Dwellers of Ahwahnee (The Beyond Collection)

by Sheryl Seal

  Looking down her nose at me she replied with a flick of her wrist, and I did kind of flinch, but just a little, not even noticeable, I’m sure.

  “Who should I use as my personal toys then, you or your brother? It looks to me as if it wouldn’t matter. You both look exactly alike, but I can see the difference.”

  Thank goodness Jim finally spoke up again, and he sounded braver than I felt at the moment. “No one here is a toy for you to play with Fallyn. We are all just mere shapeshifters to you, not harmful at all. Wouldn’t you prefer to learn how to use your powers to all advantages? Tim and I can help you do this. We can teach you many things that your brother would be proud of you for learning.”

  I could just about see the emotions shift from anger at us towards acceptance at what Grey Wolf would want. Clearly she cared what her brother thought. Smiling sweetly she tossed her hair with her hand and seem to accept the challenge. “You two can teach me these things that I am to learn while I’m here?” She looked over at Jim who was being called by somebody across the village and he was waving at her. Fallyn seemed to take offense that Jim’s attention was for someone else at the moment and not her.

  I told Jim to go on ahead and Fallyn and I would work out the training program. She seemed perturbed by this but immediately came over and ran her fingers up my arm like she was flirting. I could see her looking at Jim out of the corner of her eye though. Jim said he’d meet up with us later and without even a backward glance he strolled off.

  Fallyn gave a sigh and then in a very flippant attitude turned her attention back towards me and asked me what I thought I could teach her.

  “First of all Fallyn, I know plenty and I certainly can teach you things without Jim’s help.”

  “Really Tim, I thought Jim was the brain of both of you, at least that’s what everyone says.

  “If you are trying to goad me into an argument it will not work. Jim and I work as a team most of the time, but we are both as smart as the other and you would do well to remember that.”

  “Hmm… What do you say we play a little trick on Jim? I mean just to see if he is as smart as you seem to think he is.”

  “Why would I want to do that? I already know that he is. Let’s just work on helping you to understand how to behave properly so that you don’t use your powers for evil, shall we?”

  Well that did it; she looked like she wanted to eat me for lunch. I watched as this red fire lit up and started burning deep in her light eyes and then she said something, I wasn’t quite sure, but this is what I heard. “I hope you forever stay in your animal spirit.”

  Bam! I was a wolverine…

  Jim

  Fallyn was definitely a beauty, but carried quite the attitude on her shoulders. I watched her carefully as Tim tried to explain to her that we could teach her how to use her powers. The only thing that sparked her interest was impressing Grey Wolf. She seemed to think that she had the rest figured out. At least that was the impression I got from her.

  I heard my name being called and it was the long legged beauty, with the short blond hair. She was the one that crashed into our group the first night we were training Oria. I knew now that her name was Kierra, and she had the most awesome sounding southern accent. Her spirit animal was an egret and she had these dimples that appeared every time she smiled. Her eyes were the wildest color of yellow that seemed to be full of mischief. I really wanted to get into trouble with her. We were just discussing the new Dwellers and how she was so excited to get to help train them. She wondered if I could help with her trainee.

  I looked over at Tim and Fallyn and knew that I couldn’t leave him alone with her for very long. Tim wasn’t very sure of himself around women; they kinda scared him I think. I also had promised Grey Wolf that I would help with Fallyn’s training, so unfortunately I had to decline. I watched as Fallyn had flirted with Tim, who was a mirror image of me, red hair, freckles and all. We weren’t very tall and Fallyn towered us but I felt comfortable that we could help her with her powers.

  Suddenly Tim was his spirit animal the wolverine, and he was darting out of the village. What the heck was going on? I heard Fallyn yelling, “Come back here Tim, I’m sorry, but you need to come back.”

  Leaving Kierra behind, I marched over to Fallyn and demanded an explanation from her. “What is going on Fallyn? What did you say that made Tim shift and take off?”

  She pouted her lips at me and whimpered. “I didn’t mean it Jim, honestly I didn’t. I had no idea that I could do that. It was an accident and he wouldn’t come back.”

  My anger was rising and I took a deep breath to control the fear of what she had done. “You did this Fallyn? He didn’t just shift on his own?”

  “No, he was actually trying to make moves on me.

  “Are you sure you did this Fallyn, and what do you mean he was coming on to you? Tim is afraid of women; I doubt seriously he was even flirting with you.”

  She looked really infuriated that I didn’t believe her, but I didn’t really care, I knew Tim and I should have never left him alone with her. “You don’t believe me?” She whined.

  Okay, I did care, a little, who knows what she is capable of. Correcting myself right away before I ended up just like Tim, I rubbed my hand through my hair and I stumbled over my words. “It… It’s not that I don’t believe you. I just think maybe you misunderstood Tim. So, how did this umm… accident happen then?”

  She thought for a moment, and I could see she was coming up with what seemed to me to be lie. I just listened and tried not to show any more emotion. “I can’t really say for certain what happen to him, he angered me a little and I just said he should stay his spirit animal for…ever?”

  I caught the last of her words even though she whispered them. “That’s it, and he shifted just by what you said?”

