see the same boy I have always known. But I speak to him and I realize that he is only the same on the outside. No matter what I say he refuses to accept that I know what is best for him."
"He is just a boy," Talik said, "but he is a boy with a man struggling to grow inside of him. He is confused. You have to be patient. I will go and try to talk to him," Talik said, her eyes searching the crowd for her son.
Enuk shook his head and slowly walked away.
"How can Father not understand!" Napachee blurted when she sat beside him. "Every time I want to do something or speak my own mind he refuses to accept my ideas! He treats me like a child!"
"He is just trying to do what he feels is best for you." Talik moved closer and gently placed her hand on his shoulder. Napachee pulled away and stood up suddenly. He had to get out of there!
He pushed his way across the hall, out the door and into the darkness of the night, running as fast as he could between the houses and out onto the sea ice of the harbour. He collapsed and rolled onto his back, gasping for breath. He could see the blue and green swirl of the Northern Lights high above him. As tears clouded his vision, the lights took the shape of his father's face. The fog of his frozen breath rose into the night sky.
TWO
The polar bear cub shuddered and began to regain consciousness. It was dimly aware of unfamiliar sounds and surroundings. As it struggled to open its eyes, a terrible pain shot through its head and the bars of a cage came into focus.
James Strong had captured many animals in his long career as a zookeeper. They had surprised this polar bear cub with the helicopter and it had been an easy target for the tranquillizer gun. He was relieved to see the cub beginning to waken. It had been asleep far too long and he had started to question whether the dose of tranquillizer they had administered had been too strong.
"There, there. You will feel sluggish for a while but you will get better. You'll have plenty of rest on the journey ahead." James had travelled to Sachs Harbour to complete one task and one task alone. To capture two polar bear cubs and transport them to the zoo in Edmonton. He was dedicated to the preservation of wildlife and saw the zoo as a means of educating others to respect the animals and their place in nature.
The cub wobbled to its feet and peered through the bars. Gaining some confidence, it growled and shrunk to the back of the cage.
"Look at it! Once it gets its legs I'll have to teach it some discipline," Jarvis, James's assistant, muttered.
For Jarvis, animals were just part of his job; they had to be captured, broken, trained and sold. He was a bull of a man with thick arms and legs and what he lacked in height he made up for in strength and a mean disposition. He seldom shaved and had an ample belly that was barely covered by a dirty shirt. The other men feared him, but paid him grudging respect.
Jarvis slowly unlocked the cage and opened the door. The cub growled louder and braced itself against the bars.
"So, you do have some fight in you!" Jarvis sneered, picking up a short, thick stick nearby. Before James had time to intervene, Jarvis moved closer and raised the club to strike.
"Can I help look after it?" Napachee blurted, stepping out of the shadows where he'd been watching.
"Keep your distance kid," Jarvis rasped. "It's time for me to teach it who's boss!"
"Settle down Jarvis," James interrupted. "You will do no such thing!" Taking the club from Jarvis and walking towards Napachee he held out his hand by way of introduction, "My name is James and who might you be?"
"I'm Napachee. I live here, and I can look after the bear for you. I can clean it or feed it or whatever you need! I won't be any trouble and I will make sure the bear is no trouble either. I can feed it in the morning, and at lunch and in the afternoon I can clean its—"
"Slow down," James chuckled. "If it means that much to you, you can look after the bear. As long as your parents don't mind you spending the time here, I don't mind the help. Another hand or two can't hurt. I won't be able to pay you much though."
"I don't need to be paid," Napachee said eagerly, his excitement barely contained in his nervous gestures.
"Be here at 7:00 tomorrow morning. Like I said, as long as your parents agree to this it will be all right."
Napachee turned and ran for home. As he spotted his father feeding the dogs his heart sank. He would never agree to this! After their argument yesterday, working for men from the South would be the last thing in the world he would allow.
Napachee barely heard his father's greeting and could only muster a weak smile as he moved past him into the house. Napachee went into his room and flopped onto his bed. He knew two things: he couldn't ask his father if he could look after the bear and he couldn't stay away from the men from the South!
James had told Jarvis he didn't approve of the use of clubs and other weapons to keep animals in line and had threatened to fire him if he ever saw him attempt to beat an animal again.
Now Jarvis slowly walked towards the cage, removing the club from his pocket and stopping silently in front of the bars. The cub had curled up at the back of the cage and was sleeping peacefully. Jarvis slammed the club against the door and the cub jolted to its feet. Its eyes were slow to adjust, but it recognized the smell immediately. Baring its teeth, it growled and pressed hard against the back of the cage. Jarvis chuckled as he quietly opened the cage door and crouched in the doorway.
Napachee bolted upright and wondered if he had slept too long. He lay back in his bed and began to rub the sleep from his eyes. He had spent a fitful night, tossing and turning in his sleep. Every time he had closed his eyes, he saw his father's angry face. Now he lay in the dark wondering if he really should go at all. If his father found out, he would be in big trouble. But if he didn't go he would always wonder what he had missed.
He had learned that Jarvis and James were from Edmonton and though many of his friends had been there Napachee had never had an opportunity to visit. There were other whites who lived in Sachs Harbour as well, school teachers and government employees, but most of them had been living in the North for many years and didn't often talk about their earlier life. This was his chance to hear everything first hand.
When Napachee arrived at the camp, the men were already up and working with equipment. They appeared to be packing up to leave. Napachee spotted James and headed towards him.
"Good morning. You're just in time," James said.
"Are you leaving for the South already?"
"No. We are going out with the helicopter one last time to try and get a second cub. Our contract was to capture two cubs for the zoo. This is our last day here, so if we don't get one today we're out of luck."
Napachee felt a rough hand on the back of his neck. Jarvis had walked up while they were talking and held a pail out to Napachee with his other hand.
"First, clean the cage. You can use this pail to wash it out and there is some clean straw over there you can spread on the bottom. Once that is done you can give it some of the food over by the tent."
"I don't think that's a good idea, Jarvis. It's not safe. We will be gone all day so you'd better feed the cub through the bars of its cage for now, and then after we get back to help you, you can clean the cage. Don't try to open the cage door while we are away. We'll see you later," James said.
With that the two men walked off leaving Napachee to the task at hand. He picked up the pail and walked over to the cage. Seeing Napachee, the cub snarled and backed up into its familiar position against the bars at the rear of the cage.
"Qanuripit," Napachee said, surprising himself by speaking to the cub in Inuktitut. "I won't harm you. You must be hungry. I'll get some of your food." Napachee walked to the tent and spotted the frozen fish among the provisions the men brought with them.
The young cub no longer snarled. The men had said not to open the bear cub's cage, but Napachee reached for the handle anyway. Surely it was no threat.