The Bear and Bead

There was silence among the trees, as if one gave baleful glances to those who repeated

judgements. Today, midnight spiders crept out of their webs at noon, and streams began

circulating in the opposite direction. Bead had not experienced such ambiguity in the forest

before this day.

The sun shines through the golden spruce tree, where Bead has built her shelter. Bead

spots the mycelium network beneath her toes become restless. A fungus pops out of the forest

floor and wraps itself around her big toe. A horrible belly ache follows. Bead hears The Mother

whispering her words with urgency, “Bead, see me. We need to talk. Bead, come and speak with

me.” Bead has no choice, but to go to hear what The Mother wishes to share.

Bead leaves the meeting with The Mother with a tangerine and an avocado. The Mother

did not give Bead any instructions on when or how to use these tools. Despite that, The Mother’s

words, spoken during the meeting, linger and echo, “The earth is becoming unbalanced. A vision

of black bears stealing the Handbook of Nature’s Secrets awoke me. I do not understand why

they would do this. The bears love the wonders of our forest. Bead, I need you to retrieve the

book quickly. For now, their intentions do not matter. My visions will show me why eventually. I

will give you two tools, once you agree.” Bead replied with a nod of assent.

Having returned to her shelter underneath the golden spruce, Bead begins to draw the

tangerine, avocado, and what she could remember of the tunnel to Headless Mountain. Long ago,

the creatures had named the mountain ‘Headless’ because it looked like its pointed tip had been

removed. Where the tip should have been, there was a circular pool of shimmering green water,
filled with sea grass and surrounded by moss. From Bead’s memory, the tunnel has three exits.

The first exit is home to the deer, the second exit is home to the bears, and the third exit leads to

the mountain-top pool.

In Bead’s wooden fort, lit by glowing fungi and decorated with faded patterned

bedsheets, she packs her brown leather messenger bag with the tangerine, the avocado, a

flashlight, a notebook, a pencil, and a bottle of water. North she now walks along the moss path

that passes her fort, heading for the headless mountain. Only moments into her journey, Bead

presses her warm hands to her chest, in an attempt to calm the icy burn she feels. As it begins to

rain, Bead thinks, “Oh, rainfall is good. I can use the wet mud to cover my smell from the bears.”

She scouts for patches of mud along the path and covers her hair and armpits, then her legs, and

belly. Bead looks up and sees chattering bugs swarm and enclose the forest’s canopy in black

clouds, alarmed, she then notices the treetops turning violet with sap bleeding through their bark.

The tunnel’s entrance is below the roots of a giant old-growth cedar tree. Not only is her

chosen path up the mountain unconventional but Bead uses her flashlight to scoop under the

roots to clear a way through. They sound like Rice Krispies in milk, as they snap and pop. Bead

hops into the tunnel entrance and her toes squish into mud filled with dead branchlets. She

trudges down the steep, mucky path into the underground. The tunnel’s wall is composed of

roots and the floor is damp compacted dirt with insect trails. It smells of steamed cedar strips,

one of Beads’ favourite scents. The roof is enveloped by bright white mycelium mimicking the

glimmer of tired eyes looking up at stars. After walking for a few minutes, the tunnel becomes a

vertical shaft. She wedges her toes between the roots to scale upward.

Bead finds herself at the mouth of the second exit where an empty armchair rests on top

of the head-sized hole, favouring Bead with a view of an illuminated oak table nearby. She looks
around the square room with deep red wood floors and walls. Bears encircle the table, all except

one. Petunia Bear, who is no older than three years, is in the corner opposite of Bead. Petunia is

humming, swaying and dipping one of her nails into a bowl of crushed coral salmon eggs. Bead

watches as she begins drawing with her nail on the outside of the Handbook of Nature's Secrets.

Bead thinks, “Is she really doodling on the cover of that book? What an odd bear.” She shifts her

focus back to the bears that are present in the room. Big Bear is solemn as he states, “Becoming

the New Mother is no simple job. Now that we have the book, we can begin adjusting the

ecosystem to work in our favour. Since we’ve changed the circulation of streams, I think we

should raise the tide. That way it’ll flush out all the creatures that live below the second exit

which as we know is home to us, and only us, bears. The salmon will spawn right outside our

door and we will be able to eat as many fry and adult fish as we need to.”

“Nothing will ever be the same.” Elder Bear laments.

Guardian Bear drops on all fours and looks around, he breathes in deeply and growls, “A

new smell is here. What is that smell?”

The bears begin pushing their noses to the floor in search of where this new smell is

from. Guardian Bear’s nose is scrunched and scrapes against the wood, every breath he takes is a

snort; closer and closer he gets to the empty armchair. And just like that, Bead and the Guardian's

eyes meet, “I see you,” he says in a mocking manner.

