by J. J. Park
“What’s on your mind?” Grandfather asked directly as soon as they entered the teepee.
“Grandfather, we want to talk to you about the Thanksgiving celebration,” Dyami started.
“What celebration?” Grandfather right away retorted.
“I told you about my vision, the ancient Egyptian harvest celebration. Everybody had a good time, and it was wonderful. There was dancing, feasting, and singing.” Dyami began his plea for change.
“I agree with Dyami. We want to enjoy Thanksgiving Day. It’s depressing to brood when we should be celebrating,” Gopan said.
“Besides, what good is having a vision and not learning anything from it?” Dyami persisted.
“The boy has a point,” Taza said, then added, smiling, “You want to feast on turkey and corn, right?”
Dyami’s Grandfather remained silent, but they could see that their appeal had touched him.
“All right, you two made your point. We’ll discuss it further between us,” finally Kuruk said in a softer tone.
Dyami and Gopan left the teepee, feeling good about making an effort and expecting a positive outcome. It appeared what they said had made an impact on two elders. At the least, it was a good start.
After a long session among elders, the next day, an announcement came that the committee no longer expected the sad custom of moaning on Thanksgiving Day. They recommended each family celebrate Thanksgiving as they see it fit. Many families celebrated the day with tasty old Native American Indian fare.
Dyami was elated that his vision experience became a catalyst for a meaningful change in the community. He recalled the flying horse, Arion, and he helping the sun-god retrieve the sun disc from the devil during the vision quest. He felt that it was possible to achieve great things.
***
Ancient Greece and Egypt’s experiences broadened Dyami’s view of the world and engaged him in world history. The history class was now studying 18th century Europe, specifically France. The teacher, Mr. Durand, had French parentage, and he made history come alive.
What’s more, he told the class about the historical alliances between France and Native Americans in the 16th century until Britain took over America in the 18th century.
Dyami learned how French people coexisted peacefully with Natives in America under Louis XIII and Cardinal Richelieu’s direction.
He also discovered that the French Ordonnance of 1627 considered Native Americans “natural Frenchmen” when they converted to Catholicism.
It seemed to him that the French civilization extended their friendship to his people while the Spanish and English denigrated and persecuted them. He wished to learn more about the culture that had accepted differences in others. He waited for an opportunity to travel back to 18th century France.
The weather had been chilly and windy, but there came a day in early December when the wind calmed down. The sun warmed the air. It was a perfect day to be in the woods. Not wanting to miss the chance, Dyami headed to the oak with the flute in hand. Chores again held back Gopan.
The multicolored leaves rustled in the gentle breeze, and colorful foliage lifted his spirit. Autumn air was crisp and fresh, and he was warm and comfortable. An owl fledgling tested its wings near the oak. The splendor of nature never ceased to captivate him.
While Dyami ruminated, a band of birds flew by frantically, calling out in alarm. Driving them to a frenzy was a hawk with its sweeping wings. Soon the birds disappeared into thickets, and the forest became quiet. The hawk stopped chasing and perched on the oak branch. For Dyami, it was a sign to play the flute.
7
MASQUERADE AND REVOLUTION
Dyami was standing in the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles near one of the high arched mirrors. A lavish masquerade was in progress under the elaborate ceiling paintings and sparkling chandeliers.
Most fashionable and wealthy French nobilities mingled, gossiped, and flirted behind masks. Champagne flowed into glasses known to be in the shape of Marie Antoinette’s breast. Servants circulated with pastry, meat dishes, and sweet delicacies among the fashionable crowd.
Men wearing powdered wigs swaggered in silk breeches among the circle. Women adorned in fabulous costumes moved conspicuously aided by ostrich feather hair dress they were wearing.
Marie Antoinette, in her elaborate dress and bouffant-pouf hairdo, scintillated along with a diamond necklace and bracelet she was wearing. She eclipsed all other stylish women gathered in the Hall. She was an image of indulgence and luxury.
The beauty, opulence, and extravagance all at once struck Dyami. He thought he was in a dream at first but quickly recalled that he had asked for 18th century France for the vision.
