Luna’s two colors

Folklore

One of the relatives who came from Finland was my mother's sister. Her name is Heli. She was mostly by my mother’s side day and night. She was singing in a low voice with words I couldn’t understand. When mother showed some signs of getting back to her feet, we went for a walk to the woods with Heli. We heated the sauna together, and I was ready to go in, but Heli said that we needed to wait for some time. She told me that there is no point in going to the sauna if it’s under 176 Fahrenheit. Okay, so I have been to the sauna before. I loved it when I was a pup. But I sat on the lowest bench, and I’m quite sure it wasn’t that hot.

When Heli approved the temperature, we stripped and went to sit there butt naked. Heli had tied some birch branches with leaves together, and she started hitting my back with them. At first, I got angry, but she told me it takes away the bad spirits. I started to relax, and I got to do the same to Heli. I swear I got a lot of demons out of her. Next stop was a pond near our pack house and the sauna. It was April, but the water was still freezing cold. We walked to the lake, swam a few strokes and then head back to the sauna. It took away so much stress and pain from my heart, that there must be some kind of magic in there.

The best part of that experience was to watch men doing the same. Tom, Jackson, Jones and Henry went first to the sauna. Heli was still there, so I’m sure she beat all the boys with that demon slayer birch. Boys ran to the pond, went down, cried out like little girls and ran back to the sauna. After that, we were all at some kind of peace with ourselves.

Heli told me about gnomes. They are like little people with pointy hats and beards. They live among us and protect us. One lives in the sauna and she told me she saw him in there, that’s why it was so effective.

One thing she told me hunts me till this day. I’m supposed to be a descendant of an original werewolf who roamed all over Nordic countries. He was bigger than any of the werewolf Alphas today and he could do magic. One of the features was fur, which changes colors by the seasons of the year. It is supposed to be white in winter and light brown in summer. It’s like nature’s own camouflage. With that kind of ability comes a very long age. I know that in my family tree there are over 500-year-old wolves. Even my great-great-grandmother is still alive and kicking. And after we turn 25, our aging process slows drastically. That is the reason why my mother looks so young.

I realize that my zombie show has ended and names are playing on TV. I shut it and think of Heli. If she is right and I’m supposed to live even longer then 500 years, what about the people around me now? I only worried about seeing my mate die. But I have so many others in my life whom I love to death.

I should call my mother. She left a year ago to go back to Finland. She told us that we have our lives here and this place was just reminding her about our father. Every morning when she woke in a half empty bed, her heart got broken all over again. I didn’t want her to leave, but I understood her reasons. She was lucky to survive her mate's death, and she is allowed to feel happiness again. If it means she leaves to her birth country and leaves us here, it is going to be all right. Besides, we live in a year when we have Facetime. Alissa Facetimes with her all the time and Sam has learned to call with an iPad. Thank Goddess for Wi-Fi, otherwise our phone bill would shoot through the roof.

I have to ask mother about Heli and have they been in the sauna together lately. I think I could use a trip to the sauna right now. Or actually I’ll wait for Tom to get here. I would love to smack some demons out of him.

I go to the bathroom and wash my face with cold water. I look at myself in the mirror and ask Kuura: "Do you know that I love you?"

Of course, I know that, my silly girl.

"I just wanted to tell you that. You never know what tomorrow brings."

Go to sleep honey. There will be a time and a place to be afraid if we wake up in the morning ever again. But that is not going to be today, tomorrow or the day after that.

I brush my teeth and think of how lucky I am to have a wolf with me. Life would be much lonelier without her. But she is right. I need to keep my head up high and keep on going. Father would never let me wallow too much. I got to my bed, put my head on the pillow and had a dream about a snowy day, an icy lake and a gray sky. There was a blizzard coming.