Conscious, Conscientious

Mariel slipped on an icy rock and fell sitting in a pile of snow.

“See? Told you this was a bad idea,” Rodrigo whined.

Mariel stood back up carefully, dusting herself off. The brisk North Mountain air was even harsher than she remembered, and the slopes were steeper. She had never explored this far beyond the caves—everyone always said there was no point.

It’s supposed to be the end of the world past here…she recalled.

“I hate this,” Rodrigo added, climbing down from one boulder to another.

“Rod, if you’re just gonna complain, why did you come?” Mariel pressed.

“I mean…I don’t want you to get eaten by a wolf, or anything…” he insisted. “Besides, Shane and I broke up. I’m trying to be as far away from him as possible.”

“I thought you two just got back together yesterday morning,” Mariel said.

“Yeah. And then we broke up last night.”

Mariel sighed. At least her housemate gave her company. They continued their journey, climbing down snow-covered rocks until they finally reached more solid land.

For Mariel, it was too late to go back to Food Town—she had already told them she quit. It meant giving up her dream of affording nursing school, but after all her days of rude, entitled customers yelling at her, she had enough. She just hoped this odd village they were headed for was real.

“Do you think Zayza’s right?” Mariel asked Rodrigo as they walked.

“What did she tell you this place is called again?”

“Our Snowy Village.”

“Nope—I think she’s on something,” Rodrigo said bluntly. “Honestly, I thought you would have given up and wanted to go back to the caves by now. I was kind of banking on it.”

“Well I’m not, so you’re either gonna have to come with me, or—”

Mariel stopped in her tracks, so Rodrigo looked at her with confusion.

“What?” he asked.

“Ssh.”

Something was rustling in the trees nearby. Mariel and Rodrigo looked closely. As it neared, they could hear muffled thuds against the ground. A few branches bowed underneath the weight of a massive, furry foot.

Rodrigo cursed. “We’re gonna die.”

“Ssh! Don’t move!” Mariel whispered.

Only a short pace ahead, a black bear emerged into the clearing where they were heading. It was preoccupied, sniffing the ground.

Mariel’s heart pounded, but she tried to remain still.

The bear looked up suddenly and stared at them.

“We’re dead. Tell Shane I—” Rodrigo began.

“Wait. See? If we don’t move, it won’t hurt us,” Mariel pointed out.

The bear stood tall, and then let out a deep roar.

“Now what?!” Rodrigo exclaimed.

“Um…don’t run…?”

With a grunt, the bear charged them.

“RUN!!!!” Mariel screamed.

She almost slipped again as she and Rodrigo sprinted in the other direction. But if they headed backwards for too long, they’d reach the steep, rocky incline. Their only option was to hurry along the side of the mountain.

But the bear was gaining on them, fast.

Just when their fate couldn’t seem any more certain, Mariel heard the crack of a stick. Then she saw Rodrigo trip, and he slid down the slope of the mountain, crashing against a tree.

“Rod!” she cried desperately.

Rodrigo let out a cry of agony, clutching his leg.

Before Mariel could consider her actions, she found herself rushing to him. She slipped and fell onto her side, sliding down the hill until she crashed beside her friend. Thankfully, she hadn’t sustained any injuries.

But Rodrigo was crying in pain. Mariel leaned close to check on him—but as she heard the thunderous approaching footsteps, she knew it was no use:

Looking up, she saw the bear was almost upon them.

“Incoming!” someone shouted spiritedly.

Then, an enormous ball of snow and ice came tumbling down the hill from above. It slammed right into the bear, causing it to stumble onto its side.

“You were right, Foler!” came the same voice from where the snow boulder had descended. “Setting up these giant snowballs was worthwhile!”

Mariel looked up the slope to see a man in thick winter attire, wearing far too big a smile for the current situation.

Then she jumped with surprise when someone else landed on the ground right in front of them, seemingly coming from high up in the tree.

“I’m telling you, that Lammy kid’s got lots of good ideas, Folel!” this man called up the hill. He turned to face Mariel and Rodrigo, even as the bear was recovering. This man, Foler, looked exactly like the one farther up the hill.

“Hey there!” Foler greeted. “You guys are in a tough area—we keep seeing bears around here lately! Sit tight, okay?”

Mariel nodded both fearfully and out of sheer confusion, as Rodrigo let out another cry. Blood was dying the snow red beneath his leg.

“Can you take care of him?” Foler asked.

“I…um…I want to be a nurse, but…I don’t know a lot yet…” Mariel stammered tearfully.

