River
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River - 29 free porn video
Chapter 29 - The Students Arrive
So far: The river saved another cancer victim, who decided that she
and her daughter may stay in the area. Then news came of a near-
disaster at Moose Portage Reserve that was narrowly averted by Rod and
the girls. Finally, Mark wins twice, getting his trophy into the new
house, and con(vinc)ing River to treat his hides.
---------- ------ ------
Sunday morning found River in her usual spot. She had a pair of
trousers of her fathers to mend, and after that she took out the deer
hides. The river explained the traditional processes involved with
her, and she was dismayed to find out that two hides, particularly one
of the size of the larger one, could take weeks to cure in the
traditional manner. Then, after shocking her with the amount of work
involved, the river offered to help. River would only need to scrape
the hides, and even that the river would facilitate. It then did all
the chemical treatment on the skins, and by sunrise River held two
beautiful deerskins that Mark could sell for a good dollar at the
Northern Store in Terrace Bay.
But River decided that the skins should not be sold. She wrapped them
up and put them into a bundle. She walked down to the Stormcloud
house, and got her morning cuddles with Luv, a new stage in her
morning routine, and asked Marilyn to allow her to store the hides
there.
River gladly changed Luv, giving Marilyn a few more minutes to get
dressed for services, and then the four of them walked over to Ben and
Helen's house for breakfast.
When the family got to the meeting place later, River was astounded at
how many people were there, a full hour before services were to start.
What's more, many of the faces were new. Apparently many people
bringing down children to go to school on Tuesday came in time for the
services, which for the distant reserves meant they had to get up
quite early. River noticed one young boy with his arms clasped firmly
around Silver's neck, and went over and chatted with the family. She
then bent over and greeted the boy, who didn't respond.
"You know, at a certain part of the service I will be asking all the
new people to come into the water. Silver won't come in, but I would
like you to come in. Will you?"
The boy just looked up at her sadly, and shook his head no. "Silver
would really like you to come in," River prodded. "You see, coming
into the river with the rest of us will make you an official member of
the people. And Silver likes the people. He will like you more if you
are one of the people. You want him to like you, don't you? And when
you come back out of the river you will feel better, and Silver will
be right here for you. Will you please come in? It will make me, and
Silver happy."
The boy nodded his head, and spoke in a quiet voice. "I'll come."
"Thanks Derrick," River said, tousling his hair as he hugged the wolf.
"That's the first thing he's said in a week. Maybe two," his mother
said. "Thank you so much for this. We didn't know what to do, and then
the Prophet showed up and they helped so much. But it is Silver who
has done the most for him."
River chatted and mingled with other new faces until service time, and
then waded into the river. By now there must have been two thousand
people on the banks, and after some songs from Marilyn, Shelly, Liesl
and Jennifer, River called all the new people into the water. There
seemed to be nearly 1000 crowded in. Looking on the bank, River could
see that Derrick was still there, still hugging the wolf. Then Silver
stood up, and started prodding the boy to the water's edge, as River
walked towards the bank. She reached out and patted Silver, then took
the boy's reluctant hand and helped him into the river.
They waded back out until the water was about waist deep on the boy,
and she could feel fear running through him. River continued to hold
his hand as she started to sing the song of the people. She finished
and now with all the people in the river completely bilingual in
Ojibwe, she sang the song of the history of the people. When she
finished, the young boy pulled her down and kissed her on the cheek,
saying, "Thank you, River. I needed that so much." A tear came to
River's eye as the boy pulled away and headed to the bank ahead of the
rest of the crowd. Later she saw him chatting away with his parents,
in Ojibwe she realized. He had a hand on Silver's neck, but was no
longer hugging him tightly.
River smiled, and began her service. She updated the people on the
activities in the reserve over the past week, a step she had started
the week before, when the tale of the events up in Stone Ledge had to
be explained to those that were not directly involved. This time it
was the events in Moose Portage and Copper Stone that were explained,
and River gave all the credit to Rod and the girls on the team.
"I have another announcement to make," she said. "We have many people
here who are from other reservations, most bringing their children to
attend school in the local high school on Tuesday. We have a dire need
for host families that can provide a room or two and take in two or
four children. This is not a unpaid position. I understand that the
government pays quite well for boarding students. It is a seven-day a
week job, even if some of the students from closer reserves will be
heading home on most weekends. But if weather gets bad, or something
happens, they may need to be there on the weekends as well. Expect a
lot of that after Christmas break, which all students will go home
for."
"Nick will tell you what the rates are when you sign up. The
requirements are that you have a separate room for each pair of
students, and a separate bed for each. The place will have to be
clean, and we will be inspecting, as will the parents. The house
doesn't have to look pretty: I know that most of them don't. But you
need to keep them clean, and provide two good meals a day, three on
weekends. The students will get lunch money for eating at school."
