For Torin
June 2025
The morning sun was bright, its rays piercing through the front of Amka's den. Amka rolled over in the cozy warmth of her bed. As she did so, her face immediately entered into one of those bright rays.
"Ack! What?" Amka screeched aloud as the sun beckoned her to wake up. "Oh. Oh my - the sun is so bright this morning!" she exclaimed as she shook off the night's sleep.
Amka laid her head back down, a bit out of direct sunlight, and pondered what the day might bring. From time to time Amka enjoyed a day of solitude - a time for her to think about things bigger than herself; a time to enjoy life just for the sake of being thankful for being alive.
She turned her head and gazed at the ray of sunlight that now lit the wall next to her.
"I think today I will have a pondering day," Amka said aloud to no one but herself.
Every so often Amka would steal away for a day all by herself. Now, she loved being with her friends, going on adventures and seeing and experiencing new things. But she decided this would be one of those 'pondering days' where she would wander off by herself to do some really good thinking. "After all," she told herself, "every great adventure begins with a time of some clear thinking."
And that was that. The decision was made. Now all she had to do was skeedattle out of her home before anyone else woke up and before any of her friends showed up for an adventure. She felt the time was already getting away from her, so she quickly picked up a few things and snuck out into the day.
Outside the door to her den, Amka pondered just which way she should go. It seemed any direction she considered would take her too close to her friend's homes - except one. Heading north would take her toward the ocean's edge. Now, she might find Zoya swimming along the coast, no doubt singing in the morning sun, but if she stayed a distance from the actual shore, Amka was sure to find a good spot for some alone time. "In fact," she thought to herself, "I know just the place." And so, Amka headed off to spend the day pondering.
The spot she had thought of to go was a small stand of trees pretty close to the edge of the forest near the ocean's shore. These trees - there were seven of them by her count - stood in a circle with one another, creating what the 'people' call a 'fairy ring'. Amka knew full well that the 'people' were very correct about that - there were indeed 'fairies' that lived in such places although that wasn't really their proper name. Nonetheless, Amka understood it to be a magical place - perfect for relaxing and pondering.
It wasn't too long before Amka found again this secret place. She had been here once before and was a bit afraid she wouldn't find it again, but she did. The seven trees had grown very close together, but there was a gap between two of them where Amka could squeeze into the center. She took off the shoulder bag of her things and crouched in front of the opening. Before she tossed her bag through the hole, however, looking into the ring of trees she saw a dragonfly hovering in the center. The dragonfly seemed to be upset by something toward the back of the hiding place. It was a bit dark, as very little sunlight was able to peek through the trees of the forest and especially the tight circle of the fairy ring. Amka put aside her bag and quietly stuck her head through the entrance.
"Hey! What are you doing!" Amka suddenly shouted. "What are you doing and why are you doing it!?!" she said even louder. In the dim light of the circle her eyes adjusted just enough to see a beaver gnawing on the base of one of the trees.
The beaver stopped and turned to face Amka. "I... I'm cutting down one of these trees for my home," the beaver said.
"Oh no you're not!" demanded Amka. "This is a very special place and I won't let you destroy it. There's a whole forest out there and plenty of other trees."
The beaver, being obviously young and smallish, replied, "I... I'm sorry. I didn't know. Please don't hurt me!" the beaver begged.
"Oh, silly - I'm not going to hurt you," Amka said with a much softer tone in her voice.
Amka reached into her shoulder bag and pulled out a lantern. After lighting it so she could see better, she asked the beaver, "What's your name little fella?"
The dragonfly flew around Amka's head as if to thank her for stopping the beaver from hurting the tree. Then it flew out of the fairy ring, satisfied all was okay with the ring of trees.
"Well, I'm not a 'fella' - I'm a girl. My name is Bonneville," the beaver answered. "My family calls me Bonnie though. My brothers and sisters are all older than me and make fun of my size. They say I'm too small to cut down any big trees like they can. So I thought I'd show them I could by taking down this tree. But I guess they're right - the tree is too big and I'm just too small."
By this time Amka had climbed into the fairy ring and sat listening to Bonnie. Amka pondered Bonnie's predicament for a few moments when she suddenly had an idea.
"Well, that's just the way brothers and sisters are," Amka began. "Teasing one another is just what they do. You being the youngest makes an easy target for them. But I have an idea that might help you. They tease you because you are still too small for big trees. So... Why not go about cutting down a lot of smaller trees. Show them that maybe you can't yet cut down big trees, you are able to cut down many smaller trees faster than they can cut down one big tree."
Bonnie by now was sitting and listening to Amka's suggestion. Bonnie pondered this for a moment, then shouted, "You're right! Small trees are easy for me, so I'll cut down so many so fast that our Papa will be proud of me in front of them. Thanks, uh... what's your name?"
"My name is Amka. And that sounds like a real good plan. I'm happy to make your acquaintence, Bonnie!"
"Me too!" Bonnie agreed. With that, Bonnie said thank you over and over as she left the fairy ring to carry out her plan, leaving Amka by herself once again - just as Amka had hoped.
Amka sat back and lifted the lantern up above her head to get a better look around inside the fairy ring. "It's so beautiful in here," she said aloud. Knowing that there were probably many little beings - 'fairies' - all around her that didn't want to be seen, Amka spoke to them, saying, "Thank you for such a wonderful and peaceful place for me to be alone for a while."
After acknowledging the unseen mysterious little creatures, Amka decided to put out the light of her lantern so her eyes could adjust to the dim light of the circle. At first the place was really dark but her eyes did adjust just enough for her to see around as she might need to. It didn't really matter though. Amka was able to ponder her deeper thoughts better with less light. She relaxed herself and turned her head to look up into the tall circle of trees. After a while, Amka began to notice a fragrance, an aroma so sweet it relaxed her even further.
Amka soon fell asleep as the magic of the fairy ring began to enter into Amka's dream. She was walking along a path deep in the forest. This forest was very different than anything she had ever seen before. The trunks of the trees were bluish, their leaves colored in reds, greens and yellows - like some of the trees she knew in her waking life during the later months of the winter season. As she traveled along the path, other things in the forest were also very new to Amka. The animals of the forest were very different. There were large ones, small ones and in-between-ones of all kinds. She became so excited at all of the creatures that she felt a bit dizzy.
