The Book of Dreams

by O. R. Melling

  Outside in the cold night, high in the clear starry sky, Dana was playing with her mother in the Northern Lights. Aqsarniit, soccer trails, was what the Baffin Islanders called the shimmering strands. One moment the lights were swirls of silver, the next sheets of green and lilac rippled like veils. The sky was the playing field for a game of soccer in which thousands of spirits took part, singing and laughing as they raced across the firmament.

  Breathless and barefoot, with stars in her hair, Dana ran among them, kicking the ball and shouting to Edane. All the time she played, the questions rang through her mind.

  Are you or are you not? Have you the taste of your existence or do you not? Are you within the country or on the border? Are you mortal or immortal?

  When the game was over, she parted from her mother with the same words she had said to Gabe.

  “I promise to return and let you know my decision.”

  Falling to earth, Dana landed in the snow near Grandfather’s house. Though she walked in her bare feet, she was impervious to the cold. It was early in the morning, the darkest hour before dawn. Were anyone to look in her direction they would see only a pale wisp of light.

  With every step she took, Dana felt the weight of her decision. How could she embrace humanity? To grow up in the mortal world, she would have to accept so much pain and sorrow, failed dreams and lost hopes, inevitable change and inevitable tragedy. There would be so many things she couldn’t control, both in herself and in her life.

  On the other hand, there was so much to gain, all the joys and wonders of being alive on the Earth, learning and growing, finding friendship and love. And what a great mystery was human life itself, when you can never really know what might happen next!

  She stopped before she reached the door. Her hand paused in midair and didn’t knock. Not yet. Turning suddenly, she ran from the settlement. With the ease of a shape-shifter, she dropped to the ground and took the form of a wolf, as white as the snow. Now she let out a howl. It woke all the dogs for miles around and set them barking furiously.

  The door of Grandfather’s house opened. Light spilled onto the snow. Out bounded the black wolf in a rush to join her. When he reached her side, they touched noses in greeting. They played a frantic game together, chasing each other in frenzied circles in the snow, dashing back and forth around the trees, snapping and barking in the sheer fun of being wild.

  Then, without a backward glance, they ran into the North.

  • • •

  The next evening, the two old men sat drinking tea by the stove. It was dark outside the window, but the moon glittered on the snow. The Northern Lights were swirling across the sky. Heads close together in easy companionship, they spoke in a mixture of French and Cree. A jeep pulled up in front of the house. Footsteps sounded. Roy came in the door, stomping the snow from his boots. He looked sad and dejected.

  “I tracked them to Lac à l’Eau Claire.”

  Grandfather and grand-père regarded him with sympathy.

  “They came up to me. There was plenty of jumping and barking and they let me hug them, but they didn’t change back. They ran off. Is that their choice, do you think?”

  He looked stricken.

  The old men exchanged glances.

  “Some things don’t get decided right away,” Grandfather said.

  “It’s not possible to know for now,” agreed grand-père.

  “But they are your friend forever, Roy. C’est vrai, n’estce pas? This you know. Whatever happen, they are your friend.”

  • • •

  Far in the North, on a promontory overlooking the lonely tundra, two wolves howled at the moon. Across the clear sky, the Aurora Borealis illumined the night with multicolored lights. Les chèvres dansantes, the French Canadians called them. The dancing goats.

  The two wolves exulted in the wild beauty of the night, the wild freedom of their nature, the wild magic of the land.

  • • •

  Farther north again, beyond the Northern Lights, in a place some Native legends call Skyland, the High King and High Queen of Faerie arrived. They bowed before the Old Ones, the Firstborn of Turtle Island.

  “Because of you, the Battle of the Great Heart was won,” said Midir.

  “We are here to express our gratitude,” said Honor.

  “There is no need,” came the reply.

  We are all family.

  A year and a day later, Roy went to bed at midnight, having failed to talk his grandfather into doing the same. The Old Man sat at the stove, smoking his pipe and drinking tea. The wise dark eyes gazed out the window at the night beyond.

  “No point us waitin’ forever,” Roy had said quietly, more to himself than to Grandfather. “They made their choice. We gotta let them go in peace.”

