You are bound to him now, as closely as you are to the bones you carry. If you don’t wake, this cave will be your tomb, and the bear will carry with him when he wanders a memory of an autumn when he traveled for a time with one who carried grief. But if you do wake and journey home, the bear and a line of bears after him will carry the story of the last one’s return to the mountain that stands alone. Carry it for the forest to remember for as long as there is forest beneath the sun.
