Walks Through Mist

by Kim Murphy

  When their visit ended, Phoebe waited until they were outside his mother’s room to speak. “Lee, your mother hasn’t long to live.”

  “The doctors have been saying that for two years now.”

  She gestured to her nose. “I could smell it.”

  Like in the dreaming. At a loss for words, he leaned on his crutches.

  “The Arrohateck always cared for their elders,” she said. “To shelter the wise ones away is disrespectful.”

  “Don’t you think I hate seeing her waste away in here? What would you have me do? I’m not exactly in a position to take her out, and I can’t afford a better facility.”

  “Let me care for her as I have for you. I can let her retain her dignity in her final days.”

  He searched her face. No words were necessary. She was deadly serious. Both of them had witnessed death many times. While he viewed it as part of a puzzle, she saw it as progression in the circle of life.

  * * *

  60

  Phoebe

  For three weeks, I suffered headaches and fevers. Pustules erupted over my skin. Bess tended to Elenor and her son. The children were barely affected. Bess’s African treatment had saved them. In my delirium, I walked through endless mists. Stumbling along, I was lost in the forest and could not find my way. Waving my hands afore me, I struggled through the brambles as they tore through my flesh.

  “Phoebe...”

  ’Twas Henry’s voice. I searched and searched but could not find him. “Henry, where are you?”

  “Right here. Phoebe, please don’t die.”

  His voice seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. Why could I not see him? I staggered further ’til my feet grew weary and sore. How far had I come? The fog remained around me. When I feared I could go no farther, the spirit dog appeared afore me. He would guide the way.

  I latched onto his collar and continued walking. The hound stepped surely and soundly through the forest. Ne’er afore had I traveled so far without the fog clearing. Again, I stumbled. The dog waited ’til I could get to my feet.

  Finally, the mist lessened slightly. Up ahead, I could make out a shadow of a man. As we got closer, I saw that he wore a breechclout. The right side of his head was shaved. On the left, his black hair stretched the length of his back and was adorned with osprey feathers.

  “Lightning Storm.” I let go of the hound’s collar and ran towards him with my arms outstretched. But he wasn’t Lightning Storm. I stopped short. “Lee?” I had seen him afore meeting him in the hospital.

  He reached out and called my name.

  My arms went around his neck. Unable to contain myself, I murmured my love in his ear.

  “Phoebe, oh Phoebe. Thank God.”

  I woke with a start. Henry bent over me, stroking my hair.

  “Henry?”

  He touched my forehead. “The fever’s broken. I thought I was going to lose you.”

  The tenderness that I felt for him had ne’er been stronger. If only I had not been forced into marriage, I might have been able to love him.

  “Phoebe, when I count to five, you’ll wake up.”

  To Shae’s count, I drifted through the layers. I blinked. I had loved him, but not with the passion I had Lightning Storm or Lee. It had taken Shae’s probing through my memories to discover that fact. Only then did I truly realize that in this time Henry was dead. What were my last words to him? I hoped I had not said anything that would have caused him distress.

  “Phoebe?”

  “Except for Poppa, we all survived the small pox.” Due to Bess’s treatment, I had few pock marks. I extended my arm, revealing a deep white scar on my forearm. “I got it from the pox.”

  “There hasn’t been a case in the entire world since the seventies. Phoebe, I don’t mean to disbelieve you, but you’re too young to have suffered from smallpox.”

  No matter the evidence I presented, Shae did not believe me. ’Twas unimportant. I rested comfortably with the knowledge that, like Lee, she would eventually come to accept who I was. I thanked her for the session and retreated to the waiting room.

  Meg looked up from a magazine. Her skin was a light nut brown compared to Bess’s deep ebony, but how she reminded me of my faithful servant. ’Twas the reason I had instantly liked her. “Vow to me that once you are a nurse, we shall remain friends.”

  “I promise. You might want to think about taking up nursing yourself. You’d be a natural.”

  I hugged her, all the while thinking that I had ne’er dreamt it possible to have an occupation.

  * * *

  61

  Lee

  After two months, Lee had graduated to the use of a cane and was driving again. At least another couple of months would pass before he could return to work. Even then, he would likely be assigned to desk duty at first. He thought he’d be growing restless, but the time he spent with Phoebe had changed his entire way of thinking. Time moved slower, and he found himself cherishing every minute. Had his brush with death influenced the feeling or was it solely due to Phoebe’s presence?

  As they walked along the edge of the James River, the summer sun reflected a soft sheen in her red hair, while a gentle breeze ruffled it slightly. Waves lapped against the bank. He had difficulty keeping up with her. When she noticed, she slowed her pace. “Everything is familiar, yet ’tis different.”

  “That’s not too surprising given how many years have passed.”

  “I want to know where the Paspahegh and Arrohateck lived, where they died, and if anything remains of Henry’s plantation.”

  A red-winged blackbird called from nearby reeds. For some reason, thinking of the tribes that had died gave Lee pause. They were a part of him as much as Phoebe. “I’ve looked at the maps. It’s anyone’s guess as to where Henry’s plantation could have been. There’s a historical marker for the annihilation of the Paspahegh, if you’d like me to take you there. The Arrohateck were east of Richmond.”

