“CherokeeBoy and RainBoy”
Sequel to
The RainBoy’s Family
Ruwen Rouhs
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Chapter 3
Saving the Forest, Saving the Past
Intro
How the Yunwi Tsunsdi’ Learned to Defend their Homeland
Once some young men of the Cherokee set out to see what was in the world and traveled south until they came to a tribe of little people called Yunwi Tsunsdi’. They had very queer shaped bodies, hardly tall enough to reach up to a man's knee; they had no houses, but lived in nests scooped in the sand and covered over with dried grass. The little fellows were so weak and puny that they could not fight at all, and were in constant terror from the wild geese and other birds that used to come in great flocks from the south to make war upon them.
Just at the time that the travelers got there they found the little men in great fear, because there was a strong wind blowing from the south and it blew white feathers and down along the sand, so that the Yunwi Tsunsdi’ knew their enemies were coming not far behind. The Cherokee asked them why, they did not defend themselves, but they said they could not, because they did not know how. There was no time to make bows and arrows, but the travelers told them to take sticks for clubs, and showed them where to strike the birds on the necks to kill them.
The wind blew for several days and at last the birds came, so many that they were like a great cloud in the air, and alighted on the sands. The little men ran to their nests, and the birds followed and stuck in their long bills to pull them out and eat them. This time though, the Yunwi Tsunsdi’ had their clubs, and they struck the birds on the neck, as the Cherokee had shown them. They killed so many that at last the others were glad to spread their wings and fly away again to the south.
The little men thanked the Cherokee for their help and gave them the best they had until the travelers went on to see the other tribes. They heard afterwards that the birds came again several times, but that the Yunwi Tsunsdi’ always drove them off with their clubs.
(https://www.sacred-texts.com/nam/cher/motc/index.htm; modified)
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In the second part the members of The RainBoy‘s Family will encounter people and situations they never expected to exist. These encounters will open their hearts for life in a universal world.
This chapter is written in the points of view (POV) style. The caption of the POV for the characters will be ADAM, the RainBoy, Wa-Ya, the CherokeeBoy and TOM, who wants to be a Cherokee also
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TOM
Bulford Ellington, Tom’s father, waited for his son at the kitchen table. Despite the Ellingtons ranged among the oldest and riches families of Dartsborough and lived in an ancient castle-like house the Bulford family preferred to take breakfast in the kitchen. As a strict father he expected Tom to be on time, but he was late as usually. When he finally showed up, hairs still wet from the shower and trying to pull his T-shirt on, his father announced, “Thomas,” the name he usually only used when he was upset, “the whole last week you were late for breakfast and today again.” Turning to Harper his wife, “Don’t you also think I have to take away the car keys for at least one weak?” Furrowing his brow he asked Tom, “Or can you give me a reason to show up so late last night, Thomas?”
Called Thomas, was a sign his father was really upset. Looking meek at his father, Tom tried to explain, “It was not because of a girl! It was not! You always accuse me to play around! I wasn’t! I never do!”
Now his mother intervened, “Tell your father! He sure will understand.” Now it was on Tom to spill the news, “As I told Dad, it wasn’t a girl. It was the new student of our class, Wa-Ya. He is Cherokee! A 100% CherokeeBoy!” He took a deep breath. “I had to show him my collection of relicts! He liked them! However he didn’t feel good about the way I displayed the stone head. I have to learn a lot about Cherokee mythology and Wa-Ya will teach me!” When his father’s looks displayed irritation, Tom continued, “Wa-Ya is really a good boy. He is neither a goof-off, nor a no-good, nor a junkie or nor a dope addict. He is a great companion.” Then he played his last card smiling, “Wa-Ya is the nephew of Biyen Yonaguska, the lawyer you know well.” Then drawing the last trump card, Tom added, “Wa-Ya wants to study the law later and fight for his people lie his uncle.”
“Hasn’t Biyen suffered a heart attack?” Harper inquired, “I met Inola. She so was distraught because of Biyen. He always was strong like an ox, but now!” Harper let them know, turning to Tom, she asked. “Is your new friend living with the Yonaguska’s? Inola is just too drained from Biyen’s breakdown; I think she can’t handle a guest! We should help Inola, shouldn't we my love?”
