“You can kiss your family and friends good-bye and put miles between you, but at the same time you carry them with you in your heart, your mind, your stomach, because you do not just live in a world but a world lives in you.” ― Frederick Buechner
Some time passed before Whitney reasoned that she couldn’t just sit where she was and do nothing. She viewed the island from the air as the Kukula descended. She thought it was odd that the bird, so intrepid during flight, became nervous as it dropped her off on the island. Then again everything seemed odd in this land. She considered the Kukula’s reaction further. Perhaps there was some untold danger here as there seemed to be throughout this land. Whitney finally concluded that remaining immobilized could not help her find her cousins. She decided that exploring the island while risky was practical. The bird appeared to have brought her to the island for a reason, hopefully, Whitney assumed, she was brought here for her safety.
She walked beyond the clearing where the Kukula had left her. The rocks rising above the lake bordering the side of the island that she was on provided her with solid footing. Whitney determined that she would begin her trip around the island along this point. She hadn’t traveled far before she realized that she did not feel alone. She stopped to see if she could spot something that might be watching her or following her. Whitney, assured that she didn’t have anything to fear at the moment, could not escape the feeling that she was in the company of others. Something familiar ahead of her diverted Whitney’s attention. A thick grove of blueberry bushes expanding on the other side of the grey rocks greeted Whitney. She immediately approached them and picked a large dark blueberry that stood out among the clumps of premature plum colored berries. She inspected the blueberry before she plopped it in her mouth. The sweet flavor immediately appealed to her. Her heavy concern was lifted as she picked another ripe berry. Just then she heard, “Yes Dear, blueberries are a family favorite.” Startled Whitney looked up to see several women and a girl about her age smiling at her. Stunned once again Whitney recomposed herself. After all she had just ridden on the back of a large burgundy bird after departing from the top of the highest tree she had ever seen. Whitney looked at the women and the girl and instantly recognized a few of them. “Memere Mininni?, Great Grandma Brown and Great Grandma Dwyer?” She rubbed her eyes to ensure that she wasn’t seeing ghosts. She thought that the blueberry may have caused this hallucination. Again, the land was full of unexpected curiosities not to mention dangers.
“Whitney, Dear, we are here with you. You are not seeing ghosts. We have always been with you,” Whitney felt a warmth fill her as her great-grandmother spoke.
“I am your mother’s mother,” Memere Mininni declared offering Whitney a reassuring smile.
“And you are named after my father,” the young girl in the company explained.
Whitney was awestruck, “Elizabeth? How can this be? You’re, why you are all,” Whitney stopped and looked away realizing that she was being impolite.
“Dear child,” Grandma Brown spoke, “You need not be embarrassed. After All we did sneak up on you.”
Whitney became alarmed, “Am I? Am I like you?”
Grandma Dwyer approached her, she gently held both of Whitney’s hands in her own before she embraced the child’s head close to her chest, “No child, you are very different from us.”
“But you all went away before I was even born?”
“Yes, we left the world as you know it, but we have never left you. We will never leave you,” Elizabeth declared. She warmly held Whitney’s hand.
“I am so, so happy to see you,” Whitney said. Tears fell from her brown eyes. In the presence of this unexpected family security the child exposed her raw distress that had consumed her until now. “Are there, are there others like you here?”
Each of the women and the girl smiled lovingly, “We are all here my love,” Memere Mininni expressed.
“Are my cousins here?”
“No.”
“Do you know where they are?”
“We certainly do,” declared Grandma Brown.
“Will you help me find them?”
Each of the women gathered around Whitney and embraced her, “Let’s pick berries first shall we?” Grandma Dwyer responded. In turn she led her mother, another woman who suddenly appeared, along the bushes to an area where they both sat. They began the task of picking berries placing them in their aprons. Elizabeth, holding Whitney’s hand, guided her to an area next to them. She giggled as she picked a blueberry placing it in her bonnet. The next one she picked went into her mouth.
“It’s the blueberry rule that I made up, you pick one and eat the other,” the women laughed heartily.
“Elizabeth, that rule was long in-place before you were ever born,” declared Elizabeth’s mother. Whitney was moved by the affection that Grandma Brown openly displayed for Elizabeth.
“And long before you were born as well,” Grandma Brown’s mother Ethel announced. Again the island filled with the delightful laughter of the women. Whitney had countless questions, but she surrendered to the gayful spirit of her company. They thusly nestled together under the splendid sun gathering blueberries. Some time passed when Whitney heard Elizabeth humming a familiar tune.
“I know that song,” declared Whitney,” my daddy sung it to me when he pushed me on the swing set when I was smaller.”
“My father sang it to me as well,” Elizabeth smiled. In unison the girls sang together,
“I’m just a silly old seahorse swimming in the sea
I’m just a silly old seahorse won’t you come play with me?”
I like to dance with the starfish in the deep blue sea,
I’m just a silly old seahorse, won’t you come play with me!”
