Moon Eclipse, continued
Uma-kwee hurt to hear her speak of death and was afraid because of the firmness in her prediction. She remembered how Kumi-cum cried at her grandmother’s funeral last year and found it hard to imagine life without her own dear mentor. She felt sorrow that her beloved grandmother would not be a witness of the engagement ceremonies.
“Never be afraid, only believe, Uma-kwee,” said Qkizacool. “To give you courage, I have made you something to remember my words.” She pulled out from beneath the blanket draped over her white head and around thin shoulders something woven like a basket. “Here is a beach reed and porcupine quill purse.” About the size of a man’s hand, the purse had a sinew neck strap and was decorated with a carefully woven butterfly design in three colors. “Go find a translucent stone agate from the base of the falls and place it here and wear it close to your heart, so that you will always remember that Butterfly Woman has hope in the cleansing waters of the Sky Ladder.”
Like a swell of the ocean, Uma-kwee’s eyes filled with tears. “Thank you, mother,” she said hugging Qkizacool closely. “I will always follow your counsel along my life’s path.”
Later that day she found her way to the falls as grandmother had urged to look for an agate for the memory bag. Because everyone else was busy preparing for the departure, she took her young brothers Komokwa and Twanas. Normally, children were not taken to the falls and this would be the first visit for the boys. It rained that morning and the sky was white with clouds. She removed rain hats from the storage boxes already loaded in the canoes for the voyage to Meet-in-the-Middle Island. “I will bring my bow in case we see a rabbit,” said Twanas, the older of the boys who had just turned eight years old. The boys were barefoot and the rain hats almost covered their heads.
When she and the brothers arrived at the roaring falls, they saw that the canyon was covered in a bright fog about to be burned off by the sun -- which shown as a glowing, white ball sitting directly at the top of the spill way. The water seems to be flowing out the sun itself and the lifting fog all around them transformed the canyon into what looked more like the dream world. The young woman and boys walked up and down the sandy shores searching among many colored stones and pebbles for sacred agates. The people often collected small shinny stones from the falls basin for their healing powers and believed that the translucent agates were broken pieces of the magical rocks that melt when you stare at the cascading water.
“Unlike other stones, these agates let the sunshine pass through them,” she instructed the wide-eyed Komokwa and Twanas. “These are the ones that have fallen from the Sky World, where everything is bright and transparent.”
The two boys had not seen the falls before, but they had taken the trail above the falls, opposite the side of the girl’s coming-of-age camp, for funerals processions. “I remember the way to the mortuary village. Up there,” pointed Komokwa in the direction of the cemetery, “is where we buried Kumi-cum’s grandmother,” he said.
She remembered again that day of weeping when down the river, out of sight or sound of the falls, most of the tribe, including many children who were beloved by the old woman, had canoed across the river, following the mourning canoe draped in red blankets that covered the remains.
“Yes, and she sleeps with our mother and sisters, too. One day we will meet them again, when Eagle Ghost takes our hand to lead us on the last journey,” she instructed, her voice sounding like grandmother Qkizacool.
Twanas shouted when he found a clear stone and she examined it to see that, yes, it was perfect for her purse. She held it up to the sky and showed the brothers how the light shines through. “Our hearts should be like this. We must pray that the Transformer will drive out any darkness or hidden offense that might cloud the pure light. Then our souls will be transparent just like this stone and we will be able to see clearly to greet Wonderful Doer when he calls.”
She hid the agate, about the size of her thumb, safely in the butterfly purse. For the rest of her life she often took out the stone whenever she wanted to remember all that Qkizacool had taught her. It always made it easier to pray and made her feel happy. She knew that Qkizacool would be pleased with the find.
Next chapter
“Never be afraid, only believe, Uma-kwee,” said Qkizacool. “To give you courage, I have made you something to remember my words.” She pulled out from beneath the blanket draped over her white head and around thin shoulders something woven like a basket. “Here is a beach reed and porcupine quill purse.” About the size of a man’s hand, the purse had a sinew neck strap and was decorated with a carefully woven butterfly design in three colors. “Go find a translucent stone agate from the base of the falls and place it here and wear it close to your heart, so that you will always remember that Butterfly Woman has hope in the cleansing waters of the Sky Ladder.”
Like a swell of the ocean, Uma-kwee’s eyes filled with tears. “Thank you, mother,” she said hugging Qkizacool closely. “I will always follow your counsel along my life’s path.”
Later that day she found her way to the falls as grandmother had urged to look for an agate for the memory bag. Because everyone else was busy preparing for the departure, she took her young brothers Komokwa and Twanas. Normally, children were not taken to the falls and this would be the first visit for the boys. It rained that morning and the sky was white with clouds. She removed rain hats from the storage boxes already loaded in the canoes for the voyage to Meet-in-the-Middle Island. “I will bring my bow in case we see a rabbit,” said Twanas, the older of the boys who had just turned eight years old. The boys were barefoot and the rain hats almost covered their heads.
When she and the brothers arrived at the roaring falls, they saw that the canyon was covered in a bright fog about to be burned off by the sun -- which shown as a glowing, white ball sitting directly at the top of the spill way. The water seems to be flowing out the sun itself and the lifting fog all around them transformed the canyon into what looked more like the dream world. The young woman and boys walked up and down the sandy shores searching among many colored stones and pebbles for sacred agates. The people often collected small shinny stones from the falls basin for their healing powers and believed that the translucent agates were broken pieces of the magical rocks that melt when you stare at the cascading water.
“Unlike other stones, these agates let the sunshine pass through them,” she instructed the wide-eyed Komokwa and Twanas. “These are the ones that have fallen from the Sky World, where everything is bright and transparent.”
The two boys had not seen the falls before, but they had taken the trail above the falls, opposite the side of the girl’s coming-of-age camp, for funerals processions. “I remember the way to the mortuary village. Up there,” pointed Komokwa in the direction of the cemetery, “is where we buried Kumi-cum’s grandmother,” he said.
She remembered again that day of weeping when down the river, out of sight or sound of the falls, most of the tribe, including many children who were beloved by the old woman, had canoed across the river, following the mourning canoe draped in red blankets that covered the remains.
“Yes, and she sleeps with our mother and sisters, too. One day we will meet them again, when Eagle Ghost takes our hand to lead us on the last journey,” she instructed, her voice sounding like grandmother Qkizacool.
Twanas shouted when he found a clear stone and she examined it to see that, yes, it was perfect for her purse. She held it up to the sky and showed the brothers how the light shines through. “Our hearts should be like this. We must pray that the Transformer will drive out any darkness or hidden offense that might cloud the pure light. Then our souls will be transparent just like this stone and we will be able to see clearly to greet Wonderful Doer when he calls.”
She hid the agate, about the size of her thumb, safely in the butterfly purse. For the rest of her life she often took out the stone whenever she wanted to remember all that Qkizacool had taught her. It always made it easier to pray and made her feel happy. She knew that Qkizacool would be pleased with the find.
Next chapter
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