A wolf cried out in the distance. I shivered and silently went to lay with Grandma. The night was mocking me, scaring me. Grandma woke at my touch and noted my fear. The wolf had always frightened me, for I was not brave when it came to wild beasts. When I told my grandma I wanted to wolf to just leave us alone, this is what she said:

The lone wolf cries to the moon every night. It wasn’t always like this; there used to be time when the nights were peaceful and quiet. Long ago, the lone wolf used to be someone a part of this tribe. She was a plain girl no ostentatious talents, but beautiful when closely looked at. She had no special ranking; she was not the chief’s daughter or related to any heroic warriors. Her mother taught children to read and she never knew her father. She had two younger siblings to take care of and was always an overachiever with the littlest activity she did. She was not extraordinary at making baskets, or sewing, or even making pottery, but there was one thing she was remarkable of. She could love somebody more than trees loved the sun. She knew how to make a person feel wanted and could always cheer one up with a hug. She had the gift of loving people from the day she was born.


She met a man one day who dazzled her beyond her dreams. She started loving him the day they met. They spent years together and she made the man feel special. He treated her like she was the chief’s daughter and gave her all the attention she wanted. Each night they would sit under the sky and enjoy the view of the stars and moon. For each night they did not have a chance to sit together, the man would send a note for her, a drawing of the moon and reminding her that their hearts were one under the sky. For a long time they were happy together. As time went on, bickering frequently occurred between them. They knew they loved each other but sometimes they could not even have a simple conversation. It was becoming a struggle, and the girl knew something had to change. She loved the man more than any other person and relied on him too much to let him go. She had given him her heart a long time ago and without him she felt empty. She had thought he felt the same way, for his words were reassuring.

But one day she discovered that the man started loving another woman. This girl was far more beautiful than her and had amazing talents. The girl was devastated that the man would do this and her self confidence blew away faster than a leaf in the wind. She gave everything of herself and the man in return went to somebody else. The girl tried and tried to move on, but seeing her love with somebody else crushed her every day. One night the woman went for a walk and saw her love sitting under the moon with his new woman, just like they used to do. The nights they spent together under the stars were something that they only did. And now he replaced her with someone else, as if the new woman was just as special as her. The girl could not take the pain anymore and ran for the woods. She ran so fast that her figure became a blur. Her emotions transformed her into a new creature that possessed four legs for running faster. The lone wolf cries in pain to the moon every night. It wasn’t always like this; there used to be time when the nights were peaceful and quiet.

I laid back in my bed with guilt crushing me as I thought about the wolf howling in the distance. She wasn’t a beast; she was trapped in the reminder of her lost love.