|
|||
|
Back to Wesoomi's Archives The Legend of Wesoomi: Seventeen, A Dream, A Warning: June 24, 2002: The season of winter overtook the land. All was covered with a blanket of snow. Even the stream turned to ice and stopped flowing. The village and forest became a magic land of strange frozen beauty. It was no ordeal for the Quiet Folk for they had prepared with a good harvest. The fodder for the goats was in good supply. There were cheeses and grains in plenty and the goats still yielded up their milk without complaint. There was no want in the village. There were no gardens to tend, still there were pursuits aplenty. There was the weaving of cloth and the making of garden tools. There was the flint to be turned into knifes. And, as always, there was the attention to the spiritual needs. Spirit Guide, invested much of his time in quiet pondering and wonder at the power and perfectness of the Great Spirit's works. Thus, the season of winter passed and the ices and snows began to diminish. Then, as always, the Great Spirit brought new life unto the earth. Small white flowers were the first to push through the mantle of snow. These were followed in a few days by the wild onions. The onions were the first of the Great Spirits gifts of food. They were a welcome addition to the diet of bread, milk, and cheese. A few days passed and then Spirit Guide saw the first blades of green in the gardens. He knew it was time for his work to begin. He spoke with Gentlehand. "It is time," he said. "I must now pursue my duty to the Great Spirit and the People of the Nation." "Aye, Son. As your mother instructed you, so must you do. My heart is asunder. I have a sadness that you must needs depart. Yet, there is a joy and pride in me that you have come into your own season." "I too feel the strife in my heart. Yet, I must needs pursue the path of my destiny." "Aye, my Son. Know that my heart travels with you. When will you leave?" "Come dawn I will set out." "Know you your first path?" "My heart tells me to begin at the beginning." "And where be that?" "I must once again travel over the path of my mother's ordeal." "To the village of the Bandar?" "Aye, Father. To the village of the Bandar where I first came into my mothers body. Perhaps I will find the truth of Little Warrior's ministering to me there. I feel it was more than a dream." "Aye, Son. The cup and food were real indeed. It must needs have been more that a dream." "And I would know the how and why of it, Father." "If Little Warrior, himself knows," said Gentlehand sagely. "Indeed," laughed Spirit Guide. "If he knows. As we know, it is not always given us to know the designs of the Great Spirit." "I wonder," mused Gentlehand, "Will you pass this way again? I would wish to see you err my own time is past." "Indeed, Father. This though is also in my heart. It is my hope, but it be in the hands of the Great Spirit." "As be all of our affairs. We must do his bidding; you on your mission and we as his servants in contemplation. The village will remain as always. It will ever be your home should you have need." "Indeed, Father. This is my home, and my mother protects it. The tree of life, which I planted, so reminds us." "Aye, and it grows stronger with each passing day." So it came to pass, that Spirit Guide took his leave at first light and set out once again over the path of his mother's ordeal. He was at peace with that trail. He knew that it was just a part of the great spirits design of things. Spirit Guide went first to his shelter where the two streams joined. There he partook of bread and cheese. Then he spent some time in quiet praise of the Great Spirit and his works. Afterward, he lay himself down in his shelter to sleep. In his sleep, a dream came to him. He dreamed he was looking into the longhouse of the Bandar. He saw Crazy Wolf and Little Warrior. "What know you of this Spirit Guide?" demanded Crazy Wolf. "As much as you yourself," replied Little Warrior. "Did you not speak with him in his village?" "Aye, Chief. I wished him well." "You asked not his designs?" "It was a celebration, Chief. Many were there to wish him well. My time was brief." "It is said that he will rule the Nation." "Perhaps, but he is a cub." "Yet, two summers past, he was here in this longhouse; a cub who spoke like a warrior." "Indeed, he spoke not like any cub I know." "Do you fear him?" "Nay, Chief. I see no threat in him." "We will see. He bears watching. Our power is great. I would not have him seize it. If needs be, I would have him with