Light in the Trees

They buried him in the corner of the Cemetery under a pine tree. The sun filtered down through the trees in bright beams of light and everyone stood silent as the flute music echoed through the green branches above. Even the horses in the near by pasture seemed to stand at attention, listening to the beautiful and eerie sound that came from the wooden flute. The smell of sage, sweet grass and cedar lifted my spirits as I listened. We stood in a circle around the old buffalo hide and each took our turn passing the red stone pipe. I never noticed how much a pipe ceremony is similar to a friendship dance. The pipe was the spirit, taking a step to each new person, shaking their hands, and smiling. The sun was warm on my shoulders and the grass cool on my bare feet. I could almost hear him ask me, “Osta, toheesu?” as he always did when we would see each other, and he would clap a warm hand over mine and smile as he would pull me into a big embrace. The feeling of the ceremony wasn’t unlike the hundreds I have been to before. Everyone was telling me that I have grown up so much, and I was telling them that I grew up a long time ago. They all had stories to tell, mostly about Grey Wolf, but others about Sun Dance, and Owl Creek, and the times we all spent there. We hugged the elders and kissed the new babies. It was a family gathering like all the rest, complete with a buffet of potluck food made by grey haired women with no teeth. You know Indians can’t gather for anything with out having a Potlatch. We sang some old songs, funny how I am the only young person who knows all of them. Perhaps it’s because my mother is the song teacher. I don’t know. We all started to sing and halfway through the song I noticed I was the only one singing. They all stared at me as I sang. It was unnerving. I finished and everyone just stood there. Later Big John gave me one of those big fat bear hugs and told me that I had made him cry. It was the only time I broke today. My eyes filled with tears, and I buried my head in his chest. It’s a big chest. He patted me on the back, and told me it was ok, no one was around to see. I wiped my eyes, put my sunglasses back on lifted my shoulders and turned to go.
Today I did everything I was supposed to do. I was strong for everyone, and I’m glad too, because my Aunt Tony would have been on the floor a few times had I not been there to hold on to her. After the burial everyone smiled more, and laughed and hugged. Having a dead body in the area always makes people weird. So the sun is setting, and tomorrow is a new day for the AhnieSahani. Who knows what tomorrow will bring for them.