Saturday, May 30, 2009

Dancing Hawk (short story)

"Get a good smoke going," he said, looking intently across the circle.

She held the shell, gingerly and firmly, and blew into the pile of white sage smoldering in its pearly interior. Finally understanding she was indeed to claim a name, she smiled in disbelief, ashamed she'd doubted her prayer.

"Washee Naktahe," the words so familiar as Ten Bears said them, but strange in her own mouth, "Dancing Hawk," so relieved she was not "Ten Gnats" as she'd feared, and yet resolved to maintain that as a shadow name, and wondering how she came to such a name as "Dancing Hawk." A medicine name, at last!

Ten Bears spoke. "Washee Naktahe is a greeting, 'I am.' When you talk to Spirit, identify yourself."

She nodded, deeply honored, and taken aback at the beauty of her own name.

No comments:

Post a Comment