Sun Shines Brightly

Sun Shines Brightly/Justin

Serpent Moon walks over to us and helps to lay the tall stranger down on one of the sleeping pallets. She scrunches up her nose. "He reeks of alcohol."

I chuckle softly. "He is badly injured. I'm sure it helped to numb his pain."

She shakes her head. "No, I think he reeks of alcohol because he likes to drink." She pinches his arm lightly. "You can tell by his skin, it's tight and dry."

The stranger groans and speaks harshly. "Will the two of you just fucking shut the hell up and let me die in peace. I can't even fucking understand a word you're sayin'." He slurs the last part.

Serpent Moon leans over and pries the whiskey bottle out of the man's hands. He reaches for it in desperation then, seeing he won't win, lets his arms fall limp beside him. She shakes her head in disgust and swiftly removes the makeshift bandage that is still pressed to his wound, and pours the whisky over it. He let's out an anguished cry of pain and then turns his head groggily. "What the fuck did you do that for?" he gasps out.

She shrugs her shoulder and smirks. "I was disinfecting the wound," She answers in perfect English. He seems a bit taken back, and remains silent.

Throwing Serpent Moon a withering look regarding her questionable tactics, I quickly grab a cloth and wipe away the excess fluid from the wound. After a bit of prodding I find the foreign object lodged in his flesh which I know must be the bullet. I close my eyes for a moment and place my hand over the wound without touching his skin. I can feel his raw pain course through me, and I open my eyes for a moment, gasping at its intensity. Then I close them again and place both hands over his wound, drawing out the unwanted energy. I mentally give his pain to our Gods and ask that they heal his body, then I give thanks to them. I open my eyes and notice he has relaxed a little. Gently, I place one hand directly upon the wound and the other upon his forehead. Looking upward, I begin chanting.

I can smell sage and lavender burning within the teepee. Night Song softly touches my hand, and I open my eyes, taking the smoldering bundle of embers from her. Above him I move the sage and lavender in circular motions, starting at the base of his feet up to his crown. I'm hoping to cleanse and relax his body, mind, and spirit.

The atmosphere in the teepee is much calmer now. Serpent Moon hands me a clay bowl filled with clove oil and water. Cautiously I pour it over the wound as she unfolds a cloth containing several healing tools. I reach for two smooth, long, slender, sharpened stones. Carefully, I ease them around the bullet and slowly remove it.

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Brian

I slowly wake up to the babbling voices of a man and a woman. I can't make out what they're saying, but I figure it's the side effects of what must be a hell of a hangover. I must have been really gone and desperate last night to let a woman in my bed. Deb's whores are always trying to sneak their way into having sex with me, like I'm some sort of prize. Well, I am a prize, but not for them.

The two voices pound into my aching head again and I've had enough, yelling for them to shut up and let me die. I open my eyes and am startled to find that I'm not in my bed at Deb's place.

Then it all comes back to me. The robbery, the shooting, and the beautiful blond haired, blue eyed Indian. He's there, along with two women. One is obviously full blooded Indian, the other has dark hair, but fair skin. My eyes move upwards and I see the obvious interior of a teepee. They must have brought me to their village. Before I can make any other judgments, the fair skinned woman yanks the whiskey bottle from my hands and dumps the thing over my wound. I am overcome with blinding pain, and as soon as it abates enough I yell at her. She responds to me in perfect English. Huh?

Before I can react to that, Blondie is hovering over me, doing strange things with his hands. I would protest, but there is a peaceful scent in the air that seems to calm my nerves and then the soft sound of his voice chanting something over me, woos me into complacency. Before I know it he is pouring something else over my wound and I know he is digging out the bullet, but for some reason it doesn't hurt, and then I find myself drifting into blackness again.

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Sun Shines Brightly / Justin's POV

After I remove the bullet from the stranger's side I can sense the spirits are still with me. I close my eyes and take in a deep breath, then continue to chant, letting the spirits' energy flow through me. I gasp when I hear their whispers and they begin to show me visions once again, of a life I am to have with this man, who is lying underneath my healing hand.

Slowly the spirits begin to fade. I open my eyes, gasping from the realities that are before me, and I am aware of my surroundings once again. I can feel the stranger's eyes burning into my soul. I try to focus only on healing his wounds yet my thoughts drift to the visions. How can I hurt the woman who I have come to love so much, and is my best friend, to be with this man? Yet, inexplicably, my feelings for him keep growing stronger. I try to push them aside, but it is difficult to do under his watchful eye. Silently, I ask the gods to help him sleep. I open my eyes to see him drifting off to rest, yet for some reason I am aware that he can hear everything we are saying..

