Jenna Raye Stevens checked her messages for the tenth time. Surely the mail had run at her foster parents house. Finally, the message she most hoped for hit her phone. Reading it several times, she shook as tears cascaded down her cheeks. Now she would know the truth, or as much as she could get from a man who could no longer speak.
Her friends thought she had lost her mind. All but Derrick Rainwater. He was her only friend who had ever encouraged her to find out about her biological family. She might never know who left her, days old, on the steps at the Sheriff's Department. But ever since the DNA test results told her she was twenty-five percent Native American, she had hope. It was more than hope. It was a belief her burning desire to know from where she came, where she belonged, and more importantly, what her mission in life was to be, might actually be sated.
Arriving for work on time, she was happy to be assigned to work the drive-thru window. It was after an hour when Derrick came through. Handing him his change, she whispered, "We got approved to take Atsadi out for a ceremony, can you get off Thursday since it is solstice?"
Nodding, Derrick grinned but remained silent. Watching him pull up to the next window she resumed taking orders. Derrick's grandfather was Shawnee and had performed many smudging ceremonies, but the man had a stroke which has left him with use of one leg and one arm on his right side. To get permission to take him for an outing from the nursing home had been a long shot. Both she and Derrick had written his physician, the judge who had probated him, and the nursing home administrator. To think they had permission caused her to tear up. Happy she was scheduled off Thursday, after work she headed straight home to plan.
Thursday morning came after a sleepless night. Up early, she met Derrick for breakfast and then drove to the nursing home to pick up Gary Atsadi Rainwater. They were early but the man was dressed and sitting in a wheelchair on the porch, his long grey hair braided. Taking Atsadi's hand in hers, she gripped it hard. "Thank you, Mr. Rainwater, for agreeing to spend Solstice with Derrick and me." The man nodded, tears in his eyes.
Derrick hugged his grandfather, whispered, "I've missed you so," and then turned his back to them as he cried.
The orderly handed her feeding instructions, medicine and a schedule, then left them, hurrying back inside. Carefully placing the items in her backpack, she leaned over, winked and whispered, "you're not a baby, feeding instructions, really?" His smile was all the reward she needed.
Unlocking the wheels, Jenna pushed Atsadi to her car. It took some effort, but they were able to get him loaded into the front seat. Derrick placed the wheelchair in the boot and climbed in. After adjusting Atsadi's seat belt, she drove off.
"There is a friend of mine who owns a farm where there is an ancient burial mound. He told us we can do our own ceremony there, since he keeps the area fenced off from the animals. I thought you would spend time with us and teach us how to smudge and we can have our own ceremony. Then we would drive over to Adams County, if there's time, to go to the Serpent Mound for a quick visit." Jenna kept chatting away, the entire time she drove. "I know the mound builders were ages before the Shawnee, but the place is sacred. It's where I met Derrick."
Eventually they arrived at the top of the hill. From the rocky cliff, you could see the Ohio River, snaking through the valley below.Driving close, she parked while rolling down the windows, enjoying the crisp breeze. "If you get too cold, let me know."
They sat for several minutes, before Derrick got out and helped his grandfather into his chair. Atsadi pointed towards the rocky cliff, so they took him as close to the edge as they felt safe. Atsadi held up the one hand not rendered useless from his stroke and seemed to be in prayer for some time. Eventually he pointed towards a cedar tree so they made their way over. Derrick spoke as they went.
"Grandfather, thank you for teaching us how to do this smudging ceremony. A couple of days before I met Jenna Raye, I went to Serpent Mound. After walking the path around the mound, I climbed the observation tower. As I stood looking towards the head of the great serpent, shivers ran down my spine. My soul told me I had been there before, even though I had never been there. I had been in that spot and looked down from a tree. The tree is gone but the mound is not. I knew then the time was near when I would need to fulfil my destiny. I thought if I ignored the duty, you might never die."
At the man's nod, he continued. "My soul told me I had been a warrior in many previous lives and I am a warrior in this life. There is a reason Jenna was brought into my life that I do not know. I need clarity within my soul to cleanse the veil between good and evil, so I can ward off the evil and serve only good. There are times I feel a battle raging within when I see evil deeds."
Derrick and Jenna picked up rocks and made a circle around them. Jenna watched as Derrick pulled out an old book, singed on the edges from fire. He had several places marked and he showed each place to his grandfather. Each time, the old man shook his head no. Eventually he turned to the right page. Atsadi nodded.
Glancing, his grandfather was watching him. "Grandfather, I have inherited the intelligence, leadership, a strong sense of family from the hunters whose blood flows through my veins. I have the creativity, fertility and protection from the plant growers whose blood I share. I war each day with the destruction my thoughts can do to prevent me from doing good and honoring the Great Spirit." Standing, he opened his backpack, took out a bundle of dried sage leaves and presented them to Jenna.
