July 9, 2025 • 21 mins
In "Last Breath:" A boy on a hunting trip with his father questions the need to kill animals sacred to the Sami people and culture.
"Ode to Obscured Ancestors," speaks to the quiet endurance passed through generations and the ancestral voices that still sing through silence.
Author's Note: This story was written in consultation with a Sámi advisor (poet and activist Elise Maren) and includes elements of their spirituality. The Sámi are a Native tribe found in Norway, northern Sweden, Finland, and Russia's Kola Peninsula. Like all Native tribes, they faced colonization and genocide throughout their history. They continue to face discrimination to this day. For more information, visit https://www.samigeaidnu.com/ and read We Stopped Forgetting: Stories from Sámi Americans by Ellen Marie Jensen (can be found on the Everand site.)
Nathan Perrin is a published author and Anabaptist pastor in Chicagoland. He holds an MA in Quaker Studies, and is a doctoral student studying Christian Community Development at Northern Seminary. His doctorate work centers on creating a writing program for nonprofits and churches to use to help under-resourced communities process trauma. His work has been published in the Dillydoun Review, Bangalore Review, Collateral Journal, Esoterica Magazine, etc. His forthcoming novella Memories of Green Rivers will be released in winter 2026 by Running Wild Press. He is also a screenwriter for an unannounced indie comedy series. For more information, visit
www.nathanperrinwriter.com
Elise Maren is a medical student and proud Minnesotan residing in Chicago, IL. She contributes to Lavender Magazine, Minnesota's 2SLGBTQ+ magazine, and runs an advice column called Ask Elise. She is proud of her Sámi and Methodist traditions. When not doing science or art, Elise is a fervent environmentalist. Please check out decompose.org for more information about Elise and her nonprofit work.
You can read both of these works at https://www.kaidankaistories.com.
Other stories by Nathan Perrin
The Nunnery
Burn
Website: kaidankaistories.com
Please feel free to contact me through the website contact form.
Follow us on:
Instagram
Facebook
Bluesky
Substack
"Ode to Obscured Ancestors," speaks to the quiet endurance passed through generations and the ancestral voices that still sing through silence.
Author's Note: This story was written in consultation with a Sámi advisor (poet and activist Elise Maren) and includes elements of their spirituality. The Sámi are a Native tribe found in Norway, northern Sweden, Finland, and Russia's Kola Peninsula. Like all Native tribes, they faced colonization and genocide throughout their history. They continue to face discrimination to this day. For more information, visit https://www.samigeaidnu.com/ and read We Stopped Forgetting: Stories from Sámi Americans by Ellen Marie Jensen (can be found on the Everand site.)
Nathan Perrin is a published author and Anabaptist pastor in Chicagoland. He holds an MA in Quaker Studies, and is a doctoral student studying Christian Community Development at Northern Seminary. His doctorate work centers on creating a writing program for nonprofits and churches to use to help under-resourced communities process trauma. His work has been published in the Dillydoun Review, Bangalore Review, Collateral Journal, Esoterica Magazine, etc. His forthcoming novella Memories of Green Rivers will be released in winter 2026 by Running Wild Press. He is also a screenwriter for an unannounced indie comedy series. For more information, visit
www.nathanperrinwriter.com
Elise Maren is a medical student and proud Minnesotan residing in Chicago, IL. She contributes to Lavender Magazine, Minnesota's 2SLGBTQ+ magazine, and runs an advice column called Ask Elise. She is proud of her Sámi and Methodist traditions. When not doing science or art, Elise is a fervent environmentalist. Please check out decompose.org for more information about Elise and her nonprofit work.
You can read both of these works at https://www.kaidankaistories.com.
Other stories by Nathan Perrin
The Nunnery
Burn
Website: kaidankaistories.com
Please feel free to contact me through the website contact form.
Follow us on:
Bluesky
Substack
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
Welcome to the kaid Onki Podcast, where every story takes
you one step deeper into the world of the strange,
the eerie, and the unknown. I'm your host Linda Gould,
and tonight I'm reading Last Breath by Nathan Perrin. This
haunting tale weaves together folklore, colonial history, and personal transformation.
