A Novel by Kawika A. Stafford

Chapter 18

The old man wrapped his wool blanket around his shoulders, and walked out into the cool crisp air of the mountains in northern Arizona. Cyrus was a tall man.

He stood six foot seven inches, and though an older man he was not diminished in the grace of being a man. He had long thick wavy curly hair that flowed well past his shoulders.

Being a man of both the land and the sea, his skin was beyond brown.

His silvery mane seemed to enhance the dignity of his years.

Cyrus had spent many long days of living and working in Waipi’o valley;

harvesting and replanting the kālo his ancestors had brought to these islands centuries ago.

Dwayne had decided to take a week of vacation to look after Cyrus, who had been feeling poorly for the last couple of days. Dwayne was feeling uneasy. He knew that Cyrus had wanted to be cremated and have his ashes put at a place known only to Cyrus and Dwayne.

But with the big reveal; aka Sonny Ray, those plans had to be altered.

After Cyrus died, he wanted Dwayne, and hopefully Sonny Ray, to take him to the place that they have camped at for many years.

Their camp was near Shiprock Mountain in New Mexico on the Navajo Nation.

Dwayne offered to handcraft a casket and take him there, but Cyrus insisted on being cremated. He would not elaborate, and Dwayne, out of respect for his old friend didn’t press.

Dwayne had not seen the black eagle around for the last several days, and had asked Cyrus about it.
“I believe it has other business to attend to,” Cyrus said without elaborating.

Dwayne considered himself to be relatively educated, yet he never lost sight of the fact that there were things going on the universe that people could not explain away with a certainty.

For example, for as long as Dwayne could remember, rarely did a day go by that an eagle, or hawk, or the tiniest of the falcons, would without fail, fly over, near, or around when Cyrus was in the vicinity. It didn’t matter where he might be.

It was as if they flew over him to observe him, or that they were now getting the opportunity to see someone they had only heard of in their world, and just had to see him for themselves.

They had no fear of Cyrus, and soon his son, Sonny Ray would begin to understand why this was so.

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