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| Elias by � goeswith3faces (written for my 11 years old daughter) We called him Elias, because it was forbidden to speak our own language, that�s what the men in suites told us, who visited us sometimes to see what�s going on. But as fast as they arrived, as fast they disappeared when they saw what happened to us. Elias had been one of the oldest in our tribe and the time would come soon when he will ride on the wind to his ancestors. We were sitting around him and listened. � the story took place in a time when grass grows on the hills where they had built houses now and when our people settled down with the circle of seasons. Elias eyes fixed a point somewhere far away, a point that we were unable to see. It took place in wintertime and Creator had a special task to do for his children. The snow came down this year very early and the landscape had been conquered by coldness very quickly. A horrible cold wind takes control of days and the fires in our teepees were not able to give us the warmth we need. Since weeks, the hunters could not find food and the scout�s trips had been increasingly far away from home without success. The old became day by day more feeble; children cried because of hunger until they fell into a feverish sleep and the lament over hunger would not stop. The prayers of the holy men seemed to be gone unheard with the chilly wind. The council of the eldest decided to send out a group of four brave men. They should not come back until they found food for the people. They called them by name: Man-Without �Fear � one of the most successful hunters. Spotted-Horses � a real brave warrior with a big heart Called-By-Thunder - a serious and sensible man who was well known from his wise advises. Running-Wolf � a serious and quiet young man who was better known by his good deeds than his words. Called-By-Thunder was chosen to lead the group. Elias took a glowing chip out of the fire and lights circumstantial his pipe. Slowly and thoughtful he breathed the smoke. The shine of the fire in his small house lighted up his wrinkled face and it looked like a map of our land. After a moment, which seemed to us like eternities, he continued the story. Before the group left the camp, everybody came around to wish them success and to give a little bit from the last of food that was left. Relatives, friends, wife�s, children, they all did not want to see them left without saying good-bye. Many tears were falling this day on mother earth�s skin. The responsibility was a heavy weight on their shoulders and they did not speak a word for hours when they left the camp. They went south. In seconds, their tracks were gone by snow and wind. Landscape changed but coldness and wind will not leave and escorted them wherever they went and like a knife�s edge, it cuts throughout their blankets and buffalo hides, which makes their skinny bodies horrible shivering. Since days, there were no lives to see, not even a track of it. Their supplies had been used up, when they followed a little path high up into the mountains. They do not speak a word and their eyes were tired of standing the situation. The trail was that way small, that they had to ride one behind the other. Snow and ice made the way up to a torture for horses and riders and the chilly wind seemed to laugh into their faces. Slowly they got ahead. Elias took a deep breath of smoke and looked at us kids with a warm-hearted smile for every one of us. Our eyes were fixed on his mouth as if we were able to guess the next word. Elias enjoyed the thrill and the glance of youth glowed for moments in his eyes before he continued. They passed a long way, when they entered a little ridge. Horses and riders had to go separate because the smallest mistake would throw them some hundred feet into the deep. Called-By-Thunder was the first who went carefully with his horse to the other side after him Spotted-Horses, Man-Without-Fear and at last Running-Wolf. It took them nearly eternities to reach the other side and they made shortstop before they went on. Maybe 800 feet from the place they left, Running-Wolf�s horse lost it�s footing on a field of ice and Running-Wolf and his horse were falling down over the small path they went on. Nobody was able to help. Man-Without-Fear tried to catch the Running-Wolf�s bridle and unbelievable he looked at the deep wound in his hand that he got when the bridle cuts its way free through his hand. Silence. Nobody was able to speak a word. From their place, they could see how Running Wolf and his horse fell all the way down throughout bushes and over rocks until they disappeared. Elias smiled at us when he saw us sitting there, eyes and mouths wide open and in a second he jumped up from his place, that way fast, that we couldn�t believe it and he turned around to us with a scream that shocked us nearly to death. We realized very confused that a moment later a smile brightened his face, before he fell in a loud laughter by seeing our faces. That was Elias. He loved joking like this and most of us had to laugh as well. Only a little boy of maybe four years started crying. Elias took him on his lap and calmed him down. We know it but you also could see it in his face that he never want to hurt somebody and when the first smile brightened the face of the little boy, Elias continued the story. Speechless they looked down to the place from that