To his astonishment, Dyami noticed himself wearing a blue velvet waistcoat and breeches. He had become Baron de Marsan during the reign of Louis XVI in 18th century France. He blended in perfectly with the crowd in the Hall by the magic of vision. He had indeed become a French nobleman.
On another lovely evening in June, Dyami found himself at Petit Trianon, the pleasure house for Marie Antoinette. The underground wood fire illuminated the chateau, and along with stars and moonlight, it transformed the garden into a dreamy and mystical fairyland.
A gala was in progress. Harp’s angelic sounds traveled to the garden from the glass music salon. Laughter and murmurs accompanied the music.
Dyami, Baron de Marsan, and his love Louise de Bellay wandered through the garden’s winding path among streams and grotto. The blended fragrance of lilacs, roses, and orange blossoms drifted in the air.
“Que c’est beau! Respirez ce parfum delicieux! Quelle joie de vivre,” [How beautiful! Breathe in the delicious perfume! What a joy to live,] Louise exclaimed.
“J’adore ce jardin. Et la musique de la harpe! Elle m’emporte au ciel,” [I love this garden. And the harp music! It takes me to heaven,] Dyami, Baron de Marsan, chimed in.
“Qui joue de l’harpe ce soir?” [Who plays the harp this evening?] Baron asked.
“La reine, elle-même.” [The queen herself.]
The light touch of Louise’s hand on his arm, her gentle voice and soft laughter, the rustling of the dress, sweet music, mysterious light, and delightful scent of flowers all bewitched and intoxicated him.
***
July 11, 1789, not long after that fantastic evening, the Baron de Marsan was in a carriage on the way to his family home in Paris.
When the carriage neared the Bastille, he saw a group of angry “sans-culottes”6 shouting and gesturing. Some held up pamphlets describing Marie Antoinette as “Madame Déficit.”
He quickly descended the carriage and walked with the crowd to avoid any strife.
“Nous ne pouvons pas ni voulons soutenir sa mode d’une vie de luxe!” [We no longer can nor want to support her luxurious life!]
“Sa vanité a mis la France en faillite,” [Her vanity put France into bankruptcy,] another person shouted.
“Nous n’avons rien à manger,’’ [We have nothing to eat,] yet, another joined in.
They were protesting Marie Antoinette’s extravagant lifestyle and accused her of being the cause of the failing economy. It troubled Baron de Marsan; he did not believe that the queen was solely responsible for France’s economic woes. He sympathized with their desperate situation, but his loyalty lay with the king. He admired Marie Antoinette and liked to visit and stay at Versailles.
He managed to reach his family home on foot through the angry crowd without incident, but the event shook him to the core. He could feel and almost smell imminent changes in the air. He thought how sad it would be to lose the luxurious life he had.
The mob consisting of artisans, shopkeepers, and peasants grew to 1,000, and arming themselves with muskets, they attacked the Bastille. Soon, French guards joined them, and together, they entered the Prison of Saint-Lazard, freed prisoners, and took stored corn.
“Vive la révolution!” [Long live the revolution!] a burly man shouted, shaking his fist in the air.
“Pain pour tout le monde!” [Bread for everyone!] another man cried out.
The wheel of the upheaval was rolling forward. Dyami decided to go back to Versailles, where the king and queen were at the moment. He also wanted to see his fiancée, whose family home was in île-de-France.
When Dyami entered the Hall of Mirrors, he saw many courtiers anxiously waiting for bi-weekly meetings with the king. The mood was subdued and gloomy, and the odor of perfume and powder stifled air.
Men in embroidered waistcoats and silver-buckled shoes whispered to one another. Some of them had already fled the palace, taking what they could.
“Vous voici. Vous allez bien? Quelles sont les nouvelles de Paris?’’ [There you are. Are you all right? What are the news from Paris?] Marquis d’Harcourt asked Dyami, Baron de Marsan.
‘’Il y a une révolte. J’étais dans une voiture à la place de la Bastille quand j’ai vu une foule de ’sans culottes’ en colère.’’ [There is a revolt. I was in a carriage at the Bastille when I saw a group of ‘Sans culottes’ in anger.]
