Puye Prophecy
Kat did not look forward to telling her sister what had happened on her journey. Coming across as a crazy person was not her style. She knew there was no avoiding it and knew it would sound convoluted because she wasn’t sure it actually happened. But parts did happen, and the proof was the dream catcher worn by Shadow Eagle that somehow wound up hanging around her neck.
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Chapter #8 – Not Crazy
Maddie’s alarm went off at 6:30 AM, approximately ten seconds before her front doorbell rang. In the hallway outside, with her head resting on the doorjamb, an exhausted Kat nearly fell into Maddie’s arms when she opened the door. Maddie had every intention of chewing her out for being late and at least for not calling, but then she saw how distressed her sister was and knew something was wrong.
“What the…?” Maddie questioned.
“Oh, Maddie, you won’t believe the day I’ve had.” Maddie reached for Kat on the threshold, steadying her in her arms and pulling her into a hug. Kat did not hug her sister back and began to sob as both hands clutched the dream catcher still hanging around her neck. “I have so much to tell you, but I’m afraid there’s so much you won’t believe.”
“Sweetie, you know I’ll listen to every word…no matter how bizarre it gets. You know that, right?” soothed Maddie as she stepped back, holding Kat by the upper arms and noticing she had something in her hands, “What’s this?”
“You’re going to think I’m crazy. I know…I know…you already do, but the shit I’m going to tell you is going to make it certifiable,” said Kat, face still shedding tears. She held out the pendant, “This dream catcher hung around Shadow Eagle’s neck when we…” her voice trailed off, and her eyes searched Maddie’s for acceptance. “How it wound up hanging around my neck is just one of the things I cannot explain.” Kat began to cry again, released the pendant, and hugged Maddie firmly.
“SSSHHH,” hushed Maddie. In an attempt to change the subject, she said, “Hey, I just got up to start a big breakfast for us. How’s that sound?”
“That sounds like the third thing I need,” replied Kat, wiping away tears. “A hot shower and a big bed are tied for the top two things I need most. I must wash off the chaos of this night and then sleep. Most of this crazy day has been vivid waking dreams, and sleeping has not been part of them. Honestly, I don’t know what’s real and what’s not,” pausing to look down at the pendant again, knowing what she held was real, but how it got there around her neck could not be as real. “I’m exhausted.”
After Maddie tucked her sister into the guest room with fresh towels for a shower, turned down the bed, and told Kat to sleep until whenever. She went into the kitchen to brew some coffee. Maddie’s day required caffeine, and she had a strict routine no matter what storms approached and there would be some storms, that much Maddie was sure.
What concerned her most was the partial story she got from Kat in their phone call several days earlier that had left her hanging. Was the chaos her sister needed to wash off a continuation of the story, which she promised to talk more about later? What about that dream catcher? Whatever the tale, it should be a good one. Maddie concentrated on the coffee in front of her, turning the cup absently on the table, mulling over where this story might go.
Shortly after 11 AM, Kat staggered through the door to the kitchen, rubbing her eyes and sporting a big yawn. “Morning…I guess.”
“Morning, sunshine. Get some good rest?” asked Maddie, leaning back from the table.
“Ya know, sis, I think a big breakfast is the last thing I need. I’m not feeling hunger pangs at the moment.”
Maddie said, “That’s cool. I don’t want to fix breakfast at lunchtime anyway. How about a cup of Cafe Verona and a hard-boiled egg to take the edge off?”
“That’s sounds perfect. You always make the best hard-boiled eggs. Mine always turn out like the hardest-boiled eggs,” confessed Kat.
“I’ve only told you twenty times, boil for 12 minutes, not 30,” reminded Maddie.
Kat sprinkled some sea salt and coarse ground black pepper onto the small end of her egg. Her first bite elicited a soft groan. “Perfect. The yolk is soft, almost creamy but firm, and not crumbly like mine.”
“12, not 30,” repeated Maddie.
Sister talk prevailed for the next hour, and several cups of coffee before Maddie could stand it no longer, “Are you going to fill me in on that last cruel phone call where you baited me with some spooky Indian voodoo stuff and the smell of smoke and then blowing me off with we’ll talk more later? It’s later, Kat, and you’d better spill it. And you better have an explanation about that dream catcher.”
Kat fell silent, looked down to avoid eye contact, fidgeted with her hands, and said softly, “I’m afraid I could be pregnant.”
Maddie sprayed coffee through her nose and coughed into astonished laughter. Of the most fantastic stories Kat had ever shared, this had never crossed her mind as a possibility. When Maddie recovered enough to talk coherently, she said, trying hard not to begin laughing again, “Okay, I’ll play. So… when were you…umm…last inseminated?”
Without missing a beat, Kat answered, “Last night.” The haunted look on her face told Maddie that her sister was deadly serious, squelching the desire to laugh.
Maddie dropped her head into one hand and began to massage her forehead without saying a word. Finally, she asked, “Who was he?”
“The spirit of Shadow Eagle,” Kat whispered. “I think I was raped. But maybe…maybe it wasn’t rape. All of it happened and seemed so real, but then I woke up behind the wheel of the limo, fully dressed, and his dream catcher hung around my neck.”
Maddie leaned forward with both elbows on the table supporting her chin, “Oh shit, you were raped…maybe…by a goddam Indian spirit. Am I right? And why might this spirit have chosen you for a little nasty? Is that dream catcher a little thank-you gift for your participation?”
Kat ignored Maddie’s sarcastic remarks and began to explain. “Desert Breeze and Big Crow with Little Feet explained the whole thing to me. They both said I carried the spirit of Dew on Flowers, the bride-to-be of Shadow Eagle.”
“I see,” said Maddie, rolling her eyes. “This just keeps getting better. Desert breezes, dewy flowers, crow’s feet, and eagles, my God, Kat. How did you get involved with…I mean, did you actively participate in this spirit-filled fling? Don’t tell me…you had to fuck Shadow Eagle to connect him and his bride-to-be, who was the spirit you carried. Am I getting the flow of this sex adventure of yours?”
Most of Kat’s dream adventures she had shared previously with her sister usually had a sexual bent, so this adventure seemed routine so far. Maddie broke eye contact and slowly shook her head, signaling disbelief. Kat began to cry. “I knew you’d think I was crazy.”
Her tears turned to sobs, prompting Maddie to scoot her chair around the table to wrap Kat in her arms again, stroking her hair to restore calm. When emotions began to ebb, Kat smelled smoke and stiffened.
Maddie smelled it, too, and whispered, “What the hell? What’s burning?”
A deep baritone voice penetrated the air, “Madeline, you need to believe, Katherine.” As quickly as the smell of smoke appeared, the voice and the smoke evaporated into thin air.
“What the…?” exclaimed Maddie, jumping up with eyes wide, looking at her sister, still in tears, then turning around to scan the room for the owner of the voice and the source of the smoke.
Kat looked at her sister through her tears and scolded, “See? I’m not crazy.”
When she turned around, Maddie displayed a look of terror Kat had never seen before on her older sister’s face. “Who was…?” were the only words Maddie could say before she dropped back into the chair with tears of her own now slipping down her cheeks. Not tears of fright, but of sympathy for her sister, “What the hell happened to you?”
“You won’t believe me if I tell you,” sobbed Kat.
“After what I just experienced, I’ll consider anything you tell me,” Maddie promised, reaching out to take her sister’s hands. “Tell me. Tell me all of it, please.”
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Hope you enjoyed chapter #8. Still, more story to share, so keep checking back. Would love to know what you think so far gdogwise@live.com
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G.