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"Very funny," he chuckled wars wide like I wasjust above the surface The stars twinkled down at o" Sa er slipped away as I exhaled lightly, not wanting to upset my precarious relationship with the water
"Do you see the Milky Way?" Sarand the earth and ascending into heaven Navajo legend says the Milky Way was created when Coyote, the trickster, got ie the constellations in the sky First Woman made a constellation for almost every bird, every animal, and even every insect She le, and M’iitsoh, the wolf She created a lark, Tsidiitltsoii, so he could sing a song to the sun everyShe evenall the trees on the mountains First woman laid each star in a pattern out on a blanket before she had Fire Man carry them to the sky and touch them with his fire torch to make them shine Coyote wanted to help, but First Woman told him he would only make trouble Finally, there were just s on the blanket Coyote was i it up into the air, spreading the star dust into the sky creating the Yikaisdahi -the Milky Way"
"Is there a Navajo na to pick out the few I knew
"Yes My grandmother could tell you the story of every one of them, why First Woman placed them where she did, and how they were named Grandma says the laws of our people are written in the stars She says First Woman put them there because, unlike the sands that bloay or the waters that flow and shift, the sky is constant That’s the great thing about the sky - it’s the saht here at Burraston’s pond When I was stationed on the USS Peleliu the first couple years I was in the Marine Corp, I would often climb up to a little upper deck where I could see the sky, and I would name as many of the stars and constellations as I could It rand to the sheep"
We were slowly being rocked towards the shore, and I scissoredthat I could stand, the water reaching just below my shoulders The water felt coet out Sa up into the heavens I thought of hi the firhts of the only home he’d really known My heart ached for hi lonely That sounds pretty lonely At ti a Marine?" I ventured, studying Samuel’s chiseled profile
"No I never did" Saain in a heartbeat I had nowhere else to go I found purpose, discovered I was of use, ood friends, lost my self-pity I did ot to breathe Saave me tis right out of the blue
"Me?" My tone reflected s of inadequacy I didn’t want to be the yardstick of righteousness; I was too lacking
Sa around his torso
"Yes you" Samuel’s reply was contemplative, and he kept his face turned away fro by" Saht bethat he’d said and what he was about to say His voice was low and solemn when he spoke his next words "I wasn’t sure what you would think the first tier and take someone’s life, and how you would feel if you knew about all the lives I’ve ended since"
His words were so unexpected that I gasped, and his eyes flew towith sudden intensity He didn’t speak for athe words that he still needed to say
He turned and waded to the shore, water sluicing off his powerful back and thighs as he climbed out He shook hi his shirt over his head and shoving his legs into his jeans
His back was to me, and I rose up out of the water behind him, uncertain of what he needed fro other than h censure was never what I had intended to cohtand shaking, and ranout my hair andbody I wrapped my arms around myself, both for modesty and for war everything in the cooler and picking up the blanket He handed the blanket to ratefully arounddown beside the shallow pool, and trailing his hand across the silvery water
My voice sounded uncertain as I spoke "Sa yourself" I didn’t approach him, but waited
He was silent for several seconds before he answered "I’ve killed sohtsbut many of the men I’ve killed, Josie…they didn’t even knoas there That’s when pulling the trigger is the hardest I would watch theh my rifle scope, soot the orderI would shoot" He ret in his voice But there was vulnerability He wanted me to know