Then Amka saw something that was completely out of place in this strange dream world - a small boy of the 'people'! He was a young boy as far as she could tell. He had brownish hair and he looked right at Amka and stopped before a look of fear came across his face before took off running away.
"Hey, wait!" Amka cried out. Just as Amka took a step forward to follow the boy, she suddenly tripped over something.
Getting up from her fall, Amka looked down at what she had tripped over - two big eggs. They were the biggest eggs she had ever seen. They looked painted with colorful patterns. Bending down to look closer, she noticed that one of them was broken open.
"Oh no," Amka said, "I hope I didn't break it!"
Just as she said that a little creature crawled out from behind a nearby rock. The creature had small wings, sort of like those of a bat.
"Beep peep peep," the little animal said.
"I don't understand what you are saying," Amka replied to the animal. "Did I break your egg? If I did, I'm so sorry. Do you live around here?"
"Peep beep beep peep," the creature responded. Then it took off running up ahead in the direction Amka had been walking.
"Wait!" Amka called out. "What about your other egg?"
Not knowing what to do, Amka huffed in worry then set off following the newborn creature. The little winged animal led her to the shore of a lake. The lake too looked very different from any lake Amka knew in her waking life. The water was smooth as glass and purplish in color. After only a short distance, the little guy stopped and sat down, looking out onto the lake.
Amka, confused, asked, "What do you see little one? How come you stopped?"
The little animal didn't respond but just stared out into the distance across the lake. Not but a moment later Amka had the answers to all of her questions. First what she saw as she too looked across the lake was a small dot in the air. The small dot quickly grew in size as it became apparent that it was flying right toward the shore where Amka and the little creature sat. As it grew closer, Amka suddenly became very scared.
"Omgosh! It's a dragon!" Amka shouted in fear as she lept up to her feet and began to run away.
The dragon swooped down and circled around what Amka now understood was one of her dragon children. As she ran, Amka could hear the little one beeping away as it talked to her mother dragon. The dragon huffed a puff of firey smoke from its nostrils as it jerked itself high into the air and turned. Amka, still running from the scene along the lake's shore, looked back over her shoulder to see the mama dragon flying right at her. Amka tried hard to pick up her speed but it was no use.
The big dragon flew right over Amka, then turned and landed in front of Amka, blocking her from running any further. Amka was now shivering and shaking in fear for her life. She stopped - for there was nothing else she could do. Falling to her knees with her head bowed down, Amka cried out, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to break the egg! Really I didn't!"
Amka was sure this was the end. But it wasn't. As Amka stopped talking, every muscle in her body now tightened, waiting for inevitable, the dragon spoke.
"Do not fear, little fox. I am not here to punish you, but to thank you," the dragon said in a motherly voice. "You see, though yes, you did break open my egg a little sooner than it should have been, my little newborn son over there said you were concerned for his safety after he showed himself. So, it is I who should thank you."
Amka was stunned. Here was a big firey dragon speaking softly to her. Still shaking, Amka stood and looked at the dragon. She could see calmness in the creature's eyes. Still very nervous, Amka inquired, "But your other egg is still back on the path in the forest. How did the eggs get there if you seemed to have flown so far to find your son?"
"There was a little boy of the 'people' that took them from my nest. My nest is not so far from here. You saw me fly from far away because I have been looking far and wide for my eggs."
"A little boy of the 'people'?" Amka asked. "I think I saw him just before I tripped and broke your egg!"
Bang!
A loud noise broke through the fantastical world of Amka's dream. For several moments Amka was dazed and confused, being forced to wake up from her dream but not wanting to. She wanted to stay with the dragon and her eggs and the little boy of the 'people'. But it was no use. The loud noise came again.
Bang!
The second loud bang pulled Amka far out of her dream world. Finally coming around, Amka realized she was back in the fairy ring of trees and the loud bang was coming from just outside the entrance. More upset from being woken up and without any fear of what might be causing the commotion, Amka darted out of her hiding place and shouted, "Okay, what the heck is going on here?"
To her surprise the sun had taken shelter behind darkening clouds as it began to snow. Directly in front of her stood Loki and Anton. Just before Amka could say another word, Loki threw something in his hand hard against a nearby rock.
Bang!
Whatever it was made a loud bang as it struck the rock. Loki suddenly broke out laughing as Anton held his paws to his face to cover his shy look.
"Ha ha! I knew that would wake you up Amka!" Loki loudly joked. "Scared you just right, didn't I?"
It took Amka a few moments to calm her anger before she responded, "I could have guessed it was you Loki. I was having a wonderful dream and you ruined it - as usual!"
"I... I... I'm sorry Amka," Anton said. "I told Loki he shouldn't wake you like that. We were on our way to the shore to see the sea turtles migrating. But it began to snow so we figured maybe it wasn't the right time yet to see the turtles. We turned back and as we were walking by these trees we heard someone call out something about an egg. That's when Loki followed what turned out to be your voice. Waking you up was all his idea. I said we should just leave you alone."
Loki looked up at Anton. "Traitor! Thanks for ratting me out Anton!"
"I don't think anyone needs to do much thinking to figure out you're the one behind such things Loki," Amka said in Anton's defense. "But I was having a wonderful dream about a dragon, her eggs and a little boy of the 'people'. I wanted to find out who that boy was. Ruined that though, didn't you Loki?"
Anton put his front paws on the ground to bring his face closer to Amka's. "A little boy of the 'people'? Dragons? Wow, that sounds like quite an adventure Amka. Maybe next time you dream you'll go back, figure out who the little boy was and all."
Amka looked into Anton's eyes and smiled wide. "Always the positive one, aren't you Anton?"
"Hey! I can be positive too ya know!" Loki exclaimed.
Amka and Anton both laughed. "Ya - positively annoying Loki! And regarding the sea turtles - yeah, yer a bit late for that. The best time is in autumn. It's the start of winter, so we'll have to wait several months. Come on you two. Best we be getting home before the snow begins to fall really hard."
On the way back home, the three friends were quiet. Amka was thankful Loki and Anton didn't want to talk too much. She finished her pondering day thinking about her dream of the dragon, the egg and the boy. In particular she was curious about why she would dream about a boy of the 'people', except perhaps that one day she would meet just such a boy...
Love, Dahjo
For Sterling
June 2025
"Brrr, it's getting colder Jack," Amka said as she watched her breath form a small cloud in front of her face. It wasn't even noon yet but the sun didn't hang around for very long at this time of year.