(00:34):
A boy's hunting trip with his father becomes a reckoning
one that confronts a legacy of violence and reveals that
the forest remembers. What begins as a rite of passage
becomes a journey toward forgiveness both human and spiritual. This
story is complemented by a powerful poem by Soami poet
(00:56):
and activist Elise Maren. In her poem Mode to Obscured Ancestors,
she speaks to the quiet endurance passed through generations and
the ancestral voices that still sing through silence. Nathan Perrin
is a published author and Anabaptist pastor in Chicagoland. He
holds an MA in Quaker Studies and is a doctoral
(01:19):
student studying Christian Community development at Northern Seminary, and his
work centers on creating a writing program for nonprofits and
churches to use to help under resource communities process trauma.
Elise Marin is a medical student and proud Minnesotan residing
in Chicago. She also is a published author and runs
(01:41):
an advice column called Ask a Lease. She is proud
of her Sami and Methodist traditions. You can see both
of their bios their full bios in the episode description
and now dim the lights, settle in and prepare yourself
for last breath, and owe to obscured ancestors and joy.
(02:09):
Leaif watched his father load the rifle slowly. It was
a typical cold Norwegian morning. Down the distance, a lone
reindeer stood in the middle of the forest. It was
bigger than Leaif thought it would be in real life.
His father shot a loving, knowing glance towards Laife's direction.
(02:30):
Memories of their conversation the night before echoed in Laife's mind.
What about the Saumi and their relationship with the reindeer,
Leif asked, that's just superstition. His father laughed. This is
a rite of passage. The Sammy have long since been
conquered and taken over. It's the way of things with nature.
(02:52):
The strong conquer the weak. But why the reindeer. It's
what my papa before, and his papa too. It's what
we do. We kill and hunt the reindeer to send
the message to the sami. What's that message that we're
the ones in control here? Leave closed his eyes and
(03:16):
held his breath as the loud gunshot ran throughout the forest.
Leave's father grunted as he finished dragging the reindeer onto
the back of his snowmobile. He smiled, Oh, we're gonna
eat good tomorrow. Ley forced a smile. Papa, what about
(03:37):
the Sammi stories? What stories? His father tied down the
large reindeer corpse, The stories about the forest being alive,
about the spirits wandering around here? Son, Most Sami are
Lutherans now, they don't believe in that nonsense, and neither
(03:59):
should we. Nothing but camp fire stories is all you're hearing.
Leif nodded and looked at the ground. Time to make dinner.
Leif's father pointed back. Leif looked at the reindeer corpse again.
It was majestic, beautiful even Why was it that his
(04:19):
family tradition required him to participate in killing one. Later
that night, Leaif and his father finished eating dinner, what
are you thinking about? Leif's father asked, I keep thinking
about the reindeer in the back of the snowmobile. Leif
shook his head. It just seems unnecessary. It's the way
(04:45):
of things. But why Leif's father opened his mouth to
speak and then shook his head. In time, you'll understand,
he took out his tobacco pipe. Well, if the reindeer
are so important and vital to the Sami, then why
(05:05):
are we doing this to them? Why not they don't
have ownership. The government takes care of them well enough
more than us, mind you, Well, it seems like being
a good neighbor. I think Jesus would want us to
respect that culture. What are they teaching you in Sunday school?
(05:26):
Leif's father laughed, No, this land is ours now. We
took it and claimed it. The Sami should fight harder
next time. Leife wanted to ask what the next time
was and if it was right that there needs to
be a next time, but he knew better his father
didn't believe the same way that Leife believed. Leif woke
(05:50):
up to his father cursing. Stumbling out of his tent.
