Vision Quest

12. Tuesday Part 8 Dreaming of Magpies

POV: Ritu

    "Roger, I've never seen so many stars."

"You're used to city lights. They brighten the night sky making it hard to see the fainter stars. Can you see that milky looking band that stretches across the sky? You rarely notice it in town. It is actually thousands of stars. You are seeing our own galaxy, the Milky Way."

"I thought the Milky Way was a spiral galaxy. Shouldn't we see a circular spiral?"

"You would if you were outside the galaxy looking down on it. We are in it so we are seeing it edge on. We see it just as a narrow band across the sky. The Navajo say that when the world was created, the people gathered around the fire god to pick stars out of a bag and meticulously place them in the sky according to a seasonal pattern. But the mischievous deity Coyote grew annoyed with the slowness of this process and exasperatedly threw the bag of unplaced stars up over his head and into the sky. This scattering formed the Milky Way."

"Did you learn that from our indigenous cultures text?"

"No, I've been interested in astronomy and mythology my whole life. "Eastern mythology has a more romantic take on the origin of the Milky Way. Do you want to hear it?"

I looked over at Roger. He was not staring at the sky. He was on his side staring at me. "Yes, let's hear it." I turned back staring up at the sky again waiting for the soothing sound of Roger's story-telling voice.

Roger began, "when the king of the sky was creating the heavens, his daughter, the seventh princess of heaven, went to bathe in the Milky Way, at that time it was only a small stream in the heavens. While bathing, she met a handsome shepherd and stayed so long she was late returning to her father. This upset her father; so, to prevent her from visiting the herd-boy again, her father poured thousands of more stars into the Milky Way so that it grew from a small stream into an impassable river. The princess was heartbroken being separated from the herd-boy. She was so distraught that her father recanted. To allow her to visit the herd-boy, once a year he would send a flock of magpies to form a bridge over the Milky Way so the lovers could meet."

"I think I like that version better," I sighed at the sky. Then I looked back to Roger who was now on his back staring upward. I explained, "I guess I identify with the princess's dispute with her father. My father and I frequently did not see eye to eye, especially when it came to dating."

"Your father didn't like your boyfriends?"

"My father didn't like my dating anyone. The few dates I had were on the sly. There was no magpie bridge for me."

"You don't have to worry about your father now."

"My father would have a cow if he knew I was out here with you. But that is not why I'm reluctant to get involved romantically. I like you Roger, but for the next several years I have to focus on my education."

Roger rolled on his side to face me and said, "Some people can do both."

"I'm sorry, Roger, but I can't."

Roger rolled back onto his back. "Well, I like the Navajo version. It is about our spirit animal. I can identify with the coyote's impatience and his willingness to do something about it."

"That does not surprise me."

"Are you warm enough?" Roger had noticed that I had snuggled down into my bag.

"Yeah, you were right these bags are very warm."

"If you do get cold, you can always scoot your bag over next to mine. I promise, no funny business."

"I think it is better if we keep the Milky Way between us herd-boy."

Roger smiled. "Goodnight princess. Let us dream of magpies."

"Goodnight Kemosabe."