  “Yes, just like that he was that little critter and then he was scampering off into the woods. I did try to make him come back. He wouldn’t listen to me though, he just kept going.”

  My anger was rising again but I knew I had to go and find Tim and bring him home. I would promise him I wouldn’t leave him alone with her ever again. “This is why you need training Fallyn; you just shouldn’t treat people like this. We are not all your personal little beings to use however you want. You shouldn’t just get mad at people and change their lives to suit yourself or your wants. Can’t you see how you have the power to really hurt others? He’s a wolverine by the way, not just a critter. We are both wolverines.”

  She acted like she had been sufficiently scorned and even managed a tear in one of her eyes. I was not fooled though. “I’m going to go look for Tim and bring him back. Then you will apologize, change him back and promise never to use people again, understood?”

  “Yes, I swear it. I will get some others to help look for him too, I’m really sorry Jim.”

  I wasn’t listening anymore to her however, and shifting into my wolverine, I took off in the direction I had last seen Tim going.

  Sapata

  I stood here watching the activity in the village with a sad smile on face. This is a good thing that is happening. The people would finally get to go home to the West now. Why then, did this make me feel sad? I supposed this existence is all that I have known for so many years. These people/spirits were my family now and I would be sad to see them gone from my life. At the same time I was happy for them. This is all that they had ever prayed for, peace and a way to the afterlife with their relatives.

  All of these lost souls were gathering their prize possessions and bringing them to the center of the village. It saddened me that the village would no longer exist. I smiled wistfully and then brightened even more as I watched Matoskah search and find me amongst the others. Then our eyes met and he smiled and came towards me. He seeks me out more and more whenever he comes. I find that I like this very much.

  He is a very handsome man and reminds me of the granite statues that were in my home as a child. I have very few memories of home.
The flashes I do have are of a boy hiding behind a golden statue peeking out and yelling “Sapata, come and find me.” Like the statues that I remember, Matoskah is strong and very tall. He is probably a good foot taller than my mere height, which I am not sure of but know that I only come to Matoskah’s chest.

  With his long brownish hair whipping all around his perfect face and his eyes of jade, he strides towards me with that handsome smile getting brighter. He is now bundled warmly from the stash of furs that Fire Cloud had given, so his daughter and Matoskah would not freeze to death. We are always bundled up here in this land of unrelenting cold.

  I honestly did not know what he might see in me, with my limping walk and arm that hang uselessly to my side. These disfigurements he does not seem to mind though. He always keeps his eyes on my face where I can clearly see that he enjoys my company, no matter what my handicaps are. As he approaches me, he asks if I am ready to go home. “It is getting close now. Tomorrow will shine with the first day of spring.”

  I smile brightly at the thought. “Yes, I have been waiting for a very long time. I haven’t waited for as long as some though. Look how happy they all are. They are the ones who have waited for so many years.” I was truly happy for these spirits.

  “Yes, Black Arrow is very pleased that the time has finally come.”

  I hesitated as I thought on how I wanted to approach the questions I had for him. He already reads me well and helps bridge the gap of silence by speaking my thoughts first.

  “Oria would like very much to meet the woman who has cared for her mother so lovingly all these years.”

  I brightened up even more at this and truly hoped that she did like me. “Do you think she will like me or resent me?” Although I felt apprehension of the answer to this question, I also had to giggle as he attempted to joke about it to make me feel at ease. “Of course she will like you, why on earth would she resent anyone who was there when she could not be? You took care of her mother while her father hunted. You were trapped here just like this whole village, with no way out. She would have to be a moron not to like you, and that she is not.”

  “Her father and I talked of her every day. I was but a girl when I came here myself. He raised me and taught me the things I didn’t know. He told me stories just like a father would. I have grown to love him and Titania as parents.”

  “Oria is very loving and you will see she will love you like a sister. She is in love with my friend. Although there have been many tests for them and he has disappeared, she is strong in her knowledge that he will return to her. She has a way of making things work out for everyone. Besides how could anyone look upon the beauty of you and not fall in love with you?”

  I knew my face heated up because I felt like it was on fire, and with a pounding heart, I tried to accept the praise that he gave so freely. It was hard for me. I had never been around living men before, except of course Fire Cloud. I had a lot to learn of the world still.

  “Here comes Oria now, see how she smiles as she makes her way over to us.” He took my good hand and squeezed it and I immediately felt the warmth and comfort that he sent through me. As Oria got closer, I felt more reassured because the smile she wore on her face was directed at me personally. She was younger than me but the way she carried herself, told me she was older in her soul. She kept her eyes on me the whole time, looking only once at Matoskah and nodding and then at me again as her smile deepened and her eyes sparkled.

  She reached us and dragging me away from Matoskah, she gave me a strong hug and hung on to me for a while. Then she pulled me away from her and looked right into my eyes and put all my fears to rest. “Sapata, I can’t thank you enough for all the love that you have shown for my parents, or for the great care that you have given to my mother. We will be great friends, sisters in fact. If you would like this, I would love it. I don’t have any brothers or sisters of my own, just my good friend Aponi. We can all be sisters together, you will love her, I promise. Oh, I’m sorry, I find myself very excited and have adopted some of Aponi’s habits, talking fast is one of them. I still mean every word.”