Leife saw bloody hoof prints leading past the campfire. It's impossible,
his father yelled, what is it, Papa? I shot that
reindeer clean in the face. I stabbed it. I watched
it die. I saw the last breath. Papa, Maybe we
(06:12):
should let it go. I want to go home. His
father shook his head. That's the problem with boys in
your generation. You'll never see a job through. No, we
need to hunt this animal down and put it out
of its misery, its tradition. Leife paused for a few
moments and thought about how strange it was that his
(06:34):
father prided his own tradition but not the sami. The
hoof Prince went on and on and on. Life was
amazed at how long the day was, how determined his
father felt in catching up to this reindeer. The snowmobile
came to a stop. Leife's father stood up with the rifle.
(06:55):
Where the hell did it go? He yelled. They were
in the middle of an open field, the sun set
in the distance. Leif followed his father to where he stood.
That's impossible, his father whispered. The bloody hoof tracks just stopped.
Where the hell did it go, Papa? There's other reindeer,
(07:22):
and I'm getting hungry. We're seeing this job through. His
father said, we're coming back with a goddamn reindeer. Leif
opened his mouth to speak, but then closed it. Leif
laid awake in the tent, watching his father's shadow tent
to the fire outside. He bit his lip and said
(07:44):
his bedtime prayers. And that is when a mysterious shadow
darkened the tent. Leif's heart stopped. Gotcha, Leif's father whispered.
He heard the bolt and his father's rifle slide into place.
Leif covered his ears and closed his eyes, expecting the
(08:06):
gunshot at any second. He felt his heart beat quickened,
but there was no gunshot. Instead, Leife heard his father scream.
He opened his eyes and saw blood dripping down the
tent walls. His father continued to scream. Papa Leaf yelled
as he jumped and got dressed. He got out and
(08:28):
saw Leif's father in a small pool of blood, staring
at the stars. Papa Papa. His father's wet gurgled breathing
brought some assurance to Laif, and then he looked down
and saw his father's stomach torn open. Leif gasped and
scooted away. He blinked fast, trying to breathe in and out.
(08:50):
He felt something squaish underneath his right hand. He looked
down and saw a blobby, red piece of flesh indistinguishable.
Dreamed and ran inside the tent. The big shadow cast
him back into darkness. He squeezed his eyes shut and
said the Lord's prayer as fast as he could. Our father,
who aren't having alibe her name, I Leif, his father whispered.
(09:15):
Leif opened his eyes to see the shadow gone. He
walked outside of the tent and saw his father pointing
towards the sky. Look. Leif's father gurgled, Leaif saw the
northern lights in all their beauty. But something else was there.
(09:36):
Hundreds thousands, maybe of transparent reindeer were in the sky,
moving along at a rapid pace. I'll be damned, Leif's
father whispered, I'll be damned. Leif watched his father's breaths
become less and less, until finally they were no more.
(10:00):
His last breath was like smoke in the sky, going
forever and ever into the dark. Papa Leaf screamed, Papa, Papa, Papa, Papa.
He hid his father's chest a few times. No response.
Leif stood up and looked at the fire, feeling his
(10:21):
pants become warm as he wet himself, steam rose off
his pants as his entire body trembled. He was alone,
all alone. He looked up from his father's corpse and
saw two red eyes looking at him. I'm not going
to hurt you, Lef yelled. Please please. The red eyes
(10:45):
continued to stare. Leif nodded to himself and walked back
into the tent. He figured if he closed his eyes,
the reindeer would go away and this would all be
a bad dream. When Leif woke up the next morning,
he quickly gathered his things and headed towards the snowmobile.
(11:08):
He saw that it had no gas. He didn't know
where he was, and that's when he heard a branch
snap behind him. He turned and saw a bloodied reindeer
staring at him. I'm not here to hurt you, Leif said, honest,
it was my papa. I just want to go home.
(11:30):
Tears streaked down his face. Please please don't kill me.
The reindeer paused, and then Leif felt suddenly reassured in
his spirit, like somehow the violence was over. The reindeer
turned around and started walking Leif bit his lip again
and decided to follow it. He left the rifle with
(11:53):
his father's corpse. Leaife was terrified and almost certain he
would never see the rest of his family again. The
reindeer kept walking a dozen feet ahead. All those campfire stories,
those fearful things that went bump in the night, they
were right. The forest was alive. Leaif looked up at
(12:16):
the trees. He was suddenly aware of how many eyes
were on him, The shadows, the spirits. They were watching
his every move, just as they have done for eons.
