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Juniper: The Little Warrior

A Short Story by Bradley Paul

Just as she feared, her sister’s condition is worse… much worse than this morning. Juniper steps into the cave with the noon’s sunlight pouring in through the entrance. Juniper joins her two other siblings in the cave, who have been watching the youngest one. Juniper is still dressed from her morning hunt, and still armed with her wooden pike. Juniper enters the cave to tend to the youngest sister, Daffodil.

Paler than this morning, Daffodil continues to cough and rasp while in her sleeping bag. Daffodil’s eyes are closed; she’s trying to rest and sleep… but a sickness is overtaking her. Juniper checks her forehead to see how ill her sister is… and her forehead burns like a soft fire. Daffodil sweats constantly; Juniper knows this isn’t going away without a fight. For her sister, Juniper must go find a cure… because she knows Daffodil may not have long.

Juniper turns to the twins, Twig-Twig and Blueberry, and reminds them to keep watch. Twig-Twig and Blueberry are not surprised, given how sick Daffodil is. The twins are already prepared because they are still armed; Twig-Twig has his club, and Blueberry has her bow and arrow like Juniper. Juniper is going to be in much more danger… because she must go out to the bigger world again. Unknown to them, Juniper and her siblings are the little people of legend… just a myth to their giant relatives.

Juniper’s leather clothing isn’t born from moose; it’s born from a mouse. Juniper can’t be any bigger than three inches, making her prey for all sorts of animals. Nevertheless, Juniper is Daffodil’s only hope… and she must run.

For our little hunter, it’s now taking too much time. The full moon is in the sky, and nightfall is here. The wind howls now that summer fades away and autumn starts to call. A lot of dark trees in the forest; no lamp post or house light to light the way. No matter how dark it is, there is still hope and this time it comes in a flower.

Close to the cold ground, there is a purple flower called Mother’s Touch. Juniper recognizes from afar, and scurries through the darkness. Wasting no time, Juniper plucks the flower from the ground and hurries for cover. Juniper can’t afford to stay in one place, even for a second; all sorts of terrible creatures rule and roam the night. Juniper leaps over a stone, runs on moss, and continues her run for home.

Juniper finally sees a hiding place in an abandoned firepit. Juniper scurries and hides underneath some rocks. While hidden, Juniper inspects the flower to make sure it’s going to be enough. Juniper sees that the flower is still violet and soft, not pale and crinkly. Juniper goes underneath her cloak, and puts the flower in a pocket.

With the Mother’s Touch tucked away, Juniper freezes… it’s not silent anymore. Juniper hears something else rustling in the bushes behind her—It’s moving in her direction. Juniper peeks around the rock with her brown eyes, hoping to see what’s coming for her. Not hearing any steps, it’s just what Juniper feared… it’s slithering. A snake tracks Juniper to the fire pit with its keen senses, and seeks to devour the little hunter.

Photo by Roberto Nickson from Pexels

Upon seeing it, Juniper wastes no time and bolts away from the pit. The snake follows Juniper through the wilderness, using its senses to keep track. Juniper has a head start but she must slow down because she’ll tire too fast. To escape the snake, Juniper must now run a marathon because the snake can follow for a long time. The snake picks up speed to cause haste, but not enough to catch up to Juniper.

Juniper keeps running away from the snake; the snake keeps slithering for the little hunter. Juniper glances over her shoulder to keep an eye on the predator, seeing it’s still far away. Juniper sprints uphill to disappear from sight, hoping to have time for a quick plan. Juniper must lose the snake or it’ll follow her home to endanger herself or her family. Juniper finally takes a moment, hoping to devise an escape plan.

Juniper sees a river down the hillside, which is a stream to ordinary humans. She could use the river to lose the snake, but snakes can slither faster on water and Juniper isn’t a good swimmer. One wrong move, Juniper can either drown in the stream or get devoured whole by the serpent. breath, stands up, and jumps onto the next stone. Far away, the owl lets go of the branch and finally takes flight.

Juniper scurries and jumps onto another stone, hoping to get more distance from both predators. Behind her, the snake makes it on top of water and slithers faster. The owl glides across the forest, much closer to Juniper. Leaping from rock to rock, Juniper finally starts to lose breath and slows down. The owl glides close, the snake slithers closer, and both are close to their prey.

