Brown Bear

Brown Bear

You wander into an ancient glade where sunlight pools through lichen-draped branches. Moss muffles your steps, and the air hums with quiet secrets. At the base of an old cedar root, the medallion rests like a silent invitation. When you touch it, the light seems to slow.

A slow, rolling grunt interrupts the glade’s hush.

A bear lumbers out—huge, shaggy, with eyes echoing centuries. He pauses before you, considering.

“You linger,” he rumbles. “Most just touch and run.” His voice is low, grounded like the forest floor.

You nod. “I… wanted to understand.”

He snorts, swatting a sapling aside. “Understand? Forest doesn’t want to be understood. It wants to be heard.”

He shifts, settling onto the moss like it supports him without complaint.

“Touching that token… it’s like plucking a string on the world’s harp. Suddenly, the forest hums back. I don’t mind the noise—but I do mind if no one listens.”

You ask, “Why mammals? Why aren’t birds or fish called in?”

He lifts a massive paw, tipped with claws blunt yet imposing.

“Birds sing to the sky. Fish murmur beneath the waves. Mammals carry sound in our bones. We remember what bark, wind, and pawstep whisper. We carry the echoes between us.”

You breathe it in. He glances at your hand on the medallion.

“And those tokens?” you ask softly.

He leans forward, thoughtful.

“Markers. Echo-pots. Things that spark the echoes—we’re meant to remember we belong in this song. But each echo bends the world. Collect enough, and you’re not just listening—you’re part of the chorus.”

You ask the final question: “What happens if I find them all?”

He regards you long and slow, sunlight and shadow dancing over his fur.

“Then you will know,” he says quietly. “Whether the world resonates—or unmakes itself in silence.,” he finishes, softer now, “Then you’ll be the one choosing whether to hold the echo… or let it go.”

He shifts once, rises, and pads away—each step releasing a sigh of moss and pine.

The glade resumes its quiet. But you stand still, heart tuned to the forest’s distant hum.