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To Shirleen’s horror, he was suddenly dead, his eyes now fixed in a death stare. Fortunately, his gaze was locked on something past her and not on her face. But she suddenly realized that what his eyes were staring at was the least of her worries.
What was she to do?
Would Blue Thunder’s people blame her?
Oh, no!
They couldn’t!
She was only sitting with Dancing Shadow. She had kept her promise to Speckled Fawn. She had not left his side. She had done her best to make his last moments peaceful.
She had sung to him.
She had even held his hand!
Knowing that she had no choice but to reveal his death to everyone, she rose shakily to her feet.
She sucked in a deep breath as she tried to gather enough courage to face whatever lay ahead of her.
Then she went and held the entrance flap aside.
She saw that most people had returned to stand outside Dancing Shadow’s tepee after they had finished their evening meals.
They were staring at her questioningly.
She wondered if they could see the fear on her face?
She wondered if they could see that she was trembling uncontrollably.
She finally gulped out that Dancing Shadow had just taken his last breath of life.
“But . . . but . . . he spoke to me before he died,” she quickly added. “He . . . was happy. He smiled just moments before he died!”
Aunt Bright Sun stepped from the crowd and came to Shirleen. She took Shirleen gently by the elbow and led her back to Blue Thunder’s tepee. All the while, Little Bee followed, hanging on to Bright Sun’s buckskin skirt.
“I have kept Blue Thunder’s fire going in his absence,” Bright Sun said. “Sit beside it. I shall sit with you.”
Little Bee sat between Bright Sun and Shirleen, quietly playing with her doll, oblivious of the loss of Dancing Shadow.
“Shirleen, no one holds you to blame for our loved one’s death,” Bright Sun said reassuringly when she noticed the frightened look in Shirleen’s eyes. She reached over and gently patted her face. “In fact, my people thank you for sitting with Dancing Shadow in the absence of his wife.”
“Thank you for letting me know that,” Shirleen murmured. She wiped tears from her eyes. “I am filled with so many emotions. I am so torn. I feel bad for Dancing Shadow, and I . . . I . . . am in constant fear for my daughter’s welfare. If anything should happen to her—”
“Do not imagine the worst,” Bright Sun said. “When Blue Thunder sets his mind on doing something, he always comes out the victor.”
“I truly hope that is the case this time,” Shirleen said. She sighed heavily and hung her head as tears filled her eyes again. “It is almost too much for me to bear. I shall never forget those last moments with Dancing Shadow.”
She raised her eyes and looked through her tears at Bright Sun. “I . . . can’t help . . . being afraid that something might go awry at the fort and Blue Thunder and Speckled Fawn could be harmed,” she blurted out.
“Blue Thunder is a very wise man, wise past his young years as chief,” Bright Sun again reassured her. “He is his father’s son, and his father was one of the greatest leaders of our Assiniboine people. Blue Thunder’s intelligence and ability as a leader will bring him home to us, along with Speckled Fawn. Your daughter will be with them. I saw it in the clouds today as I looked up at them. The clouds tell me many things. Today they gave me comfort that I wish to pass along to you.”
“Thank you so much for the kind words of encouragement,” Shirleen said, in awe of the woman’s ability to see and know things that surely no one else saw.
Shirleen was discovering that the Assiniboine were a people ruled by mysticism, which brought them faith and guidance in their everyday lives.
Shirleen looked down at Little Bee as she crawled trustingly onto her lap. As the child leaned her cheek against Shirleen’s bosom, Little Bee fell asleep.
The innocent action of the little girl made Shirleen ache even more to have her own daughter with her.
