Part 36
Eddie loped across the open area between the parking lot and where the ceremony was being held and hurried to take the seat next to Maria. The chair on her right side was empty and a quick glance to his right showed Michael busy setting his camera equipment up again.
"How're you doin' this mornin'?" he asked, smiling when Maria tried to hide a yawn.
"Still trying to wake up," she admitted. "I never get up this early at home."
"I'll let you in on a little secret… my girlfriend doesn't either." He held his cell phone up before leaning to the side to slide it into his pocket. "She gave me an earful for callin' this early and wakin' her up."
Maria laughed and shook her head. "I'm glad I'm not the only one who isn't an early riser; everyone I've seen this morning seems to be used to the early hours. Although Michael didn't look terribly alert at breakfast."
"Just one more reason why he's been nicknamed 'the bear'. He's not normally up this early and he's not that fond of pre-dawn either."
"That's because it's still nighttime," Michael growled as he sat down on Maria's right side.
"What happened to your sidekick?" Eddie asked, noticing that Shysie wasn't with him.
"She's a smart kid; she went back to sleep after breakfast." He slouched down in his seat and rubbed his eyes. "She's with her parents."
"Is the ceremony getting ready to start again?"
Eddie turned his head, following Maria's gaze to the sudden flurry of activity taking place in front of them before glancing at the faint pink and purple streaks that were decorating the early morning sky. "Yeah."
"Is the ceremony for more than one girl?" she asked, noticing that there were two girls standing at the center.
"Well, that's not unheard of to cut down on costs, but no, the second girl is a friend of Kai's. She's allowed to have a friend who's already been through her own ceremony to dance with her and to provide support. As they dance, the medicine man and singers will remain behind them, and he'll lead the singers in chants that'll be sung in groups of four. This will go on for several hours and she'll continue dancing, staring into the sun the whole time."
"Does she get to rest at all?"
"Not really. The next part of the ceremony is the part that I told you will seem to be impossible. Have you ever heard our Creation story?"
Maria's gaze moved from the dancing girls to Eddie. "No."
"According to our beliefs, Changing Woman came into existence here, in what is known as the Glittering World, or, the fourth world. Her parents, First Man and First Woman came here from the First World, traveling here through a magic reed. First Man was created from a meeting of white and black clouds in the East, while First Woman was created from a meeting of yellow and blue clouds in the West. Spider Woman who was responsible for teaching the women to weave accompanied them from the First World. Their first order of business was to build a sweat house where they sang the Blessing Song and after being instructed by Talking God, they built the first house and met there to begin arranging the world." He smiled. "Following me so far?"
"Yes, keep going." Maria was fascinated by their colorful mythology.
"At this point they had to name their sacred boundaries; the San Francisco Peaks north of Flagstaff are the boundary in the West and represent the Abalone and Coral stones. The Eastern boundary is represented by Mt. Blanco, in Colorado, and it also represents the White Shell stone. Now, East of Grants, New Mexico you've got Mt. Taylor, which represents the Southern boundary and the Turquoise stone. Last, you've got the Northern boundary, also in Colorado, Mt. Hesperus, the representation for the Black Jet stone. Once the mountains were placed in their proper locations, the Holy People placed the sun and moon in the sky.
But, while they were carefully putting the stars in the sky, the trickster, or Coyote, came along and quickly became impatient with the way things were progressing. So, he picked up the blanket where the stars lay and flung it out, scattering them across the sky. Despite Coyote's interference the Holy People continued to create things necessary to everyday life… trees, clouds, rain… anything that they deemed necessary. After some time had passed evil monsters appeared and immediately began to kill the new Earth People. The miraculous birth of Changing Woman would bring about change because after marrying and becoming impregnated by the Sun she would give birth to twin sons; Monster Slayer and Child-Born-of-Water. Their father, the Sun, gave them lightening bolts, weapons that would allow them to fight the monsters. Once the monsters had been defeated the Holy People created the four clans and each made their own contributions to help the tribes grow and prosper."
"What happened to Changing Woman?" Maria asked. "That can't be the end of her story."
"No, of course not. Being married to the Sun, the only way that Changing Woman was able to spend her evenings with him was to live on an island in the western sea. The island was made of rock crystal and her home made of the four sacred stones, but as the days are long she eventually became lonely and so she created four clans from flakes of her skin. Eventually her clans learned that there were other humans in the East and that they shared a common heritage, and they wanted to go and meet them so they sought permission from Changing Woman. She allowed them to leave, and they traveled for many, many nights to reach the four clans where they joined together to live. Legend has it that at the end of her life Changing Woman walked toward the Sun and met her younger self and became young again."
"So, the next part of the ceremony represents which part of the Creation story?"
"For the next part of the ceremony, Kai will sit cross-legged on the deer hide, at the center of the four sacred directions, and she'll have to hold her hands at a specified height and in a specific manner while swaying from North to South, touching Mother Earth each time."
