The Way by Kristen Wolf

Author:Kristen Wolf [Wolf, Kristen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-307-71771-9
Publisher: Crown/Archetype
Published: 2011-07-12T00:00:00+00:00

Anna had cornered a sheep and was tugging nettles from the bandaging on its hock when she heard Ruth calling. She glanced up and spotted her friend ambling down the ridgeline. With an exuberant yelp, Anna jogged up to greet her. Seeing her rapid approach, Ruth laughed and reversed her course, running back up the ridgeline. Anna pursued. Ruth looked over her shoulder and saw the young shepherd gaining quickly, her long muscular strides covering the terrain with ease. Before Anna could catch up, Ruth ducked between two boulders. But Anna had foreseen the maneuver and turned up a shortcut. Without warning, she leapt in front of the elder Sister. “A-ha!” she shouted.

Ruth squealed with fright and the two fell down laughing. She gave Anna’s leg a playful slap. “Are you busy with your tasks, or do you have some time to spend with me?”

Anna glanced over her shoulder. “One of the sheep injured a hock this morning and I have set a poultice on it.”

“Will it be all right for an hour or two?”

Anna raised an eyebrow, considering. “Yes, I suppose.”

Ruth smiled. “Good. Then come. There is something for you to see.” She led Anna up the ridgeline to a deep crevice. They sat inside its cooling shade and fanned themselves. From under her robes, Ruth produced a linen kerchief. She held it before Anna and slowly peeled back its corners. Inside the folds lay a handful of fresh figs. Anna’s eyes grew wide at the sight of the plump maroon fruits. She could hardly believe her eyes!

“Where did you get those?” she asked, astonished.

Ruth held her gaze. “It is time for me to tell you a story,” she said. She took a deep breath, crossed her legs, and sat up tall. “We who live in the caves, and who are called Sisters, are among the last keepers of The Way.”

Anna kept silent and did not move.

Was she finally to receive answers to her questions?

“Those who live in accordance with The Way,” Ruth continued, “live by simple yet universal truths. We believe in a divine and ever-present Creator. We call her the Great Mother. And sometimes we call her by other names. The Queen of Heaven. The Most High. The Source. The Spirit. Maker of All that Is Seen and Unseen. Other peoples refer to her according to their own custom and language.”

Memories of the words in her mother’s hymns leapt into Anna’s mind. “Queen of Heaven” and “Bless the earth that is to be blessed.”

Had her mother somehow known of The Way?

Ruth took a breath and continued. “We believe that every form of life and the very earth itself is a sacred manifestation of the Mother. We believe that daily and direct contemplation of the source of our life, through conscious and creative means, is the way for humans to remain spiritually connected to the ever-present miracles around them. We further believe that the highest human power, and that which should be cherished above all, is the female capacity to create and nurture life.

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