“That’s not what your thoughts are telling me,” Foler said. “You have what it takes—I can tell!”

Mariel didn’t quite understand what he meant, but she knew she had to at least try.

“Leave the bear to me and my brother,” Foler insisted with a smile.

He turned to face the bear, who was now charging at them once more. Foler swiftly scooped up a snowball and chucked it at the bear’s face, running away from Mariel and Rodrigo. The bear followed him.

Mariel was impressed at Foler’s speed, but then she returned her attention to her own role.

“You’re gonna be fine, Rod. I’m just gonna need to see your leg, so this might hurt, okay?” she said as calmly as possible.

Rodrigo nodded wincingly.

Mariel rolled up his pant leg carefully, until she found the wound just under his knee. The deep cut was still bleeding fast, and judging by the shape of his leg, he likely had a fracture on his shin.

First and foremost, she knew she needed to slow the bleeding. She rapidly reached under her coat and managed to rip off the sleeve of her shirt. Folding it into a cloth, she used it to apply pressure to his wound.

“Okay, now I’m gonna need to raise your leg a bit. You’re doing so great,” Mariel said encouragingly.

Rodrigo let out a shout as Mariel gently lifted his leg above the level of his heart. As she did, she looked back up to Foler.

Mariel gasped—the bear was close behind him, and he was heading towards a steep drop on the mountain.

“Alright, the big one, Folel!” Foler shouted up to his twin. “Wait until you sense my feeling of readiness!”

“Got it!” Folel shouted down. Mariel realized he had headed farther away, following Foler and the bear from above. There were more giant snowballs stationed around him, and he was running towards the leftmost one, which was twice the size of the first.

How is he supposed to move that thing?! Mariel worried.

Foler hadn’t said anything out loud, but somehow Folel knew it was time. He threw himself against the snow boulder, shoving with everything he had. With an immense amount of raw strength he got the giant snowball to budge, and it began rolling down the mountain.

Mariel’s heart pounded even harder. At this point, the snowball would collide with the bear and Foler. But then Foler dove, landing just above the beginning of the cliff.

The bear wasn’t so lucky: the icy boulder smashed into it just as it neared the drop, tackling it and sending it freefalling. They all heard a deep boom as the bear landed in the snow below.

Foler stood, still smiling as he checked down the drop. “He’s alright, it wasn’t much of a drop,” he observed. “No way he’s getting back up here anytime soon, though! Nice work, brother!”

“You too, brother!” Folel exclaimed with a laugh, now hurriedly climbing down the slope.

The twins regrouped and joined Mariel and Rodrigo under the tree.

“You guys okay?” Folel asked.

Mariel checked on Rodrigo, who seemed to have calmed down. “He’s gonna need treatment, but he’ll be alright,” she said.

“If you don’t mind me asking, what brings you two all the way out here?” wondered Foler. “Your thoughts say you’re from the caves—but I didn’t want to pry any deeper without permission.”

Again, Mariel wasn’t sure what he meant by what her ‘thoughts say.’ “Well, a couple of travelers I met told me to find a place called…” she began. “Uh…never mind. It’s gonna sound insane.”

“She’s trying to find some hidden place called ‘Our Snowy Village,’” Rodrigo finished for her sardonically. “Crazy, right? I told her we’d never—”

“That’s where we’re from!” Folel exclaimed.

“Huh?”

Folel and Foler laughed. “Those travelers…do you mean Lammy and Zayza?” Foler asked.

Mariel’s face lit up. “Yes! I let them stay at my place the other night! Zayza told me to come find you!”

Folel laughed again. “Well, if you guys really are from the mountains, I guess we should have warned them you’re not supposed to know about the Multiverse…” he explained with a shrug.

“Don’t say that, brother. It could be the Great Spirit of the Northern Mountains working through our friends once more,” said Foler. “Allow us to take you to Our Snowy Village. Our nurse is very old, but she’ll be able to treat this young man.”

“Well hey, I think we just found her a new apprentice,” Folel pointed out, gesturing to Mariel.

Soon, the twins were guiding Mariel and Rodrigo down the mountain. As Folel carried Rodrigo on his back, Foler held a large bag filled with wood and other resources.

Despite their near-death encounter, Mariel couldn’t stop smiling—Zayza was right: there really was more to the world than what she’d been taught. She didn’t have to stay tied down to a broken system that forced her to sacrifice joy for success. What was it Folel had called it…?

“The Multiverse…” Mariel recalled as they journeyed. “What is that?”

The twins smiled identically. “Take a deep breath: your whole world is about to change.”