Centuries of June Read Online Free

pair of dogs, Chewing Ribs and Curly Tail, accompanied them through the wilderness, trotting ahead to chase hares flushed from the brambles. The sun rose and brightened the sky to yellow, and the sisters soon wearied of their task and escaped to the shade, popping sweet berries into their mouths while they dreamt of their futures.
    “They say you are destined for Man-in-the-Moon, who everyone calls just plain D’is, for his face is round as the very moon,” S’ee teased her sister.
    “Like an owl with a man’s nose,” Shax’saani replied. “Like a plate with two eyes and a bump in the middle.”
    “The moon in the man. He’s not for you, sister. For you, someone handsome, but for me, someone strong.”
    “Someone like our father. Yeikoo.shk’.”
    Each girl fell silent at the mention of his name, as speaking of so foolish a man might disturb his spirit. Birdsong and the humming of insects relieved the silence. Far off Chewing Ribs barked at a passing curiosity, and had they been attuned to the other world rather than to their own emotions, they would have heard an ursine shuffling at the head of the trail.
    “What was he like? Besides strong and stupid?”
    Shax’saani glared at her and munched a handful of salmonberries. “Not stupid. He had charm. He would sing, and mother would swoon. How do you think we are five sisters and five brothers? Every time they heard that singing, the brothers and sisters watched for the furs and blankets to rustle, and if you counted the moons from the night of the song, you would only have to count nine months. And there you were, last time, little doll baby.”
    “So he was a great lover, but not so wise.”
    “Headstrong. Determined. When his father died, he stayed up three weeks straight to carve the totem. He would set his mind on a task, and it was done as he wished.”
    S’ee picked up her basket. “Like our brothers. Prideful.” She was speaking not only of her natural brothers, but of her aunt and uncle’s sons, the brothers of the clan.
    Her sister rose and straightened her skirts. “Like us all.”
    They continued to forage, searching for the telltale flash of crimson or yellow among the green leaves, not paying any attention to where they were walking, when S’ee stepped, barefoot, in an unmistakable softness. From the smell of it, the pile was fresh and ripe with berries.
    “Bearshit,” she screamed. “Stupid stinking bears. Why do they have to take a dump right where people are walking?” She scraped her foot on fallen pine needles and sank to the ground. “Do they think they own the world? Bearshit, wherever and whenever.” Snapping some leavesfrom a raspberry bush, she swiped at the excrement and swore under her breath. “Don’t you know there are people here?” S’ee shouted, and her voice echoed through the trees.
    Clamping a hand over her baby sister’s mouth, Shax’saani grunted for silence, scanning the forest for any movement and listening for the slightest sound. “You have no sense, Dolly. What if the bear should hear you?”
    “I hope he does,” she shouted. “Then maybe he won’t shit where people might step.”
    “Some respect, okay? It’s their world, too.” Struck by the moment, she giggled and said, “Come on, sister, we’ll find some water to wash off your stink, or our mother will think I’ve brought home a sow.”
    “Who are you calling a sow, you fat, lazy bear?”
    They ran off hand in hand to a stream, pulled off their clothes, and jumped in the cool water. Gnats circled in crazy clouds above their heads, and the sunlight shone in radiant waves across the rippling water. The two dogs came crashing through the brush, barking and yapping at the girls. From the bank, they whimpered and paced impatiently, not daring to jump in. Shax’saani yelled at them to scat, and S’ee splashed handfuls of water at the mutts until they gamboled away. Moments later, the leaves stirred again and S’ee thought the dogs had