As time passed, Lali became more helpful and
good-natured with her family and everyone
in the village. Once again she played with
the other children, and came when Gongi
called to her. It was as though nothing had
happened. Lali still thought about what
had happened to her in the forest. It
all seemed like a dream now.
A wonderful fantasy. She wasn't
even sure it happened. It was as though
she'd seen something she didn't want to
see, and she put it all out of her mind.
She thought if it were really true, the
Shining Brother would appear to her again.
But He did not. Once she had even
tried to find the cave. She went there
and called to Hokami,
but he never answered or came forth.
She looked frantically for the
Shining Hut and the Owl Woman,
but never ever saw them again.
She had always been melancholy, feeling
lonely, but she no longer pined. Her
heart was calm now, and she seemed
emotionally stable. Even as she grew
into a young woman, she showed
maturity and restraint. All the Elders in
the little village talked about Lali and they
all thought that whatever had happened
to Lali in the forest that day, most
certainly contributed to the wonderful
change in her behavior.
One evening, a great feast was held.
The harvests had been good, and
plenty of deer and buffalo had been
dried and put up for the long winter
ahead. The people were happy and
feeling good. Their tummys full, the
babies played contentedly. The
dancers sported brilliant costumes.
Their head ornaments streaked as
they turned about in the circle.
The center fire was warm and bright.
So bright, the moon was jealous and
tried to hide behind clouds, peaking
out to see them again and again.
The drums' intoxicating beat, igniting
the dancer's feet, tickled the Earth
beneath them. The Earth was moving
and dancing too.
The Moon had not set when the dancers
finished their songs. The younger
children had fallen asleep already, some
on their mother's breast. Chief Taweya
was a jovial
man. Every loved him for
his kind and fair nature. Now
Chief Tawya liked to tell stories,
so he called everyone's attention.
Lali was sitting with Gongi and
Salanka, not far from him in the circle.
Red Horse, Rizing Moon, Ebi and
Shiro were there too. They sat
closely together, focused on the Chief,
and listening to what he had to say.
He looked at them all and smiled.
In his
thundering baritone voice, he spoke:
"It was very long ago, in this very
village that an old woman lived," he
said. I remember her well. There are
only a few of
us here tonight that would
remember her." Shouts from the
other Elders in the circle confirmed
his statement. "She was over
100 years old when she left us
to go live alone in the forest" he
added. "How many here have
seen such an Elder?"
Shiro, one of Rizing Moon's
brothers spoke up saying
"Who was she?" "Tell us a story
Uncle" shouted Ebi, Shiro's twin.
The old Chief laughed to see the
big hole in Ebi's mouth where his
two front teeth had fallen out. It made
his pronounciations cute and funny.
"Alright" the Chief said. I'll tell you
about her." He was sitting upon a
large stone, and the children gathered
around him. Stunning faces carved
by wind and time stood silently
listening also in the shadows nearby
...all listened expectantly.
"Her name was Jzurlea," he began.
"Oh no!" thought Lali. "Not this
story again!' "She was different from
the rest of us"he went on. "What
did she look like" asked Rizing Moon.
"Well, she was very short,
but she had BIG hands and feet!"
he said, widening his eyes and
exagerating the size of his hands.
This made the children laugh with
glee. "She was bent over and
wobbled from side to side as she
went along." he continued
demonstrating by walking
around the rock like a bird pecking
for corn. "Some said she was an owl,"
he added, resuming his seat upon the
rock. "I thought she was human"
interjected Shiro. "We all thought
she was human" replied the Chief,
"but we were wrong".
"You mean she was an owl?"
added Lali interested now.
"Whatever she was," said the
Chief very seriously, "she was
not human!" "Did she really eat
children," asked Ebi nervously.
"Children did disappear," he
continued. "But only the naughty
ones" he said looking at Lali.
Lali looked away. Tumby came
and sat on her lap and Lali began
petting her head and ears.
The chief continued..."We all loved
Jzurlea. She was kind and thoughtful.
She knew when someone needed a
friend and she would go and be with
them. Her advice was very helpful."
He was thoughtful for a moment,
reflecting on his memory of her.
"She even knew when my father
Chief Ishqualelo had fallen ill,"
he went on. "She came to our lodge
in the night with a fresh potion.
Because of her my father's boils healed
and he lived. All our villagers lived
also.
Our neighbors in other villages were
not so lucky and didn't survive. Those
were very hard times for our people.
She was a good medicine woman.
She saw everything, though she was
blind from birth." He paused for
a moment, and sipped his beer
from the wooden scoop.
"She was blind?..." thought Lali,
almost remembering the Owl Woman.
Then Ebi spoke up saying as if
in disbelief, "She was blind her whole
life?...but she could see?..."
"That's right," replied the chief,
"she just knew things..before
they'd happen even."
Everyone sighed...longing to know her.
"Then one day she left us
to go live alone in the forest,"
the Chief said sadly.
"How could she live alone in the
forest and be blind" added Shiro.
"Why haven't we ever seen her"
"No one knows" said Taweya.
"She just disappeared. You'd
know if you saw her. Her hair
was golden and reached all the
way to her feet. Her complexion
was golden and she was very wrinkled.
It was hard to understand her
language and she spoke mostly in
signs."
Everyone was very quiet. The
wind died down to listen and the
flames went back into the wood.
As the shadows rose the stars came out.
An owl flew over the circle and
gave a hoot. Lali almost jumped
out of her skin, so Tumby lifted
her head from Lali's lap and made
a half-interested woof woof as a
warning to the Owl.
Everyone laughed, even Lali.
"When everyone is sleeping" whispered
the Chief mysteriously, Jzurlea
walks the paths of our village."
"Don't say that" cried Rizing Moon.
"You're scaring me now"
"Why would she do that?" asked Ebi.
"She's looking for the naughty
children" he replied softly. "She'll
find you you know" he said loudly now,
grabbing the twins in his thick
muscular arms tightly.
They both shreiked loudly with fear,
kicking and writhing wildly. Everyone
burst out laughing, and the Chief
let them go. The Owl came back
and perched on a branch nearby.
It had caught a rat in it's claw
and began pecking at it, tearing
pieces of flesh from the warm corpse.
It watched the humans as it swallowed
each morsel, enjoying the story
as much as the Villagers did.
************************
