The Seeker – The Conclusion

Contemporary Microfiction About First Nations People

Over the next several days there was no lightning from heaven. He spent his days walking, and praying. When he got too cold he went inside his lodge. No one had been on the mountain in a long time, so there was a lot of firewood handy. He was lonely, but that was to be expected. He had even turned off his cell phone. No one knew he was here except for his father and mother.

from pinterest

Something did take place though in a quiet way. He had a peace he had not felt before. If for no other reason it was good that he was here. His father had been right, he needed this. He always knew that nature brought healing and peace, but it was just head knowledge, an intellectual understanding, without having the experience of it.

As a result of the healing and peace he was feeling, his heart was moved. He began longing for his people. He wanted to be with them, and a part of them. On one cold night, he sat just outside the lodge, and looked at the stars, and at the valley below. The moon was ¾ full, and gave him some good light over his surroundings. He found himself praying for his people, his tribe. He had never done this before, and he prayed to be one with them, to have a strong sense of community. He knew the Creator was doing all this, and he was glad for it.

It was that same night that he heard the drums clearly. He knew the sound was not coming from the valley, or from some distant place holding a powwow. He could hear it though for sure, although he did not see anything. He heard songs that he had not heard since his Grandfather’s time. His Grandfather died when he was seven, so it had been ten years since he heard them. Yet he could hear the drums, and the singing softly. These songs made him long for his people even more.

While praying the next day, he began seeing glimpses of his Grandfather, not clearly but more like a shadow. He was not scared. In fact, he took the occasional visits as encouragement. He did not know how he knew it was him, but he knew.

After nine days on the mountain his father came, checking on him. He was concerned because usually a vision quest was about seven days. “I’m fine, give me one more day father.” “I will be down tomorrow night”. His father was satisfied with that, and had to hold back talking further with his son. He could see there was something different about him. His father turned to leave, but Johnny called to him, and said, “Father – thank you.” “You’ve given me a great gift!” At those words, his father headed back down the mountain with tears in his eyes.

There was a vision. It seemed minor, after all he already received. Late that night he woke up and saw a woman dressed in white. She hovered inside the lodge, surrounded by horses, the moon, and stars. She said, “You need to be a part of your people.” “You need to sing and be a drummer of songs”. Then she used a word in his tribal language he had only heard once or twice before, and it meant, “One – who – calls – for – singing.” This was an important responsibility within the tribe, and one of great honor. And then suddenly, she was gone.

Was all this his imagination? He did not think so. One thing was for certain, tomorrow he would come down off the mountain a different person. He would be the man he was meant to be.

Thanks for reading! I have included a video that I really like. It is one of men drumming and singing, and one of the best I have seen! These men really pour their hearts into it! For me it is a little strange seeing the mixture of cultures, that is short haircuts, and modern clothing, while singing a traditional song, but I love both the singing and the drumming. Sing it brothers!

Blessings to everyone, and PEACE!

Images from google unless noted otherwise, video from youtube

Writing © Copyright 2015, nicodemasplusthree

 

The Seeker

Contemporary Microfiction About First Nations People

Why should he even seek a vision these days? He was seventeen now , enjoying his job on the ranch, and maybe he would have his own ranch someday. Yet every day, at the breakfast table, his father asked him to consider it. “Dad, you work in a bank!” “What good has your vision done for you?!” He knew he was raising his voice, and needed to cool it. Besides that, his mother gave him one of those, “You better knock it off”, kind of looks, as she stood over him with the frying pan, putting eggs on his plate. Johnny looked at his father and said calmly, “Dad, we might as well all be Christians”.

“Son!” His father was raising his voice now, “We are Christians!” “Just because we practice the traditions of our people doesn’t mean we don’t believe in God”. He knew his father hated this part of the conversation. No one said anything, as they ate their eggs, beef bacon, and toast with lots of butter. To top it off, was his Mom’s coffee, some of the best he had ever tasted.

His father finished eating first, and made one more comment as he was getting up from the table. “You need to think about the spiritual side, son – and you need to be connected with the people”. Johnny said nothing, but he finished, thanked his Mom, and headed out the door.

As he was driving to work that morning, he glanced over at the mountains. They had been calling him for a while now, he just wasn’t telling anybody. He didn’t see the need for the supernatural, not these days. It was all about working and making money. Ok, and besides that there were girls, and maybe getting married, but there just wasn’t a need for the traditions, or to “hear from the heavens” as some put it.