"If a student gets sick, you treat him or her as you would one of your
own. Tend to them until they are better, and take them to the hospital
if they need treatment. You aren't expected to buy clothes or provide
entertainment for them, other than sharing the TV or computer if your
house has one."
"If you are interested, talk to Nick after the meeting. Shelly,
Marilyn and Jennifer are the ones who families should go to if they
want a child boarded. I understand that in the past people have
boarded in town, and this is possible as well. However your children
have all just learned Ojibwe, if they didn't know it before, and it
would be nice for them to be in a place where they can speak their own
language."
With that the meeting broke up, and large crowds of people gathered
around Nick, Shelly, Marilyn, and Jennifer. River walked over to see
Derrick and his family.
"Feeling better?" she asked the boy in Ojibwe.
"Much better," he answered. "I didn't know how great and important it
is to be one of the people. I want to go back, and share with my
friends. Can they come here and learn the language and our history?"
"Yes they can. They just need to get their parents to drive down. I
hold a meeting here at 4 p.m. almost every day, and if they come, they
can get into the water just like you did, and learn."
"Thank you so much for everything you have done," his mother said,
hugging River. "We were so worried that we were going to lose him.
There were five suicides in Moose Portage last year, and three the
year before. So far none this year, and after your team came up I feel
there might not be any more."
"Wouldn't that be wonderful?" River said. "It is what we hope too, and
are working towards. It is such a waste when we lose a young person,
and all their potential. The one thing I want to ask is that if
Derrick gets depressed or down again, you bring him here. If it is a
weekend, Silver will be here for him, if not he can meet one of the
other wolves in the band. I'm sure they will help him."
"Mom, can I live here?" Derrick suddenly asked. "All those other kids
are." He pointed to the groups around the girls.
"Sorry Derrick," River said. "We don't have a school for grade 5 to 8
here. They get bussed down the road to another town. But you can
definitely come to high school here. You just have to work hard at
your school and pass everything."
"Will Silver still be here then?" the boy asked.
"He is pretty young," River said. "He should still be here when you
come to high school. He will be a pretty old wolf by the time you
finish Grade 12, though."
"That's okay," the boy said brightly. "I will look after him if he
gets old."
"See to it that you do. He is going to need you, so you need to look
after yourself."
"Don't worry, I will," Derrick said. "The river told me I am
important. I never knew that. It wants me to do great things when I am
grown up. I just don't know what the great things are."
"It doesn't matter," River said. "Everything can be great. Your
parents are doing great things."
Derrick's eyes widened. "What are they doing?"
"Why, they are raising you," River said with a smile. "That is a great
thing. There is nothing more important to Manitou than seeing its
people prosper and grow. Not only the people, but the wolves, the
trees, the deer. Everything and everyone is important to Manitou."
River watched the young family wander off to their truck. Both the
mother and father were walking proud and confident knowing that they
were doing 'great things'. River chatted with other people, and then
noticed Dawn Winters and Cindy at the edge of the crowd.
"Dawn, Cindy," River said, embracing the younger girl. "Did you decide
to stay?"
"We did," Dawn said. "The principal was at the high school yesterday,
and he gave Cindy the tests for home-schooled, and she passed easily.
He was a bit reluctant about enrolling her, because apparently there
is a huge intake of grade 9s this year, but Nick was with us and he
made sure we got in."
"And we got a house, too," Cindy said. "It is bigger than the
apartment we had in Sudbury, but still kinda cosy. Right down the
street from the high school. I can walk to school."
"And only for a six-month lease," Dawn added. "We drove by those
gorgeous houses they are building by the edge of the park and I want
one. There was a man there on Saturday, and he showed us around. They
are magnificent."
"That would probably have been my dad," River said.
"Dale something?" Dawn said. River nodded. "Anyway, he said that the
third one will be finished sometime just before Christmas. Apparently
the first two are already spoken for. But I don't mind, since he said
we would be able to pick out fixtures and such."
"My family get the first one, and Nick has the second one," River
said.
"We will be neighbors!" Cindy squealed and hugged River again.
"Actually, there is something we would like to ask," Dawn said. "I
heard you say that you were looking for people to host children from
the other reserves. Our house has four bedrooms, and I wouldn't mind
hosting two girls. One per room. The money is not important to me, but
Cindy has had trouble making friends in other towns. It is not easy
being the daughter of a famous writer. These girls will be her
classmates, and I'm sure once they get to know her, they will become
friends. But then I heard that you wanted people who speak Ojibwe. I
speak a bit of French, and Cindy a bit more, from five years of
immersion. But we don't know your language."
"You should have come into the river with the others," River said. "We
would have taught you."
"Cindy wanted to, but I thought it might be a special ceremony," Dawn
said.
"It is a special ceremony," River said. "Special for people who want
to know more about the people. That is what we call ourselves."
"Well, as a writer I'm always interested in learning as much as
possible about other cultures," Dawn said. "Maybe next week we can
join in?"
