Medicine Man 1 Excerpt two

Excerpt 2 Medicine Man 1; The Chief of All Time

I spun around, refusing to get caught up in another

vision. I slammed the door shut. Those deer couldn’t be in

my yard. A chill came over me. The drums pounded in my

head. My medicine mark tingled. I touched the scar. How

was it the lines of it made up an artful design? Whirling at

the edges of memory, I seemed to remember it hadn’t always

been so. The harder I thought about it, the louder the drums

echoed--a howling wolf sung harmony.

The doorbell sounded. I jerked the door open. My

brother, Sam, stood on the other side. It so surprised me I

couldn’t say anything. He stared back at me with maniclooking

eyes.

“You’re not going to help me,” he shouted, washing me

with the foul smell of consumed beer and whisky. He turned

and stepped off the porch.

“Sam, wait. You can’t drive like this.” I grabbed for his

arm, and he vanished. He hadn’t been there in the first place.

“Medicine Elk?”

Morning Dove stood in the doorway of the den dressed in

a long, tan buckskin tunic with very few fringes, over

matching pants. On her feet, she wore well-used moccasins

without design. She carried a rough cloth satchel over her

shoulder. How in the world did all of it fit in her backpack?

Reality seemed to have slipped away from me. Maybe a

car had hit me. Who truly knew what a person went through

while they were in a coma? The mind could imagine

anything. The only choice I had was to believe this reality, to

make my way through it and come out the other side sane

and alive. It took both the mind and body to heal a person

from severe trauma. The spirit needed to be treated as well. I

slammed the door shut. The drums died away.

My grandfather needed to go home, and Morning Dove

needed to go with him. I wanted her to stay--traditionalist or

not.

“Look at her. Look at her, Running Deer. She stands in

your home. No one will stop you. Have her. The reward will

be all she possesses. The Power of the Great Spirit will be

yours to command. You will be as timeless as she is. Take

her.”

I pressed my eyes shut and compelled the voice of the elkman

to go away. What in the name of the spirits was wrong

with me?

Insanity. It seemed the only answer. Madness had sucked

my mind into its wake. Too many hours in the trauma unit

could do that. Everyone knew the risk of burnout. I should

have recognized it when I believed Morning Dove could heal

miraculously.

When did I lose touch with reality? Before the Life Flight

brought Morning Dove in? Or had it been earlier, at Lake

Side Park, when I first saw her? Could I be in the psychiatric

ward right now and not aware of it?

On the other side of the room, the patio door slid open.

The twittering of birds filled the room. Amazed, I looked

outside. Sunlight shone in bright rays through trees that

shouldn’t have been in my back yard. Sunshine? It was only

half past twelve a.m. A dog barked. Another answered it. On

the patio two mangy dogs, about the size of small huskies,

wagged tails and panted. Each dog wore a harness attached

to a loaded travois.

Morning Dove moved out of the house to stand in the

brilliant light. The dogs wiggled with contentment at her

touch. Shaking my head didn’t dispel this newest twist to my

derangement.

“We will be late. Hurry.”

Filled with mischief, Morning Dove’s voice teased me as if

I were always tardy, or perhaps she knew how much I hated

being late.

“Come, boy, she’s not your bride yet. They won’t choose

you if you arrive after the council has met.” My grandfather said.

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Wild Child Publishing e-book

MMI: Chief of All Time is written in American Indian first person POV. S. R. Howen's choice of words creates a complex rhythm of thought drawing the reader through the story. This weaving is visualized in brilliant literary fiction, crossing genres, cultures & time. Howen crafted a masterpiece.

Tomarin 5 stars

I loved the ending as I cheered for better things to happen, and I would definitely be on the American Indian's side of things then, now and always.

I would suggest this book to everyone. It is entertaining, and thought provoking in a positive and enlightening way.

Colleen Bratley 5 stars