14

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“Moon Dancer asked me to say ‘hi’ for her,” Tanya remembered as she drank a cup of herbal tea, a nice meal of macaroni, cheese and bacon settling in her tummy, and those of her daughters, now playing with a train set.

“Ah yes,” Dancing Bear replied with a smile. “I remember her well. If you learn half so well as she did, you will do just fine here. Has she found a partner?”

“No. She says it’s unlikely now. I found it sad.”

“What did she say about you?”

“She thinks I’ll find someone because I’m a romantic at heart,” Tanya admitted with a blush, gazing instead at the natural lines of the incredible house the old woman lived in.

“Moon Dancer is usually right when it’s not about herself,” Dancing Bear informed. “That’s why I wondered what she said about you.”

“I’m not looking for a man,” Tanya replied. “I’m still married, I fear.”

“On paper or in spirit?”

“On paper… I don’t think it was ever a match in spirit,” she said sadly. More than once, she had figured that her marriage had happened because it was expected to happen, not because she was in love or anything. No one she’d ever loved like that had ever loved her in return. Frank had seemed ‘safe’ - and she turned out to be wrong.

“Then you were never truly married,” Dancing Bear pronounced. “Sure, you had a ceremony and bore children, but that doesn’t mean that you were soul partners.”

They looked at the girls who were happily playing with the old trains. Skye was busy building and Rose was putting the train together and running it over the tracks.

“Their names?” Dancing Bear asked.

“I quite forgot! I’m...”

“No,” she interrupted. “Not your name – that will come to me soon. The girls are unlikely to accept new names though.”

“They are Skye and Rose,” Tanya answered.

“Good Indian names,” the woman approved. “They are unlikely to be changed, even when they come of age. Though another name will be added on when we understand their personalities more.”

Tanya nodded.

“What to do with you is the bigger question.”

Tanya blushed again. “I don’t want to be a problem.”

“Who said you were a problem?”

“No one… I just...”

“Look. Just because your ex didn’t appreciate you doesn’t mean everyone else suffers from the same stupidity! You are a special human being and you are going to be living with me until you know what you want to do with the rest of your life.”

Tanya was unsure how to answer, so she just looked around some more at the fascinating house, walking over to examine the plants under the south-facing glass, like a little greenhouse attached to the home. She noticed that snow was sprinkling down outside, already covering the roof. She was glad Freya wasn’t trying to drive back tonight.

“How much do you know about our culture?” Dancing Bear asked.

“Not much, I don’t think. I know that what I’ve learned is probably wrong.”

“You have little self-confidence. That’s one of the reasons why you are here,” Dancing Bear said. “You need to learn to be proud of yourself. You have a place in this world, no matter what others have told you. How much do you know of Indian history?”

“I know that the US government has repeatedly broken its promises to you – shoved you onto smaller and smaller tracts of land. I know they have abused you as a tribe.”

“It is not unlike what you have experienced in the home, is it not?” Dancing Bear asked.

Tanya nodded.

“All the tribes were abused and placed on rejected land, usually far from home. The tribes were broken, bruised, separated and decimated. They were given back only the least fertile of their lands and expected to be happy with that. They were experimented on by Government science and medicine. You name it, we have seen it.”

Tanya nodded.

“The Neme’o’ng were lucky. We got to choose our plot of desolate land. We followed the swans while the government chased us until they got tired of pursuing us. That’s how we settled Ba’a O’ng. The government didn’t want it. But they still abused us. Our land could not produce food, so we were reliant on the government’s Food Distribution Program. They gave us experimental medicines and bad vaccines which harmed us – made us sick and many of us infertile.”

“Wow,” Tanya replied, shocked, wondering if Dancing Bear was one of those.

“As a nation, as a people, we had to learn to be proud of ourselves again. We have a beautiful history. Even the sad parts. We have every right to be here, every right to be proud. The same is true with you.”

Dancing Bear looked at Tanya. “First thing's first,” she said. “Stand tall. Always stand tall. That's the first step to being proud.”

“I was taught as a child that pride was sinful,” Tanya said.

“That's because the church doesn't want independent thinkers. She wants servants for God.”

“Isn't that a bit of a harsh view of the church?” Tanya asked.

“Perhaps,” Dancing Bear admitted. “But the fact is, in Genesis, when Adam and Eve ate from the tree of knowledge, it was seen as sinful. No, the church doesn't want robots, but it confuses pride with vanity. Vanity is of no use to anyone – and tends to be seen as a very unattractive quality in people. Being proud of who you are and where you came from is a very different thing though. And something to desire.”

Tanya agreed.

“Now, come. I have a store room full of things you might need – and I suspect you guys need some clothing.”

“Okay. Then, I think they need to go to bed,” Tanya replied. “I still need to make up their beds.”

“I’ve done it for you this time,” Dancing Bear answered.

“Come, girls. Let’s find you some cozy pajamas! Did you notice that it’s snowing?”

“Can we play in it tomorrow?” Skye asked.

“If we can find you a winter coat,” Tanya said.

A few minutes later with a few things to wear, the girls were tucked snug in their beds. Tanya realized they’d forgotten about baths. Maybe tomorrow night…

“I like it here,” Skye said with a smile. “Can we live here forever?”

“I don’t know,” Tanya replied. There was far too much to figure out yet! But so far, she liked everything she had seen here. Maybe morning would bring something to change that. Nothing good ever lasted for her.

♥♥♥