by Daisy Blenkin
I am a wolf. I wasn’t born a wolf, I was born human but I was cursed to be a wolf. I live in the Amazon by myself. I have smooth silky grey fur and white tips on the end of my tail and ears. No one knew about the curse except me. I was cursed by an awful witch who murdered my parents and all the other adults in town using a powerful curse. The curse only worked with adults, so the curse turned me into a wolf. I was the only child in town, so unless the recluse family had a child, I was the only person who wasn’t killed. That was a month ago, on my sixteenth birthday, and I’ve been living here ever since.
There’s a wolf pack who live nearby and I would love to join them, but they say I can’t because I’m not a real wolf. They say I’m not a real wolf because I can’t hunt like a wolf, I don’t howl like a wolf, and apparently Lana isn’t a wolf name.
My goal is to be accepted as one of them because I know it’s highly unlikely that I will break the curse. The only way to break the curse is if I befriend someone like me. Because I am meant to be the only child in town, there is no one like me. So, I pluck up enough courage to go speak to the wolf pack. I find them prowling around a clearing, probably looking for some innocent rabbits to eat.
*
“Well, well, if it isn’t Lana the Loser. What do you want?” sneered the leader, Eliza. The pack laughed except for a white wolf in the back. I wondered why she didn’t laugh.
“I-I want to be accepted as part of the pack,” I stammered. “What do I need to do to prove myself worthy enough to be part of the pack?”
“Nothing! You’ll never be worthy!” Eliza spat. A wolf next to her whispered something in her ear, which made Eliza change her mind.
“Well, I suppose there is something. See, I have a very sick sister, and she’s made no signs of getting better anytime soon. There is only one thing that can save her. It’s called the Terinlay flower, and there’s only one left. It lies on the top of Mount Hezebeth and can only be used once. If you return with it, you will be accepted into our pack forever. Can I trust you with my sister’s fate?”
“Yes,” I said confidently.
“Good. Don’t fail me. I will send a wolf to escort you on your journey. Go to the old oak tree at sunrise tomorrow. My wolf will be waiting.”
I set out the next morning and went to the old oak tree. Sure enough, a wolf was waiting there. When I got closer, I realised it was the wolf who didn’t laugh. I introduced myself. “Hi. My name’s Lana.”
“I know. My name is Sasha. Why do you want to be part of the pack so much?”
“Because I can’t … I mean, I just want to be part of something.”
We walked in silence for a while until I asked Sasha, “When did you become part of the pack?”
“Only about a month ago,” Sasha replied.
A month. When I was cursed.
“And where were you before that?”
“Stop having to know everything about me!” Sasha snapped. “I’m sorry, it’s just, my parents died recently.”
We walked in silence until we reached the base of the mountain. I told her, “You know, I think I know who you are.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, I know you were cursed just like me.”
“Does Eliza really have a sick sister?” I asked
“You’re cursed, too? And no, she hasn’t even got a sister, but she’ll kill me if she figures out I told you.”
“That means that she doesn’t need a flower!” I realised.
“She probably made the flower up!” Sasha said at the same time.
Suddenly, blue sparks surrounded me and Sasha until all we could see was blue. When the sparks eventually faded away, we were human! We had broken the curse that had made us wolves!
We grinned and hugged each other. Sasha was beautiful. She had long jet black hair and sparkling blue eyes. She had constellations of freckles dancing across her face. We were cured.
