Ice Blink

5: Journey Begins

In Nualik there was never any idle time, except for the brief window after mealtime before everyone settled down into bed for the night.

"It would be really nice to hear a story," an elder said into the sleepy haze of the communal igloo. The connection that came with the sharing of stories created the kind of strong bonds in the tribe that saved them during dangerous hunts, that allowed them to trust each other no matter what. It was closer than family, it was a need for survival.

On one side of the igloo, a story began, while opposite the fire, distorted by the rippling heat emanating from the flames, a couple of elders started throat singing. They kept the beat on their skin drums, tapping them lightly but firmly.

Nuna felt every beat reverberate in her soul.

"Once, there was a lonely hunter who left his tribe to go wandering. Little did he know, he would find a woman living in a hut, the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, but she had a secret..."

Wrapping herself tighter in her furs, Nuna gazed into the flames as the fire began to form patterns.

The sun shone brightly at her, a white eye, and then the moon materialised beside it. They began to chase each other round and round and round...

"Wake up."

She jolted awake, hitting her head on the low ceiling. A trickle of snow landed on her face, sharp and cold as knives, and she winced.

"We've slept for long enough," Toklo said, his voice rebounding against the cold blue-white walls.

Nuna blinked in the dimness. Her comforting dream faded to be replaced by the harsh reality of their situation, and the contrast made her want to cry. Sob. Scream.

But Toklo was looking at her and she knew she couldn't do any of those things.

"Yeah, you're right, let's go," she said, forcing any cracks out of her voice.

The skin on their faces was tight and painful, swollen from the cold and the uncomfortable sleep. But they pushed the door aside and crawled into a world so bright it looked like the sun had turned everything to crystal.

Pulling their snow goggles onto their faces, they started walking without discussing anything, heading the direction Nanuq had indicated. Nuna scanned for her white bear, but there was no sign of him. Had he been a dream, too? No, Toklo didn't believe in dreams, and Toklo saw him.

The silence between Nuna and Toklo stretched on. And on. And on.

She thought about the revelation she had made last night – anything to keep her mind from wandering back to the terror of the masked men, or the desolation of the empty village – about Toklo and Aniu. So the prickly boy had a soft side, did he? She was determined to bring it out.

"I don't understand why you don't like angakkuit so much," Nuna piped up bravely. Toklo gave no sign he had heard her. "I know hunting is important, but so is the spirit world."

He huffed a derisive laugh.

"Are you going to explain?"

Toklo scowled and looked away from her. The only sound was the trudging of their feet through the snow.

When Nuna had given up all hope of him speaking to her for the rest of this journey, he broke the silence.

"My mother thought a loon spirit had revealed itself to her," Toklo said.

"That's amazing."

"Yes, amazing. Until she became obsessed with the idea. Until she went out, day after day, thinking she could track it down and find it. Thinking it was the spirit of her brother. Until the thoughts of the loon filled her head so much she forgot about everything else – even raising her own children. Until she went out into the tundra to look for it and was never seen again."