  That very night, Roy had a dream. He was playing soccer in the sky with wolf-people and goat-people who sparkled like the constellations. The blue shining ball they were kicking around was the planet Earth. Running beside Roy was Jean, who kept changing from wolf to young man and back again. On the same team, racing across the vast plain of the firmament, was Dana: one minute fairy, the next wolf, the next again, a young woman.

  The three went into a huddle together to review the Game Plan. It was so profound and exhilarating that Roy kept losing track of their strategy, yet somehow he knew it and understood it in the deepest part of him.

  At the heart of the universe, we talk of a life lived in matter.

  Then he found himself plummeting from the sky, shooting out of the darkness, like a falling star.

  Did the others fall with him?

  • • •

  Roy surfaced from his dream to stare groggily at the ceiling. A final image lingered in his mind: his two friends, in jeans and parkas, walking out of the forest, hand-in-hand. As he lay there, heart aching, familiar sounds reached his ears. Voices talking and laughing. Feet crunching on the snow outside. His name being called out. Loud knocks on the door.

  Roy was already out of bed. Pulling on his jeans.

  Running into the hall, yelling.

  À bientôt. (French)—See you soon.

  À gauche! À gauche! (French)—To the left! The left!

  Abú (Irish)—Forever! Hurrah!

  Allons! Allez! (French)—Let’s go! Go ahead!

  Allons-nous! (French)—Let’s go!

  Alors (French)—then, in that case

  Alors, regarde, chérie (French)—Then look, my darlin’

  me soeur (Canadian French)—Like the Irish term anamchara, this means soul-friend. It tends to be translated as “soul-mate” but it transcends romantic connotations though it may include these. As a Québécois friend explains, it refers to “une grande amitié, une forte relation amicale et très respecteuse.”

  Anamchara (Irish)—soul-friend

  Angakuk (Inuktitut)—shaman, medicine man/woman

  Aqsarniit (Inuktitut)—soccer trails, the name used by Baffin Islanders for the Northern Lights. Another Inuktitut name for the Lights is Aqsalijaat, meaning “the trail of those playing soccer.”

  Attention! (French)—Watch out!

  Aventure (French)—adventure

  Aya (Hindi)—anglicized to “ayah.” A nursemaid or governess.

  Ban martre (Old Irish)—white martyrdom

  Beaucoup de magie (French)—lots of magic

  Bí ar d’fhaichill ar an strainséir! (Irish)—Beware the stranger!

  Biens le temps (French)—plenty of time

  Bienvenue, Loup. (French)—Welcome, Wolf.

  Bon (French)—good

  Bravo! (French)—Good work! Well done!

  Buíochas le Dia. (Irish)—Thank God.

  C’est bon. (French)—This is good.

  C’est ça. (French)—That’s it.

  C’est certain! (French)—For certain! It’s definite!

  C’est incroyable! (French)—It’s incredible!

  C’est vrai? (French)—it’s true?

  C’était merveilleux! (French)—It was w
onderful!

  C’était très beau (French)—It was very beautiful.

  Cá bhfuill Naomh Bhreandán? (Irish)—Where is Saint Brendan?

  Ça va? (French)—How’s it going? (How are you?)

  Cailleach Beinne Bric (Scots Gaelic)—The Hag of the Speckled Company

  Canot d’écorce qui va voler! (Canadian French)—The bark canoe/boat that is going to fly!

  Canot d’écorce qui vole, qui vole! (Canadian French)—The bark canoe/boat that flies, that flies!

  Cara Mia (Latin)—My dear/beloved lady

  Caribou (Canadian French of Algonkian origin)—large deer in Arctic regions of North America. Both male and female have antlers. The same deer in Asia and Europe is called reindeer.

  Cat sith (Scots Gaelic)—fairy cat

  Catholique (French)—Catholic, as in Roman Catholic

  Ce n’est rien (French)—It’s nothing. Used as “you’re welcome” in reply to “thank you.”

  Ceann groppi (Scots Gaelic)—stuffed cod head. A Cape Breton delicacy. The cod head is stuffed with cod livers mashed with cornmeal, flour, and rolled oats, then boiled or steamed. Yum.