While his mother still pondered different possibility to help, Tom informed his parents about Wa-Ya’s present situation. ”I guess it’s not necessary. Wa-Ya found a place at Adam’s home.” When Harper and Bulford looked asking at Tom, “You remember Adam, the boy from the north, the one adopted by Ryder Broder?” “Oh, I remember! His adoption caused quite a stir, because Broder is not a married man and some people made things up?” “Mother you and your gossips are not up to date. Adam’s dad is married now and Adam has even a granddad.” “Married?” “Yes Ma’am! He is married to Dec? Don’t you know Marlowe Dekker, the head of the Police Youth Service?” turning to his dad, “You should know him, because you are a City Council member!” “Really, is that true? I don’t believe it!” his father nearly choked by a chunk of bread, “Is Dec gay? Two gays responsible for a boy? I didn’t know this up to now! I have to report it….!” “You shouldn’t my dear!” Harper calmed him, “I know Dec. Since he is in charge of the Youth Service Department it is running fine. I haven’t heard a single complaint. He even handles the rogues with success!” “Don’t worry Dad, Broder and Dec are even liked by Tiger, your favorite EP teacher. He is moved in with them! Adam is calling Tiger “Granddad” and Lilek the other boy living with them also. Why shouldn’t Wa-Ya get along fine with them?” Bulford Ellington just shook his head, mumbled to himself, “I just seem to be too old at 49 years!”
Considering this information Bulford Ellington didn’t act on his threat. Tom was allowed take his Mazda to pick up Wa-Ya at Sparrow Lane 15 as planned. Arriving at Broder’s home Adam was too late. Nobody answered his ringing. When he finally parked his car in front of the Oakville High he just saw Wa-Ya and Adam disappear in the entrance of the building.
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ADAM
The morning lessons had rolled around being neither especially exciting nor boring. In the noon break nearly all freshmen gathered around a tree to get some shade with exception of the members of the football team, who tried out some movement they had been taught in EP. After a while Tom, having no space as a wide receiver in the small schoolyard deserted the team and joined the group at the tree. Squeezing himself between Adam and the Cherokee he asked, “Wa-Ya are you in design and art later on? I would need your help, because I like to draw a Cherokee brave fighting other warriors of a tribe using weapons like I have collected.” Wa-Ya tarried a moment, “Cherokee are no blood thirsty savages. The arrowheads and spearheads were used for hunting animals only!” Tom looking surprised reconsidered Wa-Ya’s objection. “You are probably right, so should I better draw your ancestors hunting bears or wolfs?” “Maybe yes, but arrowheads had been used for hunting birds or opossums. My ancestors sure used lance for fighting a bear or wolves!”
Adam took Wa-Ya’s arm and dragged him towards the arts room, as he was slightly piqued because Tom had pushed in between him and Wa-Ya. However Tom followed. Entering the classroom Adam to the art teacher and explained, “Wa-Ya, you have to get to know Elijah Sawyer, our teacher, before the lesson starts, otherwise you may mistake him for a student of the Junior High. Look, he is quite short!”
Wa-Ya was truly surprised meeting Mr. Sawyer, who was about a head shorter than he and Adam. The colorful sweater the teacher was wearing made him even look more like a 14 year old boy, but only if you didn’t take in account of his potbelly.
Mr. Sawyer eyed the three freshmen in front of him. “I know you two, Adam and Tom.” then turned to the newby, “And must be Wa-Ya Adahy, in our crude language, Wolf in the Wood. I am right! Am I?” Smiling at the three students, he began to characterize them, “My new Boygroup? Well, probably not the fitting expression for three so different young men. Adam is the most skilled writer of Oakville High, Tom the one who is really interested in the past of our country and a great sportsman, but you Wa-Ya?” Pausing a moment longer than necessary, “Can I tell you a secret? I spied on you at the fair. I saw you change your gestalt, from a small boy, to an old man, to a vivid young man in just a moment. You have inherited the skills of your ancestors displayed since thousand and thousand years before our time. You may be called a healer, a ghost-seer, a magician. But for me you are just a young man, you are Wa-Ya Adahy.” Then he added, “You choose right to team up with these two.” Then he turned to Adam and Tom. “You three have to be become real friends. Whatever happens keep in mind jealousy breaks up friendships!”
In the classroom the three choose places beside each other. The other students wondered, because so far Adam and Tom had not been on friendly terms. Elijah Sawyer started the class asking every student what kind of project he had planned for the next part of the year. Mel and Emma had decided to do a term project about their families taking old black and white prints copying them on paper and then converting the vintage photos into colorful collages.
Tru and Pete had planned to make a movie about Pete’s favorite sport, jugging. During the last half year they had filmed shorter and longer sequences of the games with their smartphones and now wanted to process these in a full movie to be shown at the last school day before Christmas.
