Onwaachige the Dreamer Page 18

  “You know, Catherine. I’ve been here on the reservation for years, attending powwows, naming ceremonies, and even Ojibwe language camps. I’ve pretty much experienced every aspect of Ojibwe life.”

  “What exactly is your point?” Catherine asked, looking suspicious of his intent.

  “Well, I’m still a Christian. Devout to the core. And if I could remain, well, untainted, then surely so could Joshua.” He looked to Gentle Eagle as he suggested it, worried that untainted might have been a bit offensive. But he just knew it would work on Catherine.

  “You can’t possibly be comparing yourself to a fourteen-year-old boy,“ Catherine replied, laughing at the ridiculous suggestion.

  “No, honey, you’re right,” Pastor Martin said, completely giving in. He felt demoralized and defeated. He didn’t know what else to try, and he was tired of the arguments. It wasn’t like his debates with Gentle Eagle. Those mentally engaged him and forced him to think. But with Catherine, he simply felt drained afterward.

  “It’s really dark out there,” Jenny announced, breaking the awkward silence. It was the first time she had talked in hours, having silently observed and evaded the bickering all night long.

  “Yes,” Gentle Eagle said. “Black Crow and Caleb should have been back by now. I think I’ll go find them,” he said, obviously needing a respite from the fighting.

  “Oh, hey, I’ll join you,” Pastor Martin said. He didn’t want to miss an opportunity for escape.

  Catherine watched Pastor Martin, completely aghast, as he walked out the door with Gentle Eagle into the torrential rain, leaving her completely alone with a strange Ojibwe girl.

  “So,” Jenny said to Catherine in a polite and annoyingly cheerful voice. “How about those Brewers?”

  Catherine scowled in response.

  “Yeah, I hate sports too,” Jenny said, as she awkwardly looked for something to do.

  “Tell me,” Catherine said in a suspicious tone. “Have you found Christ?”

  Jenny looked increasingly uncomfortable, which only served to magnify her awkward attempt at levity. “I didn’t even know he was lost,” she said innocently.

  “WELL, GENTLE Eagle, I think I owe you an apology,” Pastor Martin said as the two walked up the main trail with no particular destination in mind. He was shouting, but the rain subdued his voice.

  “What for?” Gentle Eagle said.

  “Well, you are the epitome of Christian charity. I mean, the way you handled Catherine. She hurled insult after insult at you, and you remained calm, and rational, and didn’t let anger get the better of you. As Christians, it’s exactly the state we strive for.”

  “You mean turn the other cheek?”

  “Yes, exactly. Though I’ve never been much of a turn the other cheek kind of Christian. I guess I never squared it with Christian teachings on human nature.”

  “How so?”

  “Well, central to Christianity is the notion that human nature is inherently tainted. We are all sinners, you know. It’s part of us. And as such, people do bad things. They can’t help it. And that requires a forceful response. By nature, people aren’t good. They are rotten to the core. So, you gotta fight back. Not turn the other cheek. Otherwise, someone will just take advantage of you.”

  Gentle Eagle remained silent as the two continued to walk up the trail, their feet now covered in mud.

  “I suppose you’ve got an argument against that as well,” Pastor Martin said. “I know the Ojibwe don’t believe in the whole original sin thing. You think we’re all good by nature.”

  “I didn’t say that.”

  “No, but you think it. Come on.”

  “God is the Creator, and the source of our nature. To claim your nature is tainted, well, that doesn’t speak well for your God.”

  “Come now, surely you must recognize that human nature is, well, evil.”

  “Some people are.”

  “There you go again. You just don’t like absolutes. Okay, here is an example I remember from one of my theology professors. He said that there was no such thing as a selfless motive. Hence, humans are incapable of performing a purely good action. Humans only act to ensure their own self-interest. That’s because original sin tainted them.”

  “But you can do good things for others,” Gentle Eagle argued.

  “No, see that’s his whole point. Say you see someone in distress, and you help them. Well, don’t you see, you help them because you feel distress at their distress. Helping them serves to make you feel better. You see? What does it say about human nature that you help others because it makes you feel better?”