You're just about out, said a voice behind him. Leif
turned around and saw a man dressed in colonial air clothes.
(12:37):
Blood dripped from his forehead. You're just about out, the
voice continued. Who are you, Leif asked. The man shook
his head, turned around and walked away. You're just about out,
the man repeated. Leif looked at the sky and then
(12:59):
looked back down. The man was gone. Naife's body trembled again.
Where was he going? Was he ever going to see
home again? An hour later, he stood on the edge
of a town that he wasn't familiar with. The hoof
tracks led him there. The reindeer, though wasn't in sight.
His whole body trembled waiting for the reindeer to pop
(13:22):
out and finish him. Laif saw an emergency phone booth
alongside the road. He walked up towards it, dialed the police,
and sat down and waited. How was he going to
explain what happened? The police, his family, his friends? How
was he going to explain it? All The sirens from
(13:42):
the police cars coming towards him reminded Laife of the
Northern lights. He wondered if his father was up there
too with the reindeer, and if he would see his
father again when he died. When Leif some day drew
his last breath, that will go forever into the dark
With his father be waiting, would he be in the
dark forever? He now knew there was something after death,
(14:09):
more than most people knew. A month later, Leife sat
in his family's Lutheran church. His mother, still deep in grief,
wept and wept about his father. Leaf's mouth trembled as
he shook his head. He looked up again and for
a brief few seconds thought he saw red eyes. He screamed,
(14:32):
and then embarrassment flooded his body as soon as he
saw they were reflections of the exit sign off the
pillar next to him. Everyone in the church stared at him.
An hour later, he sat across from the Lutheran pastor
in his office. Do you want to talk about what happened?
(14:52):
The pastor asked. Laif shook his head. It's okay. I
know you've been having a hard time. Leaif sighed and
made eye contact with the pastor. Why did the Lutherans
colonize the SSAMI? Doesn't that go against the teachings of Jesus? Yes,
it does. The Lutheran pastor nodded, Well, how do we
(15:16):
make it right? Leif asked, what do you mean? How
do we? Leif broke into tears. The pastor stared at
Laif for a few seconds, then got up from behind
the desk and knelt next to him. We make it
right by respecting their land and their traditions, by understanding
(15:41):
we can't take what's not ours. What does this have
to do with I don't I don't. Leif shook his head.
Do you miss your father? Yes? He believed differently, didn't he?
Leif nodded, that's a beautiful thing about being your own soul.
(16:02):
You can be different. You don't have to be like him.
Leife nodded again, Will I ever be forgiven? Leif whispered yes.
The pastor nodded, You're a child. God understands. Just keep
moving forward and continue to repair the world. The pastor
(16:26):
hugged Leif as he wept. Leif never told a soul
what happened. He described his father's death as a mysterious accident.
There was no further investigation into it. Some folks thought
his father committed suicide. There were times in Leif's childhood
where his pastor would make eye contact during a sermon,
(16:49):
almost as if the pastor knew, but nothing was ever
really confirmed. Several decades later, Leife lay on his deathbed.
The rest of his family gathered around him, wife, children, grandchildren,
great grandchildren. Memories of the hunting trip ran through his mind.
After his family said their tearful good byes in the
(17:11):
hospice room, Leif stared into the dark and that's when
he heard heavy breathing. His eyes searched the room. In
the corner was the very same reindeer he saw decades ago.
It walked up to him slowly and looked over his
dying body. Leaif reached out to touch the reindeer's fur.
(17:36):
He no longer felt terror, but something light like mercy.
I know it's my time, Leif whispered, but I want
you to know whatever happens next, I did my best
to change. I'm not my father. I did that much.
(18:02):
I tried to help repair the world. The reindeer looked
at him for a few seconds, backed away, and then disappeared.