She took a large rock bowl, placed several of the sage leaves in the bowl and set them on fire. As the flames grew, she took a feather and began fanning the flames. Finally she looked at Atsadi, who nodded, then pointed to a prayer he had written in his journal.
Standing, Derrick held his hands out with palms up. "Thank you for the gift of life and of safety. Thank you for the awareness of danger. Thank you for the people who takes away our loneliness. Just as a new day dawns in the east, please light our soul to know the way we are meant to travel. Just as an innocent child has hope, please bring our souls the trusting innocence of a child that good will prevail. Just as a medicine man learns from many moons, please bring wisdom for our healing and understanding of our battles and wounds. Just as wisdom comes to those in winter life, bring us the knowledge of what we are called to do so we serve for the greatest good."
Bending down, Derrick patted the earth. "Mother earth, grow our respect and care like you do for all creatures you have made. Forgive us if we prepared too much sage for today." Rising up, he held his hands to the sky. "Father sky, please allow the breezes to remove the negative and evil energies from me, my grandfather, my friend Jenna and the land where we live. Protect us from the human hunter killing people along this great river and all of the warriors who wish to harm us. I ask for the wisdom of history to come to Jenna so she may honor you. This is a good day for all evil and hate to die. Please allow all fear, trepidation and vengeance to leave our souls. If we face evil today, let our life battle be successful. Please allow the healing energy of this cedar tree to lessen my grandfather's suffering."
Derrick took the feather and burning bowl of ashes and walked around his grandfather three times, wafting him with smoke. Then Derrick walked around Jenna three time making sure she was surrounded by smoke and then immersed himself. Returning to the area where Jenna and his grandfather was sitting beside a cedar tree, he held the bowl in front of his grandfather.
Atsadi dipped his fingers in the ashes, and proceeded to apply them as smudges to his face, in the same pattern of stripes and circles his grandfather before him had used and which was their tribe's method. Once finished, Derrick smudged his face in the same pattern while his grandfather watched.
His grandfather pointed to the book so Derrick picked it up and held it so his grandfather could turn pages. Once he found the page, he pointed at it and then at Jenna.
Standing, she took the book in her hands and read the passage. "Today I watched my grandson Derrick enter the world for this lifetime. He is the warrior for his generation. The need will be great. The battles will be strong and the struggles of our youth will be manmade. My spirit guides told me I will teach him to take my place, when I can no longer walk and no longer talk. Therefore, I must write down that which needs known. The message from spirit to my grandson is that your biggest battles for this life time will have been completed by the time you are thirty and you will go on and do great things for our people on mother earth with the help of your squaw. You both will build the tribe to last for many future generations."
Derrick was taking in huge gulps of air. Jenna glanced at him before continuing. "I am bestowing the name Grey Wolf on you, as your tribe name. You and your woman friend will be the last members of our band before your rebuild it. Your woman has not known spirit in past lives. It is up to you to teach her respect of all plants, trees, animals and rocks, so she can learn life energy. Your strong sense of family will help you lead her on her journey to find her soul path. The mind wanders when lost and because she has stumbled off the path in the moon light, her tribal name will be Luna Ray. Her mind will have wandered from ridge to valley. It is up to you to guide this woman to the ridge and help her stay on the lookout as she discovers she is a part of nature. She will have hair the color of a full moon."
Jenna paused, coughed, and then continued. "Grey Wolf, the spirit of a young woman is with you and will warn you of danger as she guides you in your life battle. The spirit of my father will be with Luna Ray and guide her through the mist. You must follow her into the mist as there will be your greatest battle. You will enter a brave and emerge a warrior."
"I am humbled. Thank you." Derrick nodded and bowed his head towards his grandfather.
Jenna cleared her throat and continued reading. "Grey Wolf, I had a dream three night ago of you as a boy, carrying a banner stone. You showed it to your father and told him the soul of the warrior is somehow still attached to the stone and the warrior would keep you safe. Then a large bird came out of the fog along the river and told me that when you find an identical stone, you will know your largest battle is at hand, and you will have the clarity to make the correct choice. Both of those souls and the energy of the animals they killed with their spears for food, will help you in your life battle on mother earth."
Closing the journal, she placed it on Atsadi's lap, gave him a hug and then gasped when he took his fingers and smudged her face with ashes from the bowl. She stayed bent over until he nodded he was finished. Sitting on the ground by his feet, she took his bad hand in hers, and one of Derricks in the other. The three sat holding hands for some time, their eyes closed.
Jenna felt so close to these two men. It was the first time she felt connected to anyone. She belonged to their tribe now, she had been accepted. She finally belonged to someone. Had Atsadi really had visions of her being in Derrick's life? Gripping their hands she closed her eyes. Her middle name was Raye and she had been abandoned in the moonlight. She was meant to be; she was not an accident. She did have a purpose, a reason for being.
The sound of a snort caused her to open her eyes. Her heart raced. Danger was near.