Chapter 2

A shiver went through William when he woke in a nice soft bed. The last thing he remembered was lying on the hard ground. Even before he had a chance to open his eyes, he heard Lucy say, "He's waking up."

"I'm awake," he said opening his eyes. The first thing he saw was Lucy. She was looking down at him with an expression of concern on her face. She immediately hugged him and then stood back to give him some space. He was comforted by her hug and reached up for her hand.

"I was so worried about you," Lucy said taking his hand in hers. The expression on her face showed the lack of sleep that demonstrated her suffering of the past two days. He had been asleep for almost a full day.

"We were all worried about you," Eddie said from behind Lucy. The young man had not left William's side since they had brought him up from the canyon.

"Eddie, it's nice of you to come," William said unable to see his brother around Lucy. He wondered who else was there and was frustrated by the lack of knowledge that would have been his with his gift. He sighed thinking that he was going to have to get used to not knowing.

"Are you okay? What happened? Why aren't you a Druid?" Eddie asked. The questions came rushing out of his mouth, almost tumbling one after another.

"Let him catch his breath," Ed said putting a hand on Eddie's shoulder.

Carrying a plastic cup with a straw in it, Dale came over to the other side of the bed. Holding the cup out to William, he said, "Here, drink a little of this."

"What is it?" William asked with a frown on his face. He reached out to take the cup from Dale; realizing only once he had taken it that Dale was there.

"Old Indian potion used to cure people who've been out in the desert too long," Dale answered with a very serious expression on his face.

William took a sip and then laughed out of surprise. Holding the cup up, he said, "That's water."

"Best cure for people who've been out in the desert too long," Dale replied with a grin.

Shaking his head, William said, "I should have known. I'm glad you're here."

Eddie stared at William unable to believe that Dale had been able to play a joke on his big brother. Dismayed, he looked up to his father. In a voice tight with emotion, he asked, "What's wrong with William?"

Having seen William during the times when his gift had left him, Lucy understood how William had been changed. Concerned, she asked, "Are you going to be okay?"

"I think so," William answered knowing what she was asking. It felt strange not being certain about what was going to happen next. He sighed and said, "At least it wasn't a total surprise."

"What wasn't a total surprise?" Eddie asked feeling a sense of panic rising. His older brother wasn't acting normal and that worried him.

"That I lost my foresight," William answered.

"What?" Eddie exclaimed feeling a sense of panic rising within him. It seemed to him that the Gods and Goddesses had hurt his brother. He looked over at his father and asked, "What happened to him?"

"Calm down, Eddie. I have a feeling that William expected this to happen to him," Ed said in a controlled voice. He knew that Eddie needed to learn a little more about the Gods and Goddesses. Leaning down, he said, "Eddie, let's talk about this where we won't disturb William. He needs to rest."

"I'm worried about you," Lucy said to her husband even as Ed and Eddie left the room. Although William had gotten better about dealing with the world when his gift would disappear, he never approached his typical level of confidence. She wondered how he would survive having it gone for good.

Dale took a seat in one of the chairs and examined William carefully. In a quiet voice that assured that all was well with the world, he said, "Don't worry about him. There's more than one power watching over William."

That thought hadn't occurred to William and he found that the idea comforted him. Squeezing Lucy's hand, William said, "He's right."

Looking over at his friend, Dale said, "Seeing you in bed like this, I'm reminded of the day you removed the curse over our people. You were weak for almost a year afterwards."

"I was a mess after that little adventure," William said in agreement. His hand went up to caress the medicine bag that hung around his neck. The detailed bead work on the leather of the pouch felt cool to the touch. He ran a finger along the sharp edge of the eagle feather; the barbs of the feather giving slightly under the pressure of his touch. The rattle sounded when his actions shifted the medicine bag. He had not realized that Lucy had placed it around his neck when he had been brought back to the house.

Touching the medicine bag that hung around William's neck, Lucy said, "I made this to replace the one you had lost."

William took her hand that was touching the medicine bag and held it gently in his. He said, "I remember when my mother taught you how to make it."

"Yes," Lucy said with a smile. Remembering Linda's words on the role of a wife, she said, "I am your squaw."

"Yes, you are," William said taking comfort in her declaration.

