White guardian  

    Night had fallen in the Alaskan town of Nome, however many residents were far from asleep and those that did slept fitfully. Diphtheria and the plight of the children plagued the minds of each and every one of the town’s residents. Everyone knew whose children were ill with parents fearing that their child would be next. Despite the fact that a sled team was bringing medicine, many believed it would not reach the town in time. In this climate of fear it is not surprising that a wolf would go unnoticed at night, even one was brilliantly white as Aurora. Standing on a hill above the town Aurora looked down at the buildings and dogs within.

“What I feared has come to pass, damn these white humans and their illnesses. Oh they are fools in more ways than one they are blind in how to protect themselves from these things. I hoped I would not have to do this for many years but if I do not….No that is not an option.”

     Leaving the hill Aurora crept silently into the town, her paws print the only trace of her presence. As she passed a battered fishing boat Aurora saw a wolfish shape slip down the gangplank, a small cloth bag handing in his mouth. Into the light of a crescent moon stepped Balto, her half brother, utterly unaware she was there. Aurora watched him for a moment before following him, his paw prints identical to her own. Together brother and sister walked to the town hospital, both staying in the shadows to avoid unwelcome eyes. Reaching the hospital Balto jumped onto a barrel, his eyes filling with pain as he looked through the window.

   “Rosie” Balto whispered looking at his friend as she laid there, her eyes staring at the ceiling. “Every day she keeps growing weaker. I’ve failed you Rosie….”

    Trailing off Balto stared in shock as he watched Rosie, her eyes fixed on him, a small smile appearing on her face. Looking around quickly Rosie climbed out of bed, staggering a little as she walked over to the window.

“Hello Balto” Rosie whispered coughing as she spoke. “I am happy to see you.”

    Allowing a smile to appear on his face Balto let out a bark wagging his tail from side to side. Smiling at him Rosie put her hand on the glass, seconds later Balto did the same, his large paw dwarfing her small hand. With a grin Balto broke contact jumping down from the window he walked towards the boiler house. Slipping inside he walked underneath the floor of the hospital. Reaching Rosie’s room saw her sat on her bed, letting out a short bark he put his paws on the grate. Seconds later Rosie’s eyes locked onto his, a look a surprise on her face as she knelt down on the floor.

“You are clever” Rosie whispered putting her hand through the grate to stroke his head. “Jenna can come in here I am glad you can to.”

      Wagging his tail Balto softly licked her hand before picking up the cloth bag he had been carrying, pressing it into Rosie’s hand.

“For me?”

    At this Balto nodded smiling as Rosie opened the bag, seconds later a large piece of white quartz roughly shaped like a point fell into her hand.

“Balto thank you it is pretty I will put it under my pillow” Rosie whispered as the sound of footsteps drifted through the hospital. “Go now.”

   As Rosie climbed into bed and placed the stone under her pillow Balto slipped out of the hospital. Walking back to the window he watched as a nurse checked on Rosie and gave her a drink.

“I’m glad my present made Rosie feel a little better it was only small but it brought a smile to her face” Balto whispered as he walked home.

    Unknown to Balto Aurora had been watching him the entire time, a smile on her face as she watched him leave.

“Oh Balto your gift did help her it may have been small but it did help lift her spirits” Aurora though.

   Seconds later she appeared in Rosie’s bedroom. In her bed Rosie dozed half awake half asleep. Walking up Aurora put her front paws onto the blankets gazing at Rosie.

“Oh Rosie what has happened to you? You have to live you have to live no matter what. I wish there was more I could do for you” Aurora whispered as Rosie opened her eyes.

“Who are you?” Rosie whispered gazing at the beautiful she wolf.

“I am Aurora. So you can see me, your gifts have come to the fore. I guess that is to be expected.”

“You are pretty.”

“Thank you. Rosie you must not fear me I am here to help you. Trust me Rosanna I will do what I can to help you.”

“I trust you.”

      Smiling Aurora placed a paw on Rosie’s head, calling her spirit powers to relieve Rosie’s pain and fever. Laying there Rosie felt as if a bucket of cooling water had been poured over her. As wolf and girl looked at each other Rosie began to stroke Aurora, her hand sinking into the wolf’s thick soft fur.