Tom wanted to present his collection of Native American artifacts demonstrating their use by the Cherokee. He didn’t assess himself as a great artist therefore he used his PC to get suggestion for the painting. Going through Tumblr he came across a site dedicated to drawings by Piere Joubert, a French artist. While most of his paintings and sketches were dedicated to scouts and their adventures, Tom came upon some showing scenes from the stone-age. Taking the vibrant sketches as an example Tom was sure he could do a picture expressing his ideas of Cherokee live before the arrival of the white settlers.
Adam was confronted by another problem. He wasn’t good in drawing or painting at all. Therefore he had decided for a banner expressing his feelings for Wa-Ya. For the background he had decided for a rainbow of colors starting with bright yellow at the left site and finishing with deep purple on the other end. Now he had to decide for a text. Remembering his disappointment of the evening before he pondered if he should use Bausa’s words of frustration “So gimme more from what you call love, although it's no love, I love it!” However the night with Wa-Ya had changed the frustration to happiness. He remembered a song by Troye Sivan that had impressed him. At first he couldn’t remember the lyrics immediately. Raking his brain he finally got the lines,
“Tell me all the ways to love you
'Cause you taste like Lucky Strikes
You drag, I light, boy
Tell me all the ways to love you”.
(Troye Sivan; https://genius.com/Troye-sivan-lucky-strike-lyrics)
These lyrics sounded so perfect, he couldn’t do it better. Then however he recalled Elijah Sawyer character analysis at the entrance to the classroom. Calling him the most skilled writer of the school, made Adam think twice. Wasn’t he forced to create his own lyrics? He immediately knew he had to and therefore closed his eyes to concentrate his thoughts.
Wa-Ya’s approach to the task was different but not easier. He knew he wanted to illustrate the spiritual universe of the Cherokee to his classmates. He was aware that this task was complicated, because how could he present the Creator, the Great Spirit to the white people, how could he show the Divine Spirit who did neither possess the form of a man nor the attributes of a man? Wa-Ya pondered, how can I show a Spirit that can’t be personified? Staring out of the window, he saw the solar disk behind a veil of clouds. Suddenly he knew how to symbolize Unetlanvhi, the Great Spirit. He remembered photos of a total solar eclipse and the corona surrounding the black sun extending millions of miles into the outer space. Wasn’t it the Great Spirit who pervaded the air and the whole universe with his power like the energy of the sun filled the whole universe?
Wa-Ya took a pencil and drew the circumference of the sun in upper half of the cartridge paper and began to draw the beams of the corona. Mr. Sawyer looking over his shoulder reacted surprised. Perceiving the teacher’s presence by intuition he explained, “That’s the Great Spirit! I do him as the sun during a total eclipse. However I will not color the sun in black. I will do it in gold and silver. Likewise I will do the beams of light pervading every part of the universe.” Pointing to the right of the sheet, “To the right, I will draw a rock. No better I will do a steep cliff, occupied by the nest of the Tla'nuwa, the giant mythological bird of prey with his impenetrable feathers of metal. On the left, I will picture Jistu, the Trickster. I will draw him as a man in colorful dress, as a kind of a medieval jester, who confuses the mind of dull people because he disobeys human rules. Next to him I place a rabbit, the personification of Jistu in the Cherokee mythology.” Contemplating a moment, “Below the symbol of the Great Spirit there will be the earth, drawn like an island bound by water. The water is the element of the Lake Monster Uk'tena, the dragon like serpent with antlers on his head. The earth I will depict as a floating island crowned by an earth-house, like the one known from the movie “The hobbit”. The house has windows with shutters. They are open like the front door and all around the house the Little People, the Yvwi Tsusdi', are frolicking. You have to know, Mr. Sawyer the Yvwi Tsusdi' are my special friends, because they are benevolent creatures helping humans in need. However they also possess the power to harshly punish people who are disrespectful or aggressive towards them.”
Elijah Sawyer looked surprised at the young Cherokee. Nobody before had explained him the mythology of the Cherokee better like his new student. He smiled, “Thanks CherokeeBoy! I better should have called you Cherokee-Teacher, because you have taught me more about the Cherokee spirits than all the books I have studied. Thanks! Count on me Wa-Ya, if you need help.”
