A hunter, or a pray

 Listen! Do you believe that there are gods in the world? If you are a materialist or an atheist, the question is just silly to you. But, remember, there is a god, the god of nature, whom you should never deny. You know, I’ve hunted in the forest in the northwest of Russia, and as a professional hunter, I have seen the god of nature raging in the desolated forest. This is the most absurd, most ridiculous story you may have ever heard, but I’m still going to tell you the whole story, the story about the god of nature. You may think that I’m crazy. I might be crazy, but listen, please, never show your irrespective to the god of nature.

It was the 17th year that I spent in the forest in the Northwest Forest in Russia. I was tired of hunting in the forest, and always made malicious swears that I would stop hunting after selling the last horn I had got from the elks. However, as you know, selling horns was just too profitable so I kept on selling dozens of horns and breaking my swears one by another. One day, after swearing again, I finally shot my gun. I could hear the birds fleeting from their nest, making squeezed sounds, and elks, ran away in all directions, leaving disordered footprints on the undefiled ground, disrupting the harmony of snow in a barbaric way. The disorder only lasted for a few seconds, as a giant body fell to the ground, dying the snow with crimson blood, signaling the death of a beautiful creature. It was a cold winter afternoon, and my legs and arms were freezing cold. I put down my scruffy shotgun and walked incongruously towards the poor animal.

You know, as a professional hunter, I was especially strong and was good at dealing with all kinds of animals, and also, without any sympathy. You know, sympathy is just useless for hunters. I saw the air with a saw, cutting off the giant horn of the elk. The animal’s body trembled unconsciously, tossing out dark red blood and pale cerebrum into the sky; bones and muscles were broken by the sharp tool, making an enjoyable chunking sound. The crimson and the blood were just so satisfying that I wanted to continue hunting forever, till I died. I just completely forgot my swear and carried the body of the elk towards my wooden cabin.

I wonder if I had gone a little far that day, and I spent the whole afternoon hurrying to my cabin with the bloody flesh of the animal, leaving a bloody line right after my footprint, creating a beautiful scene in the world of purity and snow. The sun had already gone down, beyond the horizon as I opened the door of my small cabin. So far, everything has been normal and smooth throughout the day. Remember I’ve talked about the god of nature? I wonder if I was frustrated by my untrustworthy swear and he just let out his anger on my small cabin without even warning me. Just as I opened the door, something fell to the ground, heavily, with a deafening sound, hitting the wooden ground, like a bell on the church, judging the renegade with its unlimited power. The sound reverberated in my ears, as the object flew right over my nose, and I could feel the object cutting my hair rudely with the sharp angle. I could feel my heart stop beating for a second, as the heavy object rolled, breaking into pieces.

You know, although I was frightened by the weird object, I could still act bravely toward a thrilling occasion. I kicked onto the object inadvertently, and as I looked down, a skeleton was staring at me in the roaring sound of broken bones, with its empty eye sockets and raised nose and mouse. I was shocked at once, but, you know, as I was familiar with all kinds of skeletons, and I suddenly noticed that it was the skull of an elk. 

All at once, anger just ran through my fragile nerves and brain. I did the most regretful thing I’d ever done through my whole life: I kicked on the skeleton heavily, with my heavy boots and sturdy muscle, striking the whole skull with unbelievable force. The skull moaned, rotating, and finally, when I looked down, I could feel the cold, callous sight striking on my face, with fire in the eyes, giving out the anger of being killed and insulted. The sight went through my body, freezing my blood, reminding me about the silly swear I’d made dozens of times. However, the feeling just escaped from my naïve spirit within a few seconds, you know, as I was not religious, and at that time, I thought I would never be religious. I just threw the skeleton and swept the fragments into the deep snow outside my cabin.

Just as I said, there were certainly gods in the world, but at that time, I was just like a naughty child and was not aware of what I was doing. I remembered that I had put the skull of an elf on the ceiling of the cabin as a decoration, and I just ignored the confusing fall off of the skeleton. I went into my cozy small hut, set up the fire, and went to my quilt with tiredness. 

