Weak in Body, Strong in Mind and Spirit

We soon arrived back at the trail to Chase Lake. Puyallup and I hoisted Kimberly and Pamela on our shoulders, with Puyallup tossing the container of Bitter Nightshade over his other, and we ran back, past Chase Lake and to the Five Brothers. Again, we were stopped by several sentries who made us wait to ensure we weren’t followed, which gave Puyallup and me a chance to catch our breaths.

We soon arrived at the camp. The first to greet us was the Baddog Olivia, all smiles and butt wagging. I set Pamela down and Olivia licked her face, and then she came to me, very excited.

Kamela came out to greet us.

“Welcome home!” she said cheerily, hugging me.

“Hi Kamela! Did Olivia behave?” asked Pamela.

“Yes. I didn’t even know she was here, because usually she wasn’t,” said Kamela. “She was most often off hunting and running through the Forest.”

“That would be Olivia,” said Pamela.

“Did you find that which you sought?” she asked.

“Yes,” I replied as Puyallup held up his Bitter Nightshade garbage bag container.

“We need to rest a bit. The sun is setting. I’ll go to see Aurora after a nap,” I said wearily.

“Do that, Madu,” said Kamela. “Can I get you anything?”

“No, I’m fine, just tired,” I replied.

Puyallup wandered off to his nest, and Kimberly and Pamela to their tent abode.

“Want to play Scrabble?” asked Pamela.

“Sure,” said Kimberly.

As I was dozing off, I could hear Pamela and Kimberly talking. I didn’t understand what they were saying, but their words and voices were comforting to me.

“Rats,” said Kimberly. “I don’t have a ‘U’ and I really need one because I have a ‘Q’.”

“I have one,” said Pamela. “Do you want it?”

“Sure,” said Kimberly. “What do you need?”

“I could use an ‘I’”, said Pamela.

“Here, I have an ‘I’!” said Kimberly. “I’ll trade ya!”

This sounds like an odd game, I thought, as I drifted off to sleep. I did my best to listen for Kimberly kicking Pamela’s butt but I couldn’t stay awake. I was soon awakened by Kamela.

“Madu, wake up. Puyallup is here,” she said.

“Uuuuuum... OK,” I said as I arose.

“Madu, Aurora should be awake,” he said. “Let’s take her the Bitter Nightshade.”

We staggered more than we walked the short distance to Aurora’s nest. She smiled as we approached. Puyallup handed her the Bitter Nightshade garbage bag container. Aurora looked inside.

“This is wonderful,” she said. “This is a goodly quantity of stems.”

“Stems?” I asked.

“Yes, stems,” said Aurora. “The leaves and berries are poisonous, but the stems of Bitter Nightshade are a powerful medicine. It can cure everything from warts to boils to joint ache. It is also a powerful sedative.”

“But Pamela has a disease,” said Puyallup. “Not warts.”

Aurora smiled. “Our People do not get this cancer often, but they do get it. It is rare among us. If it is a bad cancer, Bitter Nightshade was used to treat it by my predecessors. I can only hope it works for Kimberly. Bring her here soon.”

Aurora then returned to her nest with the container.

Puyallup and I looked at each other and shrugged. Time to sleep some more, and we staggered back to our nests.

I awoke as the gray of sunrise lightened the sky and erased the stars. I stretched. Kamela wasn’t next to me as she usually was. I half sat up on my elbows.

“My circadian rhythm is messed up,” I thought to myself. “I go to bed at night and get up during the day. Backwards.”

No Kamela in the nest, but there was a Woodchuck, and I was hungry. It was tasty.

Soon Puyallup came by. He seemed to be anxious to start Kimberly’s treatment. I understood. I walked from the nest and was greeted by Olivia, who seemed to have boundless happiness. She must have gotten it from Pamela, I reasoned.

Pamela and Kimberly crawled from their tent abode. Both were yawning.

“I need food,” said Pamela. “Bacon and eggs?”

“That sounds wonderful, Pam,” replied Kimberly.

I have no idea what they were saying since they were speaking in their own odd, chattering nonsensical language. But I watched in wonder as Pamela made fire in a contraption. She then placed a container on it, and put perfectly fine meat on it.

“Pamela!” I mind shouted.

“Geeze! What?” she replied.

“Why do Little People ruin their food like that, and then proceed to eat it? Just eat it!” I said.

“Raw?” she asked. “I don’t think so.

I walked over by Pamela and picked up a piece of meat from her small platform and ate it to demonstrate.

“Ewwww,” said Pamela.

Many of the People gathered around to watch Pamela. After burning her meat and Bird eggs, she placed it all on small round things and she and Kimberly ate it. Yes, ate it. I am not making this up.

“Mmmm... good Pam,” said Kimberly.

“Bacon and eggs is hard to mess up,” said Pamela.

“Not according to our Sasquatch friend,” said Kimberly with a grin.

Soon they were finished consuming their sacrifices to whatever it was they were honoring.

“Kimberly and Pamela, we must see Aurora quickly,” said Puyallup. The sun has risen and she will be sleeping soon,” said Puyallup.

Pamela and Kimberly rose.

“I’ll do the dishes later,” said Kimberly.

“OK,” said Pamela. “Olivia, come.”

Olivia hopped up and trotted along by Pamela, as the People watched in wonder.

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” said one.

“I’ve never seen a coyote that looks like that,” said another.

“What color does it want to be? White or brown?” asked a Young One.

“Why did they burn their food on a fire?” asked another, “And then consume it!”

“Wow,” said yet another.

It wasn’t long before we arrived at Aurora’s nest. She was outside, waiting for us.