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After school Adam pedaled back to Sparrow Lane 15, while Wa-Ya visited his uncle Biyen in the hospital. Bursting into the house Adam ran into an outraged Tiger stamping forth and back in front of the blaring TV. “They couldn’t wait! The County Judge couldn’t wait for Biyen to recover and defend the Tsul ‘Kalu Forest! He was bribed! I tell you Adam the judge was bribed. He surely was bribed by the 898 Lumber Company!” foamed the old PE teacher froth at the mouth!” At first Adam didn’t get the reason for Tiger’s fury. Then he found out. The TV showed three big forest harvesters side by side in the business park of the biggest lumber company of the county. In front of the monsters the CEO of the company paraded and announced with pride and self confidence, “Today the Judge has pronounced his judgment. He has enforced the Executive order of our beloved President. Now we will be able to use the trees of the Tsul ‘Kalu National Forest for the welfare of the American people. Neither the phony representative of the Cherokee, Biyen Yonaguska, nor the prophets of doom, the false prophets of the climate change, the followers of that Swedish girl, the cretin Greta, will have the right to stop us bringing welfare and wealth to County.” Behind him the three eight wheel monsters with extendable booms, longer than the neck of a super-saurus, displayed their menacing heads with the sharp toothed chainsaws, the blinking feed rollers and the curved delimbing knives in the afternoon sun. “In two days from now our company will start taking down the trees!” Rising a glass of Champaign, he cheered, “Cheers to the President! Cheers! Cheers!”
Now Adam understood, the lumber company has used Biyen Yonaguska heart attack to press the judge to repeal the status of the Tsul ‘Kalu National Forest banning lumbering. In just two days from now the man-made monster were on their way to destroy the national heritage. He tried to calm Tiger down, “Rant and rave doesn’t make sense. We need more promising ideas, Granddad. Let’s stage a protest march or drive up into the hills to prevent the harvesters to enter the forest.” Considering the possibilities, he announced, “Let’s drive up and chain ourselves to the trees. The 898 Lumber Company will not dare to cut down trees with students chained to it.”
Slowly Tiger came down from his fury. Tired he answered, “I protested the Vietnam War, I protested the Afghanistan War, I protested the Iraq War! In vain! Cash is king and for our president gold outshines moral, law, tradition and the integrity of our world.”
Just that moment Wa-Ya came back from the hospital tired from school and disappointed because the status of his uncle had not changed. He slummed down in a chair and refused food and drink while tears of frustration were running down his cheeks.
Later Wa-Ya left, asking the others not to disturb him. “I have to contemplate!” he announced. However the CherokeeBoy didn’t go to his room, he crossed the Chickadee Trail instead and entered the grove beyond. Today he couldn’t find the trail to the pond with the Black Willows any more. The more he tried the more the grove seemed to rebuff him. He searched for the tree of the Creator, the old hickory tree, but there was no hickory. He searched for the slender poplar, the tree of the Thunderer, but the tree was nowhere around. He searched for the sycamore tree of the Horned Serpent, but the tree was gone. Finally he came to a pond, a pond surrounded by willows, but even the black willow in the muddy water was not the Black Willow in whose shade he had so easily establish communication with the Little People. Didn’t even the Yunwi Tsunsdi’ like him anymore, didn’t they trust him anymore. He bolted back to the house of the RainBoy’s family, stumbling over hostile roots, scratching his arms by thorns, doubt filling his heart. Had he spilled too much of his knowledge to his new friends, to the white people, had he betrayed the Spirits, had he lost his Cherokee soul?
Crossing the Chickadee Trail Wa-Ya became aware that something was happening on the RainBoy’s Family premises. A heated discussion seemed to have erupted in the big garden. Voices sounded back and forth, loud voices, low voices, young voices, old voices. When he entered the garden between the two houses he was confronted with people he had not seen before occupying the lawn beside the ones he knew. Tiger, Broder, Dec and Adam seemed to be in the focus of attention, but he also recognized the schoolmates Adam had introduced to him at his first day. He recognized his classmates Pete and True, Mel and Emma, Gerry and Aaron. Tom was there also in midst of his buddies from the football team. Lilek and his pal Tyler were present as well as some students of the Junior High. These seemed to be accompanied by their parents, obviously out of concern something illegal could happen. Tiger was not the only teacher of Oakville High present at the meeting. Wa-Ya recognize Mrs. Myers, the Literature teacher, Mr. Corbin, the Math teacher and to his delight Elijah Sawyer, the Arts teacher.
Recognizing Wa-Ya standing bewildered at the entrance to the garden, Adam walked over to fetch him. He brought his unsettled friend to centre of the meeting, and introduced him to the crowd. “That’s Wa-Ya Adahy, in our language “Wolf in the Wood”. He is the nephew of Biyen Yonaguska, the lawyer. He came down from the Tsul ‘Kalu Forest to obtain the qualification to speak for his people later like his uncle does now. Now that Biyen has suffered a heart attack it’s on us to support him and Wa-Ya to help the Cherokee fight of the attack of the Lumber Company to the forest.
