Grey Eyes

by Franks Busch

  “It may not be so long,” whined Flying Rabbit Boy. “Besides, it is wise for her to express her interest early.”

  Brown Shield Man laughed.

  “It is true that such a match would be a great honour to the Bear clan,” said Walking Moon Woman, silencing the others. “But what is most important is that her interest is diverted from Little Grey Bear Boy.”

  “Tapwe!” The others nodded.

  Little Grey Bear Boy picked through his food. Suddenly, he felt very tired.

  Painted Turtle Man turned to him. “My boy. I left something in the forest. Would you come with me to find it? I am afraid my old eyes will have trouble seeing it without more help from Grandfather Sun.”

  “Can’t you get it tomorrow, Moosum? I’ve had a very long day.”

  “By then I will have forgotten where I left it.”

  “All right then,” sighed Little Grey Bear Boy.

  As the two left the Bear lodge, the family was still chattering about Water Lily Woman. Brown Shield Man was practically planning the wedding.

  47

  nīmitanaw tīpakohposāp

  Painted Turtle Man led his adopted grandson a short way down the lakeshore. “How are you feeling?” he asked.

  “I am well, Moosum,” the boy replied. “Thank you for asking.”

  “That was a very polite answer,” chuckled Painted Turtle Man. “Not the one I was looking for. You seem troubled lately and I am afraid I have not been able to spend as much time with you as I would like. We are here now, together, if there is anything you wish to discuss with me.”

  “Well, Moosum. I guess I have felt troubled. I do not understand the teachings of Red Sky Man and I feel confused after speaking with Water Lily Woman.”

  “Confused? In what way?”

  Little Grey Bear Boy continued reluctantly. “I had a very strange feeling when I met her. It is hard to describe...”

  “Just try your best. I will not judge you, I want only to help.”

  “I felt like there was something jumping around in my stomach,” explained Little Grey Bear Boy, “and my heart was moving very fast. I felt hot in my cheeks…”

  “Tapwe?”

  “Tapwe, I feel that way whenever I see her and sometimes when I think about her.”

  “I see.”

  “What does it mean, Moosum?”

  “It means you like her. And that is nothing to be ashamed of.” Painted Turtle Man shielded his eyes from the setting sun. The waves lapped against the rocky shore in a constant and steady rhythm.

  “But…But that would not be appropriate.”

  “My boy,” smiled Painted Turtle Man. “Love is always appropriate.”

  “But she is a Grey-Eye. If she chose me for her husband, our children would be Red-Eyes.”

  “I am not so sure.” Painted Turtle Man sat down on a moss-covered rock, pulling his left leg over his right. “It is true that when Soaring Star Woman and Grey Bear had a child, he became a Red-Eye. But that was only one situation and no one knows if it had ever happened before. True, he was a Grey-Eye when I knew him as a boy and he was not kind and gentle like you—he used to be mean to us younger boys, always finding ways to tease us or hurt us—but it is possible something else caused Dark Cloud Man to become a Red-Eye. By the time he became a Red-Eye, his eyes were no longer grey like yours.”

  “So I could still become a Red-Eye?”

  “I do not think you could ever be a Red-Eye. What I am saying is that the Grey-Eye gift is so rare and precious that none of us understands it. Only Kitchi Manitou knows why this gift is bestowed on so few. Perhaps one day you will learn the secret. All you need to know for now is that you are beginning to walk man’s road and you must start deciding matters for yourself.”

  Painted Turtle Man extended his arm towards Little Grey Bear Boy. He gently helped the old man to his feet.

  “So what should I do about my…feelings towards Water Lily Woman?”

  “It does seem her attentions are towards your cousin,” said Painted Turtle Man. “Maybe you should step aside this time. There are many fine young women who would be proud to have you for a husband.”

  “What if I never feel this way about another?”

  “I have lived a very long time and have seen many things. There is someone out there for everyone. Often, it is someone we have known all along, but did not have the eyes to see them.”

  “Is that how it was for you?”

  “It was, something like that, yes,” said the old man.

