Momma Grizzly

by Kevin Hensley

  “And the other servant of King Stagger… was Drag-Belly.” Garrett relished the words, clearly enjoying himself. “The crocodile. If you could even call him that. If you ask me, he was probably a dinosaur that didn’t die when he was supposed to.”

  A plastic block, molded to look like the surface of a body of water, parted around a dark green, scaly head. The jaws were wide open, displaying a set of jagged teeth and a plunging hole of a throat.

  “And he was always hungry,” Garrett rumbled. “Always.” A shiver ran through the group of children. The storyteller let his ominous words hang in the room for a minute.

  “But it wasn’t all bad,” Garrett said after his dramatic pause. “There was one part of the forest that was not cursed, because a guardian lived there. She was so big, so ferocious, and so strong… even King Stagger did not dare to enter her territory. Can anyone tell me where she is?”

  “Right there!” the kids shouted, pointing at the first display, nearest the entrance. “Momma Kodi!”

  “That’s right. And where did she live?”

  “Here!”

  “Right here in the Green Ravine.” Garrett stood and walked around to the image of the legendary bear. She leaned forward in a menacing pose that showed off her long claws and teeth. Her eyes were threatening, but not in the cruel way of Stagger’s, or the reptilian cold of Drag-Belly’s. More of a warning of desperation, it seemed.

  “Momma Kodi held back the curse and lived in this valley for years and years. Every now and then, Stagger sent his servants to drive her out. They could not budge her. Nor could she challenge Stagger and break the curse. She had strength, but he had numbers. So, they stood like this in a stalemate for a long, long time.”

  Garrett doubled back to the display to the right of Momma Kodi, the only one not yet mentioned. “But someone came down from the north, chased away by the bitter cold just like the people. He was looking for new land, and he found the cursed forest. He didn’t like what he saw, so he decided to break this curse and take this beautiful land for himself. His name was Brennen, and he was the smartest and the quickest of all the creatures.”

  The final display was an image of a slender wolf, with grey fur on his chest and face that blended into a copper color on his sides, back, and tail. Like Momma Kodi, his manner was imposing but not savage.

  “So Brennen fearlessly ventured into this forest. First, he went after Anvilback. Can anyone tell me how the wolf beat up an enemy whose skin he couldn’t pierce?”

  A timid hand went up at the front. A skinny boy with thick glasses. Garrett pointed to him. “What do you think Brennen did?”

  “He broke his leg.”

  “That’s exactly right. Brennen’s teeth couldn’t cut Anvilback’s hide, but they sure could break his bones. After the wolf bit one of the badger’s legs, Anvilback gave up and ran away. Then, as Brennen’s journey took him further south, he went deep into a valley. Who do you think he found there?”

  No one ventured a guess.

  Garrett pointed. “He ran into the bear!”

  “Did they fight?” a boy interjected.

  “Oh, yes. They fought. What a battle it was. They shook the earth. All the trees fell over for miles around. In the end, Brennen was too fast. He had worn Kodi out and he had this giant bear at his mercy. Did he hurt her?”

  “No!”

  “That’s right. At the last second, Brennen realized that Kodi’s part of the forest was not cursed. He knew that she was good, so he did not want to take her land from her. He told her he would only take from the creatures responsible for the curse. So Brennen left Kodi in peace. Where did he go after that?”

  “The river!”

  “Yes! Brennen went down to the river, the one that you kids were probably playing in just this morning. But did it look like it does now?”

  “No!”

  “Why not? What’s missing?”

  “Water!”

  Garrett whipped around, caught up in the excitement of his own tale. I squeezed my hands together, intoxicated by his enthusiasm.

  “You’ve got it! Back then, the Green Ravine River roared! It was so strong that if you or I tried to swim in it, we’d get washed away. But Brennen had to cross it to get from Momma Kodi’s territory over to King Stagger’s land. Who was in the water waiting for him?”

  “The crocodile!”