  I let my breath out in one big gush. All of my anxiety that I felt was now gone because of her generous heart. She talked really fast at first and immediately made me feel like I was in the clouds. A friend and a sister all in one, my heart was warming to this beauty that wanted to be my sister. “I too would love this, Oria. Your parents are all that I have known for many years. I was afraid you would feel anger towards me that I was in their lives and you were not.”

  “I would never feel anything for you but love my sister. I am sorry that you were trapped in this world, but I am glad that you all had each other.”

  Swallowing the lump in my throat that had grown with her words, I managed to reply to her kindness and this gave me hope for the future. “This makes me so happy. I cannot remember my own family very well. Occasionally pictures will appear of a family and home but they too have faded over the years. I do not know where I will belong when we reach your world.”

  Oria squeezed my good arm and her eyes shimmered brightly with the tears that had formed there. “We are family now, and you will always have a home with us Sapata. Sisters stick together and we will make many memories that we can share for a life time.”

  I had swallowed the lump, but still the tears came, I was so relieved and overwhelmed with emotion. Matoskah was right; she has a very loving and kind heart. I smiled and looked over at him and he too was smiling. His eyes sparkled with a watery look in them as he held unshed tears back. Then he spoke in a husky voice as he tried to get his emotions in control, which made me know in my soul that this man would become very special in my life. “So, spring will be here tomorrow and we have much to do. I think we should speak with Black Arrow and find out what we need to prepare for the ritual to work and if he knows how we are to go home when it is done.”

  Together we walked over to where Oria’s father, Fire Cloud and Black Arrow stood watching the activities that were going on all around the village. I noticed how they both had slowed their pace so that I wouldn’t be left to walk behind them and I wondered if all people were so generous at heart. I was sure in my soul that finally, I would have a wonderful life full of adventures and happiness. It really didn’t matter if I never found out who my family was. I did have a family with these people who were taking me into their lives. My head was spinning with all the new things that were about to happen in a different world and with so many real people.

  Black Arrow

  I watched as the trio of new friends approached where I stood with Fire Cloud observing the events that were unfolding in the village. I could not help but noticed how Matoskah and Oria slowed their steps so that Sapata could keep up with them. This made my heart rejoice. This kind-hearted woman that came here as a child, would be well taken care of when I finally leave this world.

  It would be a new world for her with many changes but she would thrive in it like she should have been allowed to do. I was the one to take away her young life; it was never something I had wanted and I could not undo it, but it was my fault just the same. It was just that she was in the wrong place and the markings had already been put into place. I had no way of knowing that a young one would be wandering in the cave. The symbols were meant for The Golden Queen to find.

  Sapata could not remember why or how she had come to be in the cave alone at such a young age. She did not even know her name in the first weeks but eventually her name came to her along with images of a boy playing a game of hiding with her. I knew there had been an accident and she had at least had time to heal her body before she came here, although not completely and her mind had not remembered the incident or much else. Sometimes things would come to her of people and a home in a strange land, but there was no way to know what to do with this information. These people will be able to help her find her family and if not, then she would make a new life and be safe, and I believe happy.

  When Oria, Matoskah and
Sapata reached us, it warmed my heart to see this young Golden Queen that would help my people, gently glide into the arms of Fire Cloud. It took much talking but he made his peace with me long ago for what I had done to get his wife here. He also could not get enough of his daughter that was lost to him so long ago, and hugged her to him closely. I was sorry for this too and like so many things, I cannot undo the many wrongs that have been done, all to help my people.

  “The time is nearing, and the people are readying themselves for the transition to finally go home. Tonight there will be a celebration for you and your friends. You will be taught the dance ritual that you will dance as we cross over into the land of the West tomorrow. When the others arrive, the village will need to be dismantled and put on the pyre for us, so that we may have our dwellings in the afterlife.”

  “Wait, what others are coming Black Arrow?” Everyone had looked at me with shock clearly all over their faces. Of course they would have no way to know that there would be need of more help. They alone would not be enough for the ceremony. I looked directly at The Golden Queen who asked the important question. “Yes my dear, others will be needed to help with taking down all of the O’chums and to dance and chant in the ceremony. If you would like to step into your father’s lodge you will find the answers to who the others are. They have just arrived and will be happy to see every one of you.”

  All looked anxiously over at Fire Cloud’s lodge, and as the first person stepped out of the lodge, there was a gasp from the crowd. I believe a squeal or screech was followed. Yes, because then The Golden Queen released herself from her father’s arms and was magically in the arms of the man standing at the entrance of Fire Cloud’s lodge. I smiled at The Great Spirits way of handling all things. In his own way and time everything comes together.

  Grey Wolf

  As I put my palm in the handprint on the wall, everyone in the cave, grandmother, grandfather, Red Thunder, and Aponi, had all taken the hand next to them until we were all connected. The cave grew brighter with blinding colorful illuminations and everything around us shimmered, it was only a split second in time and we were suddenly in a big lodge.