Page 91 of Wild Life

“I’m scared,” he said, his voice shaking as it did whenever he was afraid.

I rubbed my side against his legs, and he dropped to the ground and buried his face in my fur. Liquid seeped into my skin, and his body trembled.

I loved Forrest. He had been a good friend to play with and always included me in whatever he was doing.

Forrest finally pulled away from me. “Thank you for hugging me,” he said. “You’re my best friend.”

He was my best friend, too.

“Forrest, come and see your new sister.” Aleki came to the bottom of the porch ramp and brought his son inside.

I watched from the open door as my family gathered together. There was so much love inside the hut. Love that I was lucky to have been a part of for many years.

I had overheard Aleki and Maris saying they had lonely childhoods and had longed for affection. I wouldn’t have guessed it from how well they showered us all with it.

My humans were special, and I would always be around to protect them with my soul, but my body was tired.

I took one last look at them all huddled together on the bed, bathing each other with kisses and smiles. This would always be my favorite image of my family. All of them happy.

I turned away and walked slowly into the thicket of trees that I used to fly through at top speed. My hooves hurt from the journey, but when I passed the trees with the gashes, I knew I was close.

I found my spot next to the two beds of dirt where Aleki’s parents were buried. I had never met them, but from what he had told me, they had been good humans, too.

I lay down on the wet dirt and blinked my old eyes. In my mind, I held the picture of my human family, full of life, as I took in my last breaths of warm jungle air in this body that had served me well.

Through my blurred vision, I saw the distorted image of the one I’d always find in every life.

His deep voice called out to me. “Poaka, is it time again, buddy?”

Epilogue II

Three Hours Later

Aleki

I watched Marina suckle lazily at her mother’s breast.

“She’s asleep,” Maris said softly, her finger tracing the baby’s smooth skin. I had never been more in love with Maris than I was right now. She was the strongest woman in the world for tolerating that much pain and never giving up.

The doctor from the hospital at the university that still employed Maris had left us alone, followed out by her assistant. They were staying on the boat docked at the beach, so it was just us in the hut for the next few hours until they came to check on Maris again.

“How long is she going to sleep for, Mommy?” Forrest was nestled in my arms, watching his little sister with curiosity. He reminded me of Maris in his appearance, but he had my need for understanding how things worked.

“At first, she’ll be very sleepy, then the newborn tiredness will go away and she’ll want to drink milk all the time.”

“Maybe she’ll want to eat my food, too? I can share some bananas with her.”

Maris let out a chuckle. “She can’t eat bananas yet. Before you know it, she’ll grow up and you’ll be able to feed her anything you eat.”

I could tell from her voice that she was exhausted and trying to stay awake to give Forrest attention so he didn’t feel left out. That was Maris—an excellent mother, even when she had very little of herself to give.

She was the busiest of all of us, wearing multiple hats during the day. Not only was she a mother, but a scientist. She still worked for the university, even after she had fully eradicated white-nose syndrome on the island. Because of her research, her colleagues in Washington had been able to publish the results of her treatment, helping other bat species suffering from the fungus around the world.

She facilitated research for other scientists to study the wildlife on the island since she lived here full time. When teams arrived, she served as their guide, helping them to acclimatize to the environment.

We had very little use for her salary out here, so she had arranged to have it deposited into a savings account in Washington in the event we ever needed to relocate to the modern world. She had decided it would be great to leave the money for our children if they wanted to study at university or start their own company one day. I agreed that our children should have options available to pursue their dreams.

“Okay, Forrest,” I said, taking over so my love could have a little peace while Marina slept. “Let’s give Mommy a little break. She needs to get some rest.”

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