  “I’d like that.”

  “Phoebe, there’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you. Before the shooting, I entered the dreaming on my own.”

  A small smile crossed her face. “Did you find any answers to your questions?”

  “Not really. The images weren’t very clear.”

  “In time you shall discover the meaning.”

  Lee liked the sound of that, and for once, he believed it. As they headed back to the T-Bird, his cell phone rang. The caller ID belonged to Colwell House. “Hello,” he said, answering.

  “Lee...” Valerie whispered. “Carol wanted me to call you. Kevin Fletcher is here. He’s upstairs, threatening her.”

  “Valerie, don’t take any chances. Call the police, then get everyone you can out of the house. Don’t put yourself at risk. I’m on my way.”

  Phoebe sent him a worried look.

  “Fletcher’s at Colwell House.” Returning to the car, he put in a quick call to a detective he had worked with on a number of cases in Colwell House’s district. After Lee explained the situation, the fellow officer assured him that he would check the scene.

  They reached the car. Like so many times when Lee had been on patrol duty during an emergency situation, time crawled. Would help arrive soon enough? He gunned the engine. The faster he went, the slower time seemed. Lights and buildings passed in a blur. They were still a few miles away. He avoided turning up the police radio to protect Phoebe from any potentially unsettling news.

  They neared Colwell House, and a horrible feeling wrenched in his gut. Around the corner, police cars were out front with lights flashing. Ready to jump into the fray, Lee leaped out of the car. Pain shot through his leg. He gritted his teeth to keep from crying out. Slow down. Many capable officers were already present.

  He collected himself and grabbed his cane. “Stay here,” he said to Phoebe.

  Near an ambulance, he spotted Valerie with an EMT checking her over. Beside her, Meg clutched her sobbing daughter. Lee showed his badge to the atten
ding officer. “Is everyone all right?”

  Valerie’s eyes teared. “I got everyone out of the house like you said, except... There were gunshots.”

  Carol. Lee glanced in the direction of the house as officers combed the property.

  “Lee, a detective has talked to us, but he wouldn’t say what’s happened to Carol.”

  Without looking back, he started for the house. “I’ll see what I can find out.” Why hadn’t he taken the time to escort Carol personally to get a warrant and an Emergency Protection Order against Fletcher? He had detected all the telltale signs, but he had been too cocksure that she wouldn’t listen.

  Lee flashed his badge to the officer keeping watch by the door.

  “Detective Pierson has been expecting you,” the officer stated.

  Anticipating the worst, Lee went inside. Another officer motioned the way upstairs. Although negotiating stairs was difficult, he fought the urge to forge ahead. Acting foolish wouldn’t help Carol. Not now. Finally, he reached the landing.

  The door to Carol’s room was open. Blood spattered the wall and a body lay on the bed. His colleague bent over Fletcher. Pierson indicated with his hand to look at the opposite end of the room. Beside Carol, an EMT checked her vital signs. Her face was streaked with tears and makeup, but she was very much alive. “Carol...”

  Her head tilted up, but her expression remained blank. She blinked as if coming out of trance. “Lee?”

  “Detective,” the EMT interrupted. “She refuses to go to the hospital.”

  Lee nodded that he understood and moved in their direction. Unable to bend down to Carol’s level, he feared she might perceive him as a looming figure intent upon harming her again. “Carol,” he said in a low, sympathetic voice, “it’s best if you go to the hospital and let them check you over. Your friends are waiting outside. I’m sure one of them would be happy to accompany you.”

  No longer refusing the EMT’s aid, Carol accompanied him out of the room.

  Pierson instructed a forensic team before speaking to him. “The medical examiner has ruled Fletcher’s death as a probable suicide. He roughed the girl up and apparently tried to kill her too. I need a statement from you.”

  “Of course.” Lee went on to tell Pierson the approximate time that Valerie had called him, alerting him to the situation. His colleague asked him a few questions on how he had come to know the women at Colwell House. Once finished with the routine, Lee retraced his steps.

  Outside, Phoebe had joined Meg and her daughter. Valerie was absent, and he presumed she had joined Carol in the ambulance. They were a strong group of women. If anyone could help Carol through the crisis, Valerie could.

  * * *

  62

  Phoebe

  Upon my recovery from the small pox, Henry and I sailed upriver in a shallop to the fall line. To contact any Indians was forbidden by English law. But Henry, as dedicated as he was, risked his life and livelihood for me to discover how badly affected the Arrohateck had been from the malady. Near the bank, two men jumped from the boat, and with a hefty heave, they brought it to rest on solid ground.

  Henry gave them orders to wait for two days, and we set out for the Arrohateck town. Nearly seven years had passed since my last travels along familiar paths through the forest. Then I had worn leggings and fine doeskin. Though I had long ago grown accustomed to skirts and leather shoes, I wished for my moccasins to make the journey more swiftly and continued to worry about what we might find.

  By midday, as we got closer to the town, Henry readied his musket. I spotted fear in his eyes. “They will not harm us,” I assured him.

  He lowered the musket. “’Tis been a long time since I’ve traveled in Indian country.”