Juniper can’t stop; she leaps to the next rstone. On her last leap, Juniper leaps for the next stone after… unable to see the snake closing behind her. Snake launches at Juniper with its fangs, ready to catch and strangle its prey. From above, the owl nearly snatches Juniper from midair… but barely misses and then clutches the snake instead. Juniper leans on the next rock, turns around with haste… panting and out of breath.

If Juniper keeps to the same road, the snake will follow her home. A coo echoes across the woods, Juniper’s widen with fear… for there is another predator.

Juniper turns to the trees and sees an even more dangerous predator… a Barn Owl. Owls are known to eat snakes, but they prefer to eat rodents and the little people are considered as prey like mice. To Juniper’s horror, the owl sees Juniper across the woods… with its talons ready to set loose from its branch. Juniper hears a hiss and remembers the snake behind her. Juniper has only one chance now, and she must try to cross the river.

Juniper sees the owl leering at her and hears the snake slithering behind her. No matter what, Juniper must run to save her own life. Juniper sprints for the river; the snake continues to follow. The owl watches the chase ensue, and its talons loosen and its wings ready to glide.

Closer to the river, Juniper sees a path of rocks she can use to cross. Juniper sprints, then jumps onto the first stone and lands perfectly. The snake closes in on the river, hoping to reach the water. Juniper takes a Towards the moon, the owl reluctantly flies away with a snake in its talons. The snake is lifeless as its body dangles and mangles. Juniper’s relieved for a moment, hearing only the stream and her every breath. However, it’s still nightfall and Juniper must still hurry. Juniper continues crossing the river, and begins another marathon to complete her sole mission.

The sky turns slight orange; the sunrise is coming. Juniper runs through the grass, knowing her sister needs medicine this very instant. Seeing familiar ground, Juniper now sprints across the road taken. Juniper sees the cave that is home, hurries for the entrance. At the entrance, Juniper sees that she’s not yet too late.

finally relieved of duty. Juniper hurries to the mortar and pestle; Daffodil needs medicine right away. Juniper, out of breath, pulls the flower from the pocket of her cloak and puts it into the bowl. Juniper crushes it with an instrument; she hears Daffodil’s raspy breaths. TwigTwig and Blueberry can only watch their older sibling try to save their youngest sister… and they wish they could help.

By the fire, there is a small pot with boiling water inside. After crushing the flower to muck, Juniper grabs a ladle and dips into a pot of water. Juniper pours water into the mortar and pestle; the medicine is nearly brewed. Juniper pours more hot water and continues mixing the medicine. When a moment passes, Juniper grabs the ladle and dips into the medicine that is Mother’s Touch.

Juniper carefully carries the medicine to Daffodil, hoping to savor every drop; the twins help Daffodil to take the medicine. Blueberry opens Daffodil’s mouth, and then Juniper gently pours the medicine into her mouth. Twig-Twig lays Daffodil back down, and then everyone steps away. Daffodil continues to keep rasping; it may be too late now. In their minds, Juniper and the twins pray that Daffodil will survive and still pull through.

Their worst fears happens… Daffodil’s breathing slows and quiets down. Juniper and the twins helplessly watch Daffodil become weaker and weaker… it seems that the Mother’s Touch isn’t enough after all. Daffodil is silent now and not moving anymore. Juniper survived two deadly creature just to save the youngest one… but it still wasn’t good enough. Not breathing or moving anymore, Juniper realizes she’s too late to save her beloved Daffodil. Crying and tearing, Juniper kneels towards the little girl and holds her close. Juniper shares one last hug, and weeps for her little sister. The twins cannot help but cry as well, and they hold each other close with the same loss. Unseen by everyone in the cave, the little girl’s hand twitches… a sign of life coming back. The little girl raises her hand to hold her bigger sister close.

Juniper notices, and pulls away with teary eyes. Daffodil is okay and their little warrior is going to live. Now overwhelmed with joy, Juniper wipes the tears away with her thumb. Juniper is now smiling, knowing her sister is alright. Through the entrance, the sunrise pours in with a blinding light as the sisters smile. Juniper holds the little warrior close, having kept her promise she made a long time ago…

The End

VACCINE FACTS

Vaccines help protect the persons that are more likely to contract #COVID19. Elders, older adults, residents & staff of long-term care homes and people with certain medical conditions are part of this group.

Learn more on how you can help protect them: https://www. sac-isc.gc.ca/eng/1606941379837/1606941507767