Next Dec, Marlowe Dekker, the head of the Police Youth Service, took the word, “We have decided for a triple strategy. One group headed by Thore Igerssen, our beloved PE-teacher, will appeal to the court in the state capital to review the decision of the county court. This will to be done in close cooperation with the office of Biyen Yonaguska, the attorney representing the rights of the Cherokee Nation in our state. The purpose of the appeal will be two fold. The decision of the local court concerning the logging in the Tsul ‘Kalu National Forest should be either prohibited for all time or at least suspended till attorney Yonaguska has recovered from his heart attack. Then he will be able to represent the view and rights of the Cherokee as their representative.” Dec paused for a breath and continued, “Are they any objections concerning this part of the plan?” As the students and their parents signaled their consent by clapping , he added, “I am sure Thore will live up to his nickname Tiger!”
Now Elijah Sawyer, the art teacher took the word, “I am just a small guy and people mistake me for being weak. But I am not!. I am a fighter like Tiger and as all the young people gathered here today. I suggest that the greater part of the students will do picket lines in front of the town house and the court house carrying banners expressing our concern for the future of the Tsul ‘Kalu National Forest as well as the dramatic climate change threatening the world.” Targeting the parents, ”For this I need your help parents. We need to make banners displaying our matter and we need connections to radio stations, to TV stations and to the Press to broadcast the matter of the Tsul ‘Kalu National Forest and the disastrous state of our world nationwide.” His suggestion was accepted immediately. Especially the mothers were full of enthusiasm to support this action.
Now it was Broder’s time to reveal the third part of the strategy. “This part is the most dangerous and has to stay a secret to the public.” He sized up the attendees of the meeting to make sure they got the message. “A selected group of student will drive up to the Tsul ‘Kalu Forest to defend it by peaceful means.” Because some of the parents looked doubtful, Dec emphasized, “This part will encompass “legal actions” only! No law will be broken but we hope the nationwide attention aroused by these actions will prevent the attack of the forest once and for ever.” Then Broder added, “We will someone to film the whole action to prove we are only using legal means.” “I can do this together with True, because we will take at thi part anyway!” Pete volunteered immediately.
Adam pushed Wa-Ya to the front. “That’s Wa-Ya Adahy, in our language “Wolf in the Wood”. Until three days ago he was living up in the Tsul ‘Kalu Forest.” He waited for the participants of the meeting to fall silent and continued, “Like a real wolf Wa-Ya knows every tree, every brook, every rock, every trail and tree up there. He will help us to find the best way to prevent the invasion of the lumber company and their monster harvesters, these dinosaur-like machines created for only one purpose only, to destroy the forest. Remember the Tsul ‘Kalu forest is not only the home of the Cherokee! It is also the place black bears can roam unimpeded by men. It’s the place white-tailed deer, wild boar, foxes, raccoons, beavers and an uncountable number of small game, of birds, of insects, reptiles and amphibians can survive in a safe environment. It’s our duty to make sure the survival of all these creatures. Giving a save place for all the creatures is the only way to accomplish our own survival.” Applause erupted while Wa-Ya nodded his assent with purple face.
The meeting split up in discussion groups deciding who will join the different groups, the one going to the court in the capitol, the others to picket the town house and the county court to cause sensation and arouse the curiosity of the public media. Finally the group going up to the Tsul ‘Kalu Nation Forest was put together. Naturally Wa-Ya and Adam had to be members of it and soon the others members were found also.
* * *
After a short discussion the group going up to the Tsul ‘Kalu Forest decided to go with three cars. The Boygroup, that is Wa-Ya, Adam and Tom would ride with Broder in his battered pick up. Gerry would use his red vintage Jeep to take Aaron, Pete and True along and Dec offered to use a police car for the adventure, despite he had no authority in National Forests itself. He would take Mel, Emma and the Mr. Corbin, the Math teacher along. The students as well as Broder and Dec were surprised that Mr. Corbin wanted to take part at the dangerous adventure. But he explained “I am an old scout. I scouted forests all over the world. I have to be part of your group and have to defend what’s left of the original wood, the original world.”
