Healer of the Water Monster by Brian Young

Author:Brian Young [Young, Brian]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Heartdrum
Published: 2021-03-09T00:00:00+00:00

Tsosts’id Ts’áadah

Seventeen

AN HOUR LATER, NATHAN LUGGED a bucket to the cornfield to water his science project. He walked through the area where Pond had spread the water. Tiny green plants pushed out of the ground. Blades of grass and bright colorful flowers the size of fingernails had emerged. It was as if the plants had been waiting for any amount of moisture.

Nali stepped out of the mobile home behind him. She walked over to the washing area, her silver hair let down. She said, “Look at all this greenery! Did it rain last night?”

Nathan yelled, “Pond stopped by this morning and brought some water for us.”

“Hash ’akót’é?” Nali said, wiping some sweat off her brow. “Be sure and tell him ’ahéhee’.”

Nathan entered the cornfield with the heavy bucket of sloshing water. Nathan factored into his data collection the fact that the modern corn in the square shape had two more weeks to grow than the traditional corn in the circular shape. The modern cornstalks already were as tall as his knees while the traditional ones were barely seedlings. He watered all the plants, including the squash and beans that Nali had planted. Then he measured both corn groups. He jotted how many days each had grown and how tall they were as well as how many ears of corn there were. Nathan planned on comparing the measurements and number of ears by the days they had grown instead of directly comparing them.

Nathan barely heard Nali say, “Who’s that?” He pushed his glasses higher on his nose and then squinted. A familiar truck drove on the dirt road toward them.

“Is that Devin? ’Aoo’ it is!” Nali said.

The truck stopped next to Nali, who was busy rinsing the soap off her face and drying off. Nathan walked over as Devin rolled his window down. They spoke Navajo to each other.

Nali and Devin shook hands and smiled. After a few minutes, Nali grabbed on to Devin’s truck and put her other hand over her mouth. When she removed her hand, a large smile spread from cheek to cheek.

“What’s going on, Nali?” Nathan asked.

“Such great news! There’s been a change of plans. We’re going to have Uncle Jet’s N’dáá this summer.”

“What? Are you serious?” Nathan asked. Excitement bubbled up in his chest.

“I had another N’dáá scheduled for July, but the male patient had a job offer that he had been wanting,” Devin said.

There was much that Nathan still didn’t know about the Enemy Way, and this talk of a male patient only confused Nathan.

“And he’ll need to be doing some job training out of state,” Devin continued. “So that means that, if the female patient agrees, Jet can be a part of this N’dáá.”

“What do you mean by male and female patient?”

Both Nali and Devin looked at Nathan. Nali smiled and said, “Hataałii, I think you would be the person to answer questions about N’dáá.”

“Okeydoke. A lot of the ceremonies require both man and woman to participate. Because when ’Adzą́ą́ Nadleehí created the four major clans, she used various parts of her body to create one man and one woman.

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