“Thank you wolfie I feel better.”

“It was my pleasure, sleep Rosanna sleep a deep dream filled sleep away from pain. Sleep now sleep” Aurora said gently using her powers to send Rosie to sleep.

      Leaving the hospital Aurora made her way through the eerily quiet streets of Nome, the normally bustling Joe’s Bar was unusually quiet as its visitor’s spoke on low voices or drank to ease their pain. Coming to one of the main residential areas Aurora walked down the street where Rosie lived. Walking up to Rosie’s house Aurora stepped in through the front door utterly invisible to the occupants. Sitting at the kitchen table were Rosie’s Granddad Wilfred and Grandma Hilda, the parents of Rosie’s father Arthur. Upstairs Arthur and Rosie’s mother Violet slept both exhausted with worrying.

“Asleep at last, I pray to God Rosie gets better soon, I am not sure how much longer Art and Violet can cope” Hilda said as she poured a cup of tea.

“They have reached their limits mind you we are both suffering” Wilfred replied sadly.

“Yes but we can cope better, heavens when Art hurt himself as a boy.”

“He had a broken arm, a fractured ankle and was in a wheel chair for two months. I nearly murdered his cousin for that.”

“I remember” Hilda replied as Aurora wondered upstairs to Rosie’s bedroom.

     Looking around her Aurora looked at the pictures one showed Rosie standing next to Balto and Jenna as pups all surrounded by snow. A second was one of the family sitting at Christmas and another was of Jenna and Balto playing in the snow. The final picture showed Violet and Arthur holding Rosie as a baby all three were stood on a hill above Nome, in the background the Northern Lights shimmered brightly. Looking around the room Aurora’s eyes fell on a picture of a wolf and husky drawn by Rosie. Aurora recognized the pair instantly as the wolf and dog in the picture was Balto’s father and their mother Aniu. Turning to Rosie’s bed Aurora smiled as her eyes fell on the large cuddly wolf that was sitting on it next to a pink unicorn, a white seal and a mermaid with a blue/green tail and blonde hair. Leaving the room Aurora slipped out of the house proceeding down the street. At each house she stopped to listen to the conversation within, much of which was dominated by the epidemic as worried parents spoke to each other. Coming to one house she found an Afghan hound laying outside under the porch with her head on her paws and sorrow in her eyes. Sylvia’s owner Annabelle as one of the children affected by the epidemic, Sylvia had been hit hard as Annabelle was Rosie’s best friend and she was fearful for both girls.

“I wish this never happened why did it have to be Anna and Rosie? Steel and the team have to get back soon that is the only way they will recover. Steel will make it back he so experienced, lucky for him his owner isn’t sick, but Kaltag’s owner is and Star’s. They will make him understand. This is not about him, for once he as to put himself last, the lives of the children depend on him” whispered Sylvia looking out into the night.

    Leaving the street Aurora walked back to the hill above Nome, the wind blowing through her fur as she stared once more at the town.

“I have to stay here now I have no choice. I understand my place here now. Rosanna and I are tied, I have to save her one way or another” Aurora whispered. 

   Light of Hope

The days slowly passed, Aurora watched Balto leave Nome in search of the team then Jenna to find Balto. On the night of the bear’s attack on Balto and Jenna, Aurora once again visited Rosie as she had done every night.

“Hi wolfie” Rosie whispered as Aurora gracefully jumped onto her bed.

“Hello Rosie” Aurora replied lying down and licking her cheek.

     After a short time Rosie fell asleep under the watchful gaze of Aurora, her small hand buried in the white wolfs warm fur. As a spirit Aurora could go months without sleeping which allowed her to watch Rosie continually. During the night Doctor Welch, Head Nurse Emily Morgan and the other nurses check on Rosie and the other children. It was clear to Aurora how worried the humans were for all the children. Just after midnight Aurora’s head shot up as into the room walked a grey and white wolf with pale yellow eyes.

“I might have known you would put in an appearance Valeria” Aurora said looking at the she wolf.

“But of course sister I wished to see the child” Valeria replied walking over to the bed. “She is weak, very weak, you have helped her but she needs the medicine to live as we cannot cure her fully.”

