Note: If you haven’t read ‘Warriors of the Forest’ already, I would strongly advise that you do as this is a back story of one of the characters. Thank you and happy reading!

All Elwood ever wanted was to be a better father than his father was. He didn’t want to be the strict uptight father who rarely ever showed a sign of affection or pride towards his children. He didn’t want to be the father who scolded you if you fell, punished you if you cried or told you every day to ‘man up’. He knew his father had his own way of parenting, but Elwood hated the methods he used. It worked for his older brother but not for him. His father would pick out friends for him and control his whole day while his mother would just watch and wouldn’t say a word out of her fear. Elwood wanted freedom. Freedom to choose what he wanted to do, freedom to go where he wanted, freedom to pick who he talked to and hung out with, freedom to get away from his father. And that’s exactly what he told him. He told his father that he wasn’t supposed to be a duplicate of him, but his own self and develop his own talents. His father had limited him and never even shown any interest in what Elwood was actually good at. After conveying his speech, his father was silent. And then at last he said in a venomous tone,

“Any son of mine who doesn’t obey my rules, doesn’t respect me and doesn’t appreciate the strong, disciplined, powerful moose I’m bringing out in him, is no son of mine.”

Those were the last words his father said to him and the last time Elwood saw him because that night he ran away. He wasn’t going to spend another night under his roof. He later came across Fern and they fell in love and had their three children. Elwood took an oath that day when Hazel was born that he would never stop loving or providing for Hazel and any children he would have in the future. He would let them follow their dreams and have faith in them. He was going to help his children be the best they could be. And because Elwood was a caring and good father like any father should be, they all became one big happy moose family. Hazel, Hershel and Harmony adored their father and knew he would always be there for them.

That fateful day on Hazel’s birthday, Elwood was eager to get his daughter the cloudberries she wished for every year. Getting them wasn’t a new concept to him and he always returned safely so he wasn’t too anxious. He galloped away through the forest and felt a rush of excitement as he tore through the wind. He was a risk – taker but all he could think about was his daughter’s smile when he came back with the cloudberries. When he arrived at the other side of the forest, he could see the cloudberries a little way farther. But he stayed very still behind a tree, waiting for any sign of human activity. At last when he determined it was safe, he edged a little closer to the fruit.

“Boo!” someone whispered in his ear.

Elwood jumped and turned rapidly. He let out a sigh of relief once he saw who it was. It was just Solace, one of the deer who lived nearby.

“Solace, what are you doing here? It’s dangerous. Go back home.”

“Oh, come on Mr. E, I just want a piece of the action!”

Elwood rolled his eyes. Solace had barely reached adulthood and his naivety and lack of experience made him unfit for this mission. He didn’t want Solace messing this up. Elwood had to leave with those cloudberries, but he knew he couldn’t get Solace out of there without attracting unwanted attention.

“Alright but you do exactly as I say. Stay behind this tree while I get the cloudberries. If you see a human do not squeal but alert me with some sort of motion. We must be very careful, you understand?”

Solace nodded and quickly obeyed Elwood’s orders. Elwood carefully made his way towards the cloudberries and when he was just within arm’s reach of them, his ears twitched as they caught the sound of nearing humans. Elwood scrambled to hide among the cloudberries. He slowly peered out through a hole and could see Solace’s face popping out from behind the tree, wide-eyed and scared. He prayed that Solace wouldn’t do anything stupid, but his view was then blocked by human boots.

“We’re bound to catch something today. The animals are sure to come for these berries,” said one the hunters in a gruff voice.

“I agree, we’ll just wait.”

At that moment Solace, who was terrified, took slow steps backwards. He was just about to turn and run for his dear life when he stepped on a twig. It snapped and the hunters turned their heads and spotted him at once. Elwood could sense trouble as the hunters started loading up and firing their guns. He grabbed a bunch of cloudberries with his teeth, fled past the hunters and joined Solace. They ran and ran and could feel bullets zooming past them. One grazed Elwood’s back and the cloudberries slipped from his teeth. He kept running but as soon as he realised he didn’t have them anymore, he came to a sudden halt.

“What? What is it? Why are you stopping?” Solace asked.

Elwood turned his head and that’s when Solace noticed the cloudberries on the ground a little way behind them.

“No. There’s no way you can go back for them. Come on, let’s keep going! Forget the berries.”

Elwood had no intention of returning home empty-handed. He could see that the hunters were catching up, but he was very adamant on getting the fruit.

“Run Solace, I’ll catch up soon! Go!”

Solace didn’t want to argue with Elwood, so he carried on running. The hunters soon forgot about Solace, as they were much keener to bring a moose of Elwood’s size home. As Elwood grabbed the cloudberries, one hunter shot him in the leg before he could register it. Elwood groaned in agony as blood slowly creeped up his leg and dripped onto the ground. He limped and did his best to ignore the growing pain. I can still make it out alive, he thought. I still have three good legs. He pushed himself forward, weakly dodging bullets. Deep down he knew that he needed a miracle to stay alive, but he couldn’t accept it. As far as he knew he would either return with the fruit or die trying.

Solace felt a pang of guilt. He had left Elwood on his own against two humans. Elwood was very strong and fast, so he should’ve been back by now. Solace couldn’t stop himself from asking what if something serious had happened? What if the hunters had caught Elwood? Solace told himself to stop being silly. Elwood wasn’t weak and he had specifically told him to leave. He was a capable adult and did this every year. All the same, Solace couldn’t stop worrying and thinking about the what ifs. All right, he thought, I’ll go back and check just to put my mind at ease. With that he left, running from tree to tree like some kind of animal spy. When he did find Elwood, he saw that he was half – hopping. Solace almost went up to help him, before remembering that the hunters could be anywhere. He hid behind a tree, following Elwood’s original advice.

“Psss…Elwood!” he whispered out into the open and glancing around the tree to see if he could hear.

“Elwood!” he said a little louder.

Elwood looked up and tried to follow the sound of Solace’s voice. But Elwood wasn’t the only one who heard. Elwood had just lost the hunters but now they were onto him again. They both pressed the trigger on their guns in the same direction. Elwood collapsed immediately, gasping for air and breathing heavily. Two bullets were implanted in his neck. Solace wanted to scream and felt his eyes sweating. His heart was thumping in his chest and blood roared in his ears. The hunters walked up to Elwood’s body and grinned. They lifted his body and carried him between them. Elwood let out a series of bellows that rung throughout the forest as his last words before becoming very still. The humans couldn’t comprehend the moose’s words, but Solace could. He had said,

“Tell my family I love them. My job here is done.”

Solace couldn’t bear the thought of what would happen once he delivered the news to Elwood’s family. He was too scared to face them. But he knew he owed that much to them. Once the humans left, he collected the bunch of cloudberries and went straight to them. And although Elwood had died, I’m pleased to tell you that he died a happy death. For you see he had stuck to his promise and in his eyes, he had fulfilled his duty as a husband and a father.

 

The End

 

Moral: Elwood’s death is a model of his love and sacrifice as he always put his family before himself. Always be grateful for the families you have and help out where you can because one act of selflessness can make a huge difference.