NYR Page 13

I slowed my run as I approached Running Bear. He was on his knees in the center of the trail, tears flowing freely from his eyes. Ahead of him on the trail I could see a body. Instantly I feared the worst, that is was his sister Spring Salmon. 

Forgetting he could not understand my language, I tried to console him. "Running Bear, I grieve for you."

He did not seem to hear my words, but when he felt my hand on his shoulder he looked up at me with tear-stained eyes. He gestured ahead at the body. I looked at the location indicated, knowing I would see Spring Salmon.

To me surprise, it was not her but rather a young boy of perhaps two or three years of age. There could be no question he was dead. Blood had dried in his hair and his head lay at an awkward angle. His legs also bent awkwardly. 

Rage filled me that so much cruelty could have been inflicted on a helpless child. "Your brother?" I asked.

He responded with some words I could not understand and then rose to his feet. Tenderly he gathered the body in his arms and turned back towards the village. I hesitated. Should I continue the pursuit or return with him?

I pondered my options. It went ill with me to give up on the chase, yet Running Bear was doing so. Without him to track I would no doubt lose the trail if they left it. It seemed my options were quite limited.

I hurried after Running Bear, catching up to him quite quickly as he was moving at a shambling face. I tried to take the body from him but he shoved away my proffered arms and continued carrying the child.

 

We passed the remainder of the journey in silence. It took much longer to return than it had to get this far as we were weighed down by the body and, in Running Bear's case, by grief. Seldom had I seen someone so affected by the passing of a loved one.

Wise Owl  saw us coming and ventured forth from the village to meet us. He made no attempt to relieve Running Bear of his burden but simply turned and began walking silently alongside us. That silence was not to last as soon word of our return spread rapidly. 

Soon an veritable barrage of tears was being shed as many of the women began wailing. 

It was hard for me to see such grief. Perhaps I was inured to death, for I had seen much of it, including many children. Life was difficult and death to be expected. These people were on the verge of losing all sanity in their noisome grieving.

"You do not approve of our mourning." came a soft voice in my ear. It was a statement, not a question.

I turned to reply to Wise Owl. 

"Certainly the death of a young one is a time for grief. I would not criticize people for so doing."

"You believe it is excessive then."

I tried to hide my frustration. How did he know my thoughts so well? He could not know me so intimately, much less be able to gauge how I was reacting to situations with such a degree of accuracy. It seemed I could have no private thoughts around this man.

"Wise Owl, earlier we talked of having different ways. I would not change the ways of you or your people. I wish to learn more of them, to understand your people, your customs, and your thought processes."

He gestured behind him towards where Running Bear was carrying the child into one of the longhouses. "The death of the child is one result of the customs of the peoples of the plains. When they saw themselves being pursued, they slew one of their prisoners, hoping to distract those who were following them."

We stopped walking and stood in silence as the implications hit me. It was my dogged unwillingness to allow them time to escape that had brought this tragedy upon them. 

Yet had I not been willing to pursue, the child would still have been gone. I looked at Wise Owl in confusion. "What would you have had me do?"

"What you did. Each of us has things they must do in order to retain their identity. You are a man who acts rashly and emotionally. For you to do otherwise would change you. I would not have that, for it is perhaps not your fate to change. Our actions are our own, and each person must choose their own path."

"But I did not know following my own path would lead to this, Wise Owl. Why did you not tell me?"

"Would you have believed me?"

I turned inward, considering. "I do not know. Wise Owl, I am sorry. Would that I have made different choices. Would that I knew what to do." I looked him in the eye, pleading. "What would you have me do next?"

Wise Owl looked more grim than I had seen him look. "You should do what you must."