“She sees me Valeria, she can understand me.”

“So her gifts have surfaced, to be expected they are very strong and she is so very weak.”

“Yet it was not expected until she was much older, she is still a child.”

“This cannot be helped, the situation will only grow worse if the medicine does not arrive soon. You and I know what her future holds, how special she truly is, even more than our mother Aniu or the other spirits.”

“That I am aware of, our brother should have been on that team.”

“Yes but human are fools, well white humans at least. This is for you alone to solve. We do not say it but we both know what will happen if the medicine does not come in time. If there is no choice, if we are forced then we will have to act to save her.”

“Valeria that is forbidden, we cannot influence the lives of white humans, it has been forbidden. They do not believe in us as the Inuit do, they do not respect the creatures of this land. I will do whatever it takes to save Rosanna’s life.”

“That I do not doubt but remember Rosanna’s lineage sister” Valeria whispered before vanishing. Glaring after her sister Aurora shook her head before her attention back to Rosie, her sister’s worlds echoing in her mind.

    Over the next few nights Aurora stayed by Rosie’s side always watching her. Looking out of the window one night Aurora saw Jenna limp into town. For a moment Jenna seemed to head to the boiler house before changing her mind and making her way to the church. Leaving Rosie’s side Aurora followed Jenna, jumping onto a wood pile underneath a window of the church. Inside the freezing the church Jenna walked towards the alter, her head hanging low, tears streaming down her face.

“I don’t know if you would listen to the prayer of a dog or if you could even hear me. Please save Rosie’s life, please help her to get better, please I beg of you. Rosie means the world to me, she is a child, please let her get better. She does not deserve to die so young, save her life.”

   Reaching the alter Jenna placed a wooden rose on it’s top, her tears falling onto the stone alter. Outside Aurora’s heart went out to the red husky, a tear running from her eye was she watched Jenna. Leaving the church Aurora vanished in a flash of white at the exact moment as Balto fell down a cliff. Reappearing on the mountain above Nome Aurora stood in the midst of the swirling snow. At the exact moment as Jenna placed a lantern behind a pile of broken bottles, Balto’s desperate cry pierced Aurora’s mind.

“Please help me, someone, Rosie I have failed you I am so sorry. Jenna I am sorry I tried, oh Rosie I hope you forgive me one day,” in her mind Aurora saw Balto lying at the bottom of a cliff.

      In a flash of white light Aurora appeared in front of her brother staring into his eyes before howling a song of joy. Seeing his sister Balto recognized her at once, ashamed of himself and his heritage he turned away. Calling on her powers Aurora spoke to her brother telepathically.

“To your paws my brother for you have not yet failed. Remember the pup you once were, remember the day we howled together in the snow. Once you listened to my stories in the den, once you planned leading a pack your brother Suka. Once you said you did not wish to live in a town. Neither wolf nor dog you are the best of both. Be proud of what you are, feel the power of the wolf within you. Your wolf blood is not your weakness it is your strength. Step out of the shadows into the light once more. Remember who you once were, combine the past with the present, become who you truly area inside.”

     Turning away Aurora vanished into the snow, as Balto lay there with her words echoing in his mind.

“My wolf blood is my strength? How can it be when in Nome I am outcast for it? Aurora after all this time she found me, a wolf such as her found a half breed like me. Yet I did howl with her once, long ago when I still lived with my family. Suka and I………we planned and leading a pack together, thought that together we thought we would lead the greatest pack ever. Before my father was captured by his humans, before I fell down the cliff in the storm and was separated from my family….. I am back where I began falling down that cliff resulted in meeting Boris and coming to Nome. That day, after Boris and I could not find my mother……I threw my wolf heritage into the wind because I felt I could not find her. Because I felt I was such a hopeless wolf, the conflict I had been feeling overwhelmed me.  

    Mother is a wolf, Aurora is a wolf and my father fell in love with a wolf. Boris… he said a dog cannot make this journey alone but maybe a wolf can. Aurora she was right, I am half wolf, I have made it alone just as a lone wolf would.”