After collecting all the necessary gear for this trip with an unknown end, Adam and Wa-Ya retired to their part of the house, to Chickadee Trail 13. Passing the ground floor an unknown melody came floating from Tiger’s room. The harsh voice of a young man was singing accompanied by a guitar only and drums. Adam was immediately taken by the song despite he didn’t understand the lyrics. He pushed open the door to Tiger’s room. The old teacher was sitting reclined in a wingchair, eyes closed, holding the sleeve of a single record in his hand and humming along. When the single on the turntable was finished and the pickup had returned to the initial position, he looked up, “Come on in boys.” He stated with harsh voice. “You don’t know the first single I ever bought, am I right?” He fixed his gaze on the boys, “I am sure, you don’t know “Eve of Destruction” by Barry McGuire?” He stalled, “You can’t. It’s an old song, a song that’s not broadcasted nowadays anymore.” He paused, “I was a student at the time the record made the charts. When I heard the song the first time, I knew I had to get it.” He chuckled, “I got it despite I couldn’t play it because I didn’t own a turntable. I bought it! I still have it! It’s a sacred relic of my past. Listen boys!” He let the song ring out again. When the second verse came around his harsh, old-man’s voice mixed with the young voice of Barry McGuire:
Don’t you understand what I’m tryin’ to say
Can’t you feel the fears I’m feelin’ today?
If the button is pushed, there’s no runnin’ away
There’ll be no one to save with the world in a grave
Take a look around you boy, it’s bound to scare you boy ……..
Isn’t it a terrible sad song, saying the world we know will be destroyed? It will be destroyed by us, by our activities, by our greed, by our contempt of the laws of nature! Yes we are on the brink of destruction. But then Barry tells us, we will overcome, if we believe we can overcome the catastrophe. And he sings on:
But you tell me
Over and over and over again my friend
Ah, you don’t believe
We’re on the eve of destruction
……………
Mmm, no, no, you don’t believe
We’re on the eve of destruction
(Barry McQuire, https://www.songtexte.com/songtext/barry-mcguire/eve-of-destruction-3dbbd53.html)
“Boys!” the old teacher said, “You have to go out tomorrow to win! You have to belief you will win. If you have the trust, you will win!”
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Wa-Ya
Wa-Ya was woken up by the song of a blackbird down the road. He turned and brushed a small body. Opening his eyes he realized they were three in his bed. Lilek must have come after he and Adam had fallen asleep. He left the bed without waking up the others. After a short shower he shook Adam awake. Dressed in the outfit he came to town he went to breakfast. Tiger had already prepared the coffee and now was cooking pancakes. Shortly later Adam, Broder and Dec joined them.
The evening before they had already loaded both cars with camping gear and now put in some coolers with the food needed, if the adventure lasted more than a day. Meanwhile Tom had turned up brought by his father Bulford in a long limousine. Tom hugged Wa-Ya and Adam while his father reminded Broder and Dec to be careful, commit no offense against the law and care for Tom. “He is the last of the Ellingtons and tends to react in a haphazard manner in unclear situations.” Still worrying he left.
Minutes later the cars of Broder and Dec took off too. After about two hours Broder steered his pickup into the parking of a wayside coffee. It was the site were a small country road diverted from the main road and lead up to the Tsul ‘Kalu Forest, the Cherokee’s Forest. Before the start they had agreed to meet at the coffee to do the last part of the tour together. A short time later Dec arrived with the girls Mel and Emma, and Mr. Corbin, the math teacher. After waiting for another 30 minutes Gerry’s lame vintage Jeep showed up. Enjoying another 15 minutes rest they left the coffee shop and turned into the country road climbing in serpentines up the hilly sites into the Appalachians heartland. About two more hours they passed the village Wa-Ya had grown up. Only a few apparently uninhabited houses could be seen from the road as most of the houses were hidden by the woods.
Wa-Ya knew the trail to the site where the 898 Lumber Company would invade the forest and start the disastrous deforesting. He asked Broder to follow a small trail leading from the village into the forest, where it would meet soon with a road climbing up in to the Blue Ridge Mountains from Dartsborough. Further down from the junction of this road through National Forests barred by a swing-up boom barrier for private traffic. The road was reserved for official vehicles only. In the barrier itself, was a small gate was located allowing hikers to enter the forest by foot. In front of the gate a small parking lot was located. Besides was a sturdy wooden shelter, reserved for hiker planning to stay overnight without being disturbed by brown bears ranging the woods freely.