"Uh, Amka, I could use your help over here," said Jack. His antlers had gotten caught up in the branches of a dead tree that now played the role of sparing partner.
"Looks like the tree won!" laughed Amka as she trotted over to free him from the tangled mess. "One more tug and you should be free," she said confidently.
"Ah, that's much better..." Jack sighed with relief, "we better stop playing around. We have to meet up with Athena, remember?"
"Oh, right," said Amka, "I bet I can get there before you!"
She had already started running before she got the last word out. Jack, having already lost a battle with a tree, felt very motivated to win this race.
He bolted after her like a horse out of a starting gate and was right behind her when Amka suddenly stopped in her tracks. He thought she gave up - got tired. 'Yes, I win!' he thought as a triumphant smile came across his face.
However, his victory was short lived as he realized Amka hadn't moved an inch from where she stopped.
Jack turned swiftly around and trotted back towards Amka with a bit of concern.
"Amka!" hollered Jack, "Amka! Why did you stop? Hello?"
"Shh, you see that?" she whispered, "Over there..."
She pointed her snout towards a thick grove of trees and continued to sniff the air for clues. There was a faint glow. A tiny ray of light had managed to escape the seemingly impenetrable wall of trees that stood in the distance.
Jack and Amka turned to one another and silently agreed to investigate. They carefully navigated the best path to the light source and as they were nearly upon it Jack murmured, "Well would you look at that..."
There was a small torch sitting beside a tree stump. On closer inspection they found a small door. It didn't appear to be the home of any woodland creature they were familiar with.
"Could it be," Amka whispered, "a gnome home?"
They had both heard tales of the elusive gnome. It was said the gnome had been around long before the creatures and woods. They had the daunting assignment of nurturing the growth of all the plants and trees in the forest.
Amka put her ear to the ground to see if she could hear anything. "whistling? Do I hear whistling?" she said in surprise. It was very muffled which could only mean it was coming from deep down in the ground.
"Should I knock on the door?" Jack offered. It seemed to him the simplest and most direct way to find out who lived in the stump.
"Well," reasoned Amka, "whoever it is is probably much smaller than we are so... why not?"
Jack lightly tapped on the door and they waited a few seconds. They thought it was quiet before they knocked but now it was eerily quiet.
"Ouch!" exclaimed Amka. Something had hit the side of her head and bounced to the ground. It didn't really hurt much. She looked down and saw a shiny red apple.
She quickly glanced at Jack and he had been hit with an apple too but didn't feel it. "Uh, Jack, you've got an apple stuck in your antlers."
They were not at all scared by this surprise apple attack and actually started to chuckle out loud about it. Their laughter got louder and louder until, "What in the world?!" exclaimed Jack, as he tumbled to the ground, "This isn't funny anymore."
They were surrounded by a dozen little people in pointy hats that were making quick work of tying qiviut or yarn made from muskox wool around their ankles so they couldn't move.
"You gotta be kidding me," Amka moaned as she and Jack, still not feeling any fear over the matter, didn't bother to struggle. They were too fascinated by the speed at which the little people moved.
"Hold on little folk!" Amka protested, "We didn't mean you any harm. Are you gnomes?"
The gnomes stopped their frantic knot tying and chattered among themselves. Their eyes darting back and forth at Amka and Jack with suspicion. Finally, one of the gnomes walked toward the fallen pair and introduced himself.
"The name is Gemini. And you are correct, lass, we are what you call gnomes. What is it that you want?" he said rather sternly.
"We didn't mean to make you angry. We were just curious is all," replied Jack.
"Angry? You call this angry?" Gemini retorted as he flashed a playful grin at his fellow gnomes.
Amka rightly figured it was best not to laugh at the grumpy gnomes even though she found them hilarious and delightful. Jack sensed Amka's struggle and slowly shook his head in warning that she keep it to herself.
'Uh oh' Jack thought, she's gonna blow it. Her goofy expression with eyes wide and lips tightly pressed together caused Jack to look away as the urge to laugh was now becoming contagious.
"Aye, can I get your attention, lad? What you've done," said Gemini, "is to rudely interrupt a rather important celebration."
At that moment one of the gnomes began playing his tin whistle and the music was simply magical. It changed the tone of the meeting from uncertainty to celebration.
Gemini turned to the crowd and asked, "Do you think it would be alright then for these party crashers to join in our fun?"
"Aye!" came the loud response.
The prisoners were cut lose and the merriment picked up where it left off. Amka and Jack were mesmerized by the festivities and learned that the star of the festival was the humble mistletoe.
"Do you know how the mistletoe got its name?" asked Gemini. "No idea," responded the party crashers. "Then I shall tell you. The word "mistle" means dung or poop and "toe" means twig. You see, the birds eat the berries and poop out the seeds. This is how the plants spread and grow in the trees of the forest."
Amka and Jack looked at each other and nodded in approval over this fun fact. It seemed odd to celebrate a seemingly ugly plant that seemed to have no value but they couldn't wait to tell their friends about it.
They quietly watched now as the gnomes danced around what appeared to be a sacred tree. Under the tree were three piles of dried mistletoe the gnomes had harvested several weeks earlier. The torch was then used to light up each mound which quickly burst into flames. As the silvery smoke drifted up into the dark purple sky the gnomes began to sing a joyful song of blessing. They asked for protection, abundance and good luck for the forest and all that dwell there.
When the singing stopped Amka and Jack looked down and realized, to there surprise, that they were the only ones there. The fires were out and there was no sign that the gnomes had ever been there. Just the tree stump which now looked ordinary and normal.
"Whoa," whispered Amka, "Where did they all go?"
"Tricky little gnomes! I wonder if we'll ever see them again?" replied Jack. "Ugh, Athena's gonna be mad. I think we better go!"
They actually weren't that far from the balancing rock where Athena was waiting for them.
"I see her. I'm surprised she didn't leave," Amka said as she picked up her pace in the belief that arriving seconds earlier would make Athena less irritated.
Amka and Jack excitedly explained how they got sidetracked, the funny forest gnomes, and all about the festival.
"I sure missed out on that adventure," Athena sighed, "I just sat here like a sad snowman frozen in time. I was so close to the fun and still missed it!"
"Sorry, Athena, we'll take you to the gnome home on another day I promise. I think you will like them! Oh, I have a question for you," said Amka.
