The Arctic Region in Canada is a land of unrivaled beauty despite its inhospitable conditions. For thousands of years, the indigenous people known as the Inuit have survived there, but at times, some groups found their existence threatened. 

~oOo~

The great white bear padded silently through the snow, his paws sinking into the drifts. The wind carried something that night that stirred his heart. Catching a whiff, he froze mid-step, lifting his muzzle to sniff the air. The scent wasn’t from a seal or fox, but something else faintly familiar.  

He turned toward the west and bounded through the drifts, scattering the powdered snow behind him. Longing drove him forward, and he didn’t stop until he saw her—the Spirit from so long ago. 

She stood at the water’s edge with her hair, the envy of the sky, whipping around her face. He approached her with careful steps. His animal instincts had taught him caution. Was it really her? She stepped toward him and, upon reaching him, rose on her toes to kiss his wet nose. 

Her eyes shone in recognition. “It’s time to rejoin your people, brave Nanook.” 

That name. He experienced a flash of memory from his past just as the transformation began. 

His great body shuddered. His bones cracked and reshaped. White hair fell away all at once, replaced by human skin. Inky hair grew back thick on his head while softer hair returned to his arms, chest, and legs. Nanook shivered naked in the frigid air and struggled to make sense of it all. He lifted his hands in front of his eyes, turning them over in disbelief. His claws were gone. 

Fragments flickered through his mind. Fuzzy pictures of a circle of people gathered around a fire. Children’s laughter. 

The beautiful Spirit let her fur coat fall from her shoulders, and she draped it over his shivering body. “Nanook,” she began softly, “many winters ago, you prayed to us, the Spirits of your people. Warring tribes had cut off your hunting grounds. Your people were starving. The children would never grow to carry on your traditions. Your spirit was fierce, and your heart and soul were pure, so I gifted you the fiercest animal form—the great polar bear—so you could save your people.” 

The Spirit palmed his cheeks and pressed her forehead against his. Nanook looked deeply into her crystal clear eyes, which became a window to his past. He saw himself as the bear, dragging fresh-caught seals to his people and chasing away intruders with his thunderous roar. His people survived with him as their protector. 

But the gift from the Spirit came with a price.

The visions shifted. With each passing season, he became more of a bear and less of a man. While they honored him, no one stroked his hair. He didn’t belong inside their village. When the danger passed and the hunting grounds returned to his people, he walked away into the wilderness. Alone. And no one knew of his great sacrifice.  

He was just a polar bear wandering the empty, white landscape that stretched endlessly around him. He had no one to speak with. No one to hunt with. He was left with silence and only his fur to warm him. He swallowed hard, watching himself sleeping on the sea ice alone night after night.

“I… remember,” he whispered as teardrops froze in his lower eyelids, “but that man is lost to me, and I don’t know if I can find him again.”

The Spirit smiled gently. “Then, I’ll walk beside you until you do.” 

They journeyed together, her guiding him through the tundra as he slowly began to feel human once more. At first, his steps felt unsure, walking beside another. But he grew accustomed to another’s voice and company filling the space around him. By the time they saw the distant glow of the fires, the sense of belonging tugged at his heart; memories of a shared life returned, and he was ready to rejoin his people. 

The Spirit lightly touched his shoulder, “Your people do not know of your sacrifice, but they will see the strength of your heart and ask you to lead them. Among them, a woman named Adna waits for you, having prayed for a man with your strength of soul.” 

Nanook stepped forward to rejoin his people. The wind carried their voices and hurried him toward them. 

Any remaining trepidation dissolved.

He was home.