She blinked; her eyes stopped on Matthew's face. Tonight, they were shining with his love for her.
Her palm caressed his cheek and as his fingers covered hers, she whispered, "Take care of him for me, please."
Matthew nodded, gently kissing the inside of her palm. She sadly smiled at him and the next moment, she kneeled down to face her son. Her little boy was quiet, but the tears in his eyes spoke volumes.
"Come here, baby," Atlantis whispered and as her child rushed into her embrace, she literally felt her heart break in two. She held her little sweetheart tightly, unable to let go. She was sure from the first moment her eyes met Cloud Dancing's that Matthew was right. She had to go. But how could she leave her baby? How would her baby cope without her?
It was Cloud Dancing's hand that touched her shoulder gently that brought her back from her thoughts. She stood up lifting her little sunshine with her, and looked at the friendly dark eyes of Cheyenne medicine man.
"Your son will be all right. Don't worry. This time, you're leaving him in good hands."
The wise words reached her, and Atlantis felt her breath catch in her throat. How did he know what was eating on her?
Cloud Dancing's eyes stopped on the little boy's face and he gently smiled at him when he explained, "I know this is hard. I know that you're giving me somebody you love the most, so I want to be fair. I will give you something I treasure the most, all right?"
When the boy's eyes watched him curiously now instead of angrily, Cloud Dancing took off his necklace and for a second just stared at it. Swallowing hard, he handed it over to the child in Atlantis' arms. "This belonged to my son, Walks on Clouds. It is all I have left from him."
Little Matthew looked quizzically from Cloud Dancing's face to necklace. Touching the necklace with his little fingers, he asked, "Where is your son?"
Pain clouded Cloud Dancing's face for a moment, but he managed to reply, "He's with the Spirits now. Along with his mother."
"Means that he's in Heaven, Sweetie," whispered Atlantis.
For a moment, silence took over as little Matthew looked right into Cloud Dancing's eyes, his small fingers gently caressing the necklace. Then he nodded, quietly saying, "I'll look after it for you…And you look after my Mommy."
Cloud Dancing sadly smiled at the child and nodded, "All right, my little friend."
Atlantis gently kissed her son's soft hair, whispering, "I love you, Sweetheart."
For a few seconds, mother and son just held each other.
"It's time to go," Cloud Dancing softly spoke.
Swallowing her tears, Atlantis handed her child to Matthew and looking up at Cloud Dancing she nodded, whispering, "I'm ready."
Sully came over, giving the reins to Cloud Dancing. His Indian brother took them and simply said, "This night, we will walk with the horse."
Atlantis shared one final look with Matthew and her son before she moved forward until she reached the horse and Cloud Dancing. With her palm caressing the horse's neck, she counted her steps, going deeper into the forest, letting the silence of the night calm her senses.
Long after Atlantis, Cloud Dancing and the horse disappeared into the wood, Matthew stood still, gently rocking Atlantis' son in his arms. The child leaned his cheek on his shoulder and Matthew knew that a little one was struggling not to cry.
Sully was with them for few more minutes, and then he looked at Matthew, "You can come to our place tonight if you want."
"Thanks, Sully." Matthew shook his head, "We'll be fine."
The two men shared a look and Sully understood. "Good night then."
Atlantis walked beside the horse, taking in the comfortable silence. It gave her space and time to think everything through, to take in everything that had happened.
Cloud Dancing glanced at the young woman that walked next to him. He knew that she was troubled, that she had a lot on her plate, but it looked that for a moment now, she had found peace.
When they at last reached their destination he stopped.
"We will rest here," he simply said and instantly started to make a fire.
He was aware that Atlantis didn't move. Looking up, he saw her still standing beside the horse. At first, it would look like she was motionless. But even in the dark the wise eyes of the Cheyenne medicine man saw the tears that suddenly showed up in Atlantis' eyes.
He simply gestured to her with his hand, saying, "Come, child."
As she hesitantly came over and sat down next to him, he held her hand. Giving it a friendly squeeze, he said in a comforting voice, "The Spirits have shown me that you suffered from major betrayals lately."
Staring at the fire that grew stronger by the minute, Atlantis just broke down and cried. It took some time before she managed to mumble a few words.
"She lied to me. My whole life. She made my life a living hell and yet I tolerated everything until my baby was born. Then I started to protest, not for my sake but for my son's."
"There's no greater love than a mother's love," Cloud Dancing carefully said, knowing that this would hit a nerve.
He was right.
Atlantis wiped her cheeks furiously, "I never knew that. And who knows, I might never find out what it feels like to be loved this way. Even if my mother is still alive, I am a complete stranger to her. They probably moved on, they have a new family… I would be just an intruder…" At this point her voice trailed off, drowning in tears.
"Some things in our lifetime happen that we never understand," Cloud Dancing said. "But no matter how far away from the mother a child is, this special bond is unbreakable."
Atlantis fell silent; she didn't know what to say. The anger, the sadness and the pain overwhelmed her, making it impossible for her to utter one single word. She knew that Cloud dancing was partly right – there was no greater love than a mother's love. She would die for her son; that was one of the few things in her life she was sure of.
Cloud Dancing watched the inner struggle that Atlantis fought; it was written all over her face.
He knew that they should do only one step a time. If he pressed too much now, she would break down, slide into darkness from where would be no return for her.
"Try to sleep now. You need to rest for tomorrow," he said and Atlantis looked at him quizzically.
"Tomorrow?"
Cloud Dancing nodded. "Your spirit is unbalanced and not in tune with your body. Tomorrow, you will go on a vision quest."
Atlantis was confused, she didn't understand one single word that this man said, yet she fully trusted him. Calming down, she felt how exhausted she actually was. The sleep soothed her senses even before her head touched the ground. Unaware of the world around her, she fell into a deep slumber, not hearing Cloud Dancing's silent chanting.
A coyote's howling in the distance caused little Matthew to gasp with fear. He sat in his bed, looking around, his eyes wide open and his little heart thumping faster.
The room was dark except for the candle on the table. It stood by the piles of the books, and his gaze traveled along them until it reached the familiar face.
"Matthew?" the little boy whispered, his voice trembling.
Matthew looked up from the law book he was reading and saw Atlantis' son sitting straight up in the bed, his face pale with anguish. It was in the next few seconds that the child's chin started to quiver. Matthew quickly got up from the chair and rushed toward the crying little boy.
He barely managed to sit down when little Matthew already clutched on his right hand, sobbing in fear.
"Hey, hey," Matthew whispered. "What's the matter? Did you have a bad dream?"
"A wolf," the child's shivering voice was heard and Matthew realized what's wrong.
He also heard the coyote's howling, but he didn't pay any attention to it since he was used to that sound around here. But, it was obvious and logical that the child was terrified by it, plus his Mum was gone.
He hugged the frightened child and gently caressed his soft brown hair, "Don't be scared; the coyotes won't hurt you. I won't let them."
As the little one continued to cry, Matthew held him tighter. "Sssshhhh, it's okay, don't be afraid. I'm here, Matthew, and your Ma will be home soon."
As those words were over Matthew's lips, he felt the little boy lifting his head and looking up at him. Matthew looked down at the child's big brown eyes, which were identical to Atlantis's.
"Promise?" little Matthew whispered.
Matthew softly smiled. "I promise." He gently kissed little boy's hair,
He continued gently rocking the crying child into a peaceful slumber. As the sobs drifted off and the little boy's breathing calmed down, Matthew decided to finish his work for today. His books would have to wait; Atlantis' son needed him more. And he was determined to be there for the little one. Like a father should be there for his child.