I speak to my cousin in my mother and father's tongue. "Serpent Moon, can you please bring me the ee-wah-kee."

She bites her lower lip and then smiles. "Sun Shines Brightly, it's been a long time since I have heard you speak in our true native tongue."

I smile at her sheepishly. "I could always speak it. I just never wanted to. I am glad you spoke to me in English at night when no one was around, so I would never forget."

She smiles at me and then sadness comes over her. "You speak it now because of the stranger, don't you?"

I do not answer her as I take the bowl of healing mud from her and begin to pack it over the stranger's open wound. The action seems to revive him from his doze and his hazel eyes look intently into mine. "Who are you?" He asks suddenly, his voice weak and groggy from his pain and the herbs I have given him.

"I am Sun Shines Brightly," I answer simply. "And this is my cousin, Serpent Moon. And may we know your name?"

He studies me for a long moment and nods. "Brian," he replies shortly, as if that is all he can muster the energy for. 'Brian,' I repeat in my own head and try to ignore the warm sensation that it causes in my stomach. I see that there are more questions in Brian's eyes, but they will have to wait until he is stronger.

I pull my gaze away from his and finish bandaging his wound. When I look down upon him again, I notice he has drifted into a peaceful slumber. I look around the teepee suddenly noticing my wife is no longer here. "Where is Night Song?"

Serpent Moon smiles softly. "Her mother came to get her. Morning Willow was crying for you, so she went to calm her."

I nod my head in understanding, trying to deal with the conflictions within my mind. I know I should go to my little one. She has been calling to me, yet my thoughts are so scattered right now. I cleanse my hands in a nearby bowl of water, then kiss my cousin on the cheek and speak to her softly. "I am going to walk by the river, then go home to my family. Will you be all right watching the str...Brian for the night?"

She nods as she looks into my eyes. "Sun Shines Brightly." She takes hold of my hands. "You should really go home to your wife and child. You have been away for some time."

I can feel the tears forming in my eyes. "Serpent Moon I wish I could, but I can't right now. I need to ask the spirits to help me. I am on a journey that frightens me and I need their direction."

She pulls me into a tight hug. "No matter where the spirits take you, remember I am always with you." She draws back and gently wipes a tear away from my eyes. "I am sorry you are having to deal with so much right now, but your family needs you as well."

I choke back my emotions. "I know. That is why I must seek the spirits' guidance."

When I walk out of the teepee I notice the sun is beginning to set. Slowly, I make my way through the village. I stop briefly at my family's home and can hear Night Song's voice as she soothingly sings to our little one.

I make my way to the river's edge and sit upon my thinking stone. The place that has brought me so much peace over the years.

I am drawn out of my thoughts when I hear soft laughter. I look up and into the deep brown eyes of the woman I have always considered my spirit mother, Walks With Wolves. She sits down next to me and lays her hand over mine. "My brother, Eagle Whisper used to sit here and think. What he thought about, I will never know, but spirits communicated with him always, like they do with you. You are hurting, my son, I can see it in your spirit."

I smile at her, but there are tears in my eyes. "The spirits are leading me in a direction that I know could hurt my wife and child, possibly even the Tribe. I am not sure if I can do that."

Gently she cups my chin with her hand and looks deep into my eyes. "No matter the path you take in life someone will be hurt, but you must follow your heart and the spirits' guidance at any cost; because that, my son, is why forgiveness was created. As humans we make mistakes, but our spirits know more than we can possibly ever comprehend. Our spirit always knows to forgive the wrong."

I smile at her sadly. "I know you're right, but I want to do what is best for my family."

"You will." She leans over and kisses me softly on the cheek. She giggles once again and departs.

In that quick instant as she drifts away I feel something jump on my lap and begin licking my face. Walks With Wolves laughs again, and gently pushes the silver wolf off of me. The wolf's golden eyes sink into my soul. "I see it is not just the humans who missed me."

She smiles at me. "Silver Wolf missed you. She howled every night at the moon, wanting you to come home." She pats my leg. "We are all glad you are home, safe and sound. Now it's time for you to see your family."

