On Sunday morning, Henry awoke with a pounding headache. He heard the shower running and the sound was painful to him. The memory of the previous day came to him slowly, but unclear and dreamy.
Not a dream, a nightmare, thought Henry, remembering his foolish death at the hooves of a buffalo. But I'm not dead, he thought. If it happened, shouldn't I be dead? The shower stopped and Alice came into the bedroom wrapped in a towel.
Better get up, she said. We'll be late for church.
My head hurts, said Henry.
I'm not surprised. You and Andy put away nearly a case of beer last night.
We did? asked Henry.
What, you don't remember? You drank like you were college kids, like you were dying of thirst or in some beer-drinking contest. I'm not surprised you can't remember--I'm surprised you're alive.
But, said Henry, I do remember. And it was true. Henry had a dual set of memories. He remembered the buffalo kill, remembered mowing the lawn, remembered Andy being his usual asshole self. And he realized suddenly that those memoriesthe human oneswere clearer in his mind. Maybe it was a dream, he thought to himself. Good thing I didn't pay that charlatan witch doctor anything. What was I thinking?
Clad in a slip and stockings, Alice went back into the bathroom.
Somewhat fearfully, Henry reached beneath his pillow. The book, if it had ever been there, was gone.
Henry exhaled long and slow. He began to feel much better. He said to his wife, I had the strangest dream last night.
From the bathroom, Alice said What honey?
Henry sat up in bed, propping himself on his elbows and began I had the strangest... when his elbow brushed something under Alice's pillow. He reached and pulled out a book. Its garish jacket read "Book of the Month Club, August 1964: The Way of the Buffalo."
Story Directory:
Part I: ManWhoWantsToBeAWolf
Part II: WolfReferral
Part III: WitchOffice
Part IV: WolfBoomer
Part V: WolfMethods
Part VI: WolfPack
Part VII: HumanPack
Part VIII: MarkingTerritory
Part IX: HumanTerritory
Part X: TheKill
Part XI: CocktailParty
Part XII: BreakAway
Part XIII: SundayMorning <--You are here
Not a dream, a nightmare, thought Henry, remembering his foolish death at the hooves of a buffalo. But I'm not dead, he thought. If it happened, shouldn't I be dead? The shower stopped and Alice came into the bedroom wrapped in a towel.
Better get up, she said. We'll be late for church.
My head hurts, said Henry.
I'm not surprised. You and Andy put away nearly a case of beer last night.
We did? asked Henry.
What, you don't remember? You drank like you were college kids, like you were dying of thirst or in some beer-drinking contest. I'm not surprised you can't remember--I'm surprised you're alive.
But, said Henry, I do remember. And it was true. Henry had a dual set of memories. He remembered the buffalo kill, remembered mowing the lawn, remembered Andy being his usual asshole self. And he realized suddenly that those memories
Clad in a slip and stockings, Alice went back into the bathroom.
Somewhat fearfully, Henry reached beneath his pillow. The book, if it had ever been there, was gone.
Henry exhaled long and slow. He began to feel much better. He said to his wife, I had the strangest dream last night.
From the bathroom, Alice said What honey?
Henry sat up in bed, propping himself on his elbows and began I had the strangest... when his elbow brushed something under Alice's pillow. He reached and pulled out a book. Its garish jacket read "Book of the Month Club, August 1964: The Way of the Buffalo."
Story Directory:
Part I: ManWhoWantsToBeAWolf
Part II: WolfReferral
Part III: WitchOffice
Part IV: WolfBoomer
Part V: WolfMethods
Part VI: WolfPack
Part VII: HumanPack
Part VIII: MarkingTerritory
Part IX: HumanTerritory
Part X: TheKill
Part XI: CocktailParty
Part XII: BreakAway
Part XIII: SundayMorning <--You are here