Ch.7

Two hours of solemn silence passed as Kenai, Nahli, and Koda headed back to the cave. There was nowhere for Nahli to go at this point- her family was gone forever, and her village no longer existed.

Kenai sadly glanced up at the teenager who walked slowly beside him. Nahli seemed to drag her feet despondently, and the older bear knew that she was still grieving heavily inside. The Inuit girl wept so much in Kenai's furry consoling arms earlier that now she had no more tears to cry. She hung her head as she walked, blankly staring at the ground.

Kenai wished that he could say something to make Nahli feel better, but he found that silence was the best thing for the hurting teen right now. The usually talkative Koda didn't have to think twice about staying quiet. The sadness of the whole situation weighed down his spirit as well.

As the three sorrowful souls finally entered the cave, the evening sun began to set behind the mountains. Kenai lay down in his normal resting spot, and Koda curled up beside his big brother. Nahli seemed absent-minded from the two bears, though. She silently settled down in a spot by herself on the far side of the cave, rested her head on the palms of her hands that laid against the grayish-brown pebbles of the chilly ground, and closed her tired eyes.

Kenai looked with pity at Nahli, all alone in one corner of the cave. He thought that she'd want to lay beside him for comfort. But tonight, Nahli felt like she needed to bear her grief alone. The young adult grizzly rested his head on the ground. For most of the night, he couldn't sleep. His mind was trying to conceive a way to help Nahli. She couldn't possibly live the rest of her life sufficiently with Kenai and Koda in the forest- it would be a tough life for her out here since she was a human. Kenai decided that she needed to continue to live among people; there had to be another Inuit tribe that she could call her new home...

After a while, the bear couldn't resist the pull of sleep. Kenai finally closed his exhausted eyes and drifted off into a deep slumber.


The next morning, Kenai and Koda awoke to find Nahli gone from the spot that she was sleeping in the cave. Once outside, Koda immediately ran to the berry bush and started munching on his breakfast. For Kenai, finding Nahli was the only thing on his mind. He looked around to see where she possibly could have gone. Then the bear spotted the girl sitting on the bank down by the river. Kenai walked towards that direction and sat beside her. Nahli didn't even look up to acknowledge his presence. She kept staring blankly beyond her in a zombie-like state. It worried Kenai that Nahli wasn't acting at all like her usual sociable self. He knew that Nahli's grief was swallowing her up to the point that she almost didn't seem recognizable anymore. Somehow, Kenai had to help Nahli from falling into a permanent state of depression.

In the silence of the moment, Kenai shifted his paws nervously, not really knowing what to say. Rather hesitantly, he started to speak.

"Nahli...I... I know that you're still grieving, and I'm sorry that it had to come to this. But I really don't like seeing you like this... it's not like you." Even though the Inuit teenager never shifted her eyes up to look at him, Kenai continued to look down at Nahli with intense concern. "And you gotta eat something, I mean you haven't eaten ever since yesterday morning."

"How can I think about eating when my family is dead?" Nahli snapped in a harsh, quiet tone. She never turned her gaze away from the scene in front of her. "You don't know what it's like to lose everyone that you've loved."

"Actually, I do know what it's like, Nahli." Kenai said calmly. "My parents died when my brothers and I were younger. And then when my oldest brother, Sitka, died, it was like another big part of me was gone." Kenai's eyes were downcast as the tragic scene of Sitka's death replayed inside his mind.

"Nahli, please look at me when I say this." Kenai said after a minute of silence. Nahli slowly turned her head towards the grizzly sitting next to her and looked up at him straight in the eyes. Kenai could tell from the redness in Nahli's glazed eyes that she had a restless night with thoughts of her family's death bombarding her mind.

"Even though I've only known you for the past two days, you're like a sister to me. I want you to be happy again, and I'll do whatever it takes to make sure that that happens."

Kenai's words pierced through the dark clouds in Nahli's soul. She was touched that the grizzly saw her as family, and she couldn't help but feel the same way about him and Koda. But she kept her thoughts to herself as she listened to Kenai, tears forming once again in her eyes.

"So, I finally thought of a possible solution for you. I know that to be truly happy, you have to be among your own kind. You need another village to call home, filled with people who are loving and caring. So, I think I have the perfect one for you." A small smile spread across Kenai's muzzle as he saw the glint of hope that started to appear in Nahli's eyes.

"My tribe would be happy to take you in." The young adult bear continued to say. "There are some really nice people there that will definitely make you feel like you're home, especially the Shaman lady of our village named Tanana. And I trust that even my brother Denahi won't mind looking after you as a new member of our family. It'd be an hour's journey, but we can go there today. So, what do you think?" Kenai knew that living in his village was the best thing for Nahli.

Nahli slowly nodded her head in agreement. She sniffed as tears of gratitude trickled down her face. "Thank you, Kenai. You really are my brother bear." The Inuit girl said with a shaky voice as she wiped the tears from her eyes. Then, Kenai embraced Nahli warmly, holding her close. The bear knew that the only thing that the girl needed at the moment was love and affection to overcome the grief that drowned out the spark of light that was once present in her soul.