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Night Song's POV

I sit upon the ground with my legs crossed, breast feeding our child. I rock her soothingly, singing her a song. I can hear the shuffling of my husband's feet as he draws close to our home. Morning Willow pulls off my breast and sits up with a smile upon her face, then falls back against my chest in disappointment when he walks past.

"Da," she whimpers softly.

I brush her soft curls from her brow. "Shh, baby, he will be home soon." I gently guide her to feed upon my breast again, and she nuzzles into me and relaxes.

I close my eyes, wishing I could take my husband's pain away. I can see it in his eyes, and I know things were revealed to him that have him feeling troubled. I will admit my heart broke when I saw him holding the stranger's hand today. I try not to think of if any longer. I smile when I notice our little one has drifted to sleep, and gently lay her down upon her sleeping pallet, sliding the woven blanket around, so my husband and I can have some privacy when he comes home.

I take off the remainder of my garb and wrap a wool blanket around my naked body, waiting for him to return. Time seems to go by slowly and the night becomes cold . I am relieved when I hear Sun Shines Brightly's feet drawing near to our teepee once again

He carefully opens the flap ands steps inside. The soft embers of our fire illuminate his beautiful, but sad, features and I feel my own emotions begin to stir.

Quietly, I stand up, letting the blanket fall to the ground, revealing my naked body. He swallows hard and walks towards me. I feel a hunger growing inside me that I have not felt in a long time. Sunshine (the tribe's nickname for him) smiles at me affectionately, and then takes me into his arms. I lean into his comforting embrace, yet I am startled when I feel him shaking, and feel dampness upon my cheek. I draw back and look at him to see that he is crying. Softly, I caress my fingers over his cheek and wipe away the tears.

He smiles through his misted eyes. "I'm so sorry I have not been here for you and Morning Willow...I...it's just…I."

"Shhh," I whisper. "You do not need to explain yourself now." I stop his words with a yielding kiss, and he kisses me back with a fervent passion.

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Brian

The next time my eyes open it is dark. In the center of the teepee the embers of the once brightly burning fire cast a dim glow. I look across the fire pit and see the white woman sitting and staring into the dying fire. I survey the rest of the teepee and see that we are alone. I shift a little on my bed and my side burns with pain. I suck in a breath through my teeth.

The woman, Serpent Moon, I think was her name, immediately moves to my side. "Are you in pain?" she asks. I simply nod in reply and she quickly lifts my bandage and dabs something on my wound. Then she lifts my head to help me drink. "Here, you need to drink water. It will help you heal."

"Whiskey?" I ask hopefully, but she shakes her head.

"No whiskey," she answers firmly.

Well, a man can dream, can't he? Actually whatever she put on there has helped and the pain is better already. "Where is Sunshine?" I ask.

She gives me a withering look. I can't help myself, there is something about this woman that makes me want to irritate her. "Sun Shines Brightly," she answers, enunciating each word to correct me, "is with his wife and daughter in their own teepee. He has been gone for many days and needed to spend time with them.

"His wife and child?" I ask. How can that be? He seems so young. I know the savages marry young but he seems to be no more than twelve or thirteen.

She gives me a wry smile as if she knows what I'm thinking. "Sun Shines Brightly is eighteen, as is his wife, Night Song. Their baby girl has just turned one."

"Night Song," I repeat softly. "Was she the other woman who was here earlier?"

"Yes."

"You and Sunshine are not from here." I state, getting small satisfaction from the way her lips press together in a thin line.

"No, we are not of Indian blood," she replies a bit icily.

I decide to play nice if I am going to get the information out of her that I want. "Would you mind telling me how a white woman and a blond boy came to be known as Serpent Moon and Sun Shines Brightly?" I smile sweetly and throw her my best puppy dog eyes. I shift a bit to get comfortable.

She sees that I am settling in for a story and sighs a bit. "Very well," she answers. "I guess it will not hurt to tell you our story." Her gaze returns to the glowing coals as she begins to speak. "Justin and I are first cousins. Our mothers were sisters," she begins.

"Justin?" I ask softly.

"Yes, that is Sun Shine Brightly's given name." She peers at me closely.

"Mine is Melanie."

"Please continue, Miss Melanie."

"Please do not call me that," she retorts. "That name was from a different life, a long time ago." I nod and she continues. "It's a simple story really. Our families decided to travel west together. We were heading for the rich lands of Oregon. Before we could even make it halfway our wagon train was attacked by a band of Pawnee. The fates were on our side, for in the confusion Justin and I hid under a wagon and seemed to be overlooked. For good measure I took the blood from my father's fatal wound, rubbing it over the both of us, pleading for Justin to stay quiet and play dead." She shuddered a bit and hugged herself.