I was woken up by the sound of the wind at midnight. You know, you couldn’t have a good dream on a windy night, especially in the deep dark forest. You have to be vigilant all the time, driving away the curious animals and paying attention to the bad weather. The fire had already gone out, and the room was totally dark, even without moonlight. The ashes were shining in the fireplace, generating eerie light, just as the eyes of a starving bear, searching for victims for dinner. I looked outside the small window: it was snowing heavily, and tons of snowflakes were floating in the freezing air. 

“What a dam bad weather.” I thought as I got up that I couldn’t sleep for even another single second. Bam! The environment was lighted up by a pale light, tearing a hole in the sky, and shining the trees and stones around the building. I jumped up, and in the meantime, I noticed how silly I was: it was only extreme weather, common in the forest. I just lay down again and tried to sleep.

The darkness continued, and just after I lay in bed, I began to notice something strange happening: I heard a strange cracking sound, wondering outside the dark night. I knew you would never believe in me, but listen! This was exactly what had frightened me. You know, I lived in the forest for over ten years, and I had never heard about something that was active in the darkness of night. The elks were resting, and the bears hibernated, and you know, no one lived in the dark forest besides hunters like me. I tried to ignore the strange sound, relieving myself that it was only the sound of snow, but as the cracking sound grew louder and circled my small hut, I could not bear it anymore. 

I got up from my bed for the second time, looking out from the small window carefully: nothing had changed: looming snowflakes continued to scrabble across the window from time to time, and the stumps and the fences looming in the argenteus screen. Everything stood in stagnation, without moving a little bit, even without a single footstep. Everything was in peace, except the strange sound kept disturbing my fragile eardrum.

The night was totally a mystery. It was strange, and thrilling, trying to punish me in some confusing ways, but I was embarrassed by my foolishness and arrogance on that cold winter night. I felt ashamed of my stupid decision, that I just went to bed without thinking, as the confusing sound hovered, going round and round, even on the ceiling of my cabin. 

The sound finally disappeared in front of the door, and as I was celebrating the silly annoying sound disappearing the door began to shake irregularly within a few seconds. At first, only dust and ashes were on the shelves and the door fell down, but combined with a shuffling sound, the room soon trembled on a much bigger scale. Just like a small hut in a hurricane, all kinds of objects including books, animal bones, and bullets fell from different places, making the room a mess. I was terrified, jumping up from my bed, shouting “Who’s there?” Just as you expected, no one replied, as the disaster continued, trying to destroy my cabin in the most impolite way. Ashes began to get out of the fireplace, igniting the wooden floor, and keeping the temperature in the small hut rising.

You know, no one can keep calm in a terrifying situation, and so do I. Although as a hunter, with superhuman courage and strength, it took me some time to recover from the terrifying scene. I tried to convince myself that it was only an earthquake, no, a tornado, that Russia never had earthquakes, but I still grabbed my gun and kicked the door open. “who’s there?” I shouted in a trembling voice, but the only thing that replied to me was the raging snowstorm. Nothing was there. I shot into the dark night, but the bullets were absorbed by the snow and the wind.

The crackling sound of the woodfire dragged my soul back, reminding me of being burnt to death. I hurried into the dark forest with freezing arms and trembling legs. The hut was getting away from me, and after everything went in silence, I looked back to the hut looming in the snowstorm. I saw the most terrifying scene you may think I was mad. There was a huge elk on the top of the roof, carrying a huge stick with fire on the top, and hundreds of elks circled around the small cabin, with fire and smoke rising from dust and ashes. The fire burning, depriving my soul, weakening my leg, striking my fragile nerves. I ran as fast as I could, trying to avoid the misfortune falling on my fate.

I left the forest as fast as could.

You know, I disrespected nature, disrespected god, and finally, I was disrespected by them too. I never went back to the forest again, but if you would like to revisit nature, please, remember that there were gods in the world, and please remember to show respect to them.