"Let me open the curtains. The view from this room is spectacular," Lucy said. On receiving his nod of agreement, she moved away from the bed and opened the curtains. As she slid the curtains open, the impressive walls of the canyon were revealed.

"I suppose I should get up," William said thinking about all of the things that needed to be done around the house.

"Not until you've recovered a little of your strength. You've lost a lot of weight," Lucy said moving back to the bed and fluffing the pillow on which he was resting. Once she was sure that he was comfortable, she kissed his forehead.

"Thank you," William said.

"Lisa will be here soon with some soup. I want you to eat it all and get strong. We've got a lot of work to do around the house and you'll need all of your strength. I've still got twenty boxes of science fiction books to unpack in the library," Lucy said. She knew that she'd have the books shelved before he got out of bed.

"Here I am, lying in bed weak as a kitten and you're already planning on putting me to work," William joked.

Glancing over at Dale, Lucy realized that he wanted to talk to William alone, but was too polite to say that to her. She smiled at him and said, "I'll go get some books for William to read while he's recovering. Why don't you two talk together for a bit? I'll be right back."

William said, "You can do that later."

Seeing the expression on Lucy's face, Dale said, "She wants to give you and me a chance to talk alone. Let her go, William."

"Oh," William said with a frown. He wondered how he had missed that. In a voice filled with uncertainty, he said, "Okay."

Lucy slipped out of the room amazed that William had not picked up on her real reasons for leaving. Closing the door, she hugged herself while tears started to fall on her cheeks. Something essential had been taken from William and she wondered if he would ever adapt.

Looking over at William, Dale said, "Your time as a medicine man is not over, but it will end soon. You know that, don't you?"

"Yes," William said. It was the first time he had ever heard it put into words. It was the first time that he had even admitted it to himself.

"You will be starting your service to your Gods and Goddesses soon. You know that, don't you?"

"Yes," William said with much more confidence. Of course, soon was a relative word in this context.

"Filled with two great powers held in balance, the only way to shift to one is for the other to weaken. I think your Gods and Goddesses have allowed their power in you to weaken so that you can adjust more easily," Dale said.

Shaking his head, William said, "No. Oscar Meyers needed my gift in his service. They asked me to give it to him so that he could perform his service."

"You have a little anger about that?" Dale asked knowing that such a loss could easily result in resentment.

"I suppose," William answered. He wondered how he could live with a sluggish mind and in such a dull appearing world. Shaking his head, he said, "I can't really blame them; they asked for my permission. I gave it, knowing that I would be less than that what I was, because the reason was noble."

Dale laughed and shook his head. He asked, "You think there was only one reason?"

"Yes."

Surprised by William's answer, Dale asked, "Don't you think that there can be more than one reason for any action? Do you place such limits on the wisdom of your Gods and Goddesses? Aren't you afraid of insulting them as a result of such a narrow vision?"

Chastised, William studied the sheet covering his body. After thinking about it for a moment, he said, "You may be right."

"I am right and you know it," Dale said.

"Okay," William admitted feeling oddly comforted. There was a trace of doubt that remained in his voice. He asked, "What could be another reason?"

"Have you given any thought about the character of our people after the great curse was lifted?" Dale asked instead of answering the question directly.

"I know that our people have made great strides in recovering from it over the past few years," William said.

Dale laughed and shook his head at the superficial answers that William was giving. It was so unlike the young man that he had known in the past. He said, "You haven't really thought about it."

"I guess so," William answered.

"After years of living in a gray world, our people discovered color. Did you know that our people are experiencing the greatest economic growth of any segment of society? We have men who used to earn less than ten thousand dollars a year who have become millionaires through hard work," Dale said.

"I know that," William said. He had been watching the changing economics of Native Americans quite closely over the past few years.

"Why do you think that is the case?" Dale asked.

"I hadn't really thought about it," William answered knowing that the answer wasn't because the curse had been lifted. That act alone should only have made his people equally competitive with others. He shrugged and added, "They started so far behind that even minimal gains would look impressive.

"I think that it wasn't until the day the curse was lifted that our people realized what they could do. Even more important, they realized that they could do it. Having that experience freed them to see their true abilities rather than their limitations. Those who have not suffered like our people do not see what they can accomplish. Their growth is slow while ours has been explosive because we are not blinded by the obvious," Dale said.