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Tsisquah liha

The hawk screeched from above and she broke their kiss for just a moment to look up and smile. The sun was beginning it's descent through the trees. The tourists had all but left the glen where the blanket lay at the stream. It took some time for them to find that shady spot, the one near to where they first shared their vows. She looked back into his eyes, still smiling. He had not taken his gaze from her face. Proud. His look was filled with pride and his eyes were so soft. Had he really captured her heart?

With peace in her soul, she laid her head on his chest in a bonded embrace. The white doeskin was cool against his arms. She took in fragrant skins and rose oil as she breathed in his arms. This was where Spirit and love lived, she thought. The blanket lay in the warm sun on the rocky shore. She had not seen it through the trees until they were almost upon it. The attendants had brought it before the ceremony as he had requested.

The smell of sage was all about.

She grew up with the childhood fantasy of having a friend who could understand...someone who would show her the wonders of life and would see life just as she did. Her choices fell short each time but she came to accept this as a fact of life.

Restless for the HOME she needed...restless for the guidance to get there, she floated with the wind for the first time. Trusting and looking back...trusting then looking back again...until one day the excitement meant nothing at all and all that was left was a sense of vicarious living. Living, but not really. Sure that there would be one more day, she calmed her heart and prayed for patience. Looking for guidance. She wasn't sure if she would ever be that complete...that content.

She met him on a hill in North Carolina walking up from the small pasture below. His smile was shy. He looked like the road he had traveled had been rough. She matched the smile wearily in the July heat and, despite the shaking in her hands, hugged him. Touching him for the very first time...Wondering, after all the conversations they had shared over the miles and weeks, if he were the same person she had looked forward to. She instinctively knew that he was the same person. It was only a game, right? They had planned to kiss. She had thought to kiss him. He had planned to kiss her. Neither had planned aloud.

The first was entirely awful. The crowd had gathered earlier in the day. His arrival was later. He asked for help with his gear from the car beside the gravel road near the fence. Fragrant Georgia peaches lay in a small basket on the floor of the car. He opened the driver's door and the back door. She reached for the basket's handle and the courage to ask for her kiss. His response with shaking hands and a timid smile was, "I thought you'd never ask". The kiss lasted longer than she had expected and ended in awkward confusion. Concerned with who might be watching she was disappointed with her feeble effort and intended to make up for it. As the last of the group slowly filtered in she searched the grounds in her mind for privacy.

The brook below was a quiet place. It took them past the gravel road toward the general store, through the pasture gate and down flat stone steps. She was concerned for his cowboy boots...and his general health. The heat was unbelievable. Stopping at the spring she climbed the flat steps and reached into the pool. A small tin lay in the cool water. Trusting, she filled the tin and drank...offered water to him then, dipping in, cooled her neck and arms. He stood below looking at her with wonder, not knowing quite what to expect. Whatever questions lay behind his sad, sweet eyes a kiss was all she was offering. With cool wet lips she touched his shoulder and kissed him. His hands gripped her body and drew her to him. This time the kiss weakened her knees...and he drew the very breath from her.

Another screech from above broke the spell. She was again standing in his arms. Her face in his hands, gentle as the breeze. He kissed her as he did that July afternoon. He stripped the buckskin from his body laying it at the shore on a large stone. Looking into her eyes, he helped her with hers with the same worship he always bestowed on her. Long gentle hair lay across his shoulders...she gathered his mane in her hand, lifting it to cool his neck. The gesture brought a kiss, and another, until their lips forgot to part.

He laid her gently to the blanket. The cool water of the stream moved beside them. Her legs entwined with his in the water. He covered her body respectfully with his. They made love on the shore in celebration of their union. She gave her heart to him. He entrusted his heart to her. She wanted to see the world through his eyes. He possessed the strength and goodness to give her everything she needed. She had no idea that he was the one. She wasn't sure if she would be happy. She was positive.

Tsisquah liha

1998

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