Read Online The Shadow of the Bear: A Fairy Tale Retold by Regina Doman - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Regina Doman
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It won’t take long. It’s on the way home.”
Rose and Blanche exchanged glances. Bear quickly said, “You don’t have to come. Not if you’d rather just go straight home. It’s just—well, I can’t really go there during the day, and—I sort of wanted to show you this place. It means a lot to me.”
An adventure unlooked for was staring them in the face. Rose tugged on her sister’s hand. This was a chance to find out more about Bear and his mysterious life. Blanche’s brow was creased, and she stood stiffly, unsure what to do.
“You’re sure it won’t take long?” Rose asked Bear.
“It won’t, I promise. I just thought—it might be interesting for you.”
Blanche started to shake her head, and Bear looked so crestfallen that Rose’s heart ached. Oh, come on, Blanche, she thought. Don’t play the grown-up now.
“All right,” Blanche said at last. “But please, let’s get home soon.”
“All right, then!” Bear gave them a grateful smile and turned eagerly into the subway tunnel.
“I’m still not so sure about this,” Blanche whispered to her sister as they followed him.
“Cut it out, will you? We’ll be fine,” Rose whispered back. “Besides, if we can’t trust someone like Bear, who can we trust?”
“Dad,” Blanche said under her breath, “but he’s dead.”
“He’s still protecting us,” Rose had to point out.
Blanche didn’t respond, but Rose could hear her praying a “Hail Mary” under her breath.
The subways were much less crowded at this stop. The three of them stood waiting in the train’s subterranean cavern, hearing the far off screams of other rail cars in the distance. Blanche stared into the round black tunnel in front of her with troubling thoughts.
Who could you trust, really? Anyone you knew might suddenly turn on you and become someone else. People had free will. Even the holiest saint, however unlikely, could decide to become a devil. The people who seemed most stable might suddenly fall away, swallowed into the earth when you looked away, and not be there when you turned back. Anyone could die. The world was spinning with dire possibilities, and nothing, no one could be relied on.
She heard the roar of the dragon behind her and looked to see the flashing malevolent lights and hissing nostrils of the train. It hurtled past them even as she looked, and halted, snorting, waiting for them to enter its belly.
Rose stepped excitedly inside, her eyes dancing. Blanche could tell that she was exhilarated by the mystery of adventure. Rose sat down in the closest empty seat and Bear and Blanche sat on either side of her.
Blanche sat stiffly, gazing woodenly at their reflections in the window opposite them. Bear was hunched over, his arms folded on his knees, studying the floor. His mood had clearly changed from enthusiasm to reticence. What did that portend, Blanche wondered. Was he regretting having asked them to come with him? Where was he taking them anyway?
Stations flashed by them, red lights flared in the windows suddenly and vanished, noises tumbled over each other and passed by from dark to dark. The lights in their compartment went out for a minute. Her own image in the reflecting window disappeared. Light slashed across Bear’s face like a dagger, and he vanished.
The lights came on again. The world was weaker, yellow. The car rushed on as before, but the squalid interior seemed strange. Blanche could not feel or hear her own body. She, Rose, and Bear had diminished. Only their reflections in the window remained. In the dim light of the grimy car, their images seemed stilted, absurd. They were automatons, substitutes for real people, puppets dangling over a convulsion of dissonance and confusion. She felt dizzy for a moment.
The lights flickered off again. Were they gone for good? Would the train ever stop, or would it hurtle on forever, now that it had reduced its passengers to ghosts and shadows? Were they to be prisoners forever in its
Rose and Blanche exchanged glances. Bear quickly said, “You don’t have to come. Not if you’d rather just go straight home. It’s just—well, I can’t really go there during the day, and—I sort of wanted to show you this place. It means a lot to me.”
An adventure unlooked for was staring them in the face. Rose tugged on her sister’s hand. This was a chance to find out more about Bear and his mysterious life. Blanche’s brow was creased, and she stood stiffly, unsure what to do.
“You’re sure it won’t take long?” Rose asked Bear.
“It won’t, I promise. I just thought—it might be interesting for you.”
Blanche started to shake her head, and Bear looked so crestfallen that Rose’s heart ached. Oh, come on, Blanche, she thought. Don’t play the grown-up now.
“All right,” Blanche said at last. “But please, let’s get home soon.”
“All right, then!” Bear gave them a grateful smile and turned eagerly into the subway tunnel.
“I’m still not so sure about this,” Blanche whispered to her sister as they followed him.
“Cut it out, will you? We’ll be fine,” Rose whispered back. “Besides, if we can’t trust someone like Bear, who can we trust?”
“Dad,” Blanche said under her breath, “but he’s dead.”
“He’s still protecting us,” Rose had to point out.
Blanche didn’t respond, but Rose could hear her praying a “Hail Mary” under her breath.
The subways were much less crowded at this stop. The three of them stood waiting in the train’s subterranean cavern, hearing the far off screams of other rail cars in the distance. Blanche stared into the round black tunnel in front of her with troubling thoughts.
Who could you trust, really? Anyone you knew might suddenly turn on you and become someone else. People had free will. Even the holiest saint, however unlikely, could decide to become a devil. The people who seemed most stable might suddenly fall away, swallowed into the earth when you looked away, and not be there when you turned back. Anyone could die. The world was spinning with dire possibilities, and nothing, no one could be relied on.
She heard the roar of the dragon behind her and looked to see the flashing malevolent lights and hissing nostrils of the train. It hurtled past them even as she looked, and halted, snorting, waiting for them to enter its belly.
Rose stepped excitedly inside, her eyes dancing. Blanche could tell that she was exhilarated by the mystery of adventure. Rose sat down in the closest empty seat and Bear and Blanche sat on either side of her.
Blanche sat stiffly, gazing woodenly at their reflections in the window opposite them. Bear was hunched over, his arms folded on his knees, studying the floor. His mood had clearly changed from enthusiasm to reticence. What did that portend, Blanche wondered. Was he regretting having asked them to come with him? Where was he taking them anyway?
Stations flashed by them, red lights flared in the windows suddenly and vanished, noises tumbled over each other and passed by from dark to dark. The lights in their compartment went out for a minute. Her own image in the reflecting window disappeared. Light slashed across Bear’s face like a dagger, and he vanished.
The lights came on again. The world was weaker, yellow. The car rushed on as before, but the squalid interior seemed strange. Blanche could not feel or hear her own body. She, Rose, and Bear had diminished. Only their reflections in the window remained. In the dim light of the grimy car, their images seemed stilted, absurd. They were automatons, substitutes for real people, puppets dangling over a convulsion of dissonance and confusion. She felt dizzy for a moment.
The lights flickered off again. Were they gone for good? Would the train ever stop, or would it hurtle on forever, now that it had reduced its passengers to ghosts and shadows? Were they to be prisoners forever in its
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