When Lali wiped her tears away, she realized
that Hokami was kneeling in front of her.
He told her to bury the owl with no head in
the cave. Then he got up and disappeared
into the pine tree forest. "Be a good girl"
he told her, " and we'll meet again
someday." She had exploded with joy to
see him. Now that he was gone, she
burst into tears. She wanted to be a good
girl now. Maybe she really could be!
Composing herself, she buried the headless
owl as Hokami had instructed. She buried
it deep inside the cave. She sat for awhile
at the mouth of the cave hoping Hokami
would come back. She walked down to
the stream and sat on the rock as she had
done before. She even looked for the
Shining Hut, but it was gone.
She strained to hear the muffled hooting
or to catch a glimpse of the Empress
or the Owl Woman. The birds chattered
and laughed among themselves at the
foolish human child, who was so ignorant
and dumb. Would she ever learn to accept
reality as it is, or would she continue to
try to get away with the same
michievious behavior as before.
The sun had gone over the trees now,
and the evening breeze picked up.
There was a chill in the air as
she started back to her village.
She was close enough to see
her Grandmother's lodge across
the stream, when she saw a tall
figure shining nearby.
It called her by name.
"Empress!" she thought aloud..
"You're real!" said Lali
approaching. "Oh" she
exclaimed, seeing that it was
not the Empress at all.
The tall Shining Being was a man.
"Don't be afraid Lali," spoke the
Shining Brother kindly. "The Empress
asked me to make sure you got home
safely." "You know my Empress?"
exclaimed Lali excitedly.
"Yes, " he replied smiling at her
gleefulness. "We are very concerned
about you Lali. Our Empress wants
me to look out for you now
that you've returned to your Village.
"Who are you sir?" Lali asked
him apprehensively. His height
made her tremble. He was so tall.
"I'm your Shining Brother" he
replied. "You and I are old friends
too. Someday you'll remember....
I'm here to protect and guide you
Lali on your Destiny Path.
Be careful that your dreams
don't hook you on a branch
and leave you there. "
"What does that mean?" she thought.
The Shining Brother laughed. The trees
shook with his laughter. "Dreams come
true Lali." was all he replied. As she
looked deeply into his eyes,
she did think she knew him from
somewhere...but images were changing
and moving before her, she wasn't even
sure of who she was (or was supposed to
be) at that moment. The Shining Brother
was not a solid body actually. He was
more like a cloud. He bent down low
so he could look directly into her face.
He spoke in a hooting fashion she
understood. She realized He was her
Guardian. Then he completely dissolved
before her.
Salanka had been looking for Lali in the
forest with Chief Taweya and his men.
She was returning a few minutes before
them, so she could let Gongi know they
were still looking, and to get back to her
family to make dinner when she saw Lali
in the clearing just looking into empty air.
She was very surprized and mad too.
"What are you doing young lady!
Where have you been?!" Salanka
scolded. "Don't you know how
worried we've been!??" Lali rubbed
her eyes. She didn't want to lose the
vision of the Shining Brother.
She was listening for the Empress'
musical voice and was frightened
when Salanka spoke harsely to her "Lali
....Are you alright dear?" Salanka
said speaking softer. Lali couldn't form
the words to answer.
"Alright dear," her Auntie said soothingly.
"It's alright. We can talk later. Oh we
are so glad to have you home!!" she
cried, holding the child close to her bosom.
Tears came to her eyes, and to Lali's too.
"I'm sorry I worried you Auntie" Lali
uttered remorsefully.
"Let's go home Lali. It's been a very
long couple of days for everyone.
You must be hungry."
"I'm so hungry Auntie" she said as
they crossed the stream and went over
to Gongi's lodge. The sky was
lavender and rose.
The birds too were flying home.
Salanka took Lali's hand and they
went into the Lodge together.
Gongi and Soclea were together talking
inside. Gongi was crying as she put
wood on the little hearth. She was
making tortillas and a nice pot of
rabbit stew sat to the side simmering.
Tumby barked zestily as she heard
Salanka and Lali approach. She went
biserk when she saw Lali. She didn't
even let Lali sit down or say hello to
Gongi. Tumby jumped up and down
trying to lick Lali's face. Gongi was
old and loosing her eyes sight.
That's why, at first, she didn't
recognize her grand-daughter.
Gongi didn't know what to say.
What had happened to Lali to
make her so different.
Soclea too was surprized.
Lali's eyes were different.
Even her expression had matured.
After letting Tumby lick her face real
good she gave Tumby a big kiss on the
tip of her cold wet nose and then went
to sit with Gongi.