  “That’s an interesting point,” Gentle Eagle said. “But what does it say about human nature that it makes you feel better to help other people?”

  Pastor Martin paused as he mentally reviewed his theology lecture notes for an adequate response. “Well, I don’t think that came up in my theology class,” he finally said.

  “I see,” Gentle Eagle replied.

  As the two walked up the trail past the Wisdom Lodge, Gentle Eagle saw a bright light coming from one of the wigwams nearby. He walked over to check it out and saw Caleb and Black Crow fast asleep on some soft blankets, resting comfortably next to the warmth of a small fire. And in the corner, where Black Crow had put down his food stash, stood an anxious lump of drenched fur with four legs, frantically chewing up the remaining fry bread.

  “Good job,” Gentle Eagle said to Caleb and Black Crow, waking the two up. “I see you found Pywacky.”

  Pywacky stared cautiously at Gentle Eagle, looking as though he were about to take off again. But he stayed, evidently not wanting to leave the fry bread behind.

  Caleb opened his eyes and looked up at the content little creature as it relentlessly chewed the hunk of fry bread. “It was no problem,” he said to Gentle Eagle, his head collapsing back onto the ground.

  Black Crow looked over to Pywacky as the cat happily finished up the very last chunk of fry bread. “Man, that cat has to be an Ojibwe.”

  JOSHUA COULDN’T believe his ears. The strange voice from the dark sounded like that of his father, just as he had heard it in his dream. But he wasn’t dreaming now. The voice was real and it was coming from somewhere just beyond his visible range, near the edge of the dark field. Were these Memegwesi real after all? And more importantly, was one of them out there in the murky field, calling out to him?

  “Dude, maybe you should go and see what’s there,” Joshua encouraged Mokwa.

  Mokwa gulped, choking on the suggestion. “Bro, I don’t think a wild Wendigo could get me to go out into that field right now.”

  The two simultaneously faced Little Deer, who was still standing by the fire.

  “What?” Little Deer said incredulously. “I’m not going out there.”

  “Maybe we should all go together,” Joshua suggested, not liking the idea even as he said it.

  “Fine, together, then,” Mokwa agreed, sounding uncertain.

  As another violent flash of lightning shot across the sky, Little Deer quickly got up and joined them. The thought of being left behind was suddenly less desirable.

  “Joshua!” the voice called again, as the three boys cautiously walked down the field. The rain pounded the meadow, creating a foggy mist so thick it felt as though one could slice through it with a machete.

  Another flash of lightning revealed a dark but familiar figure staring at them about a hundred feet away, desperately scanning the field for any response to his pleas.

  But it couldn’t be, Joshua thought, as the form started to run toward him. Another flash revealed what he had suspected. This was not one of the Memegwesi. This figure stood about six feet tall, and it could run, Joshua realized, as it was fast approaching.

  Joshua broke away from his friends and ran toward the dark silhouette, no longer afraid.

  “No, don’t,” Mokwa called, frightened by the mysterious shadow.

  “Dad!” Joshua shouted, as tears poured down his face. />
  “Joshua!” his father replied, as he finally recognized his son running toward him. The two embraced in the middle of the gloomy meadow, illuminated by a violent electrical discharge, as though excitedly announcing their reunion.

  Time stood still as father and son embraced, neither saying a word. It was only seconds later that Joshua’s cautious friends caught up with him.

  “Dad,” Joshua finally said, breaking the silence. “How could it possibly be you?”

  “We have much to discuss,” his father replied. “Come with me,” he said inviting the boys to follow him to his shelter. He pointed to a cliff at the end of the meadow, which rose some twenty feet high. A rock formation at the top bore a striking resemblance to the head of a raptor.

  “Eagle Rock,” Mokwa said. “I knew this place looked familiar.”

  “Who are your friends?” Joshua’s father said, acknowledging the company.

