A Parable About Connection

Long ago men were shapeshifters.
They could change from bear to wolf to hawk back to man.
They could hunt the plains and ride the winds with their animal brethren.
But there was danger.
The longer a man stayed in the form of an animal, the more of himself he lost.
If he wore the shape of an animal for too long, that is what he became.

There once was a boy who liked taking the form of a bear.
He had few friends.
His parents were often away.
He felt most comfortable in the company of animals.
Or alone.
He would spend long afternoons napping in caves.
Long evenings pacing the quiet forest floor.
Long mornings patiently fishing the river with his large paws.
One winter he got tired of the village and its people.
He took his bear form and hibernated with his bear friends.
Safe and warm in their den.
When spring came the bears awoke and they were hungry.
They knew he was a boy, they smelled it, and tried to eat him.
He fled.
He roamed the forest hungry and disoriented.
Eventually he came to a bush sprouting unripe berries.
He began to eat, the bitterness outdistanced by his hunger.
Suddenly there was yelling and the barking of dogs.
He was surrounded by hunters from his village brandishing spears.
Slowly and painfully he shed his bear skin exposing the boy he was.
The hunters returned him to the village where his parents were glad to see him.
Time passed and the boy became a man.
He made friends and started a family.
But inside the bear always lingered.
And he never truly felt a part of the village.