Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of pregnancy loss or termination, animal cruelty or death, graphic violence, death, and racism.

Keira visits the place where Davey Church, her fiancé, fell into a rocky gorge and died. The scene around her, beautiful in the setting sun, contrasts dramatically with this tragedy. 

Later that night while in her tent, Keira dreams that Davey, dead and broken, with bones sticking out of his legs, comes into the tent and lies beside her, whispering, “Why did you come here?” (143). Keira wakes, horrified to find the tent flap open and her legs scratched. Before leaving the next morning, Keira sees an old woman looking out across the gorge. Keira does not recognize the woman, but the woman knows Keira and tells her to move on from Davey, explaining that Keira’s pain is “stirring things better left alone” (145). When Keira wipes away her tears, she finds herself alone.

Thinking about what the woman said, Keira nevertheless decides to stay. That night, Keira wakes to find a large head poking through the tent flap. The figure tells Keira she is glad Keira stayed and that Davey is excited to see her.