"I'm sorry Grandma. I'm really sorry.
I wont ever run away again!" "Lali"
asked Gongi skeptically. "Is that
really you?" "Yes Grandma it is,"
she replied. "What happened to
you Lali? You look so...different."
The old women felt
Lali's head. "Oh my goodness"
exclaimed Gongi, "you're so warm.
You better lay down." "I'm fine
Grandma. The Empress healed
the snake bite" "Snake bite"
cried Gongi. "Where?" she
asked, examining Lali all over.
"Here Grandma, on my ankle.
See....it's healed."confirmed Lali
showing her grandmother the
two little fang marks now
healed completely.
The Empress healed me with
her voice." she added.
"What Empress are you
talking about? There's no
Empress here!" replied Gongi.
"She must have met that old witch
Jzurlea in the forest"
Soclea interjected.
"No" insisted Lali, "she isn't a
witch. She's the Empress of the
Birds and she's a Shining Being."
Gongi stroked Lali's head
compassionitely. "Rest for a while
now dear," she spoke carressingly.
Soon we'll eat and you'll feel better
tomorrow." "Oh yes," said Lali
excitedly, "the Empress knows my
mother. It was Leula that took me
to her inside the Pyramid of Lost Owls".
The women looked at one another
strangely, as if to convey their
disbelief and fear that Jzurlea had
come to claim Lali's soul as she had
done with Leula.
"You saw your mother?..."asked
Gongi incredulously, though wanting to
believe. "Yes, but I hardly recognized her.
The Empress has a stone head fragment
just like yours Grandma. She didn't get
to tell me what it meant though. But
she was so very kind and beautiful...
and showed me many things about
myself , about the past and the future too."
Soclea laughed out loud. "What an
imagination you have Lali!" she
muttered, holding her hand to her
shaking head. Gongi wasn't buying
it either. "I think you're just making
this whole thing up!" she said
annoyed with Lali. "No, I'm not
Grandma" Lali insisted. "Well....
I don't like liars" replied Gongi.
"Mother, wait" interjected Salanka.
"Perhaps the snake bite caused her
to have a slight delirium. She is rather
warm.and look at her eyes, so clouded.
You know the venom sometimes causes
eyes to get that blue film over them.
But it wont last." "Hmmph! That's
no snake bite!" said Gongi with
irritation. "She's in trouble and
she knows it and is trying to
get out of being punished
for running away. She worried
everyone that loves her half to death.
That's what I think!" concluded
Gongi emphatically. This made
Tumby whine with fear and trying
to hide from the old woman, she
slinked, coweringly behind
Gongi's woven blanket basket.
Gongi paid no attention.
She was turning tortillas now that
the flame of the fire burning in the
hearth had gone down. Lali went
and laid down on the great grizzly
bearskin. Tumby was hungry
for the Grandmother's tasty stew and
those yummy hot tortillas, so very
stealthily she crawled on her stomach
and hid behind Lali, hidding her face
in her paws. "Your fantastic fairy
tales don't fool me one bit young lady"
Gongi assured Lali. "I haven't decided
yet what to do about you!!!" Gongi
put the tortillas on the mat in a nice stack.
She began ladling stew into the ceramic
bowls. "You get so nasty at times Lali,
I just don't know how to live with you
anymore!" she added impatiently.
As she filled the bowls she passed
them around. Salanka took Lali her
bowl with a few tortillas on the side.
Then she sat down beside Lali while
she ate. Gongi handed Soclea her
bowl and tortillas. "Thank you
Gongi" said Soclea smiling.
"What's so funny Soclea," asked
Gongi. "You look like you swallowed
a butterfly." "HaHaHa!" laughed
Soclea out loud. "It wont be long now
before Lali's bleeding every month.
"I'm going to be bleeding every
month?" Lali cried out.
"Grandma I'll be good.
I promice. Please don't make
me bleed...(sob)" "Hush Lali,"
said Salanka. "All women bleed
every month. Don't worry.
It's nothing to worry about"
Lali looked confused.
"At least then" continued Soclea
with a chuckle, "we'll only have
to put up with her nasty
disposition on her Moon days!"
The women looked scoldingly at
Lali and laughed heartily.
Lali didn't laugh.
She didn't even know what they were
talking about. "She's a little wild pony
now though" added Soclea lovingly.
"Well, I better get home" said Salanka.
"I'll go tell Palikwaptewa, Lali came
home now, so Taweya and the men
wont keep looking for her." With that
she gave Lali a kiss on the face and
went to the door of the lodge. Soclea
got up too. I'll go help you. Pulling
back the buffalo hide door, they
disappeared quickly into the night.