  “Drag-Belly the crocodile! But Brennen was too fast for him. He tricked Drag-Belly into biting the rocks instead. One of the crocodile’s teeth fell out and stuck right there in the riverbed. Did any of you see the Fangstone while you were down there?”

  “I did!”

  “Me too!”

  The Fangstone was an eight-foot-tall, arrowhead-shaped formation sticking out of the ground at the bottom of the Green Ravine riverbed near the FM-138 bridge. When it rained enough to flood, the Fangstone was usually still visible, with the water parting around it like the fin of a shark.

  “Well, that big old sharp rock in the river is the tooth that Drag-Belly lost in that fight,” Garrett said with a grin. “It hurt so much, the crocodile swam away, and Brennen crossed to the other side. Now there was nothing stopping him from challenging King Stagger, was there?”

  “No!”

  “Did Brennen fight the King?”

  “Yes!”

  “Did Brennen beat the King all by himself?”

  “Yes!”

  “Nope.” Garrett’s smile grew at the shocked faces of the children. “No, Brennen did not win the first time he fought Stagger. He was faster, but the King was fast too. And Stagger was much, much bigger and stronger. And he had those terrible antlers. And he had dark powers that the curse of the forest had given him. He could disappear into the fog. He could make the shadows grab hold of Brennen and slow him down. In the end, Brennen was defeated. King Stagger was about to kill him. But what happened?”

  No one took a guess.

  “I’ll give you a hint. Someone saved him. Someone whose life he had spared.”

  One adventurous girl piped up from the back. “The bear?”

  “That’s right. Momma Kodi, the bear, had decided she liked Brennen’s idea of breaking the curse. She ventured out of her own territory and followed him across the river. She showed up just in time to save him from the King. And then they fought him together! Did they win this time?”

  “Yes!”

  “Yes, they did! They defeated King Stagger. He fell to the ground and, some say, became a tree in the woods. All we know for sure is that he disappeared. With him went the curse… well, most of it. The part of the forest right across the river, where he fell, it’s still cursed. But most of the darkness vanished when Stagger was defeated. Now it was safe for people to move into the forest. With Stagger gone, now Brennen was the new ruler of this land. He took the title of King Firehide, and he set out to patrol the whole forest, making sure no one else could try to come in and make the Hill Country unsafe again. But he did one more thing before he left. Anyone know what that is?”

  The children stirred, but no one answered the question.

  Garrett smiled. “The new King took a Queen. Anyone know who? Who is the wife of King Firehide the wolf?”

  The same girl raised her hand. “The bear.”

  “Exactly right. After Brennen took on the title of King Firehide, he went and found Momma Kodi, the bear who helped him defeat Stagger. And he married her.”

  “How does a wolf marry a bear?”

  Garrett’s grin grew even wider. “How does a crocodile’s tooth become a stone? How does a deer control the shadows? They don’t follow the same rules we do. He was King of the Forest, and they wanted to marry, so they did.”

  He crossed in front of the Stagger display and took a drink from his water bottle. “So, where is everyone now? Well, like I said, King Brennen the Firehide is patrolling the Hill Country, keeping us all safe from outside threats. If you listen carefully in the middle of the night, you can hear him sounding off, letting his wife, the
town, and any would-be invaders know that he is there. Like this.”

  Garrett took a deep breath, tilted his head back, and let out a howl that rebounded through the room. It made my skin crawl, even though I had heard him do this routine before. He’d spent years perfecting this call. It sounded real.

  He paused long enough to let the kids’ attention refocus on him. “Stagger is gone. The twisted red cedar across the river grew from the very spot where he fell, marking the place where the curse still clings. Anvilback and Drag-Belly are hiding, hoping that the King never finds them. Where is Momma Kodi?”

  “Right here.”

  “That’s right. Her territory is here, where we live. The place where she and the wolf fought—where all the trees fell—well, the settlers who moved here took those trees and cut them into the first houses of the town of Grunwald. Momma Kodi still lives right here, watching over us all. As long as we believe in her, and keep our faith in God, she will be strong enough to protect Grunwald, and Stagger will never come back.”