Over and over the girls sang the tune under the blanket of the sky. Whitney lost her sense of awareness until she noticed that her fingers were stained blue. She laughed at their appearance and raised them to show the others. To her surprise no one was there. She searched again. Had any of them been there?
“Nikmaq,” Whitney was startled.
“What did you say?” she responded to the strange voice.
“It is our time to visit,” stated a deep-voiced man. Whitney looked for the women but she only saw a tall dark-skinned man dressed in animal skins, wearing moccasins standing beside her.
Whitney was understandably perplexed, “Where did Elizabeth and my grandmothers go to?”
“They come and they go,” the man laughed.
“Who are you?”
“I am part of your family,” Whitney looked at the figure confused.
“You’re an Indian,” Whitney replied.
“I am? Well, so are you.”
“Excuse me, but I am really confused. First, I am walking along all by myself and then I’m joined by all those ladies. Now you appear telling me that I am part of your family. It sure is a lot to take in.”
The man smiled lovingly, “Muwin, think of me as a grandfather. I am the father of a child who was your great, great, great, great grandmother.”
“Excuse me, but I think you are confused. My name is Whitney. Can you tell me where my grandmothers went to. I think that they can straighten this all out,” Whitney looked about her in search of the women, but also to avoid looking at the man.
“Of course your name is Whitney. Muwin means black bear in our language. Your black hair is beautiful like the fur of the black bear. We will join your ‘grandmothers’ in time, but first we have some exploring to do if you want to go around the island.”
“How do you know that I am going around the island?”
Again the man smiled, “We understand all that you are. You are one of many explorers in our family.”
“You are going to go with me?”
“Yes, just as I have always gone with you.”
“I don’t want to be impolite, but that’s the part I just don’t get.”
“I understand, come let us explore.” The man began to walk in the direction that Whitney had first pursued. Whitney followed him.
“You’re an Indian right?”
“That’s what people now commonly call us, yes. I am from the Mi’Kmaq nation. We call ourselves the Megumawaach which means red earth people.”
“Micmac?” Isn’t that what you first said to me?” Whitney inquired following the moccasins in front of her.
“When I first spoke to you I said ‘Nikmaq’. The word is a greeting meaning my kin.”
“You really are my very great grandfather?”
“Yes Muwin. My name is Nakuset. In your language this means sun.”
“Your parents named you son?”
Nakuset laughed heartily, “No my mother named me after the sun in the sky. She told me that when I was born the sun shined so splendidly that day.”
“Are you, were you a chief?”
“No, but my daughter is a Megumawaach princess. I am a Putu, an elder. I offer advice in matters of conflict. I offer advice with matters concerning treaties. Another role I enjoy is being a storyteller.”
“You’re definitely part of the family then, my uncle likes to tell crazy stories.”
“Yes, he has the family gift.”
Nakuset and Whitney continued their stroll along the island shore. They climbed over speckled grey rocks lined with streaks of yellow lichen and around grass-covered coves whose rich soil was blanketed with beds of moss. They reached the opposite point of the island where the whitecaps of the open lake enhanced by a strong breeze promenaded beyond the shore. Nakuset sensed that Whitney was struggling from the long hike, “Let’s sit for a spell.” Whitney welcomed the invitation.
“Nakuset, how come I can see and speak to all these people who have,” she paused considering her words, “have, have?”
“Passed?”
“Yes.”
“The answer to that question is complicated. One part of your question suggests why are you seeing these loved ones when you have apparently never seen them before.”
“Yes, that’s what I mean,” Whitney eagerly replied.
“In order to understand that you must understand who you are.”
“I am Whitney Priscilla Dwyer.”
“That is your name yes, but who are you?” Whitney paused in thought as the breeze from the lake rustled the leaves on the tree behind her.
She blushed from embarrassment, “I don’t know what you mean.”
Again the leaves rustled uniformly as the breeze shifted. “You see the leaves on that maple tree?”
“Of course.”
“As the seasons change the leaves change as well. In spring they appear out of buds growing rapidly, in the summer they are green and vibrant.”
Whitney interrupted excitedly, “Yes and in the fall they turn different colors.”
“Yes, as they are gradually deprived of sunlight the grow weak before they fall from the tree. In the winter the maple is bare standing lonely.”
“But the next spring the tree grows new leaves,” Whitney added.
“You already have a better understanding of who you are.”
“I do?”
“How many leaves do you think that ascopo has?” Whitney looked at Nakuset unable to comprehend the meaning of the word.
“Ascopo means tree.”
Whitney regarded the maple tree, “I don’t think I could count them all.”
“I see, how many leaves does the closet twig have?
Whitney looked at the tree and counted the number of leaves on the twig closest to her, “Thirty-four,” I think.
“How many twigs on a branch?
Again Whitney regarded the tree, “There are a lot.”
“Make a guess then.”
“One hundred.”
