Chapter Seventy-one

THE ANDERCHRONICLES

By Me, Ellee

[WARNING: The following story has been rated FNF*]
*Fiction NOT Fact

"Together Forever"

Hand in hand, when Andy and I reached the sheltered part of the forest where we had prepared the decreed ritual fire circle, we noticed our entourage of Silver Tails, literally hundreds, beginning to enclose us within the sacred fire area, landing all around us, and as we approached, our steps became more precise, more particular–careful, not wanting to show disrespect for the sacred ground on which we were now treading. The sanctity of that special place became even more evident when the entire forest fell into a hushed silence.

I turned to Andy then and whispered, “Now, Andy?”

He put his hands on my shoulders; our eyes locked for a moment, then he affirmed, “Now, Ellee.”

We both knew exactly what to do and what to say. We had rehearsed it over and over the night before while reading, Forgotten Ancient Indian Rites, the book he had bought at the bookstore.

On the ground, near the stones we had arranged to define the fire ring, we had also placed two baskets, one containing corn and bread, and one containing meat and moccasins. I picked up the basket with corn and bread and Andy took the other. We spaced ourselves a few feet apart facing each other, then Andy began the Declaration Ceremony:

“Ellee . . .” he took a breath and sighed, glanced at the ground, then up at me again, and then started over, “ . . . uh, Ellee . . .” but once again he stopped, shook his head and said, “No . . . I mean . . . I mean . . .” Then all of a sudden he narrowed his eyes as if everything had finally come into focus,

“Gentle Lily . . . I . . . Running Deer, now make this declaration and commitment to you and also to the Great Spirit, that it is my fervent desire to be your husband forever and always. In my basket I bring you gifts of meat and moccasins, representing my commitment to provide for all your needs . . . And . . .” he added after a thoughtful pause, “a promise to love you, body, spirit and soul, more thoroughly and completely than anyone has ever loved anyone anywhere, for any reason at anytime, until all the tides of the earth reverse directions, and all the mountains crumble and all the stars in the universe become supernovae and all the—”

“Andy, stop! . . .” I yelled, “it doesn’t say all that in the book . . .”

“What?” he cried, astonished. “It doesn’t?” He looked me straight in the eye then and stated emphatically, “Well . . . it should !”

But it doesn’t,” I asserted.

“Okay, then . . . I’ll start over. . . Gentle Lily, I, Running Deer, now make this declaration and commitment to you and also to the Great Spirit, that it is my fervent desire to be your husband forever and always. In my basket I bring you gifts of meat and moccasins, representing my commitment to provide for all your needs.”

Following the pattern in the ancient book, he presented the basket to me, which I took, and after setting it down, I reached for his hands, and gently kissed the palm of each one, this being an acknowledgment of his declaration and gift. After that I picked up my basket and began the same declaration to him.

“Andy, I . . . I . . .” But apparently I was having the same difficulty as he had been having. I shook my head to refocus, then tried once more, “ . . . that is, Running Deer, I, Gentle Lily, also make this declaration and commitment to you and the Great Spirit, that it is my fervent desire to be your wife forever and always. I bring you gifts of corn and bread, representing my commitment to provide nourishment and nurturing for you.”

He likewise acknowledged my declaration and gift by kissing the palms of my hands, but then he did something that wasn’t in the book; He kissed each of my cheeks, my nose and finally my lips. When I protested, saying,“that wasn’t in the book, either,” he said, “oops, sorry,” then went right on with the ceremony, kneeling at my feet to replace my moccasins with those he had brought in the basket. This signified taking off the old life and putting on the new life, meaning the marriage. I then broke off a piece of bread and fed it to him representing the nourishment our life together would bring to our souls.

With the Declaration Ceremony completed, we turned to the Fire Ceremony, which, during its presentation, would symbolize the separate lives of the couple and the ultimate blending or union of them into the One. In the fire ring we had already laid three separate fires, a larger one in the center, representing the Great Spirit, and two smaller ones on either side, symbolizing the bride and groom and the separate lives they had led up to that point.

After sprinkling a fragrant mixture of wild beet root, sage, and sweet grass over each fire, and simultaneously reciting some special incantation words which we didn’t understand, but which we had memorized from the book, the two of us ignited a firebrand and thrust it into the dry tinder of the center fire representing the Great Spirit. It roared to life almost instantly and burned brightly. We then took two other firebrands, he lighting the smaller fire on the north representing his separate life, while I lit the smaller fire on the south representing my separate life. We stood back then allowing the three to burn independently for a few moments. Finally, Andy . . . that is Running Deer recited,

Two fires, separate and apart, burn dimmer, burn cooler,
eventually to go out.
Two fires merged with fire of Great Spirit burn brighter, burn warmer, never to burn out.

At the end of these words, he made a special signal to me using an ancient Indian sign by touching his right finger to his left aorta. I mirrored the sign using my left finger to touch my right aorta, thus beginning the uniting as one ceremony. Then, ever so carefully we pushed our little fires on a path towards the fire in the center, making sure none fell away.