Running-Wolf left the path. The cold and icy fingers of sadness and helplessness touched their hearts. What should they do? They had no time to waste and the responsibility for their people weighted heavier than ever on their shoulders. The way down would take hours and nobody did know if Running-Wolf would be still alive and nobody could know how long the search of Running-Wolf would take. That is why they decided with heavy hearts to search Running-Wolf later and to search previously food for their people. The silence of sadness and mourning roared from the stony walls like thunder, when they left the place where they had lost their friend. Elias eyes glowed like fire and his voice touched our hearts like magic dust. Running-Wolf�s fall did not end. The coldness made him unable to feel the pain when he fell throughout bushes and branches lashed his face. Snow and sky unified to a big gray that became increasingly dark. He did not feel pain only the percussion when his body was thrown against a rock or a tree in order to tumble down and down and down until a great dark took him in its arms to comfort him. Elias looked thoughtful into the fire and in his eyes, the story was still alive. It took a long time when Running-Wolf realized more than shadows in the dark. Small shadows and big shadows without knowing what it were. It was warm wherever he was and the sweet taste of warm milk let him fall into a deep and long sleep. Sometimes he woke up but the warmth of the weak and cozy something that surrounded him made him falling asleep again. Next time he woke up by something warm, wet and somehow rough that drives around his face. He felt that something was on his chest. He opened his eyes but he could not see because everything was dark and it took a while until he found out that he was in a den under earth. Something wet touched again his face and he identified it as a tongue of a little wolf that stood on his chest and tried to wake him up. He had to smile when he saw this little creature looking curiously at him, but even to smile hurt his tortured face terrible. Four other little wolves� plaid with rest of his leggings that they tried to eat. A short growl beside him, made him looking into the beautiful eyes of a she-wolf and he realized that on the other side was lying a wolf as well to keep him warm. Tears of happiness ran down his cheeks and the knowledge that his relatives found him and took care of him let him fall in a deep and sweet sleep again, with dreams full of thankfulness and curing thoughts. When he woke up, his relatives were gone. Only memories and the wolf�s hairs in the den reminded him about what had happened. He did not know how many time he spend together with his relatives. The sun shined warm into the den and he knew it was time to go. When he reached the sunlight he recognized that most of the snow was gone. The sun shined and everything around him was full of life. His left leg hurt and the right hand he could not use, but without that, he fell like newborn and he took a deep breath of fresh air. About 15 feet from the den, was laying a dead wapiti like a present from his relatives and from the mountains, he heard that his relatives called him by name. Clouds of sorrows came up to his mind by thinking about his wife, children and friends. They are still alive? He went to small river that he saw near the dent to drink some water. The water was clear but it tasted like the tears of his wife and children. Hen went to the dent, takes enough supply for the way home from the wapiti that his relatives had left for him. After a prayer of thanks to Creator. He was ready for his way home. Elias smoked his pipe, watching the fire�s flames. Running-Wolf went his way back home and on his way, his relatives had been his company and banished with their songs in the nights Running-Wolf�s fear that he will be back too late. When Running-Wolf arrived his people, lots of happy tears fell on mother earth�s skin, much more than when he left. His wife Elk-Woman told him that she knew that he is alive. Wolves told it her in her dreams. Called-By-Thunder, Spotted-Horses and Man-Without-Fear told him that they found not far away from the place where they left him, a track of a she-wolf. Her track guided them directly to a group of buffalos. When the people got enough food, they tried to find Running-Wolf and they searched more than two weeks in the mountains without result. Elk-woman was the only one who did not believe in his death. The whole night, Running-Wolf relatives sang a song to the moon, about what happened and the people were happy and felt safe by listening to the song. Running-Wolf was never again able to use his right hand. That was the price he had to pay, but he paid it with a bright smile in his face. We called it the year when Running-Wolf was called by his relatives to save his people � Elias finished his story and a smile brightened his face, when he stroked over our short hairs, that we had to cut since we had to go to school and he gave everybody of us a little clap in order to show us that he loved us the same like we did love him. We left Elias at his fire and we ran excited to our parents to tell them the story we heard minutes ago. I remember many days like this, when we listened to the wonderful stories that Elias was able to tell and we loved him with all our hearts. The men in suites were not able to forbid everything � |