‘’Qu’est-ce qu’ils voulaient?’’ [What did they want?] Marquis continued his questioning.
‘’Ils demandaient du pain et tiennent Marie Antoinette pour responsable de l’état de l’économie française.’’ [They want bread and blame Marie Antoinette responsible for the state of the French economy.]
‘’C’est absurde! Bien sûr, elle vit dans le luxe et l’éxtravagance, mais elle n’est pas la seule à causer la faillite de la France.’’ [That’s absurd! Of course, she lives in an extravagant luxury, but she is not the only reason for France’s bankruptcy.]
‘’En outre, il semble qu’elle ait dit: ‘Qu’ils mangent de la brioche’ en réponse au peuple qui ont demandé du pain.’’ [Moreover, it seems that she said ‘let them eat cakes’ in response to people who demanded bread.]
‘’Vous savez, toutes ces accusations sont des bêtises,’’ [You know all these accusations are foolishness,] Marquis said.
‘’Tout à fait,’’ [Absolutely,] Dyami agreed.
A guard interrupted their conversation with other news from Paris.
“La foule est entrée dans la Bastille et a pris les armes. Ils ont libéré les prisonniers.’’ [The crowd entered Bastille and took arms. They freed prisoners.]
“Ils avaient les armes? C’est horrible. C’est dangereux,’’ [They have weapons? It’s horrible. It’s dangerous,] Comte de Chambrun shouted.
‘’Ils ont décapité le gouverneur et ont tué le maire,’’ [They decapitated the governor and killed the mayor,] the guard continued.
‘’Les choses se détériorent plus d’une minute à l’autre. Oh, quoi faire?’’ [Things get worse every minute. Oh, What to do?] a countess lamented.
The meeting with the king did not yield any clarification. He didn’t seem to grasp the gravity of the situation. Disappointed, Dyami left Versailles to visit his fiancée.
While sitting in a carriage on the long driveway to Louise’s stately home, he felt apprehensive about telling Louise the startling situation in Paris.
When he arrived at the house, he found her pale with worry.
“J’ai peur. Ils vont nous tuer, tous,’’ [I am afraid. They are going to kill us all,] Louise said in tears, trembling.
She had augmented her anxiety over the state of affairs with the overblown information. Dyami tried to assure her, telling her of his experience in Paris and what people needed.
“Ils veulent seulement quelque chose à manger,’’ [They just want something to eat,] Dyami explained.
After some time, Louise calmed down, and Dyami returned to Versailles with a heavy heart.
It was night when he reached the palace. Confused and uncertain, people stood around in the corridor with candles, unable to sleep. Meanwhile, servants and court employees carried on with their duties.
As time went on, the king lost his credibility and authority, and the reformists strengthened their position, demanding more and more to the extreme.
They sought to destroy the Bastille and behead 286 aristocrats, including Marie Antoinette. Courtiers gathered around Marquis d’Harcourt to hear the latest news.
“Qu’est-ce qui s’est passé?” [What happened?] Comte de Dreux in a powdered wig asked.
“On veut du pain comme le pouvoir. La situation est très grave. Ils veulent couper 286 têtes pour la réforme. Tout d’abord, ils veulent la tête de la reine. Voici la liste.” [People want bread as well as power. The situation is dire. They want to cut off 286 heads for the reform. Most of all, they want the head of the queen. Here is the list.]
Marquis showed them names, whose heads reformists wanted.
‘’Où est le roi?’’ [Where is the king?] Baron de Gascony demanded to know.
‘’Louis XVI est un otage,’’ [Louis XVI is a hostage,] answered Marquis.
‘‘Quel désastre. Qu’est-ce qui va nous arriver?’’ [What disaster. What’ll happen to us?] Baron asked.
‘’Nous sommes perdus,” [We are lost,] Marquis answered in resignation.
Old Marquis de Girard fainted after seeing the list.
When the queen saw it, she declared in a fury,
“Paris n’est pas la France. Laisse moi tranquille. Je vais organiser notre défense.‘’ [Paris isn’t France. Leave me alone. I am going to organize our defence.]