Laif stared at the dark ceiling and saw the northern
lights again with transparent reindeer. It was just as beautiful
as the night his father died. As Laif drew his
(18:26):
last breath, he felt his spirit ascend into the northern lights.
From stardust, he rose to dirt. He returned his borrowed breath,
was reunited with the wind. Dust to dust and now.
(18:54):
A poem by Elise Marin owed to obscured ancestors, some
may say you are no matter as if you did
not leave these delicate traces of fiords under my eyes,
the dips and valleys carved into my skin. I am
asked why I appear so weary, yet I remain proud.
(19:19):
Perhaps they result from miles travel each day, footsteps of
a nomadic life lost. The most alron is around the lake,
but I stir more endurance within. I hail all strength
from my fragile grandmother. She had twig arms, with a
(19:40):
rugged Norse demeanor, eyes brighter than the aurora, and a
smile that cracked like lightning. A loud connection between generations,
despite little to no depiction of our history. And yet
with every breath of my harmonic prayers, I sway to
(20:02):
your stories in song. What I love about these stories
is how they blend the supernatural with historical truth. The
horror isn't just in the spectral reindeer or the violence.
It's in the legacy that's passed down from one generation
(20:23):
to another, the normalization of domination disguised as tradition. But
what we see in life is something rare transformation. Instead
of repeating that legacy, life begins to question it, even
from a young age, and he listens to the land,
(20:44):
to his conscience, and to the spirits. That quiet courage,
the kind that takes decades to unfold, becomes a form
of redemption, And in the end, when the reindeer returns,
it doesn't come for revenge it comes for release. The
KA podcast has so many interesting stories like this from
(21:05):
every genre, and I wish that you would subscribe to
the podcast so you don't miss one of these wonderful stories.
You can also check out substack and Facebook, Instagram, and
blue Sky. You can find the links in the episode description.
But for now, thank you, Thank you so much for
(21:28):
listening today, and I'll see you next week with another
interesting story
Welcome to the kaid Onki Podcast, where every story takes
you one step deeper into the world of the strange,
the eerie, and the unknown. I'm your host Linda Gould,
and tonight I'm reading Last Breath by Nathan Perrin. This
haunting tale weaves together folklore, colonial history, and personal transformation.
(00:34):
A boy's hunting trip with his father becomes a reckoning
one that confronts a legacy of violence and reveals that
the forest remembers. What begins as a rite of passage
becomes a journey toward forgiveness both human and spiritual. This
story is complemented by a powerful poem by Soami poet
(00:56):
and activist Elise Maren. In her poem Mode to Obscured Ancestors,
she speaks to the quiet endurance passed through generations and
the ancestral voices that still sing through silence. Nathan Perrin
is a published author and Anabaptist pastor in Chicagoland. He
holds an MA in Quaker Studies and is a doctoral
(01:19):
student studying Christian Community development at Northern Seminary, and his
work centers on creating a writing program for nonprofits and
churches to use to help under resource communities process trauma.
Elise Marin is a medical student and proud Minnesotan residing
in Chicago. She also is a published author and runs
(01:41):
an advice column called Ask a Lease. She is proud
of her Sami and Methodist traditions. You can see both
of their bios their full bios in the episode description
and now dim the lights, settle in and prepare yourself
for last breath, and owe to obscured ancestors and joy.
(02:09):
Leaif watched his father load the rifle slowly. It was
a typical cold Norwegian morning. Down the distance, a lone
reindeer stood in the middle of the forest. It was
bigger than Leaif thought it would be in real life.
His father shot a loving, knowing glance towards Laife's direction.
(02:30):
Memories of their conversation the night before echoed in Laife's mind.
What about the Saumi and their relationship with the reindeer,
Leif asked, that's just superstition. His father laughed. This is
a rite of passage. The Sammy have long since been
conquered and taken over. It's the way of things with nature.
(02:52):
The strong conquer the weak. But why the reindeer. It's
what my papa before, and his papa too. It's what
we do. We kill and hunt the reindeer to send
the message to the sami. What's that message that we're
the ones in control here? Leave closed his eyes and
(03:16):
held his breath as the loud gunshot ran throughout the forest.
