Once upon a time beyond our own a polar bear named Torn fell in love with a young married woman named Anana. Never tell your husband of our meetings or he will try and kill me. Anana agreed this was true so she pledged to keep the secret. But Anana’s husband Noatak was a good and faithful man and she deeply regretted her affair, so one night she whispered in Noatak’s dreams the path to take to find her lover’s den. From far across the snow Torn overheard Anana’s betrayal and roared with grief, clawing at his ice-covered walls. The mighty bear rose at once and abandoned his home before Noatak could wake and begin the hunt. Torn went straight to Anana’s snow house on his large, silent feet and raised his paws to smash it in, but the vestiges of his affection for Anana flickered and he lowered his paws to his side. He left the young married couple where they slept, giving them the gift of their lives in such an unforgiving land. So Torn set off on a long and melancholy wandering.
To our mind the story is touching. But the native people beyond our time would occasionally catch the outline of Torn’s sadness along the desolate horizon and tremble for they knew the story was dangerous. The great bear’s grief blinded him, it meant he was not paying attention to his steps, he might fall through bad ice or miss vital signs that would lead him to food.
*This story was sewn together from threads of an Eskimo tale recounted in Arctic Dreams by Barry Lopez. It captured my imagination. So many of our stories are saddled with a morality that drives to a point, their sole function being to teach. There are obvious goods from such tellings. This story, however, resides beyond in an atmosphere of respect and awareness and ultimately, compassion. This story is native, it splices the head and heart, reminding us of where we are and what we’re dealing with.
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To our mind the story is touching. But the native people beyond our time would occasionally catch the outline of Torn’s sadness along the desolate horizon and tremble for they knew the story was dangerous. The great bear’s grief blinded him, it meant he was not paying attention to his steps, he might fall through bad ice or miss vital signs that would lead him to food.