  “Now where did you leave your things?” interrupted Little Grey Bear Boy.

  “I have just remembered. I did take them with me. I am sorry I dragged you out here for nothing.”

  “I had a feeling you were going to say something like that,” said Little Grey Bear Boy.

  “I just thought you needed to get out of the lodge for a bit,” said Painted Turtle Man. “I didn’t think you wanted the others to know how you felt. Can you forgive me?”

  “Tapwe, Moosum. I suppose I should be grateful.”

  “I suppose you should,” the old man said with a smile.

  The boy and his adopted grandfather made their way back to the village and returned to the Bear lodge. The rest of the family had begun preparing themselves to sleep. Little Grey Bear Boy unrolled his hide, said his prayers, and drifted off to sleep. His dreams that night were filled with a beautiful Grey-Eyed girl.

  48

  nīmitanaw ayinānīwosāp

  Little Grey Bear Boy spent the next two days collecting wood to replace the wood he had used in the Eagle medicine lodge. Although it was hard work collecting, breaking, and bundling the wood, he enjoyed his time alone in the forest. Being kept in the Eagle medicine lodge for three days had made him feel trapped. Out in the great wide forest, with birds chirping and waves lapping the beach shore, he felt free and at peace. He could not help looking up once in a while, hoping to see Water Lily Woman approach.

  He tried hard to shake these thoughts from his head. She was a Grey-Eye like him and pursuing his feelings for her would not be worth the risk. Besides, she had expressed her interest in Flying Rabbit Boy, and this seemed to make his cousin happy.

  When he had replaced all the wood—and more for good measure—Red Sky Man sat him down in the Eagle medicine lodge.

  “Now that you know the seven colours of the fire,” Red Sky Man said, “I will teach you how to control it.”

  “How to control the fire?”

  “Tapwe,” snapped Red Sky Man. “Pay attention.” The Eagle medicine carrier drew a buffalo horn rattle from his medicine bundle and cleared his throat loudly. “I am going to teach you the fire song. As you learn it, concentrate on the fire. Tell it what you want it to do for you.”

  “How can I do this?”

  “Just pay attention!” he snapped again. “There is no reason for you to speak until I ask you to!”

  Little Grey Bear Boy felt his cheeks warming. In all the time he had known him, Painted Turtle Man had never snapped at him in this way.

  Red Sky Man began to shake his rattle and sing an ancient prayer song dedicated to the fire. The words were unfamiliar to Little Grey Bear Boy, as they were in the ancient language. As he began to pick up the song, he drew out his own turtle shell rattle and shook it to the beat. Once he felt he had the song, he started to concentrate on the fire itself. He began to feel a vibration in the air and a warm burning feeling behind his eyes—the same feeling he’d had when he helped Flying Rabbit Boy shoot the ducks.

  As his mind began to wander, the flames began to dance out of the fire, coiling up through the fire, criss-crossing this way and that, like burning ribbons. Little Grey Bear Boy was in a trance and began to feel he was not in control of his actions.

  His heart jumped and he snapped out of it, the flames disappearing in a flash. Red Sky Ma
n jolted as well, as though he had been in a trance too.

  “I did not tell you to stop,” Red Sky Man said.

  “I am sorry, Uncle,” gasped Little Grey Bear Boy, shaken. “I was distracted…”

  “You must concentrate!” he yelled.

  The two stared at each other in silence. Little Grey Bear Boy bit his lip. There were many things he wanted to say to Red Sky Man, none of them respectful.

  “That is enough for today,” said Red Sky Man finally. “See to your chores. We will speak again after the sundance ceremony. Ekosi.”

  “Hiy, hiy,” came the response through clenched teeth.

  Little Grey Bear Boy gathered his bundle and rushed out of the Eagle medicine lodge, bumping into Soaring Spear Man and knocking him down with an unusual force. Some of the other Eagle helpers helped him back onto his feet. Little Grey Bear Boy could feel the vibration in the air and a burning behind his eyes. Trying to calm himself, he bowed in apology to the Eagle helpers, who all nodded back, a hint of fear in their silence.