  A very young girl in the middle of the group raised her hand. “Why doesn’t Momma Kodi come see me?”

  “Good question,” Garrett said. “She is very busy. Like I said, the forest across the river is the only place where the curse remains. The servants of Stagger are trying to return, and people can still be swallowed up by the forest if they get lost. So we don’t go into the Green Ravine at night. We stay right here in town. Momma Kodi doesn’t come here because she is in the forest making sure the curse never comes after us. But if you do get lost, Momma Kodi will find you, and she will bring you home safely.” He took a deep breath. “Any more questions?”

  The bespectacled boy cleared his throat. “What if the monsters come?”

  Garrett nodded. “Momma Kodi will fight them. Remember, they are scared to go into her territory. They will not cross the river and come to Grunwald as long as she is there. And now they are even more scared. Know why?”

  The kids all shook their little heads.

  “Because even if the monsters fight Kodi and win, she has a secret weapon. If she cannot protect the town and hold back the curse on her own, she will call her husband. King Firehide will drop what he is doing and run to her side… and he will not be happy that he had to leave the border unguarded. The monsters know this, and they know they can never be sure how far away the King is at any given moment. So they leave us alone.”

  No one else raised their hands.

  Garrett sighed. “That’s it, I think. Have I missed anything?”

  The outspoken girl at the back spoke up one more time. “What about the Axe-Man? You didn’t tell us about him.”

  Tilting his head down, Garrett used his cap to hide the scowl that crossed his face. He hesitated for a moment. “Uh, I don’t like to talk about the Axe-Man. That one doesn’t really belong in this museum. It’s a ghost story.”

  “Can we hear it anyway?”

  “No. Not today.”

  Now other kids were joining in.

  “My mom says the Axe-Man will get me if I’m mean to my sister.”

  “They say he’ll cut you to pieces if you go into the forest by yourself.”

  “That’s stupid. My brother did it and he’s fine.”

  “Did your mom sing you the song?”

  “Yeah, let’s sing the song.”

  “Axe-Man, Axe-Man, sharpen your blade. Make all the girls and boys afraid.”

  “Sheriff got a gun, went bang-bang-bang. If they find the Axe-Man, he is sure to hang.”

  The voices were rising in volume. Garrett’s hand gripped the cedar railing behind him. Time to step in.

  His father was quicker than I was. “Alright, children,” the pastor’s voice cut through the clamor, “that’s enough. Seems you all know more about it than he does. Let’s get out of here so the next group can come in.”

  Garrett stood in silence while his father rounded up the kids and herded them outside to rejoin their parents. For a minute, the two of us were alone in the museum. His anxious eyes fell on me as I approached.

  “I’m gonna put up a sign right there on the door, in big bold letters,” he grumbled. “No Axe-Man stories.”

  “Up until then,” I ventured, “I thought it was going pretty good.”

  “Me too. Oh well. I’ll get a do-over. Or four. How have you been, Kelly?”

  I walked right up to him and pushed his hat up so I could see his face. Then I planted a kiss on his unresisting lips.

  “You know how I’ve been. Missing you like crazy, honey.”

  Chapter 6

  On our way out the museum door, Garrett stopped to tap his father on the arm. “Thanks for the assist, Dad.”

  The pastor nodded. “By my watch, you’ve got forty minutes until the next group. Go take a breather. I’ll warn the next group up front to keep it to the tall tales.”

  “Sounds good.” Garrett turned his uneven gaze to me. “What do you want to do?”

  “I need to get back to work,” I answered. “I’ve been hanging around the front of the VFW where all the action is. Luckily, the food’s there too. You hungry?”

  “A little.”

  I pulled my phone from my jacket pocket. “Alright. Let me let Sammie know to meet us there. Phil’s dying to see you.”

  We walked back, arm in arm, following the smoke and the smell of grilled meat. Emma Lee waved to us from the lawn, looking like a ballerina in her frilly mint green dress. Her mother and father saw us a second later.