  Chauvin (French)—chauvinistic

  Chercher une aiguille dans un botte de foin (French)—to look for a needle in a haystack

  Chez toi (French)—(at) your house

  Coimdiu na nduile (Old Irish)—Lord of Creation

  Comment dit-on? (French)—How do you say?

  Complainte (French)—lament, sad song

  Comprends-tu? (French)—Do you understand?

  Conte merveilleux (French)—wonder tale, fairy tale

  Craic agus ceol (Irish)—crack and music—Crack means great fun, as in “having the crack.”

  Craoibhín Ruadh (Irish)—Little Red-haired Branch

  D’accord (French)—agreed, okay

  Dangereux (French)—dangerous

  Dans l’bois! (Canadian French of dans les bois)—Head for the trees!

  Dehcho (Dene)—The Big River (the original name for the MacKenzie River in the Northwest Territories)

  Derc martre (Old Irish)—red martyrdom

  Dia Duilech (Old Irish)—God of the Elements

  Diablotin (Canadian French)—demon

  Dis-moi (Canadian French)—tell me (informal of dites-moi)

  Esprit du mal (Canadian French)—evil spirit

  Et toi? (French)—And you?

  Excus’-moi (French)—excuse me, sorry (informal of excusez-moi)

  Fado, fado (Irish)—long ago. Usually found at the beginning of a fairy tale, as in “once upon a time.”

  Fais attention (French)—be careful

  Fais-nous voyager par-dessus les montagnes! (Canadian French)—Let’s journey over the mountains!

  Famille (French)—family

  Fatigué (French)—tired, weary

  Garçon (French)—boy

  Gentille (French)—nice

  Glas martre (Old Irish)—green martyrdom

  Go raibh míle maith agaibh. (Irish)—Thanks ever so much (literally “a good thousand to you”).

  Grand-père est disparu. (French)—Grandfather has disappeared.

  Guru (Hindi)—A Hindu or Sikh spiritual leader or teacher. While the term has taken on derogatory connotations in Western society, it is one of great respect in India. From the Sanskrit guruh, meaning “weighty.”

  Hootchinoo (Tlingit)—distilled liquor, shortened to “hooch” and now North American slang for liquor, particularly illegally distilled

  Innunguaq (Inuktitut)—This is the proper term for the human-shaped stone figures (innunguait, plural) most of us call inuksuk (inuksuit, plural). Innunguaq means “in the likeness of a human.” The inuksuk comes in many shapes. It means “acting in the capacity of a human,” e.g., as a navigational aid, marker to hunting grounds, indicator of food caches, doorway to the spiritual world.

  Inummariit (Inuktitut)—“the real people,” those who live on the land in the manner of their ancestors

  Irlandais (French)—Irish

  Irlandaise! Magnifique! C’est un très beau pays, l’Irlande. (French)—You’re Irish! Great! Ireland is a beautiful country.

  Is scith mo chrob on scribainn. (Old Irish)—My hand is weary with writing. (Found in the margin of an old manuscript, medieval monkish graffiti.)

  J’ai peur. (French)—I’m afraid.

  Je comprends. (French)—I understand.

  Je m’excuse. (French)—I’m sorry.

  Je n’sais pas. (French)—I don’t know (short for je ne sais pas).

  Je pense (French)—I think

  Je suis ancien, pas invalide. (French)—I’m an old man, not an invalid.

  Je t’aime. (French)—I love you.

  Jongleur (Canadian French)—Native medicine man/shaman (sorcier indien). Also used in the book is jongleuse—Native medicine woman/shaman (sorcière indienne).

  Klahanie (Chinook jargon, a Native-based trade language used west of the Rockies and as far north as the Yukon)—the great outdoors

  L’histoire (French)—history, story

  La chasse-galerie (Canadian French)—Often directly translated into English as “witch canoe” or “spirit boat,” but this is incorrect. La chasse-galerie is the process of flying a canoe. One “runs la chasse-galerie” (courir la chasse-galerie), but there is no direct translation for the term itself. The boat is canot or canot d’écorce.

  La Pèlerine (French)—the female pilgrim

  Le Brûlé (Canadian French)—“The burnt place.” Anglicized to the Brule. A patch of wasteland or swamp created by a forest fire.