Leave's father grunted as he finished dragging the reindeer onto
the back of his snowmobile. He smiled, Oh, we're gonna
eat good tomorrow. Ley forced a smile. Papa, what about
(03:37):
the Sammi stories? What stories? His father tied down the
large reindeer corpse, The stories about the forest being alive,
about the spirits wandering around here? Son, Most Sami are
Lutherans now, they don't believe in that nonsense, and neither
(03:59):
should we. Nothing but camp fire stories is all you're hearing.
Leif nodded and looked at the ground. Time to make dinner.
Leif's father pointed back. Leif looked at the reindeer corpse again.
It was majestic, beautiful even Why was it that his
(04:19):
family tradition required him to participate in killing one. Later
that night, Leaif and his father finished eating dinner, what
are you thinking about? Leif's father asked, I keep thinking
about the reindeer in the back of the snowmobile. Leif
shook his head. It just seems unnecessary. It's the way
(04:45):
of things. But why Leif's father opened his mouth to
speak and then shook his head. In time, you'll understand,
he took out his tobacco pipe. Well, if the reindeer
are so important and vital to the Sami, then why
(05:05):
are we doing this to them? Why not they don't
have ownership. The government takes care of them well enough
more than us, mind you, Well, it seems like being
a good neighbor. I think Jesus would want us to
respect that culture. What are they teaching you in Sunday school?
(05:26):
Leif's father laughed, No, this land is ours now. We
took it and claimed it. The Sami should fight harder
next time. Leife wanted to ask what the next time
was and if it was right that there needs to
be a next time, but he knew better his father
didn't believe the same way that Leife believed. Leif woke
(05:50):
up to his father cursing. Stumbling out of his tent.
Leife saw bloody hoof prints leading past the campfire. It's impossible,
his father yelled, what is it, Papa? I shot that
reindeer clean in the face. I stabbed it. I watched
it die. I saw the last breath. Papa, Maybe we
(06:12):
should let it go. I want to go home. His
father shook his head. That's the problem with boys in
your generation. You'll never see a job through. No, we
need to hunt this animal down and put it out
of its misery, its tradition. Leife paused for a few
moments and thought about how strange it was that his
(06:34):
father prided his own tradition but not the sami. The
hoof Prince went on and on and on. Life was
amazed at how long the day was, how determined his
father felt in catching up to this reindeer. The snowmobile
came to a stop. Leife's father stood up with the rifle.
(06:55):
Where the hell did it go? He yelled. They were
in the middle of an open field, the sun set
in the distance. Leif followed his father to where he stood.
That's impossible, his father whispered. The bloody hoof tracks just stopped.
Where the hell did it go, Papa? There's other reindeer,
(07:22):
and I'm getting hungry. We're seeing this job through. His
father said, we're coming back with a goddamn reindeer. Leif
opened his mouth to speak, but then closed it. Leif
laid awake in the tent, watching his father's shadow tent
to the fire outside. He bit his lip and said
(07:44):
his bedtime prayers. And that is when a mysterious shadow
darkened the tent. Leif's heart stopped. Gotcha, Leif's father whispered.
He heard the bolt and his father's rifle slide into place.
Leif covered his ears and closed his eyes, expecting the
(08:06):
gunshot at any second. He felt his heart beat quickened,
but there was no gunshot. Instead, Leife heard his father scream.
He opened his eyes and saw blood dripping down the
tent walls. His father continued to scream. Papa Leaf yelled
as he jumped and got dressed. He got out and
(08:28):
saw Leif's father in a small pool of blood, staring
at the stars. Papa Papa. His father's wet gurgled breathing
brought some assurance to Laif, and then he looked down
and saw his father's stomach torn open. Leif gasped and
scooted away. He blinked fast, trying to breathe in and out.
(08:50):
He felt something squaish underneath his right hand. He looked
down and saw a blobby, red piece of flesh indistinguishable.