“Each limb has a hundred branches?”
Again Whitney studied the tree, she started to count and then she responded, “Yes, about that.”
“How many limbs does the tree have?”
“Come on,” Whitney protested. Nakuset patiently smiled at her. “One hundred,” Whitney declared. “Because it’s not a very big tree,” she added.
“So, this tree will lose a lot of leaves this fall?”
“At least 34,000 Whitney proudly declared. She paused to think, “But what does that have to do with who I am?”
“Your family is like that tree. You can only recognize a limb of your family.”
Whitney considered Nakuset’s explanation as she attempted to grasp its significance, “So, there are many more family members who I don’t know.”
“And each loves you the same.”
Whitney smiled at that understanding. “If what you say is true I could never recognize them all.”
“No, not as you understand ‘recognition’. Nevertheless they all come from the same strong tree.”
“The Megumawaach believe that your ancestors always remain with you. You have to learn to quiet your senses in order to recognize their presence. These spirits are in all living things. You are never alone, you only convince yourself that you are so.”
“It’s like when I go to church to pray then. I pray to God and to Jesus.”
“The Megumawaach believe that nature is their church. They speak to all things in such a way.”
“The names that people give to their creators are words that could never begin to explain the love that such a creator has for those who were created. People have told me that such a creation does not make sense according to science which explains everything. I ask how can something be created from nothing? The only answer that makes sense is that the creation, like any creation, is the greatest miracle ever imagined.”
“You mean like walking on water?”
“Even much greater.”
“Do you believe in God, Nakuset?”
“We call the creator Glooscap. Glooscap means man who came from nothing. Glooscap existed to help all people. He saved the world from an evil frog-monster, who had swallowed the Earth’s water.”
Whitney couldn’t help but laugh at both the name of the creator and the vision of a giant frog-monster.”
“Yes, the story seems far-fetched. Don’t you think that an arc full of animals of each kind floating for months on a flooded Earth seems unlikely to others. Yet, both stories deal with extreme natural occurrences, a drought and a flood. Humans have interesting ways of describing what they don’t understand.”
“So, you don’t believe in miracles Nakuset?
“I believe in miracles Muwin, just look at you. I believe that words fall far short of explaining those miracles. I find that enjoying the miracle is what living is about,” Whitney was sure that she didn’t understand Nakuset’s full meaning, but she shook her head in agreement as his vision appealed to her. “Glooscap had a terrible brother named Malsumis. Malsumis always tried to make life difficult for people. He made bends in the river to make traveling difficult, he pushed the snow over the mountains causing avalanches. He created illnesses that took our people’s lives. Glooscap was good while Malsumis was intent on creating evil.”
“We have a name for something like that, but I don’t like to think about it,” Whitney responded grabbing Nakuset’s hand.
“Yes Muwin. The story of Glooscap, like most other named creators, teaches us that as long as your heart is good Malsumis or any other evil cannot destroy you. Come we must finish our stroll around the island.”
“Will we find my cousins here Nakuset?”
“No my child.”
“Then why did you lead me on this trip around the island?”
“No journey is wasted, besides that was your wish to go around the island.”
“Nakuset, where is this island.”
“This island is here.”
Whitney rethought her question to Nakuset, “Nakuset, what is the name of this island?”
Nakuset shook his head to confirm his understanding, “Names do not often do a thing justice. If you must you can call this island Here or anything else you like.” Whitney frowned at the response. “You’ll discover an appropriate name when the time is right. Come now, let’s finish our trip, the others are waiting.”
When Nakuset and Whitney appeared around the final cove of the island to the area where they began their journey a very large gathering of family had assembled. Whitney saw her grandfather standing among the gathering, she rushed to him and hugged him. He held her close and warmly stroked her hair. “Grampy, I am so happy to see you.”
“I know as I am always happy to be with you.”
Whitney heard Elizabeth’s familiar voice, “ Look Whitney, here is your Grandpa George and your great grandfathers, Elmer, and Whitney, who you were named for. Elizabeth stepped forward holding the hand of her father. They each approached Whitney with loving smiles. Whitney felt their embrace. Their reassurance was unlike any warmth that she had experienced. With her eyes closed she spoke to Nakuset, “So this is my tree.”
The gathering stepped away from Whitney while Elizabeth held her hand, until they formed a large circle around the girls. She heard them all speak to her in one voice, “You have a difficult journey ahead of you to the Black Mountains. You will encounter untold hardships and despair. Never forget that we are with you. We are always with you.” Elizabeth looked lovingly into Whitney’s eyes. She released her hand and tenderly touched Whitney’s cheek. Elizabeth slowly stepped away from Whitney. When Whitney opened her eyes they were gone. She heard the wind through the leaves singing to her. Whitney suddenly spotted a solitary figure a hundred feet away staring out over the lake. She hesitated before she took a step toward the woman. The next thing Whitney knew everything changed.