Something to Believe
Page 27
“The bones were probably all collected,” Lauren said. “That’s commonly done at a site like this. It was an active archaeological dig about forty years ago.”
As they climbed higher, the view out to the ocean became obscured by cloud cover. The wispy clouds seemed close enough to touch in places. Their conversation ceased almost entirely for the next half hour as the effort of climbing consumed their energy. Hiking a trail like this was much easier twenty years ago, Lauren thought, as they finally reached a section of the trail that leveled out.
“This is both creepy and beautiful at the same time,” Cassie observed, following Lauren on a long loop around the summit.
They were climbing at an easy grade now. They’d lost sight of the peak because of its proximity and the angle of vision from the trail. But all at once they came over a gentle rise and emerged onto a plateau. It was the top of the mountain, a nearly flat, wide expanse of bare rock about five hundred feet in diameter. The convex shape of it testified to an ancient caldera, mostly filled in with sediment. They walked to the center and removed their packs. Where they could see through the clouds, the view was fabulous.
“Why aren’t there any canoes here on top?” Cassie opened her water bottle. “Isn’t this where they would have left them?”
“Yes. That’s what the legend says, anyway. I’m guessing the archaeology team took them, if any were left up here. They were probably the best specimens, most intact. I imagine they still had skeletons in them too.”
“What a bizarre thing that must have been to discover.” Cassie’s voice was hushed, reverential, as they both tried to imagine coming upon that scene.
Lauren unbuckled the strap on her pack and removed the canister containing Faith’s ashes. As she held it in both hands, Cassie approached and touched her arm.
“Do you want me to leave you alone?” she asked.
“No. Stay.” Lauren’s eyes were drawn involuntarily to the sky above. “It seems kind of ironic to be doing this, considering her views on the afterlife.”
“I think she would love it,” Cassie said. “Such an appropriately symbolic place. I mean, whatever she believed about death, she never lost her enthusiasm for her subject. She admired all the things people did for their dead. It wasn’t just cold science to her. You can tell that by reading her book. I think she had a real empathy for them.”
“You’re right. She would love this. I’m so glad you knew her.” Lauren leaned into Cassie, who slipped an arm around her waist.
“Do you have something to say?” Cassie asked.
“Yes. I thought, under the circumstances, the traditional prayer of the people who used this place would be best. This was Faith’s own translation, based on the legends she collected from the islanders around here.”
Cassie nodded. “Totally appropriate.”
Holding the canister in both hands, Lauren began to recite the prayer of the dead, aware that some version of this was said at the top of this mountain thousands of times throughout the ages, but very likely not once in the last two hundred years.
“From the four corners of existence...
From the east comes the sun and the birth of days.
From the west comes rest from weary toil.
From the south comes the rain and breath of life.
From the north comes the wind that blows away pain and trouble.
Mother Earth, from you we are born and live and die.
Father Sky, to you we fly when our body falls away.
Keep our friend safe and hold her gently in your arms.
She was a good woman who loved us and whom we loved.
We give her back to you with light hearts.
May she travel from this place without fear or worry.”
Lauren opened her eyes, feeling the comfort of Cassie’s arm around her.
“That was very beautiful,” whispered Cassie.
Lauren opened the canister. She stared at it for a moment before shaking out the contents. The ashes blew gently aloft on the wind currents, scattering in a general westward drift, some of them spiraling upward, rising into the clouds. She watched until they all seemed to be gone, landed or blown too far afield to see, until there was nothing but the empty wind.
Goodbye, Faith, she thought, emotion clutching her throat.
Cassie took Lauren in both her arms, holding tightly. They stood there embracing on the top of a mountain at the bottom of the world, an image that struck Lauren as profoundly strange, but satisfying. By a silent mutual assent, they released one another and shouldered their packs for the trip back down. Lauren took one more look at the sky and the clouds and the sea beyond.
“Ready to go?” Cassie asked, grasping her hand.
She nodded. “Yes, I’m ready.” She squeezed Cassie’s fingers reassuringly and they walked to the edge of the plateau hand in hand.
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