Dreamed and ran inside the tent. The big shadow cast
him back into darkness. He squeezed his eyes shut and
said the Lord's prayer as fast as he could. Our father,
who aren't having alibe her name, I Leif, his father whispered.
(09:15):
Leif opened his eyes to see the shadow gone. He
walked outside of the tent and saw his father pointing
towards the sky. Look. Leif's father gurgled, Leaif saw the
northern lights in all their beauty. But something else was there.
(09:36):
Hundreds thousands, maybe of transparent reindeer were in the sky,
moving along at a rapid pace. I'll be damned, Leif's
father whispered, I'll be damned. Leif watched his father's breaths
become less and less, until finally they were no more.
(10:00):
His last breath was like smoke in the sky, going
forever and ever into the dark. Papa Leaf screamed, Papa, Papa, Papa, Papa.
He hid his father's chest a few times. No response.
Leif stood up and looked at the fire, feeling his
(10:21):
pants become warm as he wet himself, steam rose off
his pants as his entire body trembled. He was alone,
all alone. He looked up from his father's corpse and
saw two red eyes looking at him. I'm not going
to hurt you, Lef yelled. Please please. The red eyes
(10:45):
continued to stare. Leif nodded to himself and walked back
into the tent. He figured if he closed his eyes,
the reindeer would go away and this would all be
a bad dream. When Leif woke up the next morning,
he quickly gathered his things and headed towards the snowmobile.
(11:08):
He saw that it had no gas. He didn't know
where he was, and that's when he heard a branch
snap behind him. He turned and saw a bloodied reindeer
staring at him. I'm not here to hurt you, Leif said, honest,
it was my papa. I just want to go home.
(11:30):
Tears streaked down his face. Please please don't kill me.
The reindeer paused, and then Leif felt suddenly reassured in
his spirit, like somehow the violence was over. The reindeer
turned around and started walking Leif bit his lip again
and decided to follow it. He left the rifle with
(11:53):
his father's corpse. Leaife was terrified and almost certain he
would never see the rest of his family again. The
reindeer kept walking a dozen feet ahead. All those campfire stories,
those fearful things that went bump in the night, they
were right. The forest was alive. Leaif looked up at
(12:16):
the trees. He was suddenly aware of how many eyes
were on him, The shadows, the spirits. They were watching
his every move, just as they have done for eons.
You're just about out, said a voice behind him. Leif
turned around and saw a man dressed in colonial air clothes.
(12:37):
Blood dripped from his forehead. You're just about out, the
voice continued. Who are you, Leif asked. The man shook
his head, turned around and walked away. You're just about out,
the man repeated. Leif looked at the sky and then
(12:59):
looked back down. The man was gone. Naife's body trembled again.
Where was he going? Was he ever going to see
home again? An hour later, he stood on the edge
of a town that he wasn't familiar with. The hoof
tracks led him there. The reindeer, though wasn't in sight.
His whole body trembled waiting for the reindeer to pop
(13:22):
out and finish him. Laif saw an emergency phone booth
alongside the road. He walked up towards it, dialed the police,
and sat down and waited. How was he going to
explain what happened? The police, his family, his friends? How
was he going to explain it? All The sirens from
(13:42):
the police cars coming towards him reminded Laife of the
Northern lights. He wondered if his father was up there
too with the reindeer, and if he would see his
father again when he died. When Leif some day drew
his last breath, that will go forever into the dark
With his father be waiting, would he be in the
dark forever? He now knew there was something after death,
(14:09):
more than most people knew. A month later, Leife sat
in his family's Lutheran church. His mother, still deep in grief,
wept and wept about his father. Leaf's mouth trembled as
he shook his head. He looked up again and for
a brief few seconds thought he saw red eyes. He screamed,
(14:32):
and then embarrassment flooded his body as soon as he
saw they were reflections of the exit sign off the
pillar next to him. Everyone in the church stared at him.
An hour later, he sat across from the Lutheran pastor
in his office. Do you want to talk about what happened?
