The first year after the bad thing
Bettrys had a new home, mum and her family built it deep into the river bank. It was warm and cosy and the smell reminded Bettrys of their old lodge.
It was the time of year when the forest wakes up after the long sleep of winter. This was the time of the year when the bad thing from the sky came. The awful feeling in Bettrys’ tummy that had been getting less now came back. Bettrys was surprised at the heaviness of it, she found herself watching and waiting again for something bad to happen.
The next day Banon, her aunt, uncles and cousins arrived and they all began their special journey back to where dad and Brac slept in their forever place. Their journey back seemed long. On the way they stayed with family and friends again. Bettrys cried along the way, she thought a lot about what happened and they talked together long into the night as they worked and ate.
Banon told tales of the first beavers who tamed the forest and listened to Bettrys reminding her that she was safe and that the bad thing from the sky hadn’t come back. Together they found dad and Brac’s special sleeping place.
© Copyright Lucy Hargan 2018
Mum, Bettrys and Bevyn spoke about what had happened since the time of the bad thing. They cried together because their hearts ached with the loss of their father and brother. They remembered happy times when they were all together. Bettrys found some new pebbles and shells that she kept to remember their visit.
After a few days they made their way back to their new home. Bettrys felt sad and glad that mum had kept her promise. She told Bettrys that they would return every spring to remember their lives before with dad and Brac.
Bettrys liked that there would always be a time when they could come together like this. She knew she would never forget what happened and that she was changed by what she had been through.
She understood that few kits or even adult beavers had been hurt like her family had. She knew that life was the most precious thing of all. She knew that conkers, pebbles and shells could be replaced but that loved ones could not and that she would always hold dad and Brac in her heart. She had learned that she could live a happy life again and that the bad thing didn’t have the power to shape her future. She was in charge of her life and she was going to live how she wanted to.
The end.