FAITH
FAITH (after an idea by Nesciri)
Red Bear stepped outside onto the porch where Teaspoon
and Ike were waiting for him. He had delayed telling them he was leaving with
Buck but now he knew he had no choice. "I am going to take Running Buck
now and we will return to the Kiowa. He will be safe there. Yellow Crane will
leave you alone then."
"Hold on, Red Bear. That's not a good idea," Teaspoon said, placing a restraining hand on Ike's arm when the boy stepped forward.
Teaspoon was planning to be diplomatic but he would
be more forceful if necessary. He had lived among Indians for years and he knew
a War Chief was not used to having his judgment questioned. "First, Buck
is not well enough to travel. He's obviously been poisoned and you don't know
how he's going to react on the trip. He gets violently ill and he becomes hard
to handle."
"I will take care of him." Red Bear thought
there was more to what the older man was saying.
"Can you really?" Teaspoon was getting
to his point now.
"I can protect him from Yellow Crane. She only
seeks to destroy Running Buck so that I will suffer. Back with the tribe, we
will both be safe. The Man of Dreams will cure him and he can stay with the
Kiowa. Perhaps, that is how it should be."
"You can't protect him forever. If you take
him back, you might cure his body, but that's all you'll do. That boy thinks
there something wrong with him and it's not just that he thinks Yellow Crane
has his spirit. It's deeper than that. He thinks he's evil and deserves to be
punished. If you take him to the Kiowa, they are going to treat him the same
way they did before, maybe worse. He's an adult now, not a child that can be
watched over every second. What kind of life do you think he's going to have?
You were a chief when he left and you couldn't do anything to stop the abuse
so what makes you think you can do it now? If you take him back, you are just
going to reinforce the belief that he's evil. He needs to make his stand right
here."
"He is my brother!" Red Bear shouted.
"This is not your decision to make, it's mine."
"The same way you have always made his decisions
for him? I know all about you taking him to the mission school and leaving him
there. You think he wanted that? No, he wanted to stay with you, but he did
what you asked, just like he always has. He'll go with you now, but it will
kill him. He'll die a little more everyday with the Kiowa and you know it."
"The white world has not been kind to Running
Buck. They don't accept him here and I'm not going to leave him alone again."
"Red Bear, you're not leaving him alone. You're
leaving him with us. We are his family. We've watched out for him from the day
he got here." Teaspoon could see that Red Bear was not moved so far by
his argument. The stubbornness in his eyes reminded him of Buck's own stubborn
streak. Once his mind was made up, nothing you could say or do would change
it. Teaspoon thought it was over and he had lost, but he felt Ike pull away
from him and was surprised to see the boy step forward.
Ike stood face to face with Red Bear and began to speak. <Red Bear, I am Ike McSwain. We met before when the Kiowa captured me and Buck was going to trade his life for mine. Buck and I met at the mission school. He was alone and so was I. He was so lonely. He used to cry at night when he thought no one could hear. His grief helped me pull out of mine. We realized we were alike. No one wanted us because of how we looked or how we talked. We depended on each other because we didn't have anyone else. But it was more than that. He liked me for who I was. Once, we decided to leave the mission for a few days and explore the mountains that were about fifteen miles away. It was the longest I had ever walked in my life and my pack was so heavy. I was exhausted when we got there. When I emptied my pack, I discovered a big heavy horseshoe that Buck had shoved in there for a joke. I wanted to kill him but I realized at the same time I had found a best friend. Someone not just to cry with, but to laugh with. He saved my life and I saved his. Buck is my brother too. I promise I will watch him. I am asking you to leave him here.>
