Week 2 Story: The Dreamer and Storm Cloud

She moved swiftly, yet quietly, as to not wake up her little sister who slept soundly next her. She threw on her boots, slung her makeshift bow around her shoulder, and grabbed the knife she had been hiding under her mat. To the woods she ran, aware that just over two miles south was a lake that bison often roamed around. The moon above her was full, and the stars illuminated her path.

Around the halfway mark of her journey, she heard a woman's voice cry out "Storm Cloud!" It startled her, and she stopped dead in her tracks. She looked around, and after seeing no one, concluded that she had simply imagined it.

The rest of her walk was peaceful. She arrived at the lake without any obstacles. Dawn would soon arrive, and so she prepared a site to rest. She gathered wood from nearby to start a fire to help keep predators away, and piled some leaves so she had a place to lay. Her journey had made her rather thirsty, so she went up to the lake for a drink. She knelt down, lowered herself,  and cupped some water in her hands. As she drank it, she heard something hit the water. She stopped and looked to see what it was. However, nothing was there. Again, she cupped more water in her hands to drink. This time, she felt something small and hard hit her between the shoulders. She quickly stood up and looked behind her, expecting to see someone or something. Not a soul in sight.

Back at her site, she laid down on her bed of leaves and closed her eyes. Not too much longer, and she would be bringing the hide of a bison back to camp to show her tribe that she was capable of being a hunter.

She was awoken by something kicking her foot. When she opened her eyes, there stood a boy not much younger than she. "Who are you, and why are you here," she asked. Her eyes adjusted, and she could see that this boy was very pale. "My name is Storm Cloud. I live close by with my mother. I saw you walking all alone. Why are you alone? What are you doing out here? " She explained to him that she came out to the lake to hunt bison to show her tribe that she was meant to be a hunter, and not some homemaker who was expected to marry young, cook, and make pottery. Storm Cloud chuckled. "How are you going to bring a whole bison back to your tribe by yourself?" She told him that all she expected to bring back was the hide as proof. "Well, I will tell you what, if you can skip a rock further than I can, I will help you bring back a whole carcass." This seemed like a no-brainer for her. What did she really have to lose? She agreed to the challenge. They each grabbed the flattest rock they could find. She went first, and they counted four skips. He followed, but when he threw his rock it sunk immediately.

"Now that you've won, you need to hunt and kill a bison to bring back to camp," he said. She was ecstatic. If she were lucky enough to kill a bison, she would be able to provide food for her whole tribe. She had never used her bow before, and so she was nervous that she would shoot and miss, wasting her arrows. They spotted a bison about three-hundred yards away, taking a drink out of the lake. "Exhale, and let go while holding your breath," Storm Cloud advised her. He stayed behind as she got herself closer to her prey. She listened to Storm Cloud's advice, and struck the bison in his side. Quickly, she drew another arrow and was able to strike the bison in his neck. This caused the bison to struggle for a little until he collapsed to the ground. She ran up on him, and Storm Cloud followed. She took out her knife, jumped on the bison's back, and reached under its neck to slit its throat. This was the moment she had been waiting for. Her dream had come true. Together, she and Storm Cloud carried the carcass back to her tribe. "Thank you for all of your help, Storm Cloud. You and your mother should join us for a feast this evening to celebrate." However, he did not reply. She looked behind her only to see that it was just her and the bison. Somehow, she suddenly possessed the massive amount of strength to drag the carcass all by herself.

Back at camp everyone awaited her arrival. They were shocked to find out that she had left to hunt a bison, and manage to drag it all the way back to camp herself. She told them about the boy named Storm Cloud who apparently lived nearby with his mother. "Storm Cloud? Storm Cloud was the boy who went missing in the woods south from here many years ago. He and his mother were found trampled to death by a bison after she had went out searching for him."

"Well... that must have been why he was so pale," she thought. Storm Cloud was a ghost.


Author's Note:
This was my spin-off of The Indian Who Wrestled with a Ghost. You can see I changed up the plot, and the characters. I guess I actually really changed it a lot. However, to me it seemed very similar. You have the main character traveling in the woods, odd things occur, another character who challenges the traveler for a reward is introduced, and then this other character turns out to be a ghost. I really enjoyed writing this, and I hope you enjoyed reading it!

Bibliography. The Indian Who Wrestled with a Ghost from Myths and Legends of the Great Plains by Katharine Berry Judson. Web source.
Image source. "Skipping Stones."