Bearly Holding On Read Free Page A

down the name.
    Her father cleared his throat. “It is an old legend. I used to tell it to you when you were a child. A warrior called Uzumati from our neighboring tribe killed our princess, Awenasa, after whom you are named. He was cursed to take the form of a bear and to protect our people until his debt was repaid.”
    “Oh, I remember!” she chimed in, looking at both of them.
    “Yes,” her father acknowledged, “but it's nothing more than a legend passed down from generations.”
    “Are you calling my daughter a liar, Keme?” Patamon snapped, stepping up to face Awen's father.
    “No one is calling your daughter a liar!” she said quickly in an attempt to ease the mood. “I just want to know what she saw.”
    “She told me she saw the bear change into a man,” Patamon answered, looking into her eyes. “I know how that must sound, but I trust my daughter. He saved her from whoever was pursuing her. I don’t know...who’s to say he didn’t save her life? If it was Uzumati, I would see him thanked.”
    “I...okay. Thank you, sir,” Awen said, pulling at her father's arm. “I'll be back if I have more questions.”
    She led her father away to the middle of the small dirt road.
    “There is another man,” her father told her. “He lives in the woods between the two villages. He mostly keeps to himself and trades a little to keep himself afloat. I’ve been told he makes good money doing it, too. If there was something going on in the forest I reckon he would know about it.”
    “Thank you, Dad.” She jotted down notes.
    “He's got a cabin out there and there's a trail that should take you to him if you know where to look,” he continued, looking off into the forest.
    “I'll head that way next.” She put her notepad in her back pocket. “I'll stop in and see you both before I leave.”
    “You will not go alone,” he declared, spitting on the ground. “I'll come with you.”
    “I can take care of myself, Dad.”
    “Maybe so, but here you don't have to,” he intoned, walking back to his house.
    Her heart warmed a bit at his protective gesture. A few moments later, her father reemerged from his house with a rifle slung over his shoulder.
    “Do you really think that's necessary?” Awen inquired as she followed her father further into the reservation.
    “If he's Uzumati, do you really want to risk pissing him off?” With that, her father began to walk into the forest.
    “You don't really believe this old legend, do you?” she asked him, dodging briers and branches.
    “Not really,” he answered, crouching down to inspect a trail, “but some people do. I believe in my people.”
    “Right.”
    She followed him in silence for about a half hour until he stopped and pointed ahead.
    “There it is,” he said, making sure a bullet was ready to go.
    She looked ahead and saw a beautiful, rustic cabin. It was old and worn, but charming. From this distance, she could see a lantern in the window.
    “Looks like he might be home,” she mused.
    Her father nodded.
    A few moments later, she knocked on the door as her father hung back behind her. She heard nothing as she waited. After a moment’s pause, she knocked louder and more forcefully. This time, she heard cursing and loud clomping footsteps near the door. Suddenly, a large man filled the door frame. He was not much older than herself. He seemed a little perturbed, but he considered the two strangers at his door with something near amusement in his eyes.
    He's beautiful, she thought. For a moment, she forgot why she had come.
    She appraised his size and stature. He certainly looked as big as a bear, but not in a fat and clumsy way—nor truly a threatening way. It was more of a protective way. His long, obsidian hair covered his dark eyes. With every movement his muscles rippled. For a moment, Awenasa's mouth watered.
    “What do you want?” the handsome man asked gruffly, though his threatening stature softened once he got a good look at