With the barrel of her musket propped firmly on the limb of a tree, Charity took steady aim at the deer. The medium-sized buck was grazing at the edge of a thicket of wax myrtles, near where she saw the deer tracks the day before. John and Uriah were squatting in the bushes behind her. She had brought them along to help with the bleeding out of the deer, should she kill one, and to help carry it back to camp. They could then dress it out and help her prepare the meat for making jerky and so forth. She also hoped to can some of the meat so that it would last a lot longer.
She was glad that Nancy had shown her how and taught her how to preserve food in glass jars- it was much better than having to dry it all into tough leather strips… Taking careful aim, Charity squeezed the trigger, while saying a quick prayer that the bullet would hit its mark. She was worried that she wasn’t close enough to the deer, but if she had tried to get any closer, it would have seen her and ran off into the woods. The old musket was not very accurate at far distances, and she really needed this kill in order to keep her children fed.
The meat would last them a good while, if she could preserve it. It took the black smoke a good minute to clear. Even before it cleared, she heard John exclaim, “You got him, Mama! ” “I knew she would,” said Uriah. “Alright, boys,” she chuckled, “We got him, now, let’s bleed him out and get him back to the camp. ” Back at the camp, they dressed out the deer and she cooked up a good bit of the meat that day, putting it into jars and canning it. The rest she packed in salt brine water so the next day she could smoke it. She told the boys to take the ax and go see if hey could find a few hickory limbs for the smoking.
The children enjoyed playing with their little flying squirrels; the tiny critters were becoming tame and no longer tried to jump out of their hands. When she last checked the road near the river, the water had risen a good two feet. She hoped that the river crested soon, or else she may have to move their camp. She could not go forward, because the road was under water, and she darn sure didn’t want to go back to where she had come from. She also didn’t want to get too far off the trail, for she feared they may get into trouble.
All the children seemed to be fine and healthy, however, the last day or so, Charity had been feeling kind of poorly. She wasn’t exactly sure what was wrong with her- she felt awfully tired and had to lie down before dark. She told the older boys to watch the little ones, and to make sure they were all under the wagons before dark. She could tell they were worried, probably because she never got sick. She could not remember ever being sick, even as a child… For hours or maybe days, Charity was barely conscious of anything, except vague whispers around her head, and Uriah is trying to get her drink to something.
She dreamed that she was running from the river, but the water kept catching up to her and pulling her under. It was so real that she could feel the water burning her nostrils and filling her ears and lungs. As she fought against the rising water, a giant eagle suddenly scooped her up out of the water. In its talons, she hung as limp as a rag doll. The tree tops, brushed against her body, tearing at her flesh and her clothes as he flew- Suddenly, he dove downward and she thought that he might land, but then he flew upward, higher and higher into the sky he went, carrying her along with him.
After coughing the water out of her lungs, Charity called out to the eagle, asking him, “Where are you taking me, Mighty One? ” He answered that he would show her the secret of her gift. “What secret- what gift? ” “It will soon be the moment of the Equinox,” he said. “You will walk upon the wind. Your soul shall leave your body and travel within the parallel dimensions of place and time. The wind will take you wherever you want, within your own time. ” “But, this cannot be- it is not possible! ” she exclaimed. “Aw, but it is,” said the eagle. “It has happened many times before.
Soon, you will learn to guide your spirit when it leaves its earthly body behind. ” “How? ” Ignoring her question, the eagle asked, “Where shall we go? ” “Are you my grandfather? ” “Yes,” he answered. “I am, Adastiyuali Tsitsalagi! ” She knew that he said, “I am Shooting Arrow, I am Cherokee! ” Shooting Arrow was her great-grandfather, he was a Medicine Man, or a Shaman as some prefer to call. She remembered Nokomis, her grandmother, Shadowy Moon, speak of her maternal grandfather; his name was Shooting Arrow! Charity suddenly felt as light as an eagle’s feather.
High above the mountains, they soared through the air- the eagle’s talons, no longer held her. She was soaring alongside her grandfather, Shooting Arrow, the mighty eagle. Her first instinct was to travel home. In an instant, she flew over the Savannah River and over the old cabin her white grandfather had built. She saw Tokola come out into the moonlit night to stand in the clearing, his head back, his eyes looking up at her; he was smiling.
He raised his fistedhands toward the heavens, and shouted, “Galieliga, Eladildasdi’nole, galieliga! He said, “I am happy, Wind Walker, 1 am happy! ” She swooped low, dusting him with love before she flew southward. Soon, she was gliding over Eli’s and Nancy’s, but they did not know it was her- they only saw an eagle. Henry suddenly came into her thoughts- to him she flew. When she reached him, she saw him lying on a cot; it was the same as her dream a few days before. “Oh, Henry,” she sighed. “My poor darling-He looks so tired. I know I shouldn’t wake him, but | need him so much. She lowered herself gently to his side and cradled him in her arms.
Ever so gently, she kissed his forehead, his eyes, his neck, and then his mouth. He returned her kisses, gently at first, savoring the taste of her lips and then becoming urgent, needing. Gently, she made love to him; her own body as urgent and needing as his-she kissed him deeply, passionately, her lips and fingertips, lingering on his face. It was now the month of the Windy Moon, she felt a cool breeze float over her naked body; it causes her to shiver. With one last gentle lingering kiss, she left him- his lips still pursed in a kiss…