It was strange.
I had been sent on a journey, a rather peculiar one if i may say. I was sent to the woods, tasked to kill a wolf. I had never seen a wolf before, let alone know they existed in my country. It was pitch black, the sky glittered with sparkling white dots. It reminded me of a time when i was young; my grandmother treated me and my sister to a day at the beach. Ice creams in hand, we raced towards the sea, leaving a trail of footprints and splashes of sweet vanilla. Light glimmered on the horizon as the sun began to set, marking the end of the island i loved dearly. I'll never forget that day.
My feet began to ache and swell. The woods were far away from my village, presumably why I had never seen such a creature before. Despite how my body weighed down on my frail ankles, I carried on walking. Ominous pine trees grew from the distance, the reality of my mission finally setting in. A million thoughts flooded my head - What are it's weak points? What does it look like? Will I be able to kill it? Will it kill me? Get a grip. The village trusts you, why would they send someone incapable of defeating such a creature? With a shake of my head, I carried on walking.
A howl traveled through the wind, sending shivers down my spine. The forest entrance was right in front of me; This was it. I gripped my knife, and marched into the darkness.
Whoosh.
The leaves behind me seemed disturbed. I wrinkled my face and narrowed my eyes.
"Show yourself, beast!" I yelled into the black abyss.
Piercing specks of white appeared from the trees. With an arched back and slow, sly, sinister walk, it appeared. It had a coat of pure silver fur, glimmering in the spotlight of the moon. The creature snarled, fangs sharper than a butchers knife threatened me. It charged at me, all four sharp paws leaping in anger.
My whole body locked, pure terror filled my veins. With a shake of my head, I ran for my life. What am I doing? Running away? I was sent to kill the beast, not the other way around. I turned around, the wolfs mouth open, hungry. I stabbed my knife into the roof of it's mouth; as it closed it's mouth in an attempt to eat it, the blade pierced through the roof of it's mouth. Using a method my grandma taught me when I was small, I leaped onto it's head, pulling my knife through. I stepped onto it's back, in an attempt to stab it's neck.
Slipping, I realized I was wrong. What I was doing was wrong. The wolf was merely skin and bone, of course it was trying to eat me, it looked as though it hadn't eaten in months. I patted it's head in empathy. It was too late for forgiveness, my knife had already made a whole in it's upper jaw. Still on it's back, I poured my basket of food into it's mouth, which was devoured in seconds. It still hated me, I hurt it regardless of the pain it was already going through. Is this how selfish humans really are? We'll hurt anything to build our own empire, to live in the world mother nature created, to make new foods and clothes. We're killing things that have as much right to live and eat as we do. Mother nature bore us all equally, and this is how we repay her kindness? By slaughtering her creations, her children, the earth she gave us? Humans are truly rotten. My vision became blurry as tears built in my eyes.
"I'm so sorry.." I whispered to my starving, dying victim.
I immediately ran home, gathering all food and bandages from the oak cupboards. My mother looked at me in worry, perhaps thinking I was hurt or hungry. She was right, I was emotionally hurt and selfishly hungry for forgiveness. Hugging her, I left without a word. My lungs felt as though they were about to collapse, but something inside me forced me to keep running. It's life depended on me, maybe it was the pit of guilt that kept me going, on the hope to redeem humanity.
The same ominous trees approached me, and there it was. The wolf was laying down; dying. I forced its mouth open, bandaging the wound I selfishly inflicted upon him. A knife of guilt struck my heart, I couldn't bear to look at it. I shoveled food into it's helpless mouth, helping it chew and swallow. I knew when it gathered even the smallest amount of health it would try to eat me, but despite that I laid next to it. If it ate me, I deserved it; after the pain and suffering I caused the poor creature, I deserved death. A tear rolling down my face, I curled between it's front and back legs, using the matted fur as a blanket.
"I'm so so sorry.."
Those few words soon became my last, as the wolf accepted the last item of food I bought it, my own body. I wasn't angry, or upset. I was happy; I had paid for my sins. I was almost thankful.
It was strange.