   Looking at Aurora’s tracks Balto closed his eyes and placed in paw in one of her prints, his eyes widening when it fitted perfectly. In an instant he threw his head back in a wonderful howl of joy, something he not done since he was a cub. Seconds later Aurora joined him, brother and sister howled together in joy. Ending the howl both stared at each other, their tails wagging with delight.

“Aurora thank you for this I had last part of who I am.”

“I came to help you Balto, I remember the pup you once were, I have seen what you have become. I have magic within me, I heard your cry, you needed to accept what you are as you once did.”

“I am part wolf and nothing can change that. You are right it is my strength. I have to get back to Nome, Rosie and the other children need my help.”

“I have seen Rosie, she grows weaker with every passing hour as do other children, it is vital they receive the medicine.”

“Then I had better get going, goodbye sister” Balto replied nuzzling her.

“Goodbye Balto I will see you soon in Nome” Aurora replied before vanishing.

   Reappearing on a small hill in a section of forest Aurora watched as Balto dragged the medicine up the cliff, her heart filling with pride as she watched him lead the team.

            Hero’s Light 

       Five days had passed since the team had arrived back with the medicine. In the hospital Balto and Jenna sat on Rosie’s bed. Just as the clock struck midnight Rosie awoke, moments later Aurora walked into the room.

“Aurora I am so pleased to see you, I was not expecting to see you in here” Balto said wagging his tail.

“I have come to make sure that you and Rosie are alright” Aurora replied softly.

“Who are you?” Jenna asked looking between Balto and Aurora.

“Jenna this is my half sister Aurora, remember I told you about her a couple of months ago?”

“So this is Aurora, I am pleased to meet you at last.”

“Likewise Jenna.”

“Aurora you have come back” Rosie chipped in.

   Balto and Jenna looked at each other in amazement, unable to believe their ears as Aurora jumped onto the bed.

“So you can still understand our speech the gift you have is strong.”

“Excuse me gift?” Jenna asked cocking her head to one side.

“Rosie was born with it, magic you would call it. The diphtheria caused her gift to awaken earlier then they should have done. Rosie was every weak her gift was stronger than her, she was unable to resist.”

“This is a little strange” Jenna replied.

“No kidding but it is kind of cool” said Balto looking between his sister and Jenna.

“I like it. I have always wanted to know what you say” Rosie chipped in.

“Jenna I swear to you this will not harm Rosie.”

“I know, you and Rosie have met before?”

“Aurora sat with me when I was sick.”

“I am grateful for at, to know Rosie had someone with her all the time.”

“It was my pleasure, both of you saw my brother for who he is really is.”

“I like you Aurora I hope we can play together” Rosie yawned.

“You will when you are well enough, time you got some sleep” Jenna replied pulling the blankets around Rosie.

    As Rosie fell asleep Balto and Aurora left the hospital, walking through Nome until they reached the hill above town.

“What is really going on Aurora? Why Rosie, is there something you are not telling me?”

“Remember when your mother told you about the spirits as a pup?”

“Yes.”

“Do you remember when she told you that everyone has a spirit guide?”

“Yes she said Eagle’s was a bald eagle. How she knew those things I never found out.”

“Well I am Rosie’s spirit guide.”

“What! How on earth?”

“Do not trouble yourself with that, you will find out soon enough but not yet, it is not time. Trust me brother I am here to help Rosie, I am your sister as well.”

“I trust you Aurora. What happened to Eagle, Suka and Arden?”

“Arden left in the summer, he is now part of a pack what live somewhere between White Mountain and Nenana. Suka and Eagle have not long left our mother, at this moment both are together trying to find a pack and a place to live. They have each other and are doing well.”

“I hope I can see them again one day I miss them a lot.”

“You will Balto, they will find you remember they do not know what happened to you, all wish to find you.”

“You have a point.”

“Someday Balto news of your actions will travel for, the wolf pack that you often see will hear your story and they will tell it to other wolves. Remember Balto the light of a hero shines the brightest.”

    Together brother and sister threw their heads back in a howl that echoed throughout the tundra, as they howled their aura’s glowed brightly, with Balto’s brightest of all. For Aurora was right, the light of a true hero shines brightest of all.