The Handsome Stranger, Part 3
Once again, Copperhead was at Rabbit’s place as soon as the doors opened. The drama surrounding Miss Wind and The Handsome Stranger had been good for his popularity, since he did not mind sneaking around and spying on folks, sticking his forked tongue into things that were none of his business.
And of course, all of us contributed to his habits. Since we wanted to know what was none of our business, we made Copperhead our Gossip Chief. We had always had War Chiefs and Peace Chiefs, and now we had a Gossip Chief. Such is the way of things in a small town.
Between gulps of Rabbit’s persimmon moonshine, Copperhead told us how he watched the boy head out early that morning on the western trail. He went on to tell us that he heard Miss Wind talking to the boy about his father. The boy’s father, he said, was not a man at all but a spirit in the form of a man.
Now, Copperhead had a reputation for exaggerating his stories. He never let the facts get in the way of a good story, so we were not sure what to make of this new wrinkle in the drama of The Handsome Stranger. Still, this was a stretch even for Copperhead, so there had to be something to it.
The situation with Miss Wind and her family dominated the conversation that spring and summer. Through the planting season and into the summer, the speculation ranged from the rather mundane (The Handsome Stranger was a famous leader from another town and already married), to the wildly abstract (The Handsome Stranger was a dangerous conjurer with the ability to shapeshift and was still here among us). It did not help that Miss Wind and her whole family absolutely refused to speak on the matter, even in private.
As the summer gave way to the fall and we once again prepared for the harvest, the gossip faded somewhat. Like the seasons before it, that season was near perfect and the harvest was expected to be bountiful. For a time, everyone forgot about everything else, as anybody who has ever lived in a farming community knows, the harvest is a busy time that dominates everyone’s attention.
After the harvest was gathered in we had more time to hang around at Rabbit’s place. As expected, the harvest that year was indeed bountiful, so we were feeling prosperous. Old Man Otter, in anticipation of this, had returned early from a trading trip with plenty of pretty things for us to buy. There was also a rumor that Shell Carrier would be passing through soon. For a time, we forgot all about Miss Wind and her family drama. That all changed one evening late in the fall.
I was leaning on the bar chewing the rag with Wolf and Old Man Owl when the door opened and Raven walked in. Raven was the War Chief and was very rarely seen at Rabbit’s place, so when he walked in, the whole place went quiet. Raven summoned us all to the council house, as there was to be an important announcement, he said, and walked out.
We followed him to the council house and took our seats, each according to his clan. Miss Wind took the floor with her son. He looked handsome and healthy, but he also looked mature, as though the journey turned him from a boy into a man. We kept our silence as Miss Wind said what she had to say.
“You have all been gossiping about me and my family,” Miss Wind began, “and you,” she said, turning to Copperhead, “I have seen you creeping around, spying on my house; shame on you. Well, here is my son. He will tell you what you want to know.”
The young man stepped forward and told us his story. His father was indeed a spirit disguised as a man. Finally, we knew the mystery of The Handsome Stranger. He was none other than Thunder himself. The young man told us his own name as well, he was Lightning. He told us of the many adventures he experienced on his journey and the characters he met. Many stories he shared, which we will retell here over time.
He went on to tell us that he was here just to visit, that he soon must return to the land of his father and take his place among the people of the Storm Clan. But he said that he would return soon and would bring us a very special gift. The gift he brought and the stories he told are to this day a part of Cherokee history and culture.
They say that to this day Cherokees do not fear Lightening, they say he is our kinsman, our cousin. They say he brought us the Sacred Fire.