Athena glanced at Jack and then back at Amka not sure what to expect. "Okay, what do you want to know?"
"Do you eat mistletoe berries? Because if you do the gnomes are grateful for your service," said Amka sounding oddly official.
"I don't know what mistletoe is, Amka, but why would the gnomes be grateful that I ate it?" Athena responded.
Jack spoke up now not wanting to miss the opportunity to say the words, "Poop twig... that's what mistletoe means. It's all about the bird poop. The bird eats the berries and poops the seeds and that's how the mistletoe survives."
Athena rolled her eyes slowly and shook her head, "Seriously? You had this great adventure and this is what I get out of it?"
The day seemed to be coming to a close as the two happy campers and one bummed out puffin headed for home. Athena was flying a bit ahead of the others and excitedly called back to them, "Um, I-I think I see a gnome ahead!"
"I see it!" cried Amka, "oh, it's not a gnome though. It's too big and doesn't have a pointy hat."
Jack added, "I think it's a boy from the people tribe. He's not from here though... his hair is too light and his clothing is strange."
The boy seemed to be following a stream and they decided to watch him to see where he would go. He began to run in the direction of a very large tree that had a ladder attached to the trunk. He leapt to the ladder with the skill of a ninja squirrel and entered a tiny house nested in the branches.
"You're in luck, Athena, I smell another adventure" Amka said.
They quietly made there way toward the tree and looking up at the ladder Jack called out to the boy, "Hello, boy, are you there?"
No answer.
After a minute or so Athena flew up to the tiny house and looked in all the windows, "He isn't there," she said with disappointment.
"Well, that doesn't make any sense", said Amka, "where could he have gone?"
At that moment, Amka looked at Jack and smiled, "Jack, my friend, you still have an apple in your antlers."
Jack, a bit embarrassed, rubbed his antlers against the trunk of the tree to dislodge the mangled fruit that had been hurled at him like a cannon ball only a few hours earlier. It fell to the ground with a quiet unmenacing thud.
What a day. It ended just how it had begun - with a mystery and an apple and all kinds of fun in between.
"Something tells me we'll be back here again!" shouted Amka as she and her friends headed back home. All of them hoping that the boy would someday return to this mysterious tree house. They wanted to learn more about him, what his name is, where he comes from and wondered if the golden haired boy would like to join them on one of their amazing adventures!
Love, Mémé
For Torin
Feb. 2025
"Daisuke... You awake?", whispered Amka as she gently knocked on the tiny bedroom window of Daisuke's earthen home.
Daisuke, somewhat awake but lost in a daydream, was thinking about the canoe he had found on the river's edge a few days earlier. He imagined himself gliding down the river to visit his friend Anton whom he hadn't seen for a very long time.
Amka's repeated taps on the window and unmistakable voice brought him back to the present moment. He popped up and clumsily tumbled out of bed, a bit annoyed at being pulled away from his daydream, and went to the window.
"Amka, do you know what time it is?", said Daisuke, rubbing his eyes and stretching his limbs.
"Does it matter? Any time is the right time for an adventure isn't it?", Amka replied with complete confidence that he would agree.
She was right! Daisuke quickly responded, "Where are we headed?", as his hands fluffed and smoothed his fur and straightened his "bed ears". In two shakes of a rabbit's tail Daisuke was out the door and with his other friends.
"So, where are we headed?", Daisuke repeated. "Where's Amka?"
Amka came swiftly around the corner to join the rest of the group after she slowly realized she was talking to her own reflection at the window.
"There you are!", Amka said shaking her head.
"Glad you could join us, Amka!", Uki playfully shouted. She then turned her attention to Daisuke. "Do you remember the castle? The one that stands under the mountain?"
"Of course I do... I was the one that found it!", Daisuke proudly responded. "But there's no way to get inside. What will we do? Bring some books to read and have a tea party?", he said with a bit of attitude.
"Whoa... Somebody's certainly grumpy this morning", Amka shot back.
At that moment, a loud howl of greeting came rolling across the tundra. They all turned to see their friend Javier and smiled as they knew their adventure was just about to get more interesting. "Hey! What are you guys up to?", panted Javier as he came to a dramatic stop in front of them.
"Alright", Amka barked to get everyone's attention, "What are we up to? We have a key that we think will get us into the castle".
Daisuke and Javier were the one's that accidentally found the castle several months ago.
"You found the key?", Javier said in disbelief. "Uki found it actually!", Amka replied with a nod to Uki.
As the sun was now just above the horizon Amka knew they had to get started on their adventure. "We're losin' daylight. Giddy-up, let's go!".
The four companions, full of excitement, trotted through the flat lands entertaining themselves with silly songs and talking about their previous adventures until - there it is.
The castle seemed a magical structure to them. The mountain face was intricately etched and carved, by whom they knew not, and from a time now nearly forgotten. That world was remembered only through the stories they sometimes heard their grandparents talk about.
As they stood before the face of the castle, catching their breath and wondering if their key would work, they had another mystery to solve... where exactly was the keyhole on the door? There seemed to be many possibilities and so they went from one hole to another without success.
Frustrated, the band of adventurers were beginning to give up. The key wasn't special after all they concluded and the afternoon began to take on a sour note.
"Do you hear that?", said Amka, her keen ears picking up a melodic humming.
Javier heard it too. The others grew very silent as one by one they all began to hear the sound. The notes seemed to vibrate within each of them and they realized it was coming from within the castle.
Daisuke took the key from Amka and using his large antenna ears he tuned into the sound until it led him to a very specific location on the stone wall. He placed the key in the slot and turned it...
Like magic the surface of the wall began to change! A doorway had opened up like the mouth to a cave and they were all amazed at what had just happened.
Amka, with a nervous smile and eyes full of anticipation, looked at her friends and turned slowly to enter the castle. They followed her, quietly, carefully, as they entered the dimly lit space.
"I feel a bit dizzy", Uki said, "Like I just did twenty cartwheels and can't stand up without falling to one side or the other". Amka told Uki to stand still for a moment, feet firmly planted on the ground, and eyes focused on one spot.
"That did the trick", whispered Uki, "Thanks Amka". Amka gave her a wink and smile and said, "You can count on me, Uki.. always."
The light inside was odd, different... somehow cold but not chilly like outside. It glowed like moonlight and the walls sparkled like the stars in the heavens.
