Loba’s Return
Loba had always been different. As a child, she heard the whispers of the wind and the songs of the trees. The rivers called her by name, and the animals spoke in ways beyond words. But when she told her mother, the woman’s face turned cold.
"We do not talk about that, Loba."
The weight of those words silenced her. Over time, she dimmed her light, severing the connection she once had with the living world. She buried her knowing deep within her bones, hiding it beneath the expectations of others.
But the dreams began when she turned twenty eight.
Each night, she saw an eclipse darkening the sky, and a wolf standing beneath it, howling to the hidden moon. In the dream, she was that wild wolf, untamed, powerful. As the moon’s light returned, the wolf’s form shifted into a woman with eyes of fire and wisdom. The dream haunted her, calling her back to something she had long forgotten.
On the night of the eclipse, an unseen force pulled her to the forest. The sky turned dark, the air thick with silence. And then, she saw it.
A wolf stood before her, silver fur glowing under the eclipsed sky. Its eyes locked onto hers, ancient and knowing. Fear clenched her stomach, but she couldn’t look away.
And then, something impossible happened.
She heard the wolf. Not in words, but in a voice that resonated within her soul.
"Follow me."
Doubt tried to creep in, but another voice rose from deep within, the voice of the child she once was, the one who spoke to rivers and trees.
"Go on. Follow her".
She followed.
The mother wolf led her through the forest to where a cub lay tangled in a snare of branches. Loba’s hands moved instinctively. She placed them on the cub, feeling energy surge from her palms as she freed it. The mother wolf met her gaze once more. No words were spoken, but Loba felt the gratitude.
Shaken, she stumbled to the river to wash her hands. But as the water touched her skin, it spoke.
"Remember."
The wind stirred, and the trees began to whisper. The ground beneath her feet hummed with recognition. It was too much. Her heart pounded, her breath quickened. What would people say? What if they thought she was mad?
Then, from the darkness, an owl descended, perching on a low branch. Its golden eyes pierced through her fear.
"If you live in fear of your power, you will live a life of emptiness," the owl said. "Your gift is your sacred nature. You are the daughter of wild women, women who once listened to the voice of the Earth. But when the world turned against them, they silenced themselves to survive. It is time to reclaim what was lost."
Tears welled in Loba’s eyes, grief and truth colliding within her. She saw the generations of women who came before her, the ones who had buried their gifts in shadows to stay safe.
She knelt upon the Earth, hands pressed into the soil. "I honor my ancestors. I honor their pain. And now, it is time to tell a new story."
The forest listened.
"What will you do?" the trees asked.
She rose, wiping her tears. "I will speak with the Women."
And so she did.
She called the women of her village to the fire, sharing her story, her truth. One by one, the women listened. And then, one by one, they began to remember.
Some spoke of dreams they had buried, others of the voices they had silenced. Until finally, the elder of the village spoke.
"You have remembered what we have forgotten," the elder said, her eyes shining with tears. "Our lineage was one of wild women, of wisdom keepers. We lost our way, but tonight, because of you, we return."
The women wept together, healing generations of silence. They danced, sang, and howled beneath the moon, honoring the ones who had come before and those yet to come.
As Loba stood beneath the starlit sky, she felt something shift within her, something vast, something ancient. She had reclaimed her truth. And in doing so, she had freed not just herself, but the voices of all the wild women before her.
The night air carried the echo of a wolf’s howl.
And Loba knew, she was home.
