Cedar Woman Read Online Free Page B

n eral store, w h ere sh e had g one t o f etch a sack of corn m eal for her m o ther, the
    co r n er of h e r eye was caught by a sp la sh o f viv i d col o r w i t h in t h e
    sh a d ows of t h e single, white, steeple c h ur c h situated in t h e center of t h e s m a ll village. Ther e , in a cr e v ice w h ere t h e p o rtico of t h e c h urch j o i n ed with t h e m ain buil d i n g , a humm ingbird lay str u ggli n g wit h in a s p i d e r’s we b , its bill pres s ed to its cro p , a n d i t s wings glu e d to its bod y , i m pr i son e d by t h e t o ug h f i b e rs of t h e w e b. F lo u n d e r in g, fi gh tin g f o r it s life, its fra n tic h eart b eat v isi b le b e n ea t h its j eweled b r east, t h e ti n y ani m a l’s struggle beca m e evident t o the young c h ild. Bending over, she gently releas e d the s m all creature from i t s death t r a p , r ippi n g t h e w e b from t h e foun d ati o n o f t h e c h urc h . I m p ris o n ed still wit h in t h e d ea d ly e m brace of the web, the bird thr a sh e d , p a nic-stri c k en, within her tiny pal m .
    C u p p ing t h e small b ird g e n t ly wit h in t h e p r o tecti v e she l ter o f h e r hand s , E v alena, called L e na for s h ort, walked to a lar g e b ou l d er, w h ich
    l ay close b y . S q uat ti ng u p o n t h e g r ou n d , and l eani n g ag ainst t h e s t one
    f o r sup p o r t , s h e slo w l y r i pp ed a w a y t h e g o o ey st ra nd s t h a t h e l d the hu m m ingbi r d capti v e. W o r k ing qui c k l y , s h e gently re m oved t h e sticky t h rea d s u n til h e was free. Ope n ing h e r h a n d s to release h im , s h e rej o iced as he so a red i n t o t h e air, w i ngs beat i ng i n a b l ur of m o t i o n , f a sc i n at in g the child who r e m ained crou c h ed b e side t h e massive rock.
    T h is, in a n d of itself, wo u ld h a v e stirred t h e i m a g i n ati o n of t h e v illa g ers, bu t w h at i m p ressed t h em f u rt h er was t h e co n tin u ed p rese n ce of t h e ti n y b i r d . Wh e n e v er L e na v e n tu red a l o n g t h e dus t y s t reets of t h e
    v illa g e, a b rillia n t j eweled flash of c o lor wo u l d b e see n , d a rti n g a b o u t h er

head, her sh ou l der s , a nd occa s ionally, l i ghting in t h e palm of h e r hand, as if to say, “Here is m y p r o t ector; h e re is m y m o t h er.”
    Reading an a c count of t h is s p ectac u lar e v e n t in a letter se n t to h er by h e r d e vot e d da ug h ter- i n- l aw, R e va T w o Strikes d eci d ed t h at a new na m e be given to Lena, to signify t h e i m portance of what h a d j u st
    ha p p e n e d . Af ter l o ng m editation, a n d con sultation with t h e m edicine
    ma n o n t h e R oseb u d re ser v ati o n , a n e w n a m e was selecte d . He n c e f o r th, Lena L o n g A waited wo uld be L e na Ced a r Wo m an, t h e n u rt u r e r , t h e qu i ntessential m o t h er, her s oul st r o n g , rising f rom bed r oc k , its roots fir m ly planted i n to M o t h er Earth, e m bracing its core in rev e rence a n d w i s d o m . Ins ti n ct i v ely she kn e w Lena w a s close to The Mother. She was a t u rtle wo m an, or m edicine wo m an, a n d a s su c h , h e r n am e shou l d be a ref l ect io n o f h e r sp i r it . A n d s o , her feet w er e set u po n h er pa t h of des ti n y as a holy wo m an.
    The i n c i dent w it h t h e hu m mi ngb ir d w a s m erely a revela ti on t o t h e co m m unit y , for n o one co uld have g u ess e d t h at, w i t h i n t h i s sev e n- y ea r - o l d c h il d ’s b r east , d w el t a l o v e f o r C r eato r a n d M o t h e r Ea r t h way b e yo n d her y e a rs. W i t h e v ery en deav o r, s h e w ou l d a s k T h e Gr an dfath e rs t o gu i de her feet, as s h e beli e v e d no i n cid e nt, no task, n o du t y , wh ic h s h e pe r f o r m ed, w a s tri v ial o r m und a ne. C o nst a nt in her m ind was a par a ble h er f at h er h a d t o ld h e r u p on t h e o ccasion of o n e of h er