Once we had reached the grand fire of the Great Spirit, we paused to join hands, intertwining our fingers, before completing our journey to merge our separate fires with that of the Great Spirit, symbolically joining us as one with the Great Spirit, consequently joining our two lives into one holy union.

At the moment the three fires united and blazed into one enormous fire, we both knew something sacred had just taken place; we felt the great warmth; we witnessed the bright light; we felt the inexplicable joy which accompanied it. At long last, Running Deer and Gentle Lily were united as one with the Great Spirit and as One with each other, never to be separated again, forever and always with a bond which could not be broken, and would be with them through all eternity.

Emotionally overcome, we stood motionless. Something was changed. We both knew it. He opened his mouth to speak, but said nothing. After a few moments he gently placed his hand over my heart; then the words came.

“I want more than anything else . . . to make a heartprint on you—one that the sands of time can never erase, but will only etch deeper.”

“What?” I mouthed without uttering. And where did that come from? It certainly wasn't in the book, and to whom he was speaking or even who was speaking? Was this Running Deer . . . or was it Andy? He stared at me for the longest moment and then, hesitantly breaking his gaze, resumed the ceremony, lifting his hands high overhead reciting,

“We, Running Deer and Gentle Lily now honor all the forces of the universe that were created by the Great Spirit:

We honor air that we may be filled with the breath of life.
We honor fire that our union may be warm and glowing with love
in our hearts.
We honor wind that we may be lifted up to soar through life
safe and calm.
We honor water to clean and soothe our marriage that it may
never thirst for love.

Then, in unison, we both recited the Wedding Prayer:

Now we will feel no rain,
For each of us will be shelter to the other.
Now we will feel no cold,
For each of us will be warmth to the other.

Now we will never feel loneliness,
For each of us will be a constant companion to the other.

Now we are two joined as one,
Never to be separated forever and always.
Now we go to our dwelling place,
To enter our eternity of togetherness.

As the Wedding Prayer concluded, the entire forest sprang to life in a jubilant chorus of song as the Silver Tails took flight and commenced chirping as they had in ancient times. This was, at last, a time of celebration, a time long awaited. Now the land would be changed forever, and joy would abound once again as it had in the days when Running Deer and Gentle Lily walked upon this very soil.

We were now sealed together in our love and would not, could not ever be taken from each other again. I was his forever and he was mine. We two were one, and when he reached for me, enfolding me within strong, protective arms, I knew it was so. I looked up to see the love in warm brown eyes, but when I did . . . I saw blue, the blue of . . . “A-A-Andy?”

“Gentle Lily?? . . .” came the confused response as he looked down at me. “I . . . I . . . Ellee?? Is that you?”

“It’s me, Andy." It was so easy to be confused about our identities at that point, but the birds wouldn't let us dwell on it for very long, as they flew all around us displaying their overt jubilation at what had just taken place there in that forest of yesteryear.

After several minutes they finally began to disperse and when the last one flew away, silence once more filled the forest surrounding us. It was then we saw him—a tall, stately buck standing between two trees in a patch of golden lilies. We watched as he bent to nuzzle the flowers, finally selecting one which he uprooted with his snout. Then proudly lifting his head, the yellow bloom secure in his mouth, he aimed his gaze directly at us.

His eyes were two brown orbs that gave the impression he could see right into our souls, causing me to shiver. Andy noticed and said he felt it, too. Then the deer started walking toward us, purposefully and unfearing, his head held high, as if to balance his large antlers. Panic seized me for a moment and I started to break away with the intention of running, but Andy stopped me saying, "Ellee, wait! Stand still. He wants something."

How could he know that, I wondered, but he was right. The very next moment the deer came right up to Andy. Their eyes locked. Were they about to do battle? Would the deer lower his imposing antlers and gore Andy?

"Andeeeee," I breathed in fear.

"Shhhhh . . ." he whispered softly.

"But Andy . . ."

"Ellee . . . trust me!"

So I did, but not before clutching frantically at his muscled arm and placing myself behind him. Andy would protect me from this wild animal. My only hope was that Andy was stronger than the beast. But what happened next was totally unexpected and completely astounding. They stared at each other for a few seconds, then the buck started sniffing at the flower necklace around Andy's neck.

"Hey big guy, is that it, you want my necklace . . . " he lifted it up for the deer to see, " . . . made of all these lovely gentle lilies?"

The deer reared his head and snorted. I flinched when his warm, moist breath raced across my face. "Steady, Ellee," came Andy's response. "He's not going to hurt us. He just wants this . . ." meaning the necklace, of course, woven of golden flowers, like the one clenched in his mouth. So Andy carefully lifted it over his head and gently placed it around the big fellow's antlers.