"You can do better than that," River said. "I will be back at 4 p.m.
and you can come then. Let's get you over to Nick and get you on the
list for students."
---- ------- -----
That afternoon there were another hundred or so people at the
afternoon session with River, again mostly parents of children wanting
to go to St. Mary's High after hearing about it from Rod and the
girls. This was followed on Monday, a holiday in Ontario (Labor Day),
when many more parents showed up who hadn't wanted to camp out in the
park. River held two more services that day, with about 80 people at
each one.
At the end of the day Nick reported that there were 48 new students
coming into the Grade 9. They had expected 21 from the town and the
reserve at the end of the last term. With River, and now Cindy, that
number went up to 23, so there were going to be 71 students in grade
nine, almost as many as in the rest of the grades. Principal Tweed
actually had to have three sections of Grade 9, and planned to teach
one himself until he could get a new teacher in. Patrick George was
confirmed as the second teacher of Grade 9, concentrating on Ojibwe
language and culture. He also took on the additional boys phys. ed.
classes that the new sections of Grade 9s caused.
All the new students had accommodation, although now there needed to
be two bus runs from the reserve, where most of the new students were
located. Since it was only a 20-minute round trip through the reserve,
two runs were made by the same bus every morning and every night. Dawn
got two girls who had come to the Sunday services, so they moved in
that night, and quickly bonded with Cindy. One of the girls, twin
sisters, was in a wheelchair and riding the bus from the reserve would
not be practical for her. With the Winters house just down the road
from the high school, she should be able to get to school easily, at
least until the snows come.
Many other students also moved in on Sunday, with the rest mainly
coming on Monday, ready for the first day of school on Tuesday.
----- ------- -----
"Hey squirt, about those deer skins," River asked Sunday afternoon at
the campsite.
"Who you calling squirt?" Mark said, drawing himself up to show he was
three inches taller than River. "Did you get them done?"
"Yes, and they are beautiful," River said. "I suspect you could get
nearly $100 for the two if you sold them."
"Sweet," Mark said. "I could buy some computer games."
"Or you could give them to me," River said.
"What?"
"Let me finish. You could give them to me and I could sew them into a
real Ojibwe warrior outfit for you. Fringe all over, and some beadwork
on the back."
"Beadwork? That sounds kind of girly."
"Does it? Look at this." She held out the project she had made earlier
in the week. It was a denim-colored cotton shirt, and she had
embroidered a likeness of Night on the back.
"Oh honey, it is beautiful," Alison gushed. "Did you do this
yourself?"
"Well, I think the river gets a lot of the credit," River said. "I
mean, I have never been a great artist before. It's for Wayne, so that
he can remember Night while he is at college."
"And so he will remember you too," Dale said with a wink. River just
reddened.
"When are you giving it to him?" Alison asked.
"He is supposed to be coming by soon," River said. "He wants to leave
by 6, so he can get most of the way to London before it gets too late.
He has a friend from last year who lives in Parry Sound, so they will
spend the night there, and get to the university before noon to move
into their dorm. I guess they are sharing."
"If you can make me something like that on the back of my suit I'd
love it," Mark said, bring the conversation back to where it had
started. "Maybe one of the other wolves?"
"I was thinking about the deer itself," River said. "He provided the
skin, and he was a magnificent beast. It kind of all comes together."
"Yes, yes, yes," Mark raved. "That would be perfect."
Just then Wayne pulled up in Nick's classy car. Nick had bought a
five-year-old pickup truck earlier in the week in Terrace Bay, and
fixed a car seat into it. For the reserve, that was practically brand
new. Wayne was now taking the car to London, where he already had
several people who had answered his ad on Kijiji. Selling the car
would provide him with more than enough money to pay for his term at
Western University, and Nick would still make more money than if he
sold through a dealer in the north, where luxury cars are less
interesting to buyers.
River jumped up, and ran to the car, which was packed with Wayne's
belongings, at least a term's worth of them. She was holding the
shirt. Mark jumped up too, but Alison waved him back into his seat,
and they left the young couple alone at the car.
They could see River show him the shirt, and Wayne's face lit up. He
engulfed River with a great hug, and looked like he was going to kiss
her too, but backed off. He then walked over to the campsite, not
noticing that he was holding River's hand.
"Mr. Waters. Mrs. Waters. Mark. I just wanted to say goodbye. I'm
about ready to head off for fall term. I might be able to get back for
Thanksgiving if I can get a ride partway. But if not, it will be
Christmas before I see you all again. You'll be in the new house by
then, I imagine. I'm going to miss this place so much."
"Well, there is no need to miss the people," Alison noted. "With Skype
you are just a few seconds away. Call whenever you need to talk. To
any of us." River looked at her mother gratefully. Everyone there knew
who Wayne would want to talk to.
The young man then gave River another one-armed hug, and headed off to
his car. She stood and waved until he was out of sight.
Grace
- 02.01.2022
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