How I Became a Ghost: A Choctaw Trail of Tears Story

When Isaac and Joseph are walking back to the councilmen, Joseph sees a deer and tells Isaac he is going hunting. After Joseph goes after the deer, Isaac hears rustling in the leaves of the tree above him and sees a wolf. Joseph returns to see the wolf attacking Isaac. Joseph turns into a panther and fights the wolf off, but Isaac is already dead. The ghosts of Old Man and Old Woman comfort the ghost of Isaac and tell him that he should talk to Joseph. Isaac does, and Joseph is relieved to still be able to talk to him. Joseph returns to tell Isaac’s family what has happened and leads them to Isaac’s body. Mother and Father wrap Isaac’s body in a blanket, Father carries him back to camp, and they resume walking.

As Father and Luke walk away from where they found Isaac’s body, they see the tracks in the snow of the wolf and the panther, which is how they discover that Joseph can turn into a panther. Joseph and Isaac decide that since Isaac is now a ghost, it will be best if he is the one to visit