Later they took turns carrying the little grandfather, who watched intently as the sand over the stones was brushed away and missing stones replaced in the big circle that formed the spirit house of the Lord.
More crows still had to come, and of course the girls had to get people to come dance or the Messiah and his family could not appear. Once the stones of the circle were in place, the girls began to gather firewood. On days the mail wagon went south, they watched for Chemehuevi people going as far as Road’s End; a girl about their age agreed to get this message to the twins: The first crows have arrived.
While the girls scoured the riverbank for snags of driftwood under the tamarisks and willows closest to the river, the racket of the crows accompanied them. Linnaeus clung to Indigo’s side until he saw some plant delicacy and slid to the ground; now that Rainbow’s wing feathers had grown out, he flew ahead to reach plant sprouts ahead of the monkey. Indigo recalled how the crows in Aunt Bronwyn’s garden welcomed her and Rainbow, and again in Italy the crows reminded her the Messiah and his family were not far away. Sister didn’t say anything; from her expression Indigo saw she didn’t believe her.
“Maybe those were a different kind of crow,” Sister said. They stopped to rest on the sandy bank in the sunshine. Sister unbundled the little grandfather from the shawl on her back and spread it over the ground so he could crawl. Indigo shook her head slowly; no, it was true; she’d seen for herself. In a little town the people gathered to pray and the Messiah’s Mother showed herself on a stone wall.
Sister made no comment as she offered her arm so the little grandfather could steady himself as he tried to pull himself up. Now the monkey and parrot rejoined them; Linnaeus was fascinated by the baby, but Rainbow only wanted to chew the edge of the blanket they were sitting on.
Indigo described the old stones Aunt Bronwyn cared for in her gardens; these stones used to move and to talk until the churchgoers smashed them. Sister nodded; she believed that. One night the stones even called Hattie out of her bed and she woke up in the garden! Sister laughed and Indigo joined her. Grandma Fleet knew stones that played tricks! Remember the stone that sweats and the other that urinates? They laughed again.
Indigo said in England there were a great many Christ Churches but the Messiah and his family seemed to travel most of the time. Sister nodded. That was because so many greedy and cruel people did damage only the Messiah could repair. Trouble was in so many places, he had to travel constantly, and so did the Mother of God, who often went to help alone.
The warm sunshine felt so good after the cold weather that followed the big storm; Sister stretched out on the blanket and the baby crawled up on her chest and pulled at her dress for a breast until she unbuttoned and gave him one, then lay back to stare up at the sky. Indigo described the stone figures, half man and half horse or bull, hidden in shady green woods, and how they startled her and Hattie. There was even a giant head of a woman who kept baby snakes in her hair. Sister was interested but not shocked: Grandma Fleet always said humans were capable of sex with anything and on rare occasions these strange creatures were born. The stone figures were proof of the strange offspring.
The wind came up and small puffy clouds began to move across the sky; the baby was asleep with her nipple half out of his mouth, so Sister gently laid him on the blanket beside her and buttoned up.
Indigo told Sister about the gardens. All flowers? Nothing to eat? Yes, like the little flower gardens in front of houses in Needles. Only their friend Laura had big, big gardens — one was all black flowers, black gladiolus Laura raised herself. The black flowers honored the first mothers — half human, half bird, half bear, half snake, their clay figures carefully placed in little spirit houses in the black garden. Best of all was the rain garden of sand and tall succulents; their spikes of yellow, orange, and red flowers towered above the snake girls with basins on their laps to call the rain.
The sun moved around and left them in the shade and it got chilly. Sister sat up, her face bright with enthusiasm; Grandma Fleet always said snake girls and bird mothers were everywhere in the world, not just here!
News traveled up and down the river about the return of the crows and the encampment near Needles. People came from up and down the river; some Paiutes claimed no one told them about the camp but a big flock of crows led them south as they had before, when the soldiers attacked the holy family and the dancers. Soon small campsites with lean-tos of willows and cottonwood branches appeared on the riverbank not far from the sisters’ tin shack.
Flocks of crows continued to arrive; the leafless cottonwoods were black with them roosting. They scavenged for oats and milo in the freshly harvested fields the white farmers had along the river.
Sister Salt brought out the practice baskets she made at Road’s End, and pronounced them good enough to sell to tourists off the trains. She didn’t want the baby around the strangers and left Indigo and her pets to watch the little grandfather while she went to the station. As long as the weather stayed dry, the tourists got off the trains during the stop, and each day Sister sold all the baskets she brought.
With her turkey, dog, and turtle baskets set out on the ground in front of her, Sister waited with the other Indian women on the driveway next to the station platform. Now the stationmaster barred the Indians from the passenger platform, but allowed them on the driveway for the amusement of the passengers who liked to photograph the Indians and their crafts. While she waited, Sister worked the damp yucca strips into turkey figures because those baskets always sold out first.
All morning, though, even before the train from the east arrived, Sister had an odd feeling of worry and sadness despite everything going along so well since their move from Road’s End. The train from the west was due, but its passengers usually bought less than the easterners, so Sister packed up her remaining baskets and went home early.
Even before she reached their shack, she could see a pile of bundles outside so she was not surprised to find Maytha and Vedna inside; but she was surprised to find Indigo with tears streaming down her face even as she gently bounced the little grandfather on her lap. Sister greeted the twins, then asked Indigo what was wrong.
Tears welled up in Indigo’s eyes and she looked at Maytha and Vedna.
“They took away your land?”
“Not yet!”
“Well why’s she crying?”
The twins seemed hesitant. It was something about the white woman, wasn’t it? They nodded. She’d been found wandering naked and dazed beside the road near Topock, at the northern edge of the Chemehuevi reservation. The twins heard about it from a guest at the beer-sampling party. The guest, an off-duty Indian policeman, said someone had beaten her head with a rock, then left her for dead beside the road. They later found the place it happened — her luggage was dumped and rifled and scattered in the ditch. Blond hairs and crusted blood were found on the heavy iron rock her attacker used; they found other, similar iron rocks nearby, dumped and scattered from small wooden crates.
“She must have been coming to Road’s End,” Maytha said, “because they found sacks of flour and sugar torn open—”
“Even fresh things like bacon and apples—”
“Wasted! Dumped out on the ground!”
Sister knelt next to Indigo and put her arms around her while the little grandfather grabbed hold of her and crawled into her lap to nuzzle her breasts.
“There, there, little sister, don’t cry. We’ll pray for your friend.”
♦ ♦ ♦
She was frozen in the gray ice swirling around her head; it drilled into her skull until she screamed, but hands pinned her arms and a sharp weight pressed her flat until she lost consciousness. Later she woke to the taste of blood; her tongue and lips were bitten and bleeding. How did this happen? What sort of dream was this where the pain only increased as she woke? She slipped back from the pain into the comfort of the dim gray light and did not try to surface again for a long time.