  “’Twas once all Indian country, but I speak Algonquian. You need not fear.”

  As we went further, I grew more and more uneasy. We approached the town, and no warriors greeted us. No children played. No women sang whilst sewing, making pots, or tanning hides. No men made arrows or readied fishing nets. No cooking pots. No fires. Mats on the longhouses were falling off. Other dwellings were in equal disrepair.

  I peered into the first house. A man covered in pustules mumbled in delirium. In the next house, a mother hummed, whilst cradling her dead child. The pox were just beginning to erupt on her forehead. “Where are the kwiokosuk?” I asked.

  Without looking up, she continued to hum. More houses revealed much the same. No one paid us any notice. I barely recognized the faces—gaunt, weary, and beaten. In a mindless manner, those who were healthy tended the sick. Amongst them, I expected to find Momma, doing what she could. I searched further, ’til coming to Momma and Silver Eagle’s house. ’Twas empty.

  In the next house, a woman cried over another dead child. A man held her in his arms. Though years had passed since I had last seen him, I recognized my brother’s broad shoulders. He had gone through the huskanaw and had taken the name Charging Bear. He was a warrior with a family now. “Mat,” I said. Brother.

  Tears were in his eyes when he cast his gaze in my direction. “Walks Through Mist?”

  “Charging Bear.” I couldn’t help but cry my relief and said a silent prayer of thanks to Ahone. “Does everyone have the small pox? I can help.”

  He blinked in confusion. “Walks Through Mist, you mustn’t be here. ’Tis too dangerous.”

  “I’ve already suffered from the pox, as has Henry. Where is Momma?”

  As he moved towards me, his face became an unreadable mask. “She died nearly a moon ago.”

  “And Nows?”

  “The previous moon afore. Aft his death, I don’t think Nek wished to continue living.”

  Dead. How could that be? The vision I had when reaching my first moon time had finally come to pass. The town burned from pestilence brought by the English. Momma and Silver Eagle were dead. I would have ne’er guessed the meaning.

  Henry’s hand came to rest on my arm, and I fought to remain strong. Grieving would come later, for Bess had taught me how to help the survivors.

  “Phoebe.”

  At the sound of Shae’s voice, I blinked. I wondered how we could meet in her office week after week, yet she continued to believe my story as naught more than a fantasy.

  “Lee told me about what happened to Carol,” she said.

  “She received some bruises but will recover.”

  “Physically, maybe, but emotionally might take a little longer. How are you holding up with the added stress of this and Lee’s mom moving in?”

  “I do what I must. I’m a healer. ’Tis my chosen life to bring comfort to those that I can.”

  Shae smiled. “I wish more medical personnel felt the way you do.”

  On that note, we concluded the session, and I reflected on my latest discovery. At least now I knew how Momma had died.

  * * *

  63

  Lee

  Lee woke to the sound of a loud thump and a crash, coming from the den. Phoebe was out of bed and had on her robe before he could get his feet underneath him. He tugged on his sweat pants and reached for his cane, moving as fast as he was capable. By the time he reached Phoebe, she was in the den examining his mom, who lay sprawled on the floor, groaning.

  A red welt formed on his mother’s cheekbone.

  Phoebe muttered in Algonquian. Her tempo sounded like a prayer, and it was almost like he could make out the words. When she spoke to him, she switched to English. “Fortunately, she missed hitting her eye. Let us aid her to bed, and I’ll tend to her cheek.”

  Though he had difficulty bending down, he managed to get a hand under his mother’s arm. She barely weighed a hundred pounds. With Phoebe on her other side, they helped her back to the bed they had set up in the den.

  Once his mother was safely tucked in, Phoebe straightened her nightgown and propped a pillow behind her head. “Lee, could you fetch the Solomon’s seal?”

  “Sure.” Phoebe was trying to save his mother some dignity. He had already noticed th
e scent of urine, but he took his time. Not that he moved very fast anyway. He first stopped off at the bedroom to put on a T-shirt. Afterward, he went into the kitchen, where Phoebe kept her herbs in the cabinet. As he checked through the bottles, he imagined her collecting roots and plants in the forest.

  By the time he returned to the den, Phoebe had his mother clean and was ready for the herb. Lee sat in the chair beside the bed with his mother while Phoebe went into the other room to prepare a poultice. Her withered hand came to rest on his arm. “Thank you,” she whispered.

  He nodded.

  “Lee, I’ve heard the language she spoke before.”

  “Phoebe’s?” he asked. “That’s not possible.”

  “But I did.”

  He hushed her. “You just rest. You’ve had enough excitement for one night. The next time you need to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, call one of us. You could have broken some bones. Trust me, it’s not a lot of fun.”

  With a little laugh, she patted him on the arm. “A mother can’t ask her son to help her to the toilet.”

  “Ah hell, Mom, I’ve seen a lot worse than someone taking a—” Lee caught himself. “If you’re uncomfortable with my help, then call Phoebe.”

  “When are you going to marry that girl?”

  He should have known that would be the next topic. Her lack of protest about their unwed status spoke loudly about the nursing home conditions when they had brought her out. “If and when the time is right,” he finally said.