  “The old flake returns!” Phil Hagen boomed, surging out in front of Sammie and Emma Lee to greet us. He leaned forward with a big, ruddy smile, wanting to shake hands. At the last second, he switched out his right for his left to accommodate Garrett. Their palms clapped together.

  “Figured I’d better show my face around here every once in a while,” Garrett growled.

  “Really? I wouldn’t, if my face looked like that.”

  Both of them howled with laughter as we reached a picnic table. Sammie and I took Emma Lee to get in line for food, leaving the men to do their bonding.

  I was about to crack a joke at their expense, but something hit me in the shin. I glanced down. It was a little American flag, being swung by a strikingly pretty toddler with a freckled face, about a year younger than Emma Lee. Her curly red hair was adorned with a blue bow. Her eyes froze me in place for a second. Even though I’d never seen this child before, I recognized her in an instant. The radiating vitality in her. She could only be—

  “Laylah!”

  A short, stout woman with the same red hair swooped the girl off her feet. “Don’t hit people, baby, that’s…” The woman looked up and saw me.

  “Hi, Rachael,” I said.

  The woman’s face turned cold. “Hello.”

  “How are you?” Sammie offered.

  “Fine.”

  Sammie pouted. “Join us at that table?”

  “No. We were about to leave.” Rachael turned and stomped off with her daughter.

  Sammie shook her head. “Don’t know what I expected. She doesn’t want to talk to us.”

  “I can’t blame her.” I shrugged. “But I miss her.”

  “Me too, Kelly.”

  We both looked back at the table. Phil was tall, lanky, and dressed like a proud cowboy with his wide-brimmed hat and tight jeans. He made for a striking contrast to my short, broad husband. They laughed and jeered, but there were lulls, little pauses where they weren’t sure what to say.

  No one else in the world would know that anything was wrong, but Sammie and I did. The third man was missing, the one who bridged the gap between them.

  A few minutes later we returned to the table. Each of us had filled two plates. Sammie sat down and set her other plate in front of Emma Lee. I had mine and Garrett’s.

  Phil gaped. “What’s that all about?”

  “You can get your own damn brisket,” Sammie said around a full mouth.

  He jerked a thumb in her direction. “See what I
get? You had the right idea, Clegg. This is why you don’t marry local girls.” Phil leaned away to avoid Sammie’s playful swat as he stood up to get in line.

  Garrett snickered, poking at his food with a fork. “Thanks, babe.”

  “No problem.” I turned on the bench to face my husband. With Phil away and Sammie occupied with Emma Lee, we had a minute to talk. “How long are you staying?”

  “Until I’m done at the museum. Too long, in my opinion.”

  I fought back my urge to ask him to stay longer. “OK.”

  My tone must have given something away, because he turned to me. His left eye looked at me as sharp and steady as it had in high school. His right eye, half-blind, only pointed in my general direction.

  “Sitting around here won’t fix anything,” he grumbled. “I’ve got a job to do. I never asked you to wait around for me. If you want to move on, I don’t blame you. I don’t blame your parents for wanting you to, either.”

  “That’s not what’s going on.”

  “Oh, yes it is. They never forgave me for getting their sophisticated city girl to put down roots out here in the sticks. It’s fine. I’m going to do what I do. You know I’ll always want to see you. I love you. But there’s a need out there.”

  “It’s not about me, Garrett. I’m fine at home. What about you? Haven’t you done enough? Haven’t you given enough of your body? When have you earned the right to rest?”

  “When the job’s done.” Garrett wolfed his plate and stood. “Take care of yourself, Kelly. Thanks for meeting me. I got to get back to the museum.” Without a word to Sammie, he began the walk back across the street.

  I turned away, clasping my hands to keep them from shaking. I hated being angry at him. I hated that he was so driven to be away from town. Part of it was that sense of duty that had so attracted me when we were seventeen. Part of it was the devastation that he and I shared. Part of it was the brain damage. I never knew which part I was arguing with.