I nod sympathetically. This is a story I have heard a few times over the course of my wanderings. For the most part the Indians and white men traveling across country to the promised land, get along in harmony, but I know that some of the tribes are growing concerned with the sheer number of travelers into their lands. Some are reacting with violence.

"How..." I began and then tried to clear my throat. Mel...Serpent Moon raised the water cup to my lips again. "Thank you," I nod. "How old were you?" I ask.

"I was twelve and Justin was only five."

"His English is still very good."

Serpent Moon nods and smiles wryly. "I have always spoken it to him when we are alone. Just in case. Sun Shines Brightly chose to never speak it back to me until recently, but he seemed always to understand what I said"

"How did you come to be with the Sioux?"

She looks startled for a moment. "How did you know? I don't remember mentioning what tribe we are with."

I shrug indifferently. "I am not as stupid as I look," I say with a small grin.

"Says the man with a bullet hole in his side."

"Hey, that wasn't so much stupidity as it was bad luck."

"Oh, and what were you doing when you got shot?" I refuse to answer and she smiles sardonically. "I'm sure you weren't reading a book or doing arithmetic."

I decide to ignore her. "So how did you both come to be here?"

She shrugs. "The tribe was moving their camp and they came upon us. Justin and I were huddled together for warmth, too afraid that a fire would bring back the Pawnee." She let's out a small snort. "We knew the Sioux were different, but that did not make us any less terrified. You should have seen how little Justin tried to defend me from the 'bad men.'"

"A brave lad," I comment.

"Very brave, indeed," she smiles. "You don't know the half of it."

"So you came to live amongst the Sioux?"

"Yes, they kindly took us in. The tribe Shaman, Eagle Whisper, took a shine to Justin and took us both under his wing. He became our adopted father and taught us much of healing and the gods." Her expression grew pained. "When he passed on a short time ago, Justin took over as Shaman."

I am shocked. "A fucking white Shaman? How is that possible"

She cringes a bit at my crude language, but shrugs. "Eagle Whisper said the spirits are with him. The rest of the tribe trusted him, not that there hasn't been some complaint. Of course, not everyone was happy, especially since..." she seemed to catch herself as she trailed off. She focused on me again. "You should get some rest."

"You did not finish your story," I chide her.

"The rest is not my story to tell," she retorts. "The rest if for Justin to tell, if he will." I notice how she refers to him as Justin, telling me her memories of her previous life are not as forgotten as she'd like me to believe. I wisely decided not to call her on it. "I don't know why he would, though," she continues. "It is really none of your business."

I bristle under her comment, but then I realize what she says is true. It is not my business. I'm just a man Justin discovered in the desert and decided to help. I'll leave as soon as I'm well and never look back. Why am I having such a hard time really believing that?

Serpent Moon's voice enters my thoughts. "Here, drink this. It will help you sleep."

I raise my head dutifully and drink, having learned not to argue with these people in regards to their healing potions. When she settles me back down I sleepily ask her one more question. "So this is your home?" She nods. "Where is your husband?"

She looks a bit startled and then regains her composure. "I chose not to marry. Our father, Eagle Whisper, had no wife, so I chose to remain with him and take care of him to the end of his days. This is the home we shared, and where Sun Shines Brightly lived with us before he married Night Song."

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Serpent Moon/Melanie

"I see," is all Brian can manage to say groggily as he drifts back into sleep.

Again I am alone with the dying fire and my own thoughts. I am disturbed at the casual way Brian called my cousin Sunshine. It's an affectionate nickname that all of us have used since he was a child, but there is no way this Brian could know that. I have learned

that this man is very perceptive for someone who is obviously of questionable morals. I must rethink my initial assessment of him.

I cannot believe I almost told him of the troubles Sunshine has been having since Eagle Whisper died, and how some are questioning his abilities as Shaman. And why did he ask about my husband? Does he somehow know that some of the elders are pushing me to marry, now that father is gone? No. How would he? I'm sure he was simply curious as to why I was alone here.

For the second time that night I turn my thoughts to how I can hold off the marriage offers. For it is not a man I long to marry. I know deep in my heart that I want to share my life with another woman. I don't know who yet, but I feel in my soul that she is female. May the gods help me.