  49

  nīmitanaw kīkā-mitātahtosāp

  As the time of the sacred sundance ceremony drew near, Little Grey Bear Boy had many preparations to make under his sponsor, Many Fish. Although Flying Rabbit Boy had reached his twelfth summer, none of the older warriors had come with the offer of an eagle bone whistle. Many Fish had talked to Brown Shield Man about sponsoring him, but it was agreed that, since he was already sponsoring Little Grey Bear Boy, taking on another would be too much. In the end, it was Blue Elk Man who offered to sponsor him.

  “Thank you, Uncle,” said Flying Rabbit Boy, accepting the eagle bone whistle. “I am honoured…”

  “I know you will make us all proud,” responded Blue Elk Man.

  Flying Rabbit Boy managed a brave smile but it was obvious he felt the Nehiyawak had neglected him.

  The sundance ceremony was being held in a village to the northwest known as Pukatawagan, the big water fishing place. The Nehiyawak of Nisichawayasihk began their journey to the sundance ceremony on a bright morning just days before the summer solstice.

  The sundance ceremony was mostly without incident, though once again many of the sundancers stayed close to Little Grey Bear Boy, hoping to witness some Grey-Eye magic. He ignored them and concentrated on his prayers, suffering himself for the good of the Nehiyawak. Normally, dancing and fasting would be all that was asked of a boy of thirteen summers, but the others expected some great act of magic.

  Water Lily Woman had come with her mother to the sundance grounds. Against the protestations of Red Sky Man, she was accorded a place of honour as a Grey-Eye. She stood behind the drum and helped the singers. Some of the songs were familiar to her, others she had to learn quickly. When she sang the sacred songs, her voice carried farther than the voices of the men at the drum and the air around the sundance arbour vibrated. Many of the sundancers were blessed with visions.

  Little Grey Bear Boy was at first annoyed by the apparent fickleness of the Nehiyawak, but in the end he enjoyed having the attention deflected from him. Plus, with everyone focused on Water Lily Woman, it was easy for him to do the same.

  Little Grey Bear Boy had fulfilled his most serious obligation to Kitchi Manitou in his first year and did not have any reason to suffer himself more than the dancing and fasting would require. Red Sky Man approached him now and then throughout the ceremony to suggest he consider walking with the buffalo. The boy shook his head each time, getting nothing but a scowl from his new teacher in return.

  On this issue, Little Grey Bear Boy’s teachings were very clear. One only suffered himself in walking with the buffalo to fulfill an obligation to Kitchi Manitou for a special blessing. As this year had been uneventful in terms of sickness and injury in the Bear lodge, pride would be the only reason for Little Grey Bear Boy to pierce himself. Kitchi Manitou often rewarded show-offs at the sundance ceremony with a lesson in humility and he did not wish to be rewarded so.

  When the sundance concluded on the fourth day and Flying Rabbit Boy had gone to the tree without incident, some of the sundancers who had completed their four-year commitment held a giveaway ceremony to mark the occasion. It was customary for the Nehiyawak to give away most if not all of their possessions on special occasions, both to help those less fortunate and to start a new beginning free of possessions.

  The Nehiyawak were particularly generous with Water Lily Woman for her singing, and she and her mother struggled to pack all the items gifted to them for the walk back to Nisichawayasihk.

  “Go and offer your assistance,” Brown Shield Man suggested.

  “Tapwe!” said Flying Rabbit Boy nervously. “Will you come with me, cousin?”

  “Of course,” smiled Little Grey Bear Boy. “But first, your chest…it’s bleeding.”

  Little Grey Bear Boy helped wipe some of the blood from Flying Rabbit Boy’s small wounds, then put a medicine salve on it to stanch the flow.

  “Ok, you are ready,” said Brown Shield Man, pushing his son in Water Lily Woman’s direction.

  Flying Rabbit Boy was nervous but did his best to muster his jovial charm.

  “Tansi, Auntie,” he said. “Can we offer you our assistance?” His voice cracked at the end, causing his face to turn red, which the polite women pretended not to notice.

