Tanana walks Haley around the village introducing her to everyone. They are all so nice. Some of them gave her some gifts as either a get well soon present or as a welcome to the village gift.
"Tanana, what are those necklaces they're all wearing?" she asks the nice old woman.
"Those are totems. Our spirits give them to us once we come of age. Each one will mean something and there will be an animal to represent it. Once we follow our totems, we either become a man or a woman." She explains to Haley.
"The spirits have given me one totem though. I'm not sure who it's supposed to go to." She reaches into her pocket and pulls out a stone bear.
"The spirits tell me this is the bear of memories. This means that whoever gets it will become a man or woman by retrieving some forgotten memories." Suddenly, a breeze passes by Tanana making her hair flow in the wind.
"The spirits have just told me who this totem is for." She smiles.
She looks at Haley, "They say this totem belongs to you." She puts it around Haley's neck.
"Mine?" Haley asks confusedly.
"You'll figure it out eventually. Go take a walk, explore. Do whatever you'd like. I'll be here if you need anything." Tanana walks away.
With her crutches still under her arms, Haley starts walking. Suddenly, something runs under her feet and knocks her over.
"Ow." she groans.
Haley turns her head to see a little bear cub trying to get up. He falls back down and shakes his paw.
"Are you hurt?" Haley asks softly to the cub. The cub looks up and is a bit frightened.
"It's alright. I'm not going to hurt you." Haley slowly gets herself up, and then grabs the cub gently.
She takes the cub into the hut Tanana had given her. Haley sets him on her bed, rips off some of the bandages that are around her leg, and puts it around the cub's paw.
"Where did you come from, little guy?" she asks the cub. He points to the woods.
"Where's your mom?" she asks him. He puts his head down.
"Don't you have a mom?" she asks. The cub shakes his head.
"Father?" she asks. He shakes his head again.
"Brother?" Haley finally asks. He perks up, smiles, and nods.
"Your brother is probably looking for you. Why don't I take you to him?" she asks. The cub smiles brightly and roars quietly in joy.
"I'll take that as a yes." She walks out of the tent with the cub hanging onto her back. Everyone was in a bunch gathered around something. With her crutches under her arms and the cub hanging onto her back, Haley walks over to the crowd.
"What's going on?" she asks one of the villagers.
"Kenai's back." The man replies.
Haley makes her way through the crowd and sees an adult bear. He's tan and has brown eyes. The cub jumps off of Haley's back and jumps onto the grown bear's back.
"This must be your brother." Haley assumes. The cub lets out a little roar and smiles at her. The little cub looks nothing like the older one. The cub is dark brown, with a light brown scruff, and has black eyes.
Denahi comes out from behind Haley, "These are the two bears that found you. My little brother, Kenai, and his adopted brother, Koda."
"Really?" Haley looks at the two happy brothers. She's never known what it's like to have a brother since she's been an orphan all her life.
"So your brother is a bear?" she asks Denahi.
"He was born a human, but after killing a bear he was turned into one himself. He learned that the bear he killed was that little cub's mother. So he decided to stay after realizing the bond he had grown with the cub." Denahi explains.
"Wow." The story touches Haley deeply. Although she has never heard of this tale before, it still seems very familiar to her. Maybe it hasn't been the first time she's heard about this tale. Where though has she heard it? A fairy tale book? No. A news article? No. Where has she heard this tale before?
"You must be Kenai." Haley looks at the adult bear after snapping out of her thoughts. Kenai just gives a warm, kind smile to her..
"Thank you for finding me. I don't know what would've happened if you and your brother didn't." Haley shows as much gratitude as she can towards the two bear brothers. The little cub showa Kenai his paw and then points at Haley.
"Your little brother hurt himself after accidentally running into me, but I wrapped up his paw so it would heal." Haley tells Kenai. The little cub jumps off of Kenai's back and rushes up to Haley. He gently puts up his paw.
Haley tries her best to kneel down. She holds his little paw and feels how warm it is. The wind ruffles Haley's hair and Koda's. Koda's and Haley's eyes meet. Haley feels a strong connection, almost like a strong bond, between her and the cub.
Kenai gives a small roar to Koda. Koda looks at his brother and nods softly. He carefully takes his paw away from Haley's hand and runs over to Kenai. Kenai gently nuzzles Koda's paw. Kenai turns to Haley a final time and gives a small, friendly nod before running off to a cave close to the village. Haley looks at her hand. She can still feel the warmth from Koda's paw. The traces of a smile appear in the corners of Haley's lips. She stands up, puts the crutches back under her arms, and makes her way to her hut. It's been such a long day for her.
Haley wakes up in the middle of the night. She had dreamt about the accident.
"Am I ever going to go home again? Will I ever find Ash?" she asks herself.
Haley grabs her crutches and walks outside. The Northern Lights dance across the sky. They are touching the top of a mountain singing a soft melody that can be heard from her hut all of the way down here at the village.
"Maybe just for a little bit." she tells herself. She's decided to go up there and think for a little bit.
There's a nice, smooth path going up the mountain. She walks up the path and is there by dawn. She sits down on a nice patch of grass and flowers.
"Please let me find my way back. I like it here, but I just wish there was a way back. In fact, I don't even know where I'm at." Haley speaks softly.
She sits there, listening to the songs that are sung throughout the dancing lights. She takes out the totem Tanana had given her and looks at it. Suddenly, her bandages unwrap themselves, floated in front of her, and disappeared into thin air. She watches as all of her cuts, bruises, and pains fade away.
"What the-" before she can finish, the lights that sit above her get closer. The lights come right in front of her and take the form of a man.
I slowly backed up, but the man's eyes gave her a look that speaks, "Do not be alarmed, I'm here to help you."
Haley looks at him with scared eyes. The man walks over and kneels next to her. He places his hand underneath her totem and holds it up.
"My totem: The bear of memories. What does it have to do with anything that's going on right now?" she asks.
He only gives a tiny chuckle before setting the totem back onto her chest and fading away.
"Where'd he go?" Haley thinks to herself as she looks around. How is it possible that he just disappeared like that?
The song that the spirits are singing gets louder. Haley looks up to see a giant eagle. It picks her up with its talons by her shoulders and lifts her high into the sky. His wings fold around her and forms the shape of a bear's head. It encloses around her body and a roar is heard from it. The shape then collapses and it spins around her. Haley spins with it and transforms into a bear with a great roar. She's then lowered to the ground. She gets up, a moan-like growl escaping her throat, and then passes out on the ground.