"Wow, that doesn't seem like it's even physically possible."
"No, it doesn't. And on top of that, it can last for hours; she doesn't stop until the medicine man and singers have finished singin' the last chant. As always, throughout the ceremony she faces east and the next part represents the moment when Changing Woman was penetrated by the Sun, thus, changing her into a woman."
"So, it represents her first period?"
"Yeah. Once that part is over, she receives a massage."
"That must be a relief." She turned her head when Michael shifted and she smiled at the little girl that was sleepily climbing up to sit in his lap.
"You would think so, wouldn't you?" Eddie chuckled when her curious gaze swung back to him. "The massage is done by having someone step on strained or sore muscles to get her ready for the next challenge. But Kai isn't allowed to simply lie there while the massage takes place; she has to keep her head up, facing the sun, and she has to maintain this position while a series of chants are sung. Once that's finished, she'll dance again and then she must run around a cane that the medicine man will place a distance from her before runnin' back to her original position. Each time she reaches her starting point, the medicine man'll move the cane further East and she'll be required to run farther and faster. Once she's done that four times, she'll run around the cane in the other three sacred directions, and then she'll begin dancing again."
Maria shook her head, shocked at how long, painful and tiring this ceremony was for young girls. Where did they find the courage, the strength, to still stand up by the end of the weekend? She was feeling tired just by hearing what was about to happen to them, today. "Girls must go through a lot of training for this."
"Kai's been trainin' for this for more than a year," Michael said, joining in the conversation. He was impressed by what his cousin was accomplishing.
Eddie's voice interrupted Michael's thoughts and he turned towards his friend, watching him as he continued his little history lesson for Maria. "Now, see the baskets lined up to the East from Kai's position?"
Maria stretched to see what Eddie was talking about. Huh, yeah, she could see them. She groaned her answer while sitting back. "Um-hmm."
"Well, they're filled with coins, candy, and other small things that represent blessings; most girls who've gone through the ceremony say that it's a pretty scary part. Because in the next stage, the medicine man pours the baskets' contents over the girl's head and everyone gathers around and makes a grab for the blessings."
Maria looked at the long line of hand-woven baskets stretching out in the distance. "All of the baskets?"
"All of them. When they've all been emptied, she'll begin dancing again while everyone lines up to bless her; it begins with the medicine man sprinkling a powder called good-medicine over her head and blessing the girl. Then there are prayers while the good-medicine is sprinkled over her sponsor, the medicine man, and finally the eagle feather attached to the deer hide. As you can imagine with so many people present, it'll take a while for that part to be completed. It's believed that during and immediately after the ceremony, the girl is filled with the healing powers of Changing Woman."
"Really? That's so fascinating." Maria was amazed by everything that the girls went through during the ceremony. "Have you ever seen any of the girls actually heal someone?"
"I've seen things happen that I can't explain," Eddie admitted. "I've seen the sick touched by girls possessing Changing Woman's power become well again, so I certainly don't discount the possibility that after completing the ceremony, they have the ability to heal people for a short length of time."
"So, it only lasts for a little while?"
"Yeah, it's only temporary. After the blessings have all been made, it'll be late afternoon or early evening and then everyone will go back to camp while the clean-up crew readies the area for the part of the ceremony that takes place at night."
"The girls must be so exhausted by the time the ceremony ends." Maria settled back in her chair to watch the ceremony. She squinted against the sun's early rays as it began its climb into the sky and she wondered how anyone was able to stare directly into the sun for hours on end; it just didn't seem possible.
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Nina Blackhawk leaned against the counter beside the cash register and watched Amy count the same product for the third time. She had been born and raised in Seattle, the only child her Choctaw mother had given birth to. She had never met her father and her mother had said very little about him; she only knew he was Choctaw like her mother, but the woman had taken any other information to her grave. She had worked with Amy for close to ten years and they had been friends even longer. They had met during a protest march in Washington, D.C. and they had connected immediately, working together over the years to plan events and bonding over life's challenges.
She had moved to Roswell after Amy had told her about her plan to open the shop and while helping her get the place up and running Nina had realized that an opportunity had
presented itself. Now, she owned the little shop next door that catered to tourists with a curiosity about mysticism.
They helped each other out with their businesses and anything else that came up. She had no children of her own, but she had watched Maria countless times over the years when Amy had gone out of town for conventions or on buying trips, immensely enjoying the young girl's quirky behavior. The teenager was smart like her mother and she had inherited her father's artistic gene, but she had definitely gotten the best of both of them.
She watched Amy as she frowned, pen poised above the inventory list on the clipboard she held for a full minute before she pulled the same product container out again.
"How many times are you gonna count the contents of that box?" Nina asked finally.
"As many times as it takes apparently." Amy stared at the clipboard for several minutes before sighing loudly and shaking her head. "I've just got so much on my mind that I can't seem to focus on anything."
