THE ANDERCHRONICLES
By Me, Ellee
“A Million Golden Lilies”
Strawberries,” Andy was explaining, “ have played a traditional role in this ancient wedding ceremony, you know.”
Picking one from the bowl, he grinned as he popped the ruby-red fruit, now glistening in the sun, into my open mouth. The warm crimson flesh of the little berry squished as I bit down, releasing its fragrant juice, igniting my gustatory and olfactory systems to send waves of pleasure as I tasted the sweetness. We had just finished the ceremonial midday repast of wild venison—which, I hasten to add, Andy had not shot, but which we had bought at a little specialty shop in Manhattan—squash, beans, tamaya blue corn, and mahnoomin or wild rice, a sacred gift from the earth mother, and of course, the fruit which seemed a fitting finale. When I stuffed a berry into Andy’s mouth, he continued right on talking as he munched.
“This particular fruit was always . . . always eaten on the wedding day, because, Ellee, legend says . . .” he paused to swallow, “legend says that strawberries have super-strong, special powers over the heart to protect the sacred love the bride and groom have for each other. It was believed the Great Earth Spirit had created them for this sole purpose, and had even shaped them to look like a heart. No wedding ceremony was complete until the two love birds ate strawberries together.”
He dangled a little strawberry in front of my eyes. “See, it looks just like a heart . . . see that? Just like a heart.”
“ Yes, I see that. Just like a heart, Andy.”
“ In fact,” he continued, “ ancient Indians knew them as heart berries. Ellee . . . would you like another . . . heart berry?”
“Oh, yes, Andy . . . I mean, we DO have a responsibility to Running Deer and Gentle Lily to protect their love for each other.”
“Yes, we do, and not only that but . . . but we also have a responsibility to . . .” His eyes glistened and danced with the thought playing in his mind at that moment, but he didn’t dress it with any words. Instead, he popped the dangling heart berry into my mouth, and then another into his, after which his lips curved freely into a nice smile, matching the one in his eyes, and as soon as he had swallowed, he took my hand, pulling me to my feet and announced, “Well . . . this is ‘it.’ Are you ready?”
“I’m ready, Andy.”
Our countenances grew serious then—we both knew what “it” was. We were about to take part in an ancient rite which would bind us—I mean . . . uhh . . . that is . . . you know, Gentle Lily and Running Deer, together forever and ever—and always. Then I started thinking: I looked like a bride; I felt like a bride; I was about to be a bride . . . but . . . but . . . I wasn’t really a bride. And I certainly wasn’t Andy’s bride! And Andy . . . well he definitely had the appearance of a groom, a very handsome groom, looking regal in traditional Indian wedding attire, but sadly he wasn’t my groom. That’s when it hit me hard! DANG! DANG! DANG!
Then I started wondering what he was thinking. Were our thoughts running along the same path? I explored his eyes hoping to discover even a tiny hint, but at that moment his hand reached up to chase away a feather which had strayed to my face. He gently brushed it aside, the black coral and green Gaspeite beads dancing from the fringe of his sleeve. Without saying a word, he took my hands and stepped back a little to look at me for a brief moment before placing my arm around his, and then he began leading us toward the forest, to the place where earlier we had prepared the sacred fire circle, the place where we . . . no, wait! That’s not right . . . where they, Running Deer and Gentle Lily, would be united as one, sealing their love forever and ever, never to be separated again.
But on the way to the forest we became distracted when we came to a large field with what seemed like a million lilies, standing tall and golden, their faces angled toward the sun. We stopped to take it all in. The Silver tails, having followed us all the way from the house, were there, too. After a moment, when we both turned to look at each other, I could feel a playful little smile stealing across my face as an idea occurred to me. My eyes darted momentarily to the field and then back to Andy. That’s when I saw the same smile breaking over his face, reaching to his eyes.
All at once, not able to contain myself any longer, I broke away and ran off into the field giggling all the way, hoping Andy would follow. I ran and ran, the air ruffling my hair and the birds chirping as they flew along side me. I was happy and felt completely free as I ran through the lily field. However, I wasn’t certain Andy was following and when I stopped suddenly, turning around to see, he ploughed right into me, knocking us both to the ground when we collided. The two of us went rolling over and over each other down a little hill, ending up at the bottom on top of each other. As he turned me over and brushed the hair out of my eyes, I looked up to see the brown eyes of Running Deer. At that moment he asked, “My sweet Gentle Lily, are you alright?”
Two young children from so long ago giggled and sat upright, there in the middle of a million golden lilies. They both laughed as the girl brushed a bit of dirt from the boy’s shoulder and he straightened a lock of her tousled hair. They were happy, carefree and excited, and nothing could disturb their world.
The boy, then spotting the lilies growing all around them, reached to pluck one, then two, then three, and finally a whole armful which he tossed up into the air over their heads. Squeals of delight followed as the blooms started landing on top of them, hitting their cheeks and noses. When the last one came down, it caught in a curl of the girl’s hair. He reached for it, gently untangling it, and then slowly brought it to his lips to plant a tiny kiss, his eyes capturing hers, and then handed the flower toward her. She lowered her eyes and smiled shyly as she took the lily from his hand. After a second she brushed it carefully across her cheek. This caused him to blush wildly, and they both giggled.
A few moments later he scooped up the remaining lilies and commenced weaving them together. When he was finished, he had fashioned a crown, which he set atop her long black hair. He told her she looked pretty. This time she blushed wildly, and immediately began plucking more gold blossoms. Once her lap was heaping, she set to work twining the flowers together, one by one, until she had created a lovely necklace, which she then laid around his neck, and told him he was the most handsome boy in all the village. As they talked and laughed together, the sun shone overhead and the Silver tails chirped a song of delight. It was a good day; a perfect day; a gift.
At last they stood up; he took her hand and they walked through the lilies back to the trail. Once there . . . Andy and I . . . went deep into the woods until we found the fire circle.
Bye for now,
Love,
Ellee
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