Upon the advice of Wa-Ya they parked the cars inside the Tsul ‘Kalu National Forest a little upward from the swing-up barrier. Dec chose a place below big trees, sheltering the cars from the sight from above. The experienced policeman expected that the 898 Lumber Company eventually would use a helicopter to control the progress of the establishment of a base camp. After stretching their legs the twelve fighters gathered for a powwow to establish the mode of operation. While discussing how to precede an old Cherokee showed up like out of the nothing. They all wondered as Wa-Ya’s village had seemed completely deserted. The Cherokee was extremely short and a checkered shirt covered its barrel-shaped body up to the knees. They couldn’t see the face of the person because it was shaded by wide-brimmed hat. The braid looking out from under the hat was pepper and salt and as Wa-Ya was wearing a braid also, they weren’t sure if the person was male or female. The riddle was solved as Wa-Ya introduced his kinsman as “Aunt Cuhtahlatah!”
Cuhtahlatah walked straight up to Mel and Emma, hugged the girls and announce with deep voice, “That’s right, girls! You shouldn’t leave all the important matters to men only. Women are as vital for a society as men.” Then she turned to Adam, “I have dreamed of you. You are Little Wolf’s friend. Wa-Ya needs you as you are need him.” Then turning to Tom, who had started to look worried when the old lady stated the tightness of the relationship between Wa-Ya and Adam, “You my young friend. You have to be proud because the common descent of you and Wa-Ya. You are both descendants of great Cherokee Chiefs. Let me name just two, Sikwayi, the man devising our own script and Guwisguwi, the Mysterious Little White Bird, a friend of President James Monroe. You both have to try to equal to these role models in excellence and both of you will become the pride of the Cherokee Nation!” Then she turned to Aaron, who was leaning against his boyfriend Gerry, “Young man, you are connected to Wa-Ya and me by a band invisible to the White people. African and American natives are linked by our spirits.” Pointing to Gerry, she added, “Be sure to include your friend in this tie, he is worth it!”
Broder, Dec and Mr. Corbin, the math teacher eyed the scene in surprise and full of suspicion. As adults they had to bear the responsibility for the action of the younger and the sudden appearance as well as the words of the Aunt Cuhtahlatah added unexpected aspects to the already complicated situation. When Broder approached Aunt Cuhtahlatah to get more information, she turned to him and the other two, “You also are welcome to defend the Tsul ‘Kalu Forest. Old trees need any help they can get from responsible people. Don’t be surprised by my welcome message, the forest reveals your intentions.”
While Aunt Cuhtahlatah spoke, the faint roaring of big engines in the distance announced the speedy arrival of the pickup trucks and tree harvesters of 898 Lumber. Leaving their cars the group hurried to the swing-up barrier. As agreed the students and Mr. Corbin and Aunt Cuhtahlatah lined up at the boom barrier, the math teacher close to the tip, Wa-Ya’s aunt close to the pivot. Between the two, the students lined up in a row, always one student in front of the pole, the other behind. They joined hand and to stabilize the lineup they were chained together with hand cuffs. Dec, wearing the police uniform, and Broder stayed hidden behind some shrubs as a backup.
The avant-garde of the lumber company was a 4WD pickup truck loaded with heavy tool boxes. After driving up to the boom barrier the front-seat passenger, probably a manager of 898 Lumber Company, jumped out of the truck and confronted the lined up protesters. Studying the line up with reddening face he walked up to Mr. Corbin, “What’s this? Yesterday the judge confirmed the Executive Order concerning the harvesting of trees in the National forest. Your action is illegal, it’s against the law! Clear the access to the forest, immediately.” The math teacher didn’t have to answer, because the students started to cheer with loud voices, “No lumbering in the National Forests! No lumbering! Don’t destroy our national heritage! No lumbering! Don’t harvester trees older than our nation!” The students repeated the protest again and again, not listening to the arguments of the manager. To enforce the arguments of the manager, the driver left the pickup a rifle in his hand pointing it at the protesters. This was the moment Dec left the cover and ordered the driver to drop the rifle.
As the order was not obeyed a tussle resulted between Dec and the driver. It suddenly stopped as an ear piercing noise disturbed the peace of the forest. As the honking didn’t cease, everybody started to look down the small valley road climbing up to the parking lot. On the steep incline of the small dirt road an eight wheel monsters, one of these big tree harvester, was trying to advance. For the students the harvester did not look like a vehicle, it rather looked like a monster out of the Jurassic age. It resembled a Supersaurus with its extendable boom as neck and the felling head with sharp-toothed chain saws as head. The head looked dangerous to the students as well as the adults because its delimbing knives to debranch the stems and the chain saws for dividing them into transportable pieces.
