The herd was lost.
Food had become scarce in recent months; even the moss they usually ate could no longer be found under the snow, no matter how many hooves dug through to the ground. All they hit was frozen soil.
One by one, each reindeer grew weaker. Suddenly they’d drop from exhaustion and the wolves and bears would finish the job. The rest of them had to keep moving. Every time they stopped, they could feel eyes watching them.
The herd was becoming desperate, for food, for safety. Migration was familiar to them, it was in their bones, but this time it was different.
It was his job to lead them to that safety. It was his job to find them sustenance. But he was just as lost as they were. The sun had disappeared for days now and the cold was seeping in under their fur. It was hard to focus, let alone know which direction to head.
They cried in hunger and frustration, a song of suffering that filled his head even when the wind grew deafening. He didn’t know how much longer they could brave this. Their numbers had dwindled so fast.
Finally, by some miracle they found a patch of evergreens. Long awaited shelter. He ushered the herd underneath the branches and watched over them. It took no time for them to fall asleep, curled up against one another, sharing what little body heat they had left.
He couldn’t sleep though. The weight of their lives was heavy on his shoulders. He walked a little ways away from the camp, until he almost slipped and fell off a ledge of the mountain. His heart raced and he asked the universe to give them a break, to show them mercy and abundance again. They’d never take it for granted, they’d be grateful every second.
That’s when he heard the growls and the cries and the pounding of hooves on rock. Turning back, he saw his herd being surrounded by a pack of snarling wolves. He knew they were hungry too, but he had a herd to protect.
There was a flurry of antlers swinging, hooves flying, and teeth baring as deer and wolf engaged in a duel for survival. The wolves kept edging them closer and closer to the cliff, and the herd was far too weak to put up a fight much longer.
Just as a wolf lunged at his leg, ready to bite, the sky lit up. Both groups stopped and looked up as lines of vibrant greens and reds and purples painted the night sky. They glowed and seemed to ripple like water in the ocean.
The wolves whimpered and fled, scared of the unknown. But the reindeer, they bowed their heads in respect, pointing their antlers to the sky.
The lights in the sky illuminated the land below the mountain, a place full of shelter and so much food, he could almost smell the moss from here.
Their suffering was over.
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