Javier, having ventured a bit further than his friends, suddenly spoke up and called them over. "Look what I found...", he said with measured enthusiasm.
Pointing to the ground he stood at the edge of a small pool of water. There was an object anchored to the center surrounded by perfectly spaced lines, engravings of fanciful creatures, and four letters... N, S, E, and W. It was a compass of some sort. The letter E pulsed with the same light that lit up the castle walls.
Uki stared at the compass and realized there was an indentation that looked strangely like the key they had found. 'What would happen', she thought to herself, 'if we placed the key in that space?'
Just as she had this thought Daisuke moved forward and put the key in the very spot. As he did so the compass began to spin and the humming, the soft music they heard before, began to float into the cavern and increase in volume.
As the light began to dim they realized the opening to the castle was beginning to close up! "Get out! Now!", yelled Amka. Daisuke grabbed the key and they all ran out as fast as they could.
"What was that about?", panted Javier. "I don't know!", Amka replied as she looked around to make sure everyone was accounted for.
Spinning around she cried, "Uki? Uki! Where are you?!". The rest of the group joined Amka and the three of them shouted and searched for Uki but they could not find her.
"This is all my fault", Daisuke said as tears filled his eyes. "I should not have acted so hastily", he sobbed.
"Daisuke, you couldn't have known that would happen", Javier said in an attempt to console his friend.
It had only been about five minutes since the door closed but it felt more like five hours. They sat down and pondered what to do next.
"What are we going to do?", said Javier anxiously, "We can't just leave". Daisuke lifted his head suddenly and said, "Hold on! We still have the key!".
Of course, in all the panic they had forgotten all about the key. Not really knowing what to do next they grew silent and in a few minutes the beautiful humming was heard again. Although the key hole had changed location, Daisuke quickly tuned in, placed the key and watched again as the wall appeared to dissolve and allow access once more.
There sat Uki. She looked up, smiled, and wiped the tears from her face.
"Are you okay, Uki?!", they all shouted as they ushered their friend back out into the daylight.
Daisuke had pulled his ears over his face too afraid to look at Uki. "I thought, I didn't", he stuttered, "think about anything but my own curiousity. Please forgive me Uki."
Uki was silent and unusually calm. She looked up at her friends and told them she was afraid at first but the sound spoke to her and told her that all would be well. She would be back with her friends again.
Uki scrunched her face trying to remember exactly what she heard.
"It was a song. I think it said..." Uki now recalled what she had heard as if she were back in the castle.
"Do not be afraid my little one
Do not be afraid when troubles come
For deep inside you'll find the key
The heart does hold what is meant to be
The doors may close but open too
A day will come when you will see
that you are me and I am you
My little one..."
She repeated the words to her friends as they listened intently without making a sound.
After a moment, Javier gave out a long exhale breaking the silence. "What does that mean?", he asked with wonder, "Is it a riddle?".
"It certainly sounds like a riddle. I think it means", said Amka softly, "that we don't quite realize how precious we are".
Uki now looked at Daisuke and said, "It wasn't your fault. I had the same thought that you did about the key. I would have done the same thing."
Daisuke, feeling a bit relieved by Uki's words, pulled his ears back away from his face and the friends looked at one another with gratitude and thankfulness that they were all safe and the day ended on a high note!
As the group, in a euphoric mood, made their way back home, Uki, her thoughts floating like a sheet of ice across the water, could not stop thinking about her experience.
"For deep inside you'll find the key...", she murmured to herself, "One day, as long as I don't forget, I will understand what this means".
What a magical, extraordinary day it was for the companions. When they got to Uki's house Daisuke handed the key to her for safekeeping and all the friends went their separate ways.
Once Uki was in her room she scribbled the riddle onto a slip of paper and folded it into a tiny square. She then placed the paper and the key into her treasure box knowing that one day they would go back to the castle and unlock more of the secrets that lay hidden inside the mountain.
Love, Mémé
For Sterling
March 2025
"Now just where did I put that confounded flashlight?!?" Amka said out loud as she searched high and low around her room.
"We just can't go back up into the mountains on our adventure without it!" she exclaimed.
Amka was up before the dawn, excited about the day's adventure. She and a few of her friends planned an exciting adventure into the mountains when they were all together a few days earlier while enjoying her 'birthday pancake stack' at Sophia's birthday party.
"I found it!" Amka yelled out. "It was under my bed the whole time. Okay, now let's see if it's sunrise yet."
Amka put her flashlight with her other things that she had gathered together for the long day ahead and made her way out of her family's den to see if the sun had come up.
"Ahhh," Amka said as she opened the door to a new and sunny day, "it's going to be a beautiful day!"
The sun had broken through the twilight darkness of early morning and was making its way up from behind the mountain in a wonderful display of colors. Amka's thoughts were doing cartwheels as she bubbled up with excitement. Then a silly thought came to her.
"I think I'll do some cartwheels in the morning sunlight!" she said aloud.
Now, Amka is a pretty 'sportsy' girl - with all the exercise she gets on her adventures, she's really strong. In fact, along with her friends Daisuke and Javier, they made up a game doing cartwheels. So Amka didn't think much about doing a few cartwheels out in front of her house in the sunlight of the new day.
Amka got ready by doing a couple of stretches since she had only a short time earlier gotten out of bed. Then she scrunched herself down into position and... Off she went! She got a good running start, then lifted her front arms for the first cartwheel. And just as she was upside down halfway through the first cartwheel... Kerplunk! Amka didn't see the rock in her way just before her paw came down on it as she began her roll upward.
"Ouch!" Amka cried out as she pulled up her paw away from the rock. Only, at that point she was upside down! Everything happened so fast that pulling her paw away caused her to fall right on the crown of her head! Amka came crashing down but was able to roll herself up to a sitting position. There she sat, her paw hurting from the rock, her head hurting from falling straight down on it.
Amka sat there for a few moments as she watched the sun continue to rise in the distance from behind the mountain in front of her. "I really gotta make sure there aren't any obstacles in my way when I do cartwheels," she said aloud.
After sitting still for a while, letting her paw and her head rest from the hurt, Amka felt a bit foggy in her thoughts.
"Oh, I hope I haven't hurt myself too bad", she said. "I surely don't want to spoil my friends' adventure if I can't go. They depend on me! I really must think things through - just like we always tell Loki to do."