(14:52):
The pastor asked. Laif shook his head. It's okay. I
know you've been having a hard time. Leaif sighed and
made eye contact with the pastor. Why did the Lutherans
colonize the SSAMI? Doesn't that go against the teachings of Jesus? Yes,
it does. The Lutheran pastor nodded, Well, how do we
(15:16):
make it right? Leif asked, what do you mean? How
do we? Leif broke into tears. The pastor stared at
Laif for a few seconds, then got up from behind
the desk and knelt next to him. We make it
right by respecting their land and their traditions, by understanding
(15:41):
we can't take what's not ours. What does this have
to do with I don't I don't. Leif shook his head.
Do you miss your father? Yes? He believed differently, didn't he?
Leif nodded, that's a beautiful thing about being your own soul.
(16:02):
You can be different. You don't have to be like him.
Leife nodded again, Will I ever be forgiven? Leif whispered yes.
The pastor nodded, You're a child. God understands. Just keep
moving forward and continue to repair the world. The pastor
(16:26):
hugged Leif as he wept. Leif never told a soul
what happened. He described his father's death as a mysterious accident.
There was no further investigation into it. Some folks thought
his father committed suicide. There were times in Leif's childhood
where his pastor would make eye contact during a sermon,
(16:49):
almost as if the pastor knew, but nothing was ever
really confirmed. Several decades later, Leife lay on his deathbed.
The rest of his family gathered around him, wife, children, grandchildren,
great grandchildren. Memories of the hunting trip ran through his mind.
After his family said their tearful good byes in the
(17:11):
hospice room, Leif stared into the dark and that's when
he heard heavy breathing. His eyes searched the room. In
the corner was the very same reindeer he saw decades ago.
It walked up to him slowly and looked over his
dying body. Leaif reached out to touch the reindeer's fur.
(17:36):
He no longer felt terror, but something light like mercy.
I know it's my time, Leif whispered, but I want
you to know whatever happens next, I did my best
to change. I'm not my father. I did that much.
(18:02):
I tried to help repair the world. The reindeer looked
at him for a few seconds, backed away, and then disappeared.
Laif stared at the dark ceiling and saw the northern
lights again with transparent reindeer. It was just as beautiful
as the night his father died. As Laif drew his
(18:26):
last breath, he felt his spirit ascend into the northern lights.
From stardust, he rose to dirt. He returned his borrowed breath,
was reunited with the wind. Dust to dust and now.
(18:54):
A poem by Elise Marin owed to obscured ancestors, some
may say you are no matter as if you did
not leave these delicate traces of fiords under my eyes,
the dips and valleys carved into my skin. I am
asked why I appear so weary, yet I remain proud.
(19:19):
Perhaps they result from miles travel each day, footsteps of
a nomadic life lost. The most alron is around the lake,
but I stir more endurance within. I hail all strength
from my fragile grandmother. She had twig arms, with a
(19:40):
rugged Norse demeanor, eyes brighter than the aurora, and a
smile that cracked like lightning. A loud connection between generations,
despite little to no depiction of our history. And yet
with every breath of my harmonic prayers, I sway to
(20:02):
your stories in song. What I love about these stories
is how they blend the supernatural with historical truth. The
horror isn't just in the spectral reindeer or the violence.
It's in the legacy that's passed down from one generation
(20:23):
to another, the normalization of domination disguised as tradition. But
what we see in life is something rare transformation. Instead
of repeating that legacy, life begins to question it, even
from a young age, and he listens to the land,
(20:44):
to his conscience, and to the spirits. That quiet courage,
the kind that takes decades to unfold, becomes a form
of redemption, And in the end, when the reindeer returns,
it doesn't come for revenge it comes for release. The
KA podcast has so many interesting stories like this from
(21:05):
every genre, and I wish that you would subscribe to
the podcast so you don't miss one of these wonderful stories.
You can also check out substack and Facebook, Instagram, and
blue Sky. You can find the links in the episode description.
But for now, thank you, Thank you so much for
(21:28):
listening today, and I'll see you next week with another
interesting story
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.