Wild Rose Country - Epilogue
Story by JonaWolf on SoFurry
Imported from SF2 with no description.
The snows of winter drove Sharra and I back to the sanctuary of the cabin at the end of October and we did what we could to prepare for the long winter ahead. We hunted long and hard and worked tirelessly to preserve the meat we brought home, keeping as much as we could stored away as a buffer aginst the uncertainty of winter.
As the days grew short and winter locked the forest into a frosty grip it surprised me how easily I'd settled into my new life. My bond with Sharra seemed as natural as breathing. Gone now was the solitary loner. He had evolved into someone different, someone who was not afraid to rely on the help others could give and one who delighted in the special Link, mental and physical, he shared with his mate. I have to say it was an improvement.
The long dark days of winter left us plenty of time to plan for a future that seemed not only strange, but also worrisome to me. Once the snows had melted, we had decided we would leave this place and return to the homeland of Sharra's people. She wished to find another Clan of her people and see if we could make a home among them. For better or for worse, I agreed with her plan despite the doubts I held concealed deep within.
Until that far off spring melt, there was little else we could do but survive. In order to keep occupied I experimented with tools, revising the design of my bow and arrows, and trying to make winter clothing while Sharra counted the days until we could leave this lonely wilderness.
Our story does not end here, not by a long shot. There are so many more memories locked inside my head that I need to get into some sort of order before I can put them down here. It has been an exhausting task to confront my early days on this world and the feelings that came with them after so many years have passed. I need to rest and think for a while before I begin the next part of this story.
I will leave this place of dusty relics and reminders of a long extinct species and return to the wilderness for a time. Some things about me have remained the same over the years and finding the helpful solitude of mountains and forest in order to think clearly is one of them. It will be a long, arduous trek at my age but I know I can do it. I may even visit the site of the old cabin Sharra and I used to inhabit. Thirty years of new forest growth will have changed the area, but I should still be able to find the place where it once stood.
I think perhaps in that familiar setting my memories and churning emotions will finally settle enough that I'll feel confident to continue this story.
Wish me luck…
It's been a long and winding road from start to finish for this story. Twenty years have passed since I first put pen to paper and began this tale. It's odd for me to think that it's finished, but in truth, there's plenty left to tell about John and Sharra. Book 2 of Wild Rose Country, The Forest Clan is currently in the works. Hopefully it won't take me another twenty years to get it finished.
I'd like to express my thanks to all of you who have read this story over the years. You are the ones that gave me what I needed to stick with it and keep this story moving. Without you guys (and gals) I would have given up long ago.
For those of you that have been asking for a copy of this book in print, It's now available on Amazon. you can find it [here.