Amka realized she had been sitting for too long so she got up and dusted herself off. She needed to gather up her supplies for the day before her friends arrived. Just as she was turned to go back inside to get her things from her room, she heard someone call out behind her, "Hey Amka! Are you ready yet?"
Amka turned around quickly, startled by Sophia's voice. "Sophia! Javier! Daisuke! Wow you guys are early! Of course! I'm always ready for adventure. I just have to get my things. Wait here, okay? Boy o boy - your voice is music to my ears Sophia!"
"What were you doing out here if you weren't waiting for us?" Daisuke asked.
Amka was embarrassed to tell her friends about falling on her head. But she knew that though they might laugh, she could trust they wouldn't make fun of her.
"I, well, I just came out to see what kind of day it was going to be for our adventure up the mountain when I decided to do a cartwheel - you know, like our game. But my paw came down on a rock and caused me to fall right on the crown of my head," Amka shared.
"Are you okay?" Javier asked, concerned.
"All of you and your silly cartwheels!" Sophia said.
Sophia herself, being an owl and all, wasn't able to do a cartwheel, so, feeling a little jealous, she always pretended she thought the game was silly - even for a fox, a wolf and a rabbit. But her friends knew she wished she could participate in their game, so they understood.
"Yes, I'm okay," Amka answered Javier. "And Sophia - we know you don't like us doing cartwheels. We don't mean to make you feel excluded. Hey! I have an idea - while we hike up the mountain let's all put our heads together and think of a game like cartwheels that all of us, including Sophia, can play."
All four friends agreed that would be a great way to pass the time as they went up the mountain.
"I'll go get my gear so we can be on our way," Amka said. "Hey, did anyone bring a magnifying glass? Last time we went up the mountain we saw some really neat sparklies in the rocks up there that we wished we could see up close."
Daisuke was quick to answer, "Yep! I remembered that very thing, so I was sure to bring mine!"
"Me too!" exclaimed Javier, "So now we have two!"
"Ha ha!" laughed Sophia, "And so did I!"
"Perfect!" said Amka, "I'll be sure to grab mine too so we can all look at the sparklies at the same time. Maybe we can figure out what they are this time."
And with that, the group of friends had a goal for their adventure - they would hike up the mountain to the same spot as before and investigate the sparkles in the rocks they had seen the last time.
Amka went back into her home to her room to gather up her supplies while the others waited for her outside. A few minutes later Amka returned, ready to go.
"Let's go!" she said as she came out of her home. And off all of them went to hike up the mountain in search of the sparkles.
It took the four friends almost two hours to reach the foot of the mountain. By then all of them were hungry. The sun was up high and it had warmed up a little as they walked. They stopped to rest and eat some snacks before they began their hike.
"I sure am glad we brought food," Daisuke said.
"Me too!" exclaimed Javier.
Sophia had been flying not too high above them as Amka, Javier and Daisuke had walked. She landed next to the others and said, "Javier, will you get me out something from my bag for me to eat?"
Whenever Amka and her friends went on an adventure, if Sophia or Athena was along, one of the others would carry any heavy supplies for them so they could fly above easier.
"Here you go," said Javier as he pulled out some food for Sophia.
Once all of them were refreshed, they were on their way up the mountain. They all knew the way to where the sparkly rocks were, which wasn't too high up the mountain. However, once they got there and looked around for a while, they couldn't see any of the sparkles that they remembered seeing before.
"I don't get it," said Amka, "This is exactly the same bunch of rocks where we saw the sparkles before. I'm sure of it!"
"Me too," agreed Sophia. "I'll fly up and see if I can see any of the sparkles from above."
Sophia flew straight up above them and circled around a bit then came back down.
"Nope. I can't see anything from up there either," she said.
"Something must be different," said Daisuke.
"Hey!" shouted Javier. "Last time wasn't it nighttime?"
The others thought for a moment, then Amka shouted, "You're right Javier. We were camping overnight last time - right in this very spot."
"So does that mean we are going to stay overnight again?" asked Daisuke.
"I guess we could," answered Amka. "Would everyone be okay with that?"
"As long as we get an early start back in the morning," offered Javier. "I have a cousin coming to visit and I need to be back before she arrives."
"I'm okay with that too," Sophia agreed.
"Daisuke, what about you?" Amka asked.
"You bet!" said Daisuke. "I want to see the sparkles again!"
So they all gathered up together and found shelter under a tree next to a group of large boulders. They spent time telling stories, laughing and singing as the sun went down. After a while it was pretty dark and the stars were out in the sky above. The four friends came out under the stars with their magnifying glasses and looked around for sparkles in the rocks. But after looking for some time there was none to be seen.
With their spirits down, they all sat down among the rocks. They were all sad and sat quietly thinking when all of a sudden Javier looked up.
"Look!" he said, excited. "It's a falling star!"
Right away all of the others looked up and, to their amazement, a star was shooting across the sky - the brightest thing in the night sky.
Sophia flew up a bit while looking up. Then she looked down to her friends to share what she saw but suddenly yelled out, "Omgosh! The rocks! Look! Look at the rocks around you! They're sparkling!"
Amka, Javier and Daisuke had been looking up at the falling star and didn't notice that the rocks around them began to sparkle.
"Wow! Look at them!" they all shouted together.
Sophia flew back down and all four of them took up their magnifying glasses and took a closer look at the sparkles.
"They look like that shooting star!" exclaimed Amka.
"You're right Amka, the others agreed.
And that was that. They remembered that there was a full moon the last time they saw the sparkles in the rocks and concluded that the sparkles reflected like little stars whenever lit at night by a bright object in the sky. They all came up with a name for the spot with the sparkly rocks - 'the field of stars'.
Happy they had finally seen what they had hiked up the mountain to see, they went back to resting until daybreak when they made their way home.
When they reached the point where each had to break away and go their separate ways home, they all began to say their goodbyes.
Just before they left each other, Amka said, "Boy o' boy - I sure was scared we wouldn't find the sparklies again. We would have gone all that way for nothing!"
All four of the friends laughed as they agreed. But now they had one more special place to head for another adventure in the future.
Love, Dahjo
For Torin
Jan. 2025
The sun rose early above the crest of the distant mountain as Amka came out of her family's den to start a new day. It hadn't snowed for over a week and the air seemed pleasantly warm as she sat looking around through the trees to see what she might see.
"I wonder what adventures today might bring," Amka said aloud.
