The Way of Bears

The rule for this contest is that you have 15 minutes to write a story or poem. The prompt was a picture of two bear cubs. They appeared to be in karate stances.

Chiba hummed to herself as she collected berries and grubs for tonight’s dinner. It was early in the growing season so she had to wander quite a ways away from the village in order to find something ripe enough to eat.

Her mate, Phinu, wouldn’t complain no matter how tart the fare. Since the moment they had first met, three cycles ago, he had been nothing but a perfect partner. Right now, he was with their son, teaching him The Way.

She closed her eyes for a moment to look in on the two …

“That’s it son. Breathe in through your mouth as you pull in you arms. There your go. Now, release as you push out and away. Remember to keep your balance.”

Chiba turned back to her work. She hardly noticed her perfect contentedness since she had rarely known anything else. She resumed her humming and gathering as thoughts of family and friends kept her company.

She heard it before she saw it. The flame descending from the sky was as terrifying as it was beautiful. From behind a tree, Chiba watched as the box-like object settled to the ground on the far side of the stream. Two creatures emerged.

Lifting her nose, she strained to see if there was any threat odor about them. Nothing.

She crept a little closer in hopes of getting a better sense of what she was actually seeing. A bright light flared momentarily. It came from a device on top of the box. Chiba barely had time to register the event before she felt a burning in her side. When she looked down, there was a large brown and smoldering streak across her abdomen.

She turned and ran.

“That’s it. Breath and now swing around and – Chiba! What are you doing here? Are you hurt?”

He ran to his mate. He was able to get his arms around her in time to ease her gently to the ground. Her eyes closed and then opened one last time. She offered up a smile and then let her breath flow out gently as she stepped out of her body and onto the path to The Way.