"Ah, here we are at my brother's lodge. We will take it down as we did with mine. Because he has no woman to do this for him, it falls usually to me and to Morning-sun-woman to do this work. But, because you are here and are almost sister to my brother now, we will do it together. Perhaps you might not object to treating his belongings as your own as we move camp?"
"Yes," agreed Sharon with the simple sign.
"Soka'pii.This is good." Added Little Dove, "Since I have two children who will need my care on the trip, I cannot always give his belongings the attention they need. But, though this may be, he never objects. Come, we will take his lodge down and move his possessions onto one of his many ponies."
"Yes," Sharon agreed. "Does he have quite a few ponies, then?"
"He does, as do most Pikuni men."
"Oh?" asked Sharon. "Do you know how many he has?"
Little Dove shrugged. "Perhaps two hundred or more. But, he has only one buffalo pony, whom he treasures beyond all the others because a great deal of training goes into ensuring a pony can carry him safely into a herd of buffalo and then out again. Such a pony has to be of a certain disposition; he or she must be smart and one who seeks adventure. My brother has other buffalo ponies, but there is only the one he can trust to chase down buffalo safely."
Sharon nodded, then signed, "And, perhaps now is a good time to tell you about how your brother saved my life not too long ago when a wild buffalo took it into her mind to try to trample me."
Little Dove glanced at her and then signed, "He cares for you…very much, I think."
Sharon grinned back at her almost sister, but at the back of her eyes were also more tears. How could she have ever thought these people were wild and inhuman?
Why didn't the powers-that-be speak truly of these people? Why did they relate tales of torture and worse when, if one were to take the time to get to know these people, one might find there was not a more gracious or kind people?
Sharon shut her eyes for a moment, trying as best she could to contain her tears, while at the same time wishing she weren't so close to crying over the simplest of occurrences. Perhaps, given time, it would pass.
But, a part of her also recognized a simple truth: it was God who had led her here, and it was He who had brought about the circumstances leading to her adoption into Strikes Fast's family. For a moment, if a moment only, her most recent shock and loss of the man she'd thought had loved her seemed less traumatic. And, though tomorrow she might find grief again overwhelming her, while her eyes were still closed she silently said a prayer and thought,Thank you, dear God, for bringing me here amongst these people. Thank you.