Amka viewed each new day as a gift - a gift to be lived to its fullest. And for Amka that meant adventure. Oh, to be sure, Amka very often found herself in situations she wished she hadn't fallen into, but, she thought, that was all part of an adventurous life. She wasn't as haphazard as, say, her friend Loki. Rather, Amka had come to learn that one must be cautious when on an adventure, which always seemed to pay off and keep her, and her friends, safe.
She sat up and stretched her arms out and, yawned wide, closed her eyes as she did so. Just as she put her arms down again and opened her eyes, right before her was Loki's sister Uki. Now Uki is very small in stature, but big in heart. Being so small, it was somewhat unusual for Uki to be venturing out away from her home alone. Though she loved adventures, she always wanted someone else with her.
"Uki!" Amka called out, surprised to see her small friend. "What are you doing here? And so early in the morning?"
Uki stood in front of Amka as she caught her breath. "I... I found something Amka!" Uki finally said, her voice both excited and expressing a bit of fear.
"Why so fearful, Uki?" Amka asked. "What is it you found? It must be pretty scary!"
"I... Well I... I mean... Well, it's pretty complicated now that I think about it," Uki stammered.
"It's okay Uki - just go slow and tell me all about it."
"Okay, um, you know that castle that 'the people' always keep locked up? The one near Daisuke's home?" Uki began.
"Yes, of course. That one that between Daisuke and Javier, right?" Amka responded.
"Yep! Well, I was on my way to visit Daisuke when a cold North Wind suddenly rose up. It was the coldest wind I've felt in a long time - especially since there hasn't been much snow lately. Normally I can stand a cold wind, but not yesterday."
"Yesterday?" Amka interrupted, "This all happened yesterday?"
"Oh, ya. I guess I forgot to tell you that part. So this all started yesterday in the late afternoon." Uki said, clearing up Amka's confusion.
"So it was so cold I ran and ran for shelter. I found an abandoned fox den - like yours. Well, I didn't know it was abandoned until I was deep inside where it was warm. Actually, I was hoping to find some friendly folk so I wouldn't be alone, but at least I was warm.
"In fact, I was so warm that I curled up in a ball, hoping the wind would eventually fade away. But instead I fell asleep. I woke up sometime after dark and went out to see if the wind had stopped. The wind did stop but it was really dark outside - too dark I felt to go on trying to find my way home. I didn't pay much attention to where I was going when I ran from the wind, so I sat outside the den for a bit thinking.
"You know how Sophia always looks up at the night sky? Well there wasn't a moon out, so it was very dark - perfect for looking at the stars. It was still cold outside, so I couldn't be looking up for very long, but just before I went back into the den, I saw a big ringed planet plain as day right above me."
"And is that what you found? A new planet in the sky?" asked Amka.
"No, no," answered Uki. "Well, I don't know if it was a new one or not - I just thought it was really pretty to look at."
Amka was getting a little impatient for Uki to tell her what she found and commented, "Soooo.... This planet you saw is not really part of your story."
"Gosh, Amka, I'm getting there. You always say that 'getting there' is the real adventure!" Uki said, a bit upset.
"I'm sorry Uki. You're right. Please continue - and don't leave out any details, okay?" Amka said in a low voice, feeling bad for getting impatient.
"It's okay Amka - I forgive you," Uki offered. Uki then kept telling her story.
"Now here's where things get real strange. The morning sun was quite a bit warmer than the wind the day before, so I felt I'd better get home quickly. Only, well, you know how it is when you see something unusual and you have to follow it to learn more. That's exactly what happened.
I was starting off toward what I figured was the right direction. I began thinking about the planet I saw the evening before, so I looked up. And there it was! A big red balloon floating right above me. It seemed to be following me whatever direction I went. I went to the left, and it followed. I went to the right, it turned and followed again. It was very mesmerizing. So I stopped and just watched it. I wanted to see what it would do if it couldn't follow me anywhere."
Now Amka was getting very interested. She had heard about balloons but had never seen one herself.
"What'd it do?" Amka asked loudly excited.
"It began to move away on its own!" Uki exclaimed.
"It went a bit away from me, then stopped. I didn't move a muscle. Then it swooped over to me and got real low to the ground. I stepped toward it and it quickly swooped right back up above me and moved off a little to my left. That's when I realized - it wanted me to follow it! So I did.
"I followed that red balloon for quite a ways when it led me to a big tree that stood by itself. Then something else that was really strange happened. The balloon hovered right around a long branch that was pretty high up. Right away I saw a nest that was next to the balloon. I was curious why I would be led to a nest in a tree. As I pondered these things, suddenly a big bird flew at the balloon and popped it! It must have been a momma bird, I thought to myself.
"Sure enough, that same bird flew down after checking her nest and stood before me. 'What do you want?' the momma bird yelled out to me. 'Nnnnothing,' I said. I told her, 'I just followed that red balloon here is all.' With that she gave me a mean look and flew back up to her nest.
"I stood at the base of that tree for a while, trying to figure out just what direction home was in. And you won't believe it, Amka, another strange thing happened! Out of the tree a big pine cone fell to the ground right next to me! I wasn't sure if the momma bird made it fall or not, but it bounced away from me several bounces. It stopped over a patch of ice in a pool of water several yards away from the tree. And that's when I found it!"
By this time Amka was overly excited. Hanging on every word of Uki's story, at this last exclamation Amka yelled out, "What was it!?! What was it!?!"
Uki turned around and stepped several feet away and grabbed something from behind a rock. Before showing it to Amka, she looked at Amka with a big smile, then winked before swinging up her hand, which held what she had found.
"A key!" yelled Uki. "I think it is a key to that castle of 'the people'! When I started out yesterday I was on my way to get Daisuke to see if he wanted to help me try to get into the castle for an adventure exploring. And now I have a key! What do you say, Amka? Do you want to go on an adventure with me and Daisuke?"
"I'll be darned," said Amka. "You bet I do! Let's also get Javier to join us since he lives so close to the castle too!"
And so began another day of adventure. In fact, this was a special adventure, thought Amka. Because it was one adventure that came about from another adventure.
Love, Dahjo
For Sterling
Jan 2025
"A cake! A cake! I am going to bake a cake!", said Amka with delight. All birthdays need a cake and this would be her first time making one all by herself. Her eyes moved slowly upward and to the left as she thought about the ingredients she would need.
