The Huntress of the Valley

Not long ago there was a small town between the deep ocean and the mountains thick with jungle. In that little town there was a neighborhood where everyone knew everyone knew everyone. They had stout houses but tall trees, and the road going through the neighborhood led to the jungle.

Now, a jungle might sound scary to you, but for those who live next to the wilds they are merely more. More trees blocking out the sun. More plants underfoot. More birds singing above. More cracks, squeeks, and screeches all around. The foot trails tend to disappear and the trees tend to look alike, but for those who know the jungle– these things aren't a problem at all.

The kids of the neighborhood liked the jungle. They liked to forage for lunch and hunt for dinner (food focused as most kids are). One girl in particular was the best huntress, although the neighborhood hated to admit it.

She could find tracks from three days past and hit her target from 50 paces... with only a bow and arrow. She was the best they'd ever seen and made sure no one could forget it. The huntress would shoot the smallest of birds, then walk through the playground with the bird over her shoulder. The huntress would kill a boar, all on her own, then drag it down the center of the street. Stopping to tell everyone of her kill.

Despite her success, she never shared the meat she caught; pride was her vice, and nobody liked it.

One day the young huntress was walking down the street with her latest kill, the arrow still stuck out of the beast as if she was worried no one would notice.

She walked past the end of the street and for once, a voice called out to her.

"Another boar, girlie?" The voice of an old woman said. It was a woman everyone called Auntie. She had raised each of the kids of the neighborhood in one way or another and appeared now through the wilds of her front yard.

"Oh this? It basically found me. I think it wanted to die, Auntie." The huntress laughed.

"Oh girlie, you must think you're pretty good huh?" Auntie asked.

"I know I am. I am the best."

"You must be pretty pleased about that."

"I am. I like being better than everyone. It means I'm better."

"I have a challenge then. Three challenges of precision. If you win, I'll paint you a grand mural in the night sky for everyone to see. If I win, you stop killing animals from our forest for good."

The huntress laughed, "I love murals. It's about time I got one."

There were three challenges.

First Auntie hiked to the top of a steep cliff and placed a forgotten soccer ball from her yard between a few rocks. The wind roared as it came up the cliffs, making all the trees and bushes of the area grow at a permanent tilt.

From the bottom of the cliff, so far she could hardly see it, the huntress took her shot...

And hit it on the first try.

The huntress laughed at Auntie, saying she wanted a real challenge. Auntie just smiled with her kind eyes.

The second challenge took place on two sailboats out on the choppy waves of the open ocean. On one boat Auntie had tied a red handkerchief to the top of the mast and on the other the huntress stood with her bow and a single arrow.

The sailor asked her if she could really hit it, yknow, with da wind and waves moving everything like that?

"Of course I can," she said, "that's why I'm here"

And she did. First try, on the crest of the wave with the winds blowing from a football field away, and she pierced the handkerchief on the first try.

Now confident for the next challenge, the huntress was telling people she wanted to be across the sky from Orion so one day she could be the most famous hunter of all time.

That night the huntress invited everyone in the valley to the neighborhood field for the final challenge. This time Auntie brought a white hula hoop from her garage.

"For your final challenge, you'll have to shoot an arrow through this hula hoop, but you must wait until it is past the height of those palm trees there."

"Hah! This is too easy, Auntie, you're too kind. But I invited these people over to see why I'm the best. I'll wait until the hoop is past those clouds there."

"If that is what you want." Auntie said and whispered some words to her hoop.

"Trying some old magic?" Asked the huntress with a sneer.

"Just a goodbye." Auntie answered, she then crouched low and flung the hoop high high high into the air. It went up up up into the sky and went faster faster faster, a white streak spinning into the night sky.

The huntress took her shot– missed.

She quickly reloaded– missed again.

Now nobody could see the white hoop, and it didn't seem to come down.

She took another shot, guessing wildly– and again missing.

Auntie kept her cool disposition and whispered something to a neighborhood boy, he came back with a long telescope on three legs.

Auntie pointed it at the sky there and let the huntress look.

"There the hoop will stay. You may take as many shots as you wish. And young huntress? Let me know if you make it and you shall truly be the greatest of all time." Auntie said before walking away.

The huntress stayed late that night, and the next, and the next. She no longer boasted or bragged of her skills, but sat under the night sky wondering why in the world she had bragged to Auntie with her warm cookies and kind eyes.

We can look up and see it too. It's tucked into the Navigator's Triangle and scientists have called it M57. When I look up, I can't help but imagining how many arrows the huntress shot into the night sky.