  “Thank you, sons of the Bear clan,” answered Yellow Moon Woman. “I was hoping some young warrior would be brave enough to help. I suppose we will need to build a travois. The sundancers have certainly been generous.”

  “They were very grateful for the beautiful singing,” said Flying Rabbit Boy, composing himself.

  “Lily?” sang Yellow Moon Woman. “Aren’t you going to say something? Did you not hear the compliment this young man just paid you?”

  “Tapwe, mother,” she said rolling her eyes jokingly. “Ekosani, Flying Rabbit Boy.”

  She looked at both boys. Little Grey Bear Boy squinted around the grounds, as though looking for materials to build a travois, pretending not to notice her piercing gaze.

  When the travois was built and the two young men had harnessed themselves to it, the foursome headed for Nisichawayasihk. Each day, they stopped to rest and eat. Brown Shield Man, Painted Turtle Man, and Blue Elk Man remained nearby, but kept a polite distance. Blue Elk Man was getting bruised ribs from all the elbowing Brown Shield Man was giving him whenever Water Lily Woman spoke to or walked near Flying Rabbit Boy.

  When they arrived in the village, they were greeted at the Turtle lodge by the excited chatter of the Turtle clan girls, who marveled at the gifts as they were unloaded from the travois.

  Straight away, Water Lily Woman began distributing the gifts among her new sisters—furs, hides, painted quills, sinew, necklaces, colourful feathers, shells, moccasins, and a deer hide hand drum. The happy commotion brought by the unpacking could be heard across the village. The younger of the Eagle twins happened to be passing by. Noticing the gifts, she did nothing but scowl. Water Lily Woman returned the scowl, her grey eyes bright with challenge. The younger Eagle Twin ignored her, and scurried into the Eagle lodge to gossip with her elder sister.

  50

  niyānanomitanaw

  With the help of Water Lily Woman and her mother, the fortunes of the Turtle clan continued to rise. The eligible young warriors of the village, including a few discreet Eagle warriors, visited the Turtle lodge to share their hunt and be seen by Water Lily Woman.

  As the summer progressed, Flying Rabbit Boy grew more and more concerned with improving his standing among the Nehiyawak. That a warrior from another clan did not step up to sponsor him in the sundance ceremony continued to trouble him.

  “I think it is because of my arm,” said Flying Rabbit Boy to his cousin. As they were out checking their rabbit snares one day.

  “You seem to blame your arm for everything,” was the answer from Little Grey Bear Boy as he squatted down
to untangle a failed snare and reset it. “It is not your fault they do not see your true value. It is the Nehiyawak who are mistaken in this instance. Many will regret not having brought you a whistle when you are a great warrior and hunter.”

  “You are just saying that because you are my cousin.”

  “I am saying it because it is the truth. Besides, my father was honoured to sponsor you into the sundance ceremony. Who do you think will feed him when he is an old man and I am out picking medicines?”

  “I hope I do not have to get your father to sponsor me into a warrior society too…”

  “Don’t trouble yourself with that,” said Little Grey Bear Boy standing up. “You have to be brave to get into the Dog Soldier Society.”

  Flying Rabbit Boy chased his cousin for the jab. Little Grey Bear Boy was laughing too hard to make a clean getaway. The two boys wrestled and laughed and forgot the concerns of older men for a short time.

  “Seriously though,” said Little Grey Bear Boy when they had tired themselves out. “Remember: the warrior society you join will be determined by the manner in which you earn your name.”

  “Tapwe! That is true.”

  Knowing his bow skill was diminished and remembering Water Lily Woman’s interest in his fishing, Flying Rabbit Boy concentrated his efforts on developing his fishing skills. He came up with a solution to his dilemma of how to work the net while his cousin was training with Red Sky Man. He would drag one side of the net across the river and secure it to a tree, then swim across the river and pull the net upstream in an arc along the river bank. In this way he could do the work of two by himself. When not catching fish, he spent his time gutting and hanging them. The days of swimming and net-pulling were starting to show in his arms and shoulders.

  “Perhaps you will earn my name!” said Many Fish one day, admiring his catch by the river bank.