  “Oh, sorry,” Joshua said, as they approached the cliff. A small cave opening provided a shelter for all of them to fit into, as long as they sat. It wasn’t comfortable, but they were free from the rain. “Dad, this is Mokwa and Little Deer,” he said, finally introducing his friends.

  “Pleased to meet you Mr. Pukawiss,” Mokwa said awkwardly.

  Little Deer just nodded.

  “Guys, this is my dad,” Joshua smiled. “Black Raven.”

  “So, Black Raven, have you by any chance seen any Little People out here?”

  “Mokwa!” Joshua barked, silencing his friend.

  “What? I’m just asking.”

  “No,” Black Raven said reverently. “But I’m pretty sure I heard a Sasquatch!”

  “See, Little Deer! I told you!”

  Little Deer scowled.

  AN EERIE silence fell over the sodden field as the rain finally came to an unexpected stop. Black Raven led the boys to the forest at the end of the field, bringing them to his old, battered truck parked at the end of a long and winding fire trail. These fire trails snaked throughout the forest, providing easy access for firemen to battle potential threats.

  “You drove out here?” Joshua asked incredulously.

  Black Raven laughed. “Your grandfather used to take me camping here. I’ve known about these trails since I was your age.”

  Joshua was glad that they wouldn’t have to repeat their canoe journey in order to get back to the reservation town. With a truck, they could be back at Wiigwaas Village in less than an hour, he calculated.

  “Dad, what were you doing out here?” Joshua asked, still unable to believe that he had run into his long lost father in the middle of the Northwoods.

  “It’s a long story,” Black Raven said.

  “We’ve got the time,” Little Deer said.

  “I’m sorry I hurt you, Joshua, but I want you to know I did it for you.”

  Joshua recognized the apology. It was exactly what the voice had said to him in his dream back at the village.

  “You don’t understand what she was like, Dad,” Joshua said, trying to relay the consequences of his abandonment. “You don’t know what I’ve been through. How could you just leave?” Though Joshua tried to avoid a judgmental tone, he couldn’t help but come across as accusatory.

  “I was in such a bad state,” Black Raven confessed. “I wasn’t thinking straight. All I knew is I couldn’t be like that anymore. I couldn’t fight with your mother anymore. It was toxic, for all of us.”

  “Where did you go?” Joshua asked, changing the subject.

  “I couldn’t face your grandfather. Not yet. So I stayed at an old friend’s house. I grew up with him on the reservation. He still lives here, but not in town.” Black Raven himself changed the subject to something more pressing to him. “I stopped drinking, Joshua, I want you to know that. It’s why I left. I had to get away to do it, though. It was hard to stop. And I was very afraid. But I did it, for you.”

  “Why were you afraid?” Mokwa asked.

  Joshua didn’t need to hear the answer. His father’s dreams likely frightened him too.

  “Because of my dreams. I knew they’d come back. They used to terrify me, but I hadn’t had them in years, since I started drinking. And sure enough, they did start up again, Joshua. Do you understand what I’m saying to you?”

  “Yes, Father. I’m a dreamer too.”

  “Then it has already started for you. I figured as much.”

  Joshua looked out the car window, trying to assess what he currently thought about his dreams. “I’m afraid of them too, Father. I want them to stop.”

  “Don’t be,” Black Raven asserted authoritatively. “I used to be, but I was wrong.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “They might be frightening, but they will always help you, always guide you. And sometimes they will help others as well. That is always their point.”

  “Dad, what did you dream about?”

  “I dreamt about you, Joshua. I had a very dark, very powerful dream for the first time in years at the beginning of the summer, the day I left you and your mother, the day I fled.”

  “But you were still drinking then?”

  “As I said, Joshua, it was a very powerful dream. It had to be to get through all that toxic haziness and mental confusion.” He stopped for a moment to consider the details. “I dreamt that you were in danger. And I knew I had to sober up again in order to interpret it more clearly. So I left. And as the days went by, and my mind became more focused, I saw you vividly in my dreams, in trouble.” Black Raven choked on his words as he spoke, as if reliving the visions. “I saw a boy, a monster, attacking you, trying to kill you. But never the outcome. And it always ended at what I finally realized was Eagle Rock. So I came out here, a few days ago, and I waited. I knew you would show up, as crazy as that sounds. I knew it! The manitous brought us back together.”

