CHAPTER 12
"I have no name for him," Grass Woman cries.
She struggles to hold the child up so that the tribe may see their newest member.
"Children should not be born in sorrow, and yet my heart is full of great sorrow," Grass Woman says, wiping tears from her eyes.
Onendah's face wrinkles into a sour expression, which makes the baby laugh.
"Do not name him 'Heart Full of Great Sorrow'!"
Grass Woman manages a laugh. "I would never."
Several weeks pass, and her tribal sisters begin to grow weary. They visit Grass Woman's tepee. Her voice is coarse from calling Lone Wolf's name over and over. The women complain that she's cried too much and sounds like a dove.
"I like the name Soaring Eagle."
"I don't. I like Thunderbolt," Blooming Flower, a young girl, says.
The women wrinkle their faces and shake their heads.
"That is a terrible name," Glances Then Glares says.
Yellow Sparrow shrugs. "A name is a name."
"No!" Grass Woman protests. "A name is everything!"
"If it is so important, then name him Lone Wolf!" Yellow Sparrow counters.
"Oh, I cannot do that," Grass Woman protests.
"Why not? It is a good name!" Blooming Flower encourages.
"He must earn that name. Everyone knows that!" Glances Then Glares chides her.
"Let's see. He has the love of his people. I can certainly see that," Grass Woman says. "And his father was a great warrior." She pauses for a moment, then feels the word form and slip from her lips. "K-i-o-w-a."
The women search one another's expressions as they repeat the name.
"Kiowa."
"I think I shall call my brave little man Kiowa!"
"That's a wonderful name!" Glances Then Glares compliments Grass Woman, squeezing her shoulder in approval.
"The people will embrace him, and he will embrace his people!" Grass Woman says, pressing Kiowa's soft, warm body to her chest.
For two springs, Paw scours the earth in search of a silver fox. Though he unearths many foxholes, he never finds what he's looking for.
Perhaps I am approaching this wrong. Maybe I should ask my brother to guide me. He kneels down and lowers his lips to the earth. "Brother, if you can hear me, lead me to this demigod. I am tired of searching and am ready to give up."
No sooner has he finished his prayer than he feels a strong energy in his legs. It is a strength he has never felt before. His muscles want to run, so Paw cuts them loose and lets them go. He sprints through grassy meadows, across streams, and high up steep mountains. When his legs tire, he sits down, realizing he has run all day and past the night. Now the sun sends her daughters to dance fresh light across foggy mountaintops.
"Oh, how you have played a dirty trick on me, brother. Or perhaps it is some cruel Cheyenne medicine man's spell," Paw complains while he rubs his sore feet.
He looks around, finding a direction that he knows will lead him back to his village.
"At least I gave it my best effort." He stands up and bends down at the waist to tighten his moccasins.
Right next to his foot, he spots a tiny fox footprint.
I see now that my eyes cannot be trusted over my pants. Lead my feet on, brother.
He follows the trail, keeping himself concealed in case he should scare the demigod. As he goes, he sees that the tracks lead to a den.
No demigod would be trapped so easily. If I dig, I might scare it, and I do not have the strength to chase it.
His stomach growls.
I do not have the strength to think.
He moves away from the den and makes a crude spear. After killing a rabbit, he builds a fire and roasts his breakfast in manageable chunks of meat.
When he's finished, he finds a stream and drinks until he's full. Now I can think, but I have the same problem as before. How do I trap a demigod?
When he returns to his fire, he spots a bushy tail with a red and black tip and a fresh set of prints.
You trap it by following its trail and feeding it.
Paw kills anything he can get his hands on. His bounty by midday includes a two squirrels and another rabbit. He sets the bodies down outside the opening of the den and hides behind a rock.
As the day wanes on, his patience pays off. A red fox pokes its head out of the hole and spots the offerings. Rather than rush out and snatch the kill, the fox decides to wait. Listen. Look. Smell. At twilight, it comes out and snatches up the squirrel, then disappears.
I know your fox thoughts. Paw squints and thinks, You are thinking that no living thing discards meat for free. And you are right. These are gifts. So show me what my brother has led me here to see.
The fox comes out almost upon request and snatches up another squirrel. When it comes back for the bunny, a litter of cubs slips out through the opening of the cave.
Ah, so you are a hungry mother.
Trapped between getting her cubs back inside the den and carrying home the bunny, she decides to drop dinner and take care of the babies.
"Oh, you are a good mother," Paw whispers to himself. "But why am I here? I do not see a silver fox…"
As mother gets her cubs back inside her den, one cub comes prancing out and yelps. Its silver fur nearly makes Paw's eyes leap out of his head. His mother quickly returns, catches her sacred treasure, and pulls him back into the safety of the den.
The sun sets and stars appear.
Paw withdraws to his campfire and thinks, How am I going to catch a silver fox without touching it?
He thinks and thinks and thinks himself to exhaustion.
I know from experience not to show myself or let the mother fox catch my scent. Ah-hoe, if she does, I will be digging for days in one hole, while she and her cubs slip out some other hole.
Paw folds his legs and thinks. No, the fox is clever. I must be cleverer than she.
Lost in thought, he repeatedly stabs a stick into the ground and inadvertently digs a hole.
I must dig a hole while the fox is sleeping, and I must do it tonight.
With that, Paw creeps as close as he can to the mouth of the den and carefully digs a hole. He uses rocks and sticks to carve out one handful of dirt at a time, patiently using the least amount of force as possible, for he does not want to startle the mother and make her think someone is coming for her precious silver baby.
By the next morning Paw has successfully dug a hole deep enough to hide himself. He quickly spears some fish from the stream and lays the gifts out like he did the day before. With branches and leaves, he covers himself up to match his surroundings.
Now all I need to do is stay awake.
When the mother comes out the first time, it is as before. No cubs come with her. When she comes a second time, they do what youth do – scurry away. By the third gift, the silver fox cub has appeared. His curiosity has caused him to see what brother and sister were getting that he wasn't. Cautiously, the silver fox stumbles along and then stops. The cub turns its head to the side when it sees a rise in the earth it hadn't seen before. Paw remains as still as his trembling muscles will let him. It is then that the silver fox flashes its emerald eyes at Paw.
Paw freezes. Does he know what I am about to do?
A careful note for the attentive reader: This story builds. Go ont to the next chapter to understand why the silver fox is a demigod. If you find yourself wanting to dive into this pleasure read, hop over to Amazon. Type in "Harvest Moon," by Zachary Lovelady. You'll find both the book & kindle read. If you would like to see the story come alive through the still image, check out instagram: harvestmoonofficial