The winds howled and tore all the warmth from the cave, as though their only purpose was to press the deep, frigid Arctic air into even the smallest crevice. I huddled under three blankets in a sleeping bag built for extreme temperatures. Yet I still felt the chill. But the sound, the whistling and whooshing, the cracking of countless branches, and the crashing of the large icicles, ice on ice, from the frozen waterfall, haunted my waking dreams.
Even
though I'd sought shelter in a cave surrounded by solid rock. I was convinced the
winds were hunting me. The beast from Alaskan legends, Kushtaka, had found a
way into my shelter. The shapeshifter had turned to deadly frigid air and was
seeking his prey.
Was it
Kushtaka's purpose to destroy the last shred of warmth in existence on this
mountain of pure ice? Was I the interloper? A passenger on a downed plane in the Alaskan Triangle. Was I the unwanted trespasser on alien
land? I tried to push such silly thoughts from my mind, but the way darkness
had fallen and the storm had arisen was unnatural.
Was
the disappearance of my fishing pole under the ice a playful otter? Or the
sudden howling whistle and the change in temperature, the supernatural work of
a mythological beast, or an imagination run wild with fear and grief?
Surreptitious
squalls twisted and coiled around my rock abode to extinguish the fire. My only genuine
warmth. I'd built it with the last of the wood Chet had cut for me before
returning to the crash site. Two days past his time of return didn't offer me
hope. Instead, I felt a profound sadness and the hollowness of loss. I knew with
certainty that I would never see Chet again.
The wind
gusts became more violent as though they recognized their victory. Kushtaka had
found me. A woman alone, vulnerable, and afraid. The perfect plaything for the
mythological creature intent on torture.
Weakened
by loss, fear, and hunger. I was the ideal victim. Had I already given up?
The
bright orange flame of the fire shrank with each gust. Is it possible
for a fire to surrender? I swear I saw it bow to a stronger foe without a crackle
or hiss of attempted bravado. The flames died or burrowed under the cold ashes
until their bright colors faded to black, gray, then solid white. Testament to
the hue of the Snow God.
Is
that how Kushtaka saw his role? As an Ice God defending his territory from any
hint of warmth?
I
watched the flames die, knowing with certainty that Chet had also left this
existence. My tears froze the instant they fell. Ice crystals stuck to my
exposed skin like newborn babies seeking sustenance. I tried to brush them
away, but more formed until I had no more tears to give. I held them in my
hands until they were again part of me. Absorbed into flesh.
Safe.
Ice
against ice.
Salvation
abandoned me. A piercing chill deeper than any I'd ever felt encircled me.
Moving from the outside in until I was completely absorbed. Shrouded in ice.
At
first, it was stinging, almost burning, then so bone-chilling I wondered if my
insides would shatter like the ice cycles. Profound shivers took control. I was
sure I put out enough energy to run a small generator. But even that lasted
only a short time.
Eventually,
my body relaxed into the Ice God's embrace. Into a faux warmth, but just the sustenance
I was seeking.
All
along, it had been right here.
Deep
inside, the glacial frostiness of this massive beast that held me so delicately
in his arms. He wasn't fierce or unkind. He offered himself, and I sensed his
concern. Felt the purest of love and surrendered wholly.
I
closed my eyes.
The
beast held me intimately. Naked. Free. No more restraints or fear. No more
feelings of abandonment or loss. Everything was gone, just like the howling wind.
I embraced
the Ice God. And let go of my last ember of warmth. My final exhalation danced, twisted,
and swirled in a kaleidoscope of brilliant colors before crystalizing into ice
crystals in a flash of brilliance.
Just as the Ice God enveloped
me in the warmth of pure love...
~*~
721 Words
Yolanda Renée Stout © 2023
~~**~~**~~**~~
TAGLINE: Surrender does not mean giving up.
This is an
excerpt from the 7th book of my Alaskan Series. Murder on Mount
Fairweather. Where survivors of a plane crash are fighting to survive the elements, hungry wolves, and the mythology of the Alaskan triangle.
Kushtaka or Kooshdakhaa. Are
from a Tlingit myth that claims the Kushtaka is a shapeshifting
otter-like creature that lures people into the wilderness, sometimes tricking
them to their deaths.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kushtaka
~*~
