to myself and stuff them into my mouth. The great taste explodes in my mouth and it is fantastic how a small berry can hold such a rich flavour.

Jupiter grabs my hand and I hug his arm quickly before he starts dragging me out of the clearing and into the trees at a fast pace. It doesn’t take long before I start panting. My muscles are screaming from the fast movements and my head is slightly dizzy. I trip on an old branch that has fallen off a tree and I wonder why it is lying there.

*

A picture shows inside my head how a kid climbed the tree but fell off it when the branch snapped. He scrubbed his knees but he just laughed and jumped right up into it.

“Tom!” the girl in the same age yelled scared at him. “I don’t like it out here and Mother told us to be careful on our own.”

“Nothing is out here, Mary,” the boy said irritated by his sister’s worry. “Let’s have some fun!”

“I don’t want to ruin my uniform,” she pouted and looked longingly after her brother as he ran through the forest in search for a greater adventure.

*

The flash ends there and my tears start falling. They could have been eleven? What did I do when I was eleven? I was not climbing trees; that’s for sure.

“Jupiter, can we please slow down?” I beg and he looks down on my tearstained face with a frown. “The forest is showing me memories. A history was written and I wasn’t here.”

“Don’t give up so easily,” he pushes me. “I know you can do it a bit more. Think of the reward when we get back!”

“I want ice-cream,” I add longingly. “I haven’t had an ice-cream since I was five.”

“Lucky, I never had any ice-cream.”

I push every step to keep up with Jupiter, but I’m still slowing us down. I look around the forest and feel better when the Wolf Spirit’s assuring smiles make me stronger. I’m sweating and thankful for the cool air that’s blowing through the forest. I would never have been able to walk like this on Rosalea without dropping dead down onto the ground. The exercise is making me feel hungry and I welcome the gnawing feeling in my stomach.

Jupiter enters his spirit form when we are closing in to the village, but I can feel his spirit arms still holding me in a tight grip. I slow down a lot now that he can’t force me to follow his pace and I drag my feet behind me.