Hoping one of The Mother’s tools will help her escape, Bead quickly pushes her fingers

into the avocado to split it in half. She places the half with the pit underneath the chair. It flashes

the brightest white light and temporarily blinds the bears. Bead slides rapidly down the dirt

tunnel, using her hands to push herself faster to safety. She huffs and puffs, trying to catch her

breath, but the icy burn in her chest lingers so Bead uses her arms and toes to clench onto the
tunnel’s sides. “Oh goodness, thank Mother they can’t fit through that hole. I think I’ll need help

with this quest,” Bead sighs with exasperation.

Bead takes in her surroundings and sees she has stopped just below the first tunnel exit,

home of the deer. Suddenly, she is being lifted by her shirt. Bead finds herself being pulled

through the first exit by a large, beautiful doe. The doe places Bead on the deer’s bouncy

spring-like moss floor and proceeds to lick the mud off her. Bead spreads herself out like a

seastar clinging to a rock, looking around to see yellow-green vines in place of walls — creating

a perfect square around the floor. The doe pulls Bead onto her back and they take off, without a

word. The vines tickle Bead’s face as they pass through them. Bead giggles and says to the doe,

“It’s so bright out now. The clouds are dissolving.” The doe nods slowly and continues to walk

up the side of Headless Mountain. Bead straightens out her back and watches the doe’s head

elegantly bobbing with every step, while her dark black lashes flutter.

The doe and Bead reach the top of the mountain and Bead hops off her back. Exhausted,

Bead lies down on the moss. Beside the pool she spreads out, once again like a seastar. Bead

spends a few minutes with her eyes closed, enjoying the warming mountain air. Eventually, she

reaches for the tangerine from her bag, peels it, and hands over the juicy treasure. The doe lifts

the tangerine toward the sun with reverence. As it heats, the air fills with the scent of citrus. The

fruit hardens to a mirror finish and, like a disco ball, it reflects light until the sun’s rays blanket

Headless Mountain.

The doe and Bead hear a high-pitched voice yelling in the distance. They look up to see

Petunia Bear running up the mountain with the Handbook of Nature’s Secrets.

“What is that smell? I love that smell!” the bear exclaims.

Lifting herself, Bead stands and stares silently at Petunia Bear approaching her.
 Petunia urges, “Well, what is that smell?” she says while bouncing on her hind legs.

“Um, my tangerine?” Bead questions in response.

“Can I trade you? I’ve never known a scent so pure,” implores the bear.

Bead glances briefly at the doe and replies, “Well, Petunia, what would you offer as

trade?”

Petunia answers without hesitation, “This book, of course! It is too large for me to carry. I

care little to read it, and I’ve already filled the cover with my drawings. See?”

Petunia pushes the book into Bead’s face, showing off her doodles of flowers and

spiders.

To seal the deal, Bead leans into Petunia and kisses her forehead. They hold hands and

walk to the doe, who holds the tangerine out for them. Bead takes the fruit and kisses it. The

tangerine levitates on her palm and transforms itself into a glowing sun pendant, hanging on a

golden necklace. It carries the scent of sweet citrus, with a lingering note of pine. Placing the

necklace around Petunia, Bead whispers, “Thank you.”

Petunia carefully places the Handbook of Nature’s Secrets on the moss and races to the

pool. Bead ensures the book is safe with the doe and follows the bear. While Petunia and Bead

swim together, Bead notices the doe has laid herself down and tucked her head into her belly.

The doe’s fur starts to sparkle gold, and as the doe raises her head it turns into the face of a

human with long eyelashes, wide eyes and rosy cheeks. This human raises itself up from its

knees and grows as tall as the golden spruce tree. Then Bead realizes it is The Mother she is

looking at. Bead had never seen her in her entirety and didn’t realize how big and beautiful she

was. The Mother takes two large steps, echoing a deep bass and shake of the earth, to the edge of

the pool. She sits down and looks at Petunia and Bead to speak, her voice is deep due to how
large she is, “I am so proud of you both. All is balanced and bright. The midnight spiders are

back to their normal schedule and are due to crawl out of their webs tonight. The trees are

returning to their green. Dear Petunia, the bears are moving north for the summer, so you will

live with me from now on, and that necklace that hangs around your neck will give you the

power to transform into a being like me. Until next time, Bead.” The Mother transforms back

into the doe and stands. Bead and Petunia swim over and gently rest their arms on the pool’s

edge. The Mother, now doe, kisses both their foreheads gently. Bead watches the Mother’s doe

eyes flutter before she turns to walk away.

Bead and Petunia continue to swim and watch the midnight spiders crawl out of their

webs that hang from the surrounding trees. The moon glows.

“I guess The Mother was right,” Bead thinks.

Petunia turns to Bead and asks, “Would you get some bark I can draw on? I’ll trade you

back this really yummy smelling necklace for it.”

“Oh, Mother,” Bead thinks.

“Until next time,” echoes The Mother in her head.