***
On October 5, 1789, in Paris, a group of women assembled in the marketplace with pikes and sickles. They marched to Hôtel de Ville, demanding bread. They also demanded that the king comes to Paris and address economic problems.
From Hôtel de Ville, the group marched to Versailles, adding thousands of more people on the way, among them men with guns. The group grew to 7,000 by the time they reached Versailles in the evening.
Early morning the next day, the mob gained access to the palace and queen’s bedroom, and Marie Antoinette barely escaped. On October 6, 1789, by force, the royal family relocated to Tuileries Palace in Paris. Dyami felt despondent amid chaos.
He visited his fiancée after the mob break-in at Versailles. Louise could not hold tears back when she saw Dyami.
“Notre famille a décidé de quitter la France. Nous allons en Autriche,’’ [Our family is going to leave France. We are going to Austria,] said Louise in tears.
She fell into Dyami’s arms, sobbing and asking him to join her family in Austria. When he left Louise, Dyami knew that he kissed her hand for the last time.
The king’s effort to escape Paris failed, further provoking the French people and resulting in another mob attack on the royal family. The abolition of monarchy ensued on September 21, 1792.
Furthermore, they intercepted the king’s letters to foreign powers discovering his effort to foil the reformation. They condemned Louis XVI to death.
On the day of execution, January 21, 1793, 80,000 men carrying bayonets and pikes lined up the guillotine route. When Louis XVI’s head fell, the crowd cheered in loud shouts:
“Vive la France! Vive la République!” [Long live France! Long live Republic!]
“Regardez, le roi,” [Look at the king,] a woman mocked.
“C’est fini,“ [it’s finished,] another person mumbled.
The execution of the queen followed on October 16. Dyami stood among cheering spectators, horrified when Marie Antoinette’s head dropped.
That was not the end. Jacobins executed some 17,000 nobles, and “The Reign of Terror” seized Paris from Champs-Elysées to the back streets.
Dyami went to Petit Trianon. All was quiet, and the moonlit path, where he was once happy with Louise, was now desolate. He said goodbye to Versailles, Petit Trianon, and Louise.
***
Dyami sat under the oak in the Arizona forest. The late autumn sun gleamed through the foliage. He was so immersed in the remarkable historical events and circumstances in the vision that he felt a little disoriented at the sudden change of time and place.
When he regained his composure, the extraordinary natu
re of events in the adventure overwhelmed him. His loyalty for Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, his love for Louise, and his sympathy for the ordinary French people all felt real. In a short period, he experienced the primary virtuous feelings of humanity.
The vision affected him at the deepest level. He felt as if the experiences and valuable lessons it provided had become part of himself.
Since the vision of 18th century France, Dyami grew and matured in body and mind. He became taller, his voice deepened, and his thinking changed and developed. Each vision gave him a deeper understanding of the world and human nature.
One of the tangible changes was Dyami’s feelings toward Ela. They grew up together since their infancy, and now he began to look at her in a new way. He found her gentle and amiable disposition appealing. When he thought about the vision of being in love with Louise, he recognized that his feelings toward Ela were similar to what he had for Louise.
Ela sensed the difference in how Dyami looked at her and blushed, her heart swollen with happiness. The same dynamic was developing between Gopan and Chenoa.
Gopan noticed changes in himself as well; however, he noticed changes in Dyami more acutely.
“Tell me what happened when you tried the last vision. Remember, I couldn’t come with you?” Gopan asked one day.
“I was in France during the revolution,” Dyami answered in a serious tone.
“Cool! Tell me more,” Gopan eagerly asked.
“Well, I was a French nobleman, and I had a fiancée called Louise,” Dyami said.
“You don’t say. That’s unbelievable. Fiancée?” Gopan said in amazement.
“Yes, I feel like a grown-up now,” Dyami boasted.
“I knew you wanted to go back in time to France. It seems that you could manifest visions by wishing them every time,” Gopan said.
“Yes, I think so. We can test it together next time,” Dyami suggested.
“I would like that, but what and where do you want to be?” Gopan asked.
“What about World War II. It feels like going to war when I think about college,” Dyami said.
“My grand-uncle was one of the US soldiers who invaded Normandy on D-Day,” Gopan reflected.