The next morning, Aqpat felt no better. She coughed and wheezed, and experienced sharp pains in her chest. Qimmia did the best she could to help; she prepared drinks from dried edible plants from the summer, she brought extra sea otter blankets to keep her grandmother warm, and she sang soothing songs to Aqpat.
In the middle of that very night, Aqpat coughed harder than she ever coughed, and softly called her granddaughter over to her side. Qimmia got up from her sleeping mat and then rubbed two stones together until she produced a flame for her seal oil lamp. After doing that, she made her way over to Aqpat's side; Qimmia was shocked to see her grandmother's condition.
Aqpat struggled to breathe as she looked at Qimmia and said, "My granddaughter, the Great Spirits are calling me to join them. I can feel it."
"What?" Qimmia softly gasped with shock and disbelief, "I don't understand."
Aqpat gently held her granddaughter's hand and breathed, "Qimmia, I've lived so many years, and now… I'm afraid it's time that I leave this word and stay in the sky until I can be reincarnated into the animal of the Spirits' choice one day."
"Grandmother, no!" Qimmia gasped softly as her eyes became moist.
Aqpat then reached her hands to the back of her neck and undid her jade necklace. "Here, my child. Take my necklace. You wanted it so that you could talk to animals."
"But, Grandmother," Qimmia pleaded with a soft, broken voice, "I never meant to say…"
"Qimmia, you have been a wonderful granddaughter," Aqpat breathed between coughs, "And now… my father's gift belongs to you."
Qimmia slowly took the necklace and sadly asked, "But Grandmother, what am I supposed to do now? What is my path?"
Aqpat wearily looked up at her daughter and breathed, "That will be… up to you, child. Remember – don't take this gift for granted… use it to help others. And… when in doubt… listen… to the voices… within." The old woman laid down onto her mat and let go of her final breath as she closed her eyes.
Qimmia held her grandmother's limp hand as a tear escaped her eye. "Grandmother, no!" Qimmia whispered as she shook her head, "No! Please… please! Don't leave me alone…" The poor girl buried her face into her grandmother's chest and cried.
The next day was cloudy and gray as snowflakes fell delicately from the sky. All the villagers in Qimmia's village gathered to pay respects to Aqpat, the woman who ran with dogs and whales. Qimmia watched silently with tears in her eyes as her grandmother's body was taken to be burned in a fire with an animal's hide covering her for protection during her new life with the Great Spirits (and for when the time came to be reincarnated as a new animal). People exchanged prayers, did sorrowful chants, and held hands as the bonfire let its smoke reach the sky.
Qimmia was now left all alone as she stood by her grandmother's hut that night. Before going inside to sleep, she looked up at the sky and saw the Aurora Borealis waltzing among the stars. The teen girl touched her necklace and whispered, "I promise, Grandmother. I will not take my gift for granted. Mother, Father, if you're listening up there, too, I promise to find my own path soon." She then turned away from the sky and went inside the hut to sleep.
The next morning, Qimmia woke up with a late start. She looked around and saw that no one was there for her anymore. She hadn't felt this alone since her parents died in a blizzard several years ago when she was a child. Now she didn't have her one and only family member, let alone guardian, anymore. Qimmia sniffed back some tears and said to herself, "This is it. I must go and find my own path."
So she gathered her parka, a spear, an ulu, and a dagger made from ivory of a walrus tusk before she walked out of her grandmother's hut. Qimmia gave one last, sad glace at the hut before she turned away and started to leave her village. As she walked away, many of the fellow villagers asked Qimmia where she was going; the Inupiat girl would simply reply, "I'm going to find my path and make the spirits of my family proud!
About two hours later, Qimmia had been walking across the snowy tundra, and was feeling a little bit exhausted. Just as she began to sit down on a snowbank, Qimmia heard someone crying for help off in the distance. The young girl turned her head to where the sound was coming from, and saw a steep hill. Quickly, Qimmia picked up her spear and ran over to that very hill.
When she came closer, Qimmia called out, "Hello? Anyone needed help? Where are you?"
"I'm at the very bottom of this hill!" a female voice called out, "I've fallen and I can't get up! I am with pups soon!"
"Pups?" Qimmia asked herself. She couldn't quite understand what the "woman" meant when she said "with pups." Then, Qimmia's eyes lit up and widened when she remembered – pups are the offspring of dogs, wolves, seals, sea otters, or coyotes! The girl looked down at her necklace and remembered the gift of communication to animals. An animal's in trouble, Qimmia thought. Then she called out, "Don't worry! I'll be down to help!"