Driving the old pick up into the gravel lane of the ranch, for some reason made him think of his Grandfather. He had been a medicine man, who was loved and respected by all the people. He also hated their last name of Caldwell, and he refused to use it. He was Bear Medicine, and would not accept any other name. He also refused to call Johnny anything other than the name he came up with…..what was it……it was…..something to do with a hawk but he could not remember.

As he parked the truck and jumped out, he decided he would ask for some time off to go on the vision quest. If his boss said yes, he would go, and if not – then so be it. He had a good day at work, feeding several herds out on the range using an ATV. When he did finish for the day, he asked his boss for the time off, and explained why. His boss said yes, and the same thing his father had said earlier, “You need to be more connected with the people…”. Johnny laughed and told him he sounded like his father. Privately though he was starting to get the point.

from pinterest

A day later, he knew it was crazy, but he was in the mountains. It was only early spring, so it was still cold. His father had insisted on a buffalo lodge, instead of a nylon tent. They had a small one, and he would be able to build a fire in it, and would be warm. It took him hours by foot, to get about half way up Cougar’s Paw Mountain, where he found a good spot that was open, but bordered by pine trees. The trees would protect him from the wind. There was no sense in going any higher, it would be too cold there anyway. And the view from here of the valley, was spectacular.

After he had set up the lodge, he wasn’t really sure what he was supposed to do, other than pray, and fast. He would be drinking water and that’s all. He sat in front of the lodge and just took in the view. He was feeling calm already. There was a presence here…..what was it? He could sense it – he just didn’t know what it was. Was he sensing the earth like his Grandfather had talked about? He took several deep breaths, and could hear his heart beating…….or was it…… drums he was hearing?

 

The conclusion of The Seeker, very soon!

Thanks for reading!

PEACE!

Writing © Copyright 2015, nicodemasplusthree

images from google except where noted

The Stranger

Microfiction

He was the strangest man they had ever seen. No one knew how he got there, or where he had come from. He was just there, sitting on his horse not moving. It was a black and white horse, a stallion filled with spirit, and that is how they noticed him at the western part of the village, in between two lodges. The horse had snorted, and stomped at the ground with his right hoof. The village came to a stop and just stared at the man.

Most of the men were away, on a buffalo hunt, but Whirlwind had been left in charge. No one saw Whirlwind though. Was he with the horses? His son Two Wolves was the only one that moved, silently, towards the man, bow and arrow pointing down. The man did not move. Was he dead?

Cricket in the Meadow looked at the man’s clothing, and she thought how strange, that his clothing was red. Was it from a different animal? Was it dyed? She could not tell. She had seen sea shells though before, once when she was a child. This man’s clothing was decorated with sea shells, which meant he had travelled very far, and he was from a people they did not know. Then she noticed his arm.

Instantly, she motioned to Two Wolves to stop, with a wave of her arm, which he saw clearly. No one moved. She whispered, “His arm is broken”. In fact, his left arm looked badly mangled. The man began to sway, and several people moved closer, expecting him to fall. He did fall to his left, into the arms of Whirlwind, who had come back unnoticed, and several women.

Several hours later he was in a lodge, and still in the capable hands of Cricket in the Meadow, Raven, and several other women. Whirlwind was there too in case the man woke up. It was clear to everyone that the man had fought a pack of wolves. He had several bites to his legs and one on his right arm. They also believed that he had fallen a great distance during the fight, which broke his arm.

Whirlwind mentioned that he thought the man’s horse had saved his life. He was convinced that the horse brought the man here, because of his injuries. Maybe the horse smelled the village fires burning, and headed this way. None of the people could capture the horse today. After the man had fallen, he ran, and was too fast for anyone, even on horseback. The horse not only had a strong spirit, he had strong medicine.

The difficult part of helping the man was his arm. They did the best they could in setting it with rawhide. Cricket in the Meadow mentioned that it may not heal. It was warm in the lodge, and after they finished, she stepped out for some fresh air.

It was night, but there was a full moon, and a light snow was beginning to fall. From looking at the sky she thought there would only be a little this time, and that the heavy snows would come later. Where was this man from and why was he here by himself? She did not know, but she would be glad when the hunting party returned.

 

Writing © Copyright 2014, nicodemasplusthree