When he backed up and started to retreat, I figured that was the end of our encounter, but I figured wrong. He wasn't through with us yet—to be more precise, he wasn't through with me. I could see he had something else in mind when suddenly he swung his sizable body in my direction. I was still cowering behind Andy, and when he realized the animal was on approach towards me, he quickly wrapped protective arms around me. I was still trusting that he would take down the deer if need be. But then, as the deer got closer and I could see just how huge he actually was, I knew nobody was going to take him down, not even Andy, without a high-powered rifle, and since Andy didn't have one on him at that moment, I realized he wouldn't be rescuing me. That's when I started shaking. And that's when Andy squeezed tighter and said, "Relax, Ellee"

And that's when I said, "How can I . . . this . . . this gigantic fury brown thing is about to eat me up! And then he'll start on you!"

"He's not going to eat you, Ellee, or me."

"How do you know that, Andy?"

"Because . . . look at him. He's a gentle creature. Just look at his eyes . . . how docile they are."

It was true what Andy said. The deer did have nice eyes. They didn't have the vicious look of an animal who had a mind set to eat someone—like the warthog hanging in my bedroom did. However, when his long, deer snout came at me, wanting to sniff the crown of flowers atop my head, I panicked and ripped it off, hurling it into the air as far from me as possible. Faster than a speeding bullet, the deer jerked away to chase after it, catching it midair, ringing it on an antler.

Then he started to dash away, but suddenly stopped and turned to peer at us for a moment, the gentle lilies swinging from his antlers; he seemed satisfied with his treasure, and those liquid brown eyes glistened in a way that could only suggest gratitude. He was definitely trying to communicate something to us. And then after a brief moment, he was gone, having sprinted off into the forest, disappearing in the trees.

Andy and I didn’t say much for the next few minutes. After everything that had just transpired, somehow words seemed inappropriate. With the afternoon half gone, and the sunlight starting to wane, Andy suggested we sit by the fire to warm ourselves a little. He cleared a space for us and we sat down.

Hugging my knees, I stared into the crackling fire, listening to its song. I thought it must be singing about Running Deer and Gentle Lily. I listened intently, but what I heard was . . . I want to make a heartprint . . . Had Andy actually said that . . . to me? No, of course not, I told myself. He wouldn't say anything like that to me. But Running Deer would speak those very words to his beloved Gentle Lily.

I glanced up at Andy; he too was deep in thought as he stared at the fire. Little flickering reflections of warm flames danced across his face causing his eyes to burn with intensity.

"Andy," I broke in, "what are you thinking about?"

He eyes quickly flashed to mine and at once began sparkling when a wide smile lit up his face.

"Our Christmas tree! . . . Ellee, I'm thinking about our Christmas tree; the one we planted back in December. We haven't even checked in to see how much it's grown!"

Ah, well . . . I knew darn well it hadn't grown even a speck of a teeny, tiny centimeter. "Uh, Andy . . . don't get your hopes up. I'm positive it hasn't grown much . . . at all . . . since December. I mean how could it?"

"Oh, Ellee, you're forgetting about the cosmic grid and the alignment and all that good stuff that happened. Of course it's grown! Come on, let's go see!"

And with that he jumped up and pulled me to my feet, then dragged me off through the forest to that special place where he had been planting his "live" Christmas trees for years. I knew then—the cover on my little Christmas secret was about to be blown! Aaack! I winced. How would Andy deal with this heinous deceit? What would he think of me; how could I ever explain it all? And worst of all, would he finally ask me to pack my bags and leave?

"Andy, STOP! . . .Wait! Let's talk about this!" But he kept right on going until all of a sudden he shouted,

"Ellee LOOK! There it is! Our Christmas tree!"

And sure enough, there it was—our beautiful, green polyvinyl chloride Christmas tree of which the molecular weight of its polydimethylsiloxane polymer was, and still is, 0.65 cPs! EXCEPT . . . EXCEPT . . . I couldn't believe my eyes, it had grown at least twenty feet, waaay up into the sky, surpassing even Andy's expectations! Every other Christmas tree in Andy's little forest was simply dwarfed by this one! We both gasp as our eyes widened in disbelief.

"Ellee, Ellee, Ellee . . . just look at this thing!" was his exuberant cry as he raced around its circumference, shaking his head. "How did this happen? I mean, it isn't possible for a tree to grow this much since December!"

"You're tellin' me, Andy! It isn't possible . . . AT ALL!"

Once again I figured one of us was hallucinating. I also figured it had to be me, and yet . . . well, stranger things have happened, haven't they, I reasoned with myself.

"I have to tell you, Ellee, this tree . . . our tree, is certainly the best tree in the whole entire forest," he raved, pulling me into his arms. He studied me for a moment, then smiled. I smiled back. He winked. I blushed, then he added,

"And . . . there's something else I have to tell you . . ." he hesitated

"Yes . . ."

" . . ."

"Andy, what? . . . what else?"

He cinched me closer, a pronounced sparkle glinting from the corner of his eye, then whispered in my ear,

"I saw it, too."

"It?" You saw IT?

"Yes, I definitely saw IT!"

"What, Andy . . . what did you see?"

" . . . That halo around the moon, Ellee."