A Wolf Called Wander

Wander and his raven fail to find the abundance of food they hoped for; Wander has been eating only small game such as rabbits and deer and needs to eat frequently to maintain his strength. He becomes frustrated with the raven for not scouting for him the way she has been so far. She leaves for several hours one morning and returns with excitement, eager to draw Wander to a new food source. He follows, but when the sun sets, she perches in a small bush and goes to sleep, leaving Wander hungry. In the morning, Wander follows her faithfully. When Wander realizes that they are approaching another black river, he tries to warn her, but she leads him to a dear carcass lying on the side of the road. He tears into it hungrily, gorging himself to replenish his energy. As he eats, he notices something strange. The deer, a large buck, bears no marks of a kill. As he observes the broken bones and sees a scattering of glass from a vehicle’s windshield, he watches a “noisemaker” speed by and begins to understand what happened. Wander is stung by the nonsensical violence of killing a creature and leaving it on the road without any respect for its life. He is reminded of Mother’s insistence that men cannot be trusted or understood. He howls, knowing that he is too far from his home territory for his family to hear him, but his loneliness compels him to try.

Wander rests, accepting that no amount of food will ever repair the emptiness he feels in the absence of his family. Although he needs to eat in order to survive, Wander has always viewed eating as an important part of a family ritual, and he longs for his community. Returning to the black river to consume more of the deer before he moves along, he is astonished when the lights from a passing vehicle reveal another wolf. She is all black, with glowing brown eyes. Wander tries to express his excitement and desire to meet her, but when he takes a leg of the dead deer to invite her share it, a vehicle sweeps by on the road. A large, long noisemaker, a semi-truck, is barreling toward them, and it sounds its horn in warning. Wander knows that he must prevent the female wolf from crossing the road. As she paces and makes several false starts, attempting to cross to him, vehicles continue streaking by, and Wander tries to think of how to impress upon her the graveness of the danger. He recalls how Growl used his facial expressions, body language, and voice to prevent Wander from his siblings from crossing dangerous boundaries. He mimics Growl’s behavior, lowering his body into a threatening pose and snarling and growling, commanding her not to pass and stomping his feet on the ground. With the passing of another car, he realizes that she is gone. He is lonelier than ever but takes comfort in having saved her life.

Wander continues to follow his raven, and his narration describes the changes in topography. He is now in a drier climate where water is scarce, and the vegetation consists only of smaller bushes and shrubs. He becomes so thirsty that he tries to open the wound on his chest to lick his own blood, but in dislodging the scab, he finds that he has finally healed. Wander continues to plod along behind his raven, needing more frequent breaks in order to rest.

A multitude of birds appear in the sky, and when Wander follows them, he finds himself at the shore of a lake surrounded by more birds than he has ever seen. He delights in drinking and swimming in the water, washing weeks of accumulated grime and debris from his fur. He waits at the shore where hoofmarks are abundant, anticipating the arrival of prey. When he manages to kill a small deer, he is filled with pride, knowing that his father would be proud, and he pauses to offer thanks and respect to his kill the way his pack taught him to. When he calls to his raven, inviting her to share his kill, she descends with a flock and flies away with them when they have finished eating. She has been his companion, and although she could never have replaced the bond he might have formed with another wolf, he is nonetheless filled with loneliness when he realizes that she is saying goodbye, for unlike Wander, she has found her pack.

The landscape around the enormous lake is vast; once Wander has established that he will encounter no wolves by staying there, he scans the horizon to determine the best direction of travel. In the distance, he can see a mountain and knows that everything he needs for survival will likely be there. As the land rises in elevation, the cooling air and the presence of snow confirm for Wander that he is on the right path. As his father taught him, he climbs to high ground to watch the valley below for signs of prey and other wolves. He hears a sound that he recognizes as hoofbeats and is worried at first when horses appear, because he knows that horses and men are often companions. However, these horses belong to a wild herd. Wander watches the social interactions between the equines, recognizing that, like wolves, their culture and social structure are defined by a hierarchy and clearly defined roles and behavioral expectations. Wander’s attention is drawn to one esteemed member of the herd, a large mare who paces restlessly. The scent of blood reaches Wander’s nostrils, and he is fascinated and confused when the mare lies down and begins the process of giving birth to a foal, her companions gathered around her to offer support and comfort.