  Le canot (French)—boat

  Le Diable (French)—the Devil

  Le Diable, beau danseur (French)—the Devil, a great dancer and handsome too

  Le Nord (French)—the North

  Les fantômes (French)—ghosts

  Les lutins (Canadian French)—goblins

  Liber Monstrorum (Latin)—Book of Marvellous Creatures. Probably written in England (they don’t know for sure) early seventh century, but maybe earlier.

  Loup! Enfin! Ça va? (French)—Wolf! At last! How are you?

  Ma grand-mère (French)—my grandmother

  Magh Crí Mór (Irish)—the Plain of the Great Heart

  Maintenant (French)—now

  Mais non (French)—of course not

  Mais oui (French)—(but) of course

  Mais peut-être (French)—but perhaps

  Mal de raquette (Canadian French)—leg strain caused by heavy snowshoeing

  Man-i-tou (Algonkian)—spirit of the land, sacred force

  Mea culpa. (Latin)—(It’s) my fault.

  Merci beaucoup (French)—thank you very much

  Mo chara (Irish)—my dear one, my friend

  Mo stór (Irish)—my treasure

  Moi aussi. (French)—Me too.

  Mon ami (French)—my friend

  Mon amour (French)—my love, beloved

  Mon frère (French)—my brother

  Mon grand-père (French)—my grandfather

  Monsieur (French)—mister

  Mystère (French)—mystery

  N’est-ce pas? (French)—Isn’t it? Another way of saying “eh?”

  Na péistí. Ansin! (Irish)—Sea monsters! Over there!

  Naturellement. (French)—Of course/naturally.

  Navigatio Sancti Brendani Abbatis (Latin)—The Voyage of Saint Brendan the Abbot. Written in Latin around A.D. 800, it tells the story of the sixth-century Irish monk who set sail for the Island of Paradise on the other side of the ocean. It was a “best seller” in medieval Europe.

  Nous risquons de vendre nos âmes au diable! (Canadian French)—We risk selling our souls to the devil!

  Nous sommes ici! (French)—Here we are!

  Nunatak—Anglicized version of nunataq (Inuktitut)— an isolated peak of rock projecting above a surface of inland ice or snow.

  Nunavut (Inuktitut)—“our land.” Canada’s new territory, which officially came into being April 1, 1999.

  Ogha
m (Middle Irish)—ancient lettering of the Celtic peoples based on straight lines drawn perpendicular or at an angle to another (long) straight line. Usually found on stones or carved on wood. Related to the God Ogma, inventor of the alphabet.

  Oíche Shamhna (Irish)—Halloween

  Omadhaun (Irish)—anglicized version of amadán, meaning “fool.”

  Oui (French)—yes

  Oui, c’est ça! Exactement! (French)—Yes, that’s it exactly!

  Oui, je connais. (French)—Yes, I know/recognize it.

  Oui. Bien. Très bien. (French)—Yes. Fine. Very well.

  Ouvre la porte! Vite! (French)—Open the door! Quick!

  Pas de problème (French)—no problem

  Perigrinni (Medieval Latin)—pilgrims

  Physiologus (Latin)—Natural Science. Originally a Greek work of late antiquity about the natural world. Popular in the Middle Ages in Latin. Icelandic version written later.

  Poudrerie (Canadian French)—drifting or powdery snow

  Prends garde. (French)—Take care/be on your guard.

  Qu’est-ce que c’est? (French)—What is it?

  Qu’est-ce que c’est que ça? (French)—What’s that?

  Qu’est-ce que tu fais? (French)—What are you doing?

  Qu’est-ce qui se passe? (French)—What’s happening?

  Regarde, chérie, regarde mon pays. (French)—Look, sweetheart, see my country.

  Roth Mór an tSaoil (Irish)—The Great Wheel of Life (Note: this is the Irish title of Micheal MacGowan’s book about his adventures in the Yukon’s gold rush called in English The Hard Road to Klondike.)

  ’S FOSGAIL AN DORUS ’S LEIG A’STIGH SINN! (Scots Gaelic)—Open the door and let us in!

  S’il te plaît (French)—please (informal of s’il vous plaît)