My child, my dear sweet child
The ice’s edge shrinks inward
Salty water pools up through cracks beneath us
Not a single savory seal in sight
It’s getting warmer and warmer
Your soft, white fur now patchy and grotty
Little black paws, little black claws
Much too weak and too small
To hunt, to feed, to survive
You grow skinny and weak
Meek coughs sputter out as we roam the frozen desert
I know you’re scared, I know you’re hungry
My blubber thins too
But you must trust me, I’ll be back, I swear
Stay in the den, my child
The others won’t ravage you there
I go off into the deep blue yonder
Orcas’ merry fweets turn to somber fluting
Narwhals joust with diminishing vigor
The fish school deeper and deeper
I know you’re waiting for me, my child
But I must journey onward onto bountiful lands
Where the seals dot the shorelines
And the walruses are plump and plentiful
All for you, my child
My paws pitter patter on the rough, craggy coast
Verdant sprigs shine through as snow recedes back
A figure comes out of the fog cloaked in muted red
With black fuzz on his paws and atop his head
Yet peaking through the layers was pure, pale flesh
So rotund...so full of meat...so -
BANG
As I lunge forward to reach nearing ambrosia
A sharp and searing pain stings straight into my side
I moan and growl in intense agony,
Rising up tall as a glacier and flailing my limbs violently
Crimson gushes out in a furious, unyielding stream
The familiar smell of shredded prey hits my nostrils
Yet the figure remains steadfast
A bizarre creature betwixt his paws
Skinny, sleek, and immobile
Mist from its two rounded mouths
What was -
BANG
Piercing pain returns once more
I cry out yet again, but I can no longer rise
I sink down with a great thud
Crimson floods around, soaking into my fur
My eyes struggle to stay open
I did all this for you, my sweet child
I couldn’t bring back the food you needed
I’m so sorry, I know I’ve failed you
Please live on...for my fading soul…my child...