"Oh! The candle. I mustn't forget the candle". She searched the cupboard and found a candle of just the right size and set it on the table.
She looked around her mother's kitchen and began to pull out bowls, spoons, and measuring cups. The kitchen was already a mess and she hadn't even started mixing yet. "This will be easy", she thought to herself and began adding all the ingredients into her bowl.
She mixed and mixed until... "Hmmm, I'm not to sure about this...", she mumbled as she poured the batter into a cake pan. She placed the pan inside the oven and hoped it would magically become a fluffy cake. After a few minutes she could see her cake was definitely not going to be fluffy. "What am I going to do now?", she sighed.
"I've got it!". She poured the remaining batter onto a hot pan and cooked one side of the cake and then the other. She then stacked them on a plate, added lots of butter and fruit, and tasted it. A dreamy look washed over Amka's face as she swallowed the tasty treat. "I think I will call them flat cakes... No! Fruitcakes? Pancakes!".
Knock, Knock.
Amka barely heard the knock at the door for it wasn't very loud. She wasn't expecting anyone at this early hour. She opened the door but no one was there. Amka, thinking it might be one of her friends pulling a prank, playfully called out in a sing-songy voice, "Hello-o-o?". After a few seconds she spun around, closed the door and got back to her party planning. "What games shall we pl...".
Knock, Knock.
"Oh, not again", she said in frustration. This time she opened the door quickly and still did not see anyone. Just as she was about to close the door she heard a small voice. "D-down here", it chirped. There at her feet stood a scared and shivering baby bird.
"Oh my, are you alright?", asked a concerned Amka.
"I think so b-but I need your help. I accidentally fell out of my nest", and raising his tiny quivering wing he pointed to a very large yellow pine tree in the distance. "S-see the tree way over there? That's my home".
"Goodness, that's very far away", replied Amka. "How did you get from there all the way to here?".
The baby bird, shaking from the cold, gave his reply. "I w-will tell you w-what happened but you might not b-believe me", he said.
Amka could see the little bird was chilled to the bone. "You're shaking like a leaf. Please come in and warm yourself by the fire".
Amka wrapped a blanket around the little bird and gave him some warm tea. "My name is Amka. What's yours?". The little bird replied, "Oh, my name is Juno".
"Are you feeling well enough to tell me what happened, Juno?".
Warmed up now and feeling much better Juno cleared his throat and started from the beginning...
"I was just playing around, you know, flapping my wings, jumping from one side of the nest to the other. I had done it so many times before. All of a sudden, I was in the air but I was not flying - I was falling! I landed with a loud kerplunk in the very big, very cold river that runs beside our tree.
"I flipped and I flopped. It was no use. I couldn't get myself out of that water. It was then that a flurry of snowflakes appeared. They were oddly bunched and seemed to shimmer and dance. As each snowflake fell upon me I realized I was being slowly lifted from the icy water. I thought I must have hit my head pretty good.
"But, these were no ordinary snowflakes. In fact, they weren't snowflakes at all. They were tiny creatures the size of insects but they weren't insects either. Before I knew it I was lying down on a bed of soft pine needles and covered with a large flat leaf... and I instantly fell asleep.
"I don't know how long I slumbered but when I opened my eyes I saw one of the creatures very clearly. It had wings that shimmered like soap bubbles in the summer sun and every movement it made created a low humming sound that gave me a warm feeling in my heart. As it hovered over me I saw a beautiful crown of flowers on its head. I could not see its face for the brightness of its being.
"Looking around now I saw that I was in a garden under a magnificent tree. It didn't look like the pine trees in our forest. The top of the tree covered the garden like a great big umbrella with its long, strong branches reaching out in every direction like arms protecting the garden below.
"The light around me began to sparkle and brighten. My eyelids became heavy again and I felt myself falling like a shooting star. I was cold, shivering, and my feathers were all wet again. I wasn't in that garden anymore. I had drifted all the way down the river. How could this be? What about the 'snowflakes'?
"I was too far from home now to head back up the river. Day had become night and I needed to find shelter. That's when I saw a small triangular hole at the wide base of an old tree. It was an odd shape for a tree and looked somewhat like a campers tent. It was a bit damp inside but it kept me well hidden for the night.
The next morning, as the sun began to rise, I climbed out of my shelter and smelled something sweet in the air. That's when I saw light puffs of smoke in the sky very near me and knew everything would be okay."
Blinking slowly, Amka hugged Juno and said, "Oh, Juno, I believe your story. What a time you had! You had a wonderful and different kind of adventure. I believe your adventure has shown you how strong you are and that we are never alone. We always have help of one sort or another".
Knock, Knock!
"I almost forgot! She's here!", said Amka with a wide smile.
"Who's here?", replied Juno.
"Who-who indeed!", Amka giggled.
Amka swung the door open and in swooped Sophia. "It's my birthday, it's my birthday!", she sang aloud as she flew in circles around Amka and Juno.
The room filled with welcome laughter. "If I could fly like that I wouldn't have gotten into so much trouble!", said Juno as he tried to catch his breath after laughing so hard. Sophia, not recognizing Juno's voice, quickly spun her head from her front to her back to get a better look at this stranger.
"It's a long story, Sophia", said Amka. Would you like to share it again, Juno?"
Knock, Knock!
"Our other guests have arrived just in time to hear the story!", an excited Amka shouted. Javier and Daisuke greeted the unexpected guest and quietly settled down to hear his story.
Sophia, Amka, Javier, and Daisuke listened intently and with fascination as Juno once again shared his big adventure.
Javier was reminded of the time he was separated from his wolf pack. That's when he met Daisuke and the wolf pup and the snow rabbit became fast friends. Daisuke looked at Javier and without saying a word the pair knew they had to help Juno get back home.
Sophia, now feeling quite serious, decided the best way to celebrate her birthday would be to help their new friend back to his nest in the big yellow tree at once! "No, no", said Juno, "we have a birthday pancake stack to eat first!" Laughter again filled the room as they all agreed with Juno's plan.
Amka lit the candle on the butter and fruit covered birthday pancake stack and the new friends sang the loudest Happy Birthday song you ever heard in your life. As they gathered their things to travel to the edge of the forest where Juno lived, he looked at his new friends and thought to himself, "it's not even my birthday and I got the best gift of all... the gift of friendship."
Love, Mémé
Adventures
