The caribou walked along, his eyes watching the birds and trees as he passed them by. He smiled at the nature around him here. The Forest was a beautiful place, he was happy to have found such a lovely land.

As he walked, a root caught his hoof. He tripped over it, and his antlers collided with a tree close by. As he straightened up, he realized he had scratched into the tree, leaving a deep in the bark. It was already starting to seep resin.

"Oh I am so sorry! Here, let me help you...", Snowshoe spoke, and using his hooves, he collected dirt from the ground and packed it in the scratches. He did his best to mend the tree so it would be just as beautiful as it was before he tripped.

Happy with his good deed, he continued on. But as he walked, he heard a whisper in the wind. "Snowshoe...I love you, Snowshoe..."

"Hmm?", he looked around, unsure where the voice was coming from. He kept going, his eyes scanning around in case he heard it again.

"Snowshoe...you are my one love..."

The caribou jumped and looked around once again. There was no deer close by. He must be imagining things.

But he felt vines crawling up his legs. Looking down, he saw different plants blooming beneath his hooves. Jumping, he ran, the vines breaking but entangling his legs as they held on. He ran as far as he could, the voice continuing to call him.

"Snowshoe...come back, Snowshoe...come back..."

He wasn't watching where he was going, and his hoof tripped over a root.

He had run in circles. As he raised his head, he saw the tree that he had scratched, but only this time, it had different markings that had been cut into the bark.

His pictogram.

The caribou was unable to get up in time, as the grass and vines entangled him. He struggled to break free, but he was engulfed and pulled closer to the tree. Kicking and biting the vines did little to help, and soon he was worn out from struggling that he let Nature take him.

He was pulled up the tree, and soon, his body started to turn into bark.

Once he was fully engulfed by the tree, the caribou ceased moving.




"Snowshoe...at long last...we can be together forever..."