I peer out of the screen door of the tent into the darkness of the marsh and beyond. A quarter crescent moon begins to pop up over the mountaintop, large and bright. It looks so close it feels like I can reach out and pull it from the sky. That’s when I hear it for the first time.
“Owwww, Ow, owww.” The howling begins as if on cue, as the moon glistens on the waters of the marshlands. Just like in the beginning of a horror movie.
That first cry comes from the dark shadows of the mountains across the marsh, where the moonlight did not light up. That howl was not far from the shimmering reflection on the water just in front of us.
Suddenly another cry, more like a lament, comes from the north end of the marsh, “Owwww, Ow, owwwwww, Owwww, Ow, owwwwww.”
Neewa sits up and begins sniffing the air, her nose pointing straight up.
I think this could be the end. She will surely run away and go back to the wilderness. Fear spreads through my body, tightening every muscle.
“It’s as if they are asking each other questions and then answering,” I whisper to Jackie beside me.
I yell in the direction of Chester and Marlene’s sleeping bags, “What are they?”
Moments pass like minutes when Chester comes to the campfire near our tent. “They are coyotes. Don’t worry, they won’t bother us.” Chester hesitates and nods at Neewa laughing, “I wasn’t counting on having one of the coyotes here in camp, ha ha ha.”
It’s difficult for me to read Chester’s laugh. He’s not afraid, that I know. It seems like he’s always laughing at some irony in the world. Like it’s his destiny in life to look at things around him and see the humor, sadness, or joy in them. It’s as if he thinks he is here in this world temporarily, a kind of a layover.
The coyote’s conversation continues like a song, echoing in every direction, filling the valley with beautiful lyrics and me with fear.
My head is up, ears alert, and my eyes are as wide open as a full moon. I feel the adrenaline flowing in my body. I’m ready to run or fight for my life. But out here there isn’t anywhere to run.
Sarcastically I grumble back at Chester, “Yeah right, I’m in a tent in the middle of nowhere, coyotes are howling all around me. Oh! ‘Not to worry,’ he says. ‘They won’t hurt you,’ he says.” I look at him. “Are you crazy?”
Chester adds, “They are far away, they only sound nearby. They won’t come any closer. Not as long as we have this fire going.”
Neewa raises her nose into the air, inhaling their scent.
“Owww, Owww Owwwwwww!” Neewa let out a coyote howl the likes of which I’ve never heard before.
Neewa is talking with them using perfect pitch and tone. My eyes begin to blink nervously, uncontrollably, even faster then my hands are shaking from the panic spreading through my body. I will lose her. This is it, surely she will run away to be with her own kind.
I break down sobbing uncontrollably. Quickly before anyone sees, I gain control and wipe the tears from my eyes and cheeks with the sleeve of my sweatshirt wrapped around the back of my hand.
Neewa is chained to a nearby tree, stirring, and pacing. She stares into the darkness beyond the moonlight, as if she sees her cousins moving about, securing positions, surrounding us.
Shimmying over the warm rocks in my sleeping bag, I lift myself out of the tent and walk to her. I check her collar to make sure she cannot slip away. I pull her close to me to break the spell she is in, tears fall to my cheeks.
“Will she run away?” I ask Chester who is sitting by the fire, after having built it up for the long night ahead.
“No, she will not run away. Neewa will keep them away from us.” Chester warns walking away, “Don’t let her off that chain.”
After returning to my sleeping bag, I curl up with the stones, warm from the long day’s sun. The stars shine brightly around the glow of the fire. Jackie and Dad are asleep already. I toss and turn, and then settle down again, trying to sleep.
“Ah,” I sigh.
My eyes begin to close, then open, and close. Neewa howls a few more times in the background. A few more howls come from the mountains and across the marsh. But even that doesn’t keep me awake. Except for the frogs and crickets calling in the night, it is quiet again and I fall asleep.
***
Before I know it morning arrives and the sun, although not above the mountain peaks, illuminates the valley. I’m waking up on a hill overlooking the vast Ruby Marshes. The mist hangs over the water as the sun begins to unveil the ruby glow of the peaks to the west of the marsh.
Panicking I look over at Neewa, she is still here. She whines signaling me she is ready to get off the chain and go for her morning run.
“Neewa stay close, don’t go running off!” I demand.
I let her go with great apprehension as she disappears into the brush. I walk to the campfire, a deep frown of worry on my forehead. Watching and listening to her every move now, I make sure she stays just a few yards away from me.
“Dad, how long have you been awake?” Bread and coffee for breakfast, yum, that’s my favorite.
“Oh just a little while. Here, Tina, try some of this.”
“Hum, that is good,” I smack my lips.
“I call it campfire toast and jam. Can you go wake Jackie?” Dad asks.
“She’s up, on her way back from the outhouse,” I answer.
Jackie joins us, everyone sips coffee and munches on toast and jam.
“So, are we going pine nut hunting or fishing?” Jackie asks.
The fog is burning off the blue-green water.