A little boy in a simple white shirt ran along the bank of the river laughing at the wriggling polywogs. He was so entranced that he didn't hear the steady pounding of the drums announcing the arrival of the hunters. It wasn't until he heard the blow of the horn, he stood.
"Kicke!" he exclaimed.
He ran as swiftly as his little feet could carry him until he came to a clearing. There stood who he was looking for. A woman, no, young lady, of only about 18, Maiara. Only to him, this girl was Kicke, his mama.
She smiled as she heard his excited footsteps and turned around just in time as he blasted into her arms. He giggled as she handed him her prized horn. He licked his lips wetly and blew hard into the horn creating the same sound he had heard moments before.
"You've been practicing" she whispered proudly as wives, sisters, mothers, and daughters passed by chanting.
"Hega-Hega-yampi-ye-hega, yampi-ye-he-he-hega."
Maiara was about to join when a hand tugged at her dress. She looked down and saw clear water eyes staring up at her.
"Kicke, what do they mean?"
"They are giving thanks to our Mother, Aputsiaq" she replied gently.
The blank expression on his face told her she need to explain further.
She bent down and picked him up placing him on her shoulders.
"Steady as the beating drum, singing to the cedar flute, seasons go and season come, bringing corn and bearing fruit."
She walked as she said these words to him, his little ears swallowing every bit of information his Kicke had to offer. She stopped by the banks of the river he had been playing at.
"By the waters sweet and clean, where the mighty sturgeon lives."
Here she turned to the fields where countless farmers were working and tilling the fields.
"Plant the squash and reap the beans, all the Earth, our Mother gives."
She continued walking and stopped at the fire the wise man had lit entrancing the children with images of clouds and rabbits signaling a happy return. Maiara smiled as she heard Aputsiaq cry with joy and the old man say,
"Oh, Great Spririt, hear our song, help us keep the ancient ways. Keep the sacred fire strong, and walk in balance all our days."
She walked a little ways more to the lake where the boats of the returning hunters were gathering.
"So you see Aputsiaq, plum to seed to bud to plum, seasons go and seasons come as steady as the beating drum."
She lifted him off her soldiers and placed him on a high nearby rock. She winked at him as she tunred around and put her hand to her mouth. She inhaled and let out a high pitched yell to let everyone know their brothers had arrived.
And at that moment, little Aputsiaq was never more proud to have this girl as his Kicke, his beloved mama.