  “It was the Little People,” Mokwa said confidently.

  “Shhh,” Little Deer said, quieting him down.

  “Father, I have a name now!” Joshua said. “It’s Onwaachige,” he said proudly. “It means—

  “I know what it means,” Black Raven interrupted. “It’s a powerful name.”

  “Don’t forget your other name, Pukawiss,” Mokwa said, clearly proud that he named him that.

  “Two names? You have been very busy, my son.”

  “Dad, we have a problem,” Joshua said as he saw a sign announcing their arrival at the reservation town.

  “What problem?” Black Raven asked.

  “It’s Mother,” Joshua replied. A chill rushed down his spine. “She’s here too. On the Rez.”

  “Oh,” Black Raven said. “Maybe we should go back to Eagle Rock.”

  Joshua wasn’t quite sure if his father was joking.

  “Don’t worry,” Little Deer said. “I brought my bow.”

  “Shhh,” Mokwa said, quieting him down.

  IT WAS midnight when the powerful storm finally abated at the village, lasting a bit longer there than it did at Eagle Rock. Gentle Eagle opened the Trading Post door and peeked outside, sighing as he looked around. He had hoped his boys would have returned by now, but at the same time, he suspected they were in this for the long haul. It wasn’t them being out alone in the wilderness that concerned him. He knew they’d be fine, as he had taught Mokwa and Little Deer everything he knew about survival in the Northwoods. And besides, the reservation’s best trackers would be out looking for them first thing in the morning, now that the storm had passed. But he still didn’t know what to do about Joshua’s strained relationship with his mother. She had unknowingly driven an insurmountable chasm between them. If Joshua was forced to return to live with his mother in Rockford, he would simply flee again, until he found another temporary sanctuary. And that’s what really concerned him.

  “I think it’s best we turned in for the night,” Gentle Eagle said, exhausted from the emotionally draining day.

  “I’m sorry I couldn’t be of more help,” Pastor Martin said. “I truly am.” />
  “You tried,” Gentle Eagle said. “And for that, I’m grateful.”

  Pastor Martin accepted the compliment with a nod and then went to the backroom of the Trading Post to awaken Catherine and bring her back to his house in town for the night. She had collapsed in the back room once again from exhaustion after Jenny had sarcastically suggested she take a quick nap.

  Caleb and Black Crow were there as well, having returned to the wigwam after finishing up one very special task for Gentle Eagle involving Pywacky. The wigwam was dry and warm, and they wanted to be around in case Joshua and his friends returned.

  “Sorry to have put you through all of this,” Gentle Eagle said to Jenny, as he noticed her tense up when Pastor Martin went into the backroom to fetch Catherine.

  “It’s fine,” she said. “I had a delightful day.”

  “Hmm,” Gentle Eagle replied.

  Suddenly, a pick-up truck pulled into the parking lot and came to a sudden halt, startling both Jenny and Gentle Eagle. They looked to each other as though they were both thinking the same thing but unwilling to say it.

  “It couldn’t be,” Jenny said to Gentle Eagle.

  “Hey, Old Man, why are you up so late?” Mokwa didn’t wait for an answer before offering his own. “Probably because you’ve been sleeping all day while everyone else did all the work for you.” His voice was loud enough to be heard all the way at the interns’ campsite.

  “It is!” Jenny said, a bright smile illuminating her pretty face. She ran for the door, barely beating out Gentle Eagle.

  MOKWA RAN up to Jenny, greeting her in a warm embrace, even lifting her off the ground. Little Deer, standing behind him, simply rolled his eyes.

  The next hug was for Gentle Eagle, and it came from Joshua as he ran up to his grandfather, elated to see him and anxious to inform him of his great news.

  “I’m sorry I ran out on you,” Joshua whispered to his grandfather, as Gentle Eagle held him tightly. “But I had no choice.”