"Is everything okay with Maria? You weren't lying when you told her you were fine with this weekend, were you?"
"No. Maria's an intelligent young woman and I trust her to make the right decisions." She rolled her eyes and chuckled. "Besides, Michael's mother isn't gonna let them get up to anything."
"What do you think of him?"
She crossed the room and dropped the clipboard on the counter by the register before reaching for one of the stools that she had added when Maria and her friends had started hanging around the shop a few years ago. "She's dated off and on but she's never really gotten serious about any of the guys. Michael's different though; he listens to her, he doesn't just blow off things that she feels are important, and he challenges her."
"I'd like to meet him."
"You will. I don't know when, but you will."
"Okay, so if it's not Maria that's got you so distracted, what is it?" She pulled out the other stool and sat down, waiting patiently for her friend to decide what she wanted to say.
"I told you I've been seeing someone."
"He wants to meet your daughter," Nina guessed.
"Among other things." Amy sighed. "It's not that I don't want them to meet, I just really need to figure some things out first."
"That sounds pretty serious."
Amy hadn't allowed any man to get too close since she and Maria's dad had gone their separate ways, so Nina knew how significant Amy's admission was.
"I've been thinking about taking a trip to Sedona, maybe spending a few days at the institute so I can try to clear my head."
"Well, the institute's a good place to do that. So, what's holding you back? You know the director; give her a call and tell her it's important and that you need some time to meditate and work some things out. Y'know she'll get you in."
"I know." She tapped her pen against the clipboard.
"Maria will be fine if you take off for a few days," she assured her friend. "And if you've been as distracted at home as you've been here today, I think she'll understand."
"She's been having such a hard time recently with the whole Liz and Alex thing…"
"You know it's not the same thing, Amy. You're not deserting her; you're taking off for a few days to get your thoughts together. I can keep an eye on the shop and check in on her, and if she needs anything I'm only a phone call away." She reached out to pluck the pen from Amy's fingers. "Why don't you go make that call while I get started on the inventory?"
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Alex walked beside Liz as they left the movie theater, his thoughts on his silent friend. Neither of them had paid much attention to the movie, each of them lost in their own thoughts. He wished he knew what to say to help Liz deal with the situation because then maybe he'd be able to deal with it himself.
"I think maybe it's time to let Maria go, Alex," Liz said finally.
"What?"
"I think trying to hold onto her is only causing more pain for all of us and if we keep going on this way, we're eventually gonna destroy any future chance we might have of fixing our friendship with her."
He sighed roughly. "You're probably right. I wish we could convince them that she can be trusted."
"That won't happen anytime soon. New friends, a new boyfriend… Max was pretty clear that her new relationships make her an even bigger risk than she was before. I know what we're doing to her isn't fair; I knew that before her boyfriend shared his opinion with me, but if he can be believed, she's having a harder time dealing with this than I thought she was."
"Boy, you really don't like him, do you?" Given her reaction to him, Alex was curious about the guy that Maria was dating, but the fact that Liz was still smarting from his comments from the night before had him concerned. It wasn't normal for her to dislike people based on a first impression; Liz was usually an even-tempered individual, so for her to dislike the guy immediately made him wonder what he was like.
"No, I don't like him. I'm telling you, Alex, he's nothing like the guys Maria normally goes out with; I can't imagine what they have in common."
"I'm sure if Maria's mom agreed to her spendin' the weekend with this guy and his family, he must be okay. Right? I mean, Amy's pretty laid-back and all, but she wouldn't let Maria go out with someone who was dangerous."
"He's a jerk." She sighed. "I just don't see her with him; I can't imagine what she sees in him. And since when is Maria interested in Native American stuff anyway?" She stopped walking and turned around to face her companion. "Did you know she cut her hours back at the Crashdown because she's working part-time for her mom?"
Alex thought back over the past few weeks. "Well, she hasn't been around as much lately, but no, I didn't know that."
"Y'know, she said this guy she's dating is Native American, but he didn't look like it to me." She shook her head. "Do you know he said that we don't have any right to worry about Maria anymore? And he accused us of exploiting her weaknesses."
Alex looked up at the restaurant Liz's family owned and paused a moment to gather his thoughts before he spoke. He chuckled finally, the sound bitter. "That's exactly what we did to her, Liz. Maybe it wasn't intentional, at least not at first, but it is what we did. We moved on, we abandoned her, without giving her a reason or an explanation; we cut her out of our lives. Can we really blame her for movin' on and findin' someone who thinks she's important? Someone who's gonna stand between us and her and protect her?"
"You're defending him?" Liz couldn't believe that Alex would side with a guy he had never even met before.
Alex hesitated, struggling to find the right words. "No, maybe… I don't know. I'm just sayin' that we're the ones who pushed her away, we knew how she'd react to bein' cut out of our lives that way and we did it anyway."
"We didn't have a choice."
Alex shook his head sadly. "There's always a choice, Liz; we just have to find a way to live with ours."