me. If not....?" At this time in the dream, Little Warrior looked upward, directly into the eyes of Spirit Guide and spoke to him. "He means you harm," he said. "Beware of him." The dream faded quickly and Spirit Guide sat up in his shelter. Disquiet visited his heart. He sat for a long time pondering on the meaning of the dream. He had been warned. There was no doubt of that, but what to do? He listened quietly for the guidance of the Great Spirit to enter his thoughts. With first light, guidance was still wanting. He bathed his face and upper body in the chill water of the stream. Then it was time to move on. He set his feet toward the village of the Bandar. If trouble was there, he would find it. As he walked, several time he thought he saw a fleeting motion at the edge of his sight. Once he got a better look. Then he was sure it was Grey. He paused and grinned, then walked on boldly. The Great Spirit, as always, was watching. He paused at the edge of the forest and looked into the village of the Bandar. He remembered it from his last visit. The sense of evil was still there, but another sense shared it. He could not identify the feeling. It seemed to be of decay. Spirit Guide opened his heart and sent a thought of Little Warrior into the village. In the village, Little Warrior sat outside his lodge with a small fire. He was hardening a new point on a new spear. He was thinking of Crazy Wolf. He had in his heart a vision of that spear driving into the heart of Crazy Wolf. It was a vison he had harbored for many summers, since he had seen his father fall, impaled on the spear of Crazy Wolf. Suddenly, Little Warrior felt a sense of presence. His vision of Crazy Wolf was pushed aside. He had a knowing of the heart. Spirit Guide was calling to him. Little Warrior tossed the spear into his lodge and strode quickly to the village edge. He scanned about and saw a slight shadow within the shadow of the forest. He went to it. Spirit Guide smiled as he saw Little Warrior approach. "Greetings Little Warrior. We meet again." Little Warrior's face showed some confusion. "How did you that?" he asked in wonder. "I heard you call in my head." "I did think of you as I stood here," replied Spirit Guide. "Perhaps the Great Spirit gave wing to my thought." "Perhaps," said Little Warrior, "and perhaps you have powers." "Would that I had," laughed Spirit Guide. "I so believe, but let it be for now. I be here at your call and you be here." "Indeed, I come to honor a promise." "I recall. You said you would come two summers past." "Much has passed since then, and I begin my time of service." "What mean you by service?" "I believe it is mine to learn of the Great spirit and speak of him to all of the People of the Nation." "You are indeed to be a Spirit Guide?" "I so believe. My mother so spoke." "I thought your mother be dead?" "In truth, she abides in the domain of the Great Spirit." "I wonder at these words of Great Spirit and dead people speaking. Come, let us walk. The village can wait." Little Warrior turned away from the village and Spirit Guide followed. "Will Crazy Wolf wonder at your absence?" asked Spirit Guide. "He has much in his head to trouble it ere he thinks of me. Have you seen yet, the Big Water?" "Not ever. Is it near?" "We go there now. It is not far." "Then you have seen it many times." "Indeed. There is a place there to sit and be alone in my pondering." Little warrior led Spirit Guide to the top of a small hill and they looked down upon the Big Water. Spirit Guide was stunned at the majesty of it. He could see the curve of the horizon where the Big Water merged with the sky. The water stretched to the ends of the earth everywhere he looked. "I had no true idea," he whispered. "There is no end to it. It reaches to the domain of the Great Spirit." "I felt the same when I was a cub," smiled Little Warrior. "Do you ever grow easy with it?" "Never completely," replied Little Warrior. "It has many moods and passions. You must come sometime to see it when it is angry." "Indeed, I shall, with the leave of the Great spirit." Little Warrior grinned. "Come, he said. "There is a hidden place to sit." He lead Spirit Guide down the hill and among the dunes and rocks. Then he took off his sandals and walked through the water around the face of a stone cliff. Spirit Guide followed and found himself in a small cove carved into the rock by the Big Water. It had a sand floor and some rocks at the back near the cliff. They went to the rocks and sat down. Back to Wesoomi's Archives
|