I awake. I’d never heard them argue before.

‘You promised me!’ Aama cries.

‘We have a child together - he needs you. How could you leave us now?’

Aama tries to explain, but chokes on her tears. Ddwa begins to walk out, when Aama shrieks: ‘Where is it?’

‘I threw it away,’ he says in disgust.

As Ddwa walks out, I sit up. Aama does not notice me as I crawl into her lap. She lets out a quiet gasp. ‘Go to sleep, Ooruk.’

‘I cannot sleep, Aama. When you are sad, I am also sad.’

Aama brushes my cheeks with her cold, bony hands. She looks deep in my eyes. In the light of the fire, her eyes are blacker than a moonless night. Her tears drop upon my face. They are as salty as the sea.

That morning, as I collect wood, I hear a strange yelping sound. At first I think it is Aama calling out from afar, but as I walk closer to the ocean, the sound gets louder. I climb up onto the rocks, close my eyes and focus, like Ddwa taught me. The sound seems to be coming from an animal, but there is something different about it. The moment I think it is coming from one direction, it shifts. I start to feel very sleepy. I can’t fight the urge to lay down and fall asleep.

I wake to the ripping sound of a snow storm and a gigantic seal sits over me. I scream. It wobbles away and jumps back into the ocean. My heart thumps inside my head.

As my breath returns, I notice it is also very dark. Aama and Ddwa will be angry that I am gone. I stand up and a heavy skin falls to the ground. It is a seal skin. I run my hand along the bristly texture. The skin is slick and seems alive. I put my nose up to it; it is full of the scent of my aama. I breathe it in ecstatically, yearning to be held by her.

I look out to the ocean and notice the large seal has its head out of the water and is watching me. It then dives under and flicks its tail up, then its head bobs out again. The seal starts to yelp. Tears stream down my face, but I do not know why. I cannot move.

I close my eyes and try to focus again. The skin is heavy and I am about to let it go when the image of the large seal lying over me re-enters my mind’s eye. I study its face, looking into its deep black eyes and a frightening jolt runs up my legs and spine.

I sling the skin over my arm and run towards our igloo as fast as I can, hoping I am heading in the right direction. The snow flies sideways and rips at my face. Finally, I see Aama searching for me. I run into her at full speed, throwing my arms around her. I forget about her featherweight body, and she falls hard into the snow. I put my face up to hers and realise she cannot breath. She smiles slightly and closes her eyes as her head falls back into the snow.

‘Aama! Aama! Wake up! I have something for you!’ I push the skin up to her nose.

She opens her eyes and they widen larger than I’ve ever seen. I am scared of her. She looks at me and begins to cry.

‘Here it is,’ I whisper, putting it in her hands. ‘Leave me now.’

Her hand tightens around the skin. We rub noses and she looks at me one last time, then runs toward the ocean at full speed. I try to follow, but I cannot keep up. I hear her feet stomping through the sand, then the water, then a deep splash. By the time I arrive on the shoreline, she is gone.