Halfway up the incline the monster had suddenly come to a stop and turned to the right. Its front wheels had left the gravel road, the boom had extended and the front of the monster was tilted downward to the fast flowing creek in the wooded gulch. Big trees had caught the skidding monster and caught it like wolves their pray. The driver in the monster’s cab seemed to be stunned because he neither reacted to the sudden stop of the harvester nor the spontaneous extension of the boom with the felling head. When he finally rose from the seat in the translucent cab he began waving around with his arms like a windmill, began to scream hysterically and to bang against the stuck door of the cab. The driver of the monster was trapped like the mouse in a box trap. The timber worker of the pickup following the harvester had to use crowbars to open the door. Once outside he fell to the ground with wide open eyes and asked, “Did I run over the kids? The kids?” he asked again “The kids? Did I kill them?” Then he started to explain, “The kids suddenly turned up in front of the harvester. They were playing. They were playing tag! They did throw wooden sticks, stones and pine cones at the harvester. They cocked a snook at me! They taunted me! I honked, but they didn’t run away!” Frantically he tried to recollect what happened. “The kids didn’t run away. I couldn’t stop. I had to steer the machine from the trail into the gulch.”
Surrounded by the manager and the other lumber workers as well as Dec and Broder, the driver repeated these words again and again. Finally the manager tried to calm him down, “There are no kids around!” He reassured him, “I didn’t see kids on the trail. Nobody did see kids on the trail.” Looking to the others, he wanted to know, “Did anyone of you see kids on the trail?” then pointing up to the boom barrier, “The only kids around are chained to the barrier and these are big kids! Look!” The other members of the lumber company supported the manager’s words.
Dec, as a police officer, used to all kind of situations, suspected the driver was drunk or doped. He studied him carefully. He looked pretty young, young like a high school senior or somebody graduated last year. The most noticeable was his red shock of hair and the wisp of a beard of the same color. He never had seen him before therefore he didn’t belong to the city bums. Reluctantly he asked him to breath into an alcohol test tube. At first the redhead protested heavily. ”I do not drink, not even beer! I am sober!” After some persuasion by Dec he yielded and performed the test. “He is sober!” Dec declared and asked, “Are you on drugs? Are you on medication?” “NO, NO! NO!” the young driver swore, “I am not on drugs. I am not on dope and I am not drunk!”
Meanwhile the students, the math teacher and Aunt Cuhtahlatah had taken off the hand cuffs and joined the circle surrounding the dazed driver. Overhearing the driver’s claims, Wa-Ya took Adam by the hand and dragged him some steps away from the scene. “Sure he did see kids! I bet he did! But the kids have not been kids! What he saw were the Little People! I bet, the Yunwi Tsunsdi' have played a trick on him! They are my friends; they are friends of the forest, of the trees.” When Adam looked disbelieving, Wa-YA reaffirmed, “Ask Aunt Cuhtahlatah! The Little People help good people in need!” Adam wanted to ask her, looked around but the old Cherokee lady was gone. Nobody had seen Aunt Cuhtahlatah leave.
*.*.*
ADAM
The stony trail up to the Tsul ‘Kalu Forest was blocked by the harvester. Therefore the manager of 898 Lumber decided to leave the site for now and return to Dartsborough swearing stone and bone he will be back tomorrow to start lumbering. “Tomorrow you can’t stop us. I will ask the sheriff to join us with some of his deputies and clear the way.” However his threat was plucked out of the air. Just minutes later Broder learned from Tiger, calling from the capital, “We have made it! At least halfway we have made it! The judge at the Court of Appeal has overridden the decision of the County court. The court hearing has to be repeated. He has granted a four weeks adjournment, so that Biyen will be able to present his objections against the order of the president. I hope the Executive Order concerning the cutting of trees in National Forests will be overridden and disposed in the wastebasket of history.” Broder announced the good news immediately and the group decided to drive back to Dartsborough.
First thing Adam, Wa-Ya and Tom did when they arrive in Sparrow Lane 15 was to turn on the TV. The news about the strike of the student was on all channels, not only in the state itself, but also in the neighboring states. A short version of the protest was even broadcasted by CBC and Fox News. Naturally both TV stations looked at the event from very different points of view.
The members of the Tsul ‘Kalu-Forest-group were much too tired to celebrate the victory. When Tom was picked up by his pleased parent he hugged his friends, “I will organize a sleepover. My parents are away this weekend and our house is mine! Please come!” Adam and Wa-Ya smiled, nodded their agreement and then went to their rooms. Both were dead tired, but Wa-Ya couldn’t fall asleep. He did not have the heart to let his friend sleep alone. After a shower he slipped into Adam’s bed and hugged him all night long.
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