Suddenly the lodge was quiet,
like a blanket had been thrown over
everything. The night came into the
lodge, and the stillness was
ringing and charged. Just
Gongi, Tumby and Lali sat
together enjoying the nice stew
Gongi had made. Gongi
put more wood on and they all
sat watching the flames grow on
the wood, warming and
brightening the lodge.
When she finished eatting, Lali got up
and gathered the other bowls.
Tumby had already licked them clean.
"I'll go down to the stream and
wash them now Grandma," said Lali.
"What else should I wash?
"No," said Gongi, surprized by
Lali's change of attitude and
behavior. She couldn't
remember when Lali had been
so helpful.
"I'll wash them later. Just come
and sit with me dear.
How are you feeling now? "I'm
just fine Grandma" she said. "I
don't need to rest. I'm so full of
energy now." "You are huh?!"
answered Gongi. "Hmmm, well,
there's still corn to husk and grind...
but we can do all that tomorrow.
Tonight, I want to talk with you
about how you were bitten
by a snake and...the other part,
you know, about seeing your Mother."
So Lali sat with Gongi and Tumby in
the dancing shadows of the little
fire Gongi kept going.
Into the night they talked and
laughed and cried together.
Gongi hugged Lali closely as
tears streaked down her face.
She still didn't believe a word of
it, but it was nice to have her
baby grand daughter home again
in her arms, safe in the
warmth of the lodge.
Just as they were going off to sleep
that night, Lali listened closely, for
outside she heard the flapping of
wings. Then she heard the familiar
call..."whoot! whoot!".
She knew her Shining Brother
was keeping watch over her
and the whole village.
In her head, the Empress' voice
was clear, singing the
special song to her It soothed
and relaxed Lali, and she closed
her eyes to dream. She would not
ever forget her experiences with
the Empress...and the Shining
Brother. She realized now that
there were are guidelines for
human behavior. We're not
just dumb animals. We are
mystical, artistic and musical
beings too. She would keep
her promice to her
Grandmother and be a
good girl, because now she
knew she had a special destiny
to fulfill. The Empress had told
her so. Lali knew the Shining
Beings wanted her to be strong
in character, and to be
worthy of her calling, when
her hour of greatness came.
Now she would watch how
she dreamed, and dream
nice things; she wanted to
dream of harmony and
to let all things work
together for the good of all.
She wanted to live a long
and beautiful life.
Lali nestled closer to her grandmother.
"Will you tell me a story now Grandma"
she whispered, but Grandmother was
already asleep. She was dreaming of
Leula and the Empress of the Birds
for although she thought Lali was
making it all up. At least it was
a good story!
The embers on the hearth grew cold,
and in the darkness of the Lodge,
beneath the great grizzly bearskin, Lali
lay beside her Grandmother, quietly
reflecting. She was silently humming
the hooting chant in her mind while
she dreamed of being the
beautiful Empress, Queen Muri
and even before that, the Archangel Enu.
She dreamed of her Shining Brother
and hoped to see him again too.
Perhaps he would help her carry
the heavy jugs of water up from the
stream. And soon she fell fast asleep,
hugging Sittingjing-gongala closely,
not realizing just how little time
left they would have together.
Not realizing that Time would move
her quickly toward her inevitable
destiny...a destiny that would unlock
the mystery of her individual
through Time and Space;
would unravel to reveal all
the centuries of existence
on this planet, upon and through
which her individual had
imprinted it's consicousness,
lived, died and experienced being
Human...being silly, being
immature and fallible; being
jealous and vain, vindictively
seeking revenge and power.
It had been such fun being Human.
But now there would be accountability.
One knew now that there were
consequences for one's behavior
even far into the future..
She had been so careless with
her Grandmother's feelings.
Gongi was getting old. It wasn't
fair of Lali to be so difficult.
Her Grandmother was overweight
and her knees hurt too much when
she tried to walk about. Gongi
was going blind and needed Lali
more than ever now.
To continue to grow beautifully,
Lali would have to modify and
reconcile her attitude and
behavior. She would have to try
to be more helpful to her family...
even when she didn't want to be.
She wanted to become the Empress
in the future. Didn't the Empress
tell her that she was Lali herself...
who she could be if only she
reached for and grew into
the goodness and beautiful person
within herself that she was meant
to be...that she could be
again....someday?!
She knew now, deep inside,
who she really was, had
been and was meant to be .
She couldn't really fathom
it all yet....consicously.
But fleeting glimpses, hunches...
dreams...was all she had for now
to console her aching...waiting
for tomorrow to come.
