A Far Vision

As Meredith glided over the thick cumulus layer, she discovered familiar faces hidden in the clouds. A childhood friend, her long ago pet collie, a favorite aunt. On all sides cloud masses stretched everywhere. She drifted on, then stopped short. In the distance a thin filament curled upwards. "Looks like smoke." She headed toward it.

Kokopelli

As she drew near, Meredith saw figures collected about a smoldering cauldron filled with glowing coals. It rested securely on the insubstantial cloud cover as if it were solid ground, emitting aromatic sage fumes. The creatures hovered around the smoke, as if drawn to it.

They stood upright, but were unlike any beings Meredith had ever seen. They had large heads with bony antlers pointing straight up and arms and legs thin as sticks. Their round pink bodies were bare except for loincloths and, for women, halters. They looked exactly like the Kokopelli in the Anasazi's Third World cave paintings.

Old Humpback

A bent figure stepped forward to greet Meredith. He was old and humpbacked and breathed in loud wheezing gasps.  His thin gray beard nearly touched the ground. He walked slowly with a cane.
Meredith remembered Gray Dawn's prophesy, "You will find your soul when you find the Old Humpback." She was intensely curious about the old creature. 

"Greetings, Meredith White Buffalo Calf Woman."  Meredith was surprised that he knew her name. 

Star People

"Who are you?" she asked, clutching her medicine bundle.

"We are friends," the Old Humpback said. His voice had a wheezing quality, as if he had smoked all his life.  "We are Star People. We are called Kokopelli by the Ancient Ones of your planet. We live in your future. Our home is far distant in time and space. Here is what it looks like." An image of beautiful spheres of purple and gold planets in orbit around an active blue sun appeared in the space before them.

Spacefaring Species

"We have been visiting your world for thousands of years, you know."

"How did you get here?" She saw no spaceships among the clouds.

"We are a spacefaring species.  Kokopelli travel through space and time without vehicles, only our bodies, minds and souls. We cloak our bodies in a strong shell to protect us in a vacuum. We can hibernate for hundreds of years if necessary," he said. "We do not suffer in icy storms or freezing winds. We breathe air, water, methane or nothing at all when the occasion demands it. We require very little food, only a bite of carbon or silicon now and then and a drop or two of water."  

Extremely Erratic

"Weather conditions on our home planets are extremely erratic. We have evolved by adapting to circumstances that you would consider too extreme for life."  The indigo hues began to shift in an agitated manner, buffeting the spheres, causing them to rock. 

"I'm sure we could learn much from you." 

"Yes, and we are willing to teach you," he said, as the images faded. "Come and sit by the fire." She sat and gazed in wonder.

Eye of the Universe

"How do you do those things?" she asked incredulously, warming her hands at the fire.

"We draw on spiritual power. In the inhospitable climate of our planets, we learned never to give up hope, even when all seemed hopeless. We learned that there is always a solution to every problem if we are open to seeing it.  We developed control over ourselves, physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually." He stretched his arms over the clouds and the sunlight grew dazzlingly bright for a moment, then lessened as a gentle breeze arose and swept over the heavenly expanse. 

"We looked straight into the eye of the universe and saw its intention. We attuned ourselves to that intention and swore to follow wherever it would lead us. It has led us here."

Over-Farmed

"We often visited the Anasazi when they were a numerous nation," said the Old Humpback. "If they over-farmed their lands, we Kokopelli came to warn them that they were creating an imbalance. Their leaders heeded our warnings. They moved on to a new location, and all was well. They prospered for centuries." He paused, breathing heavily.

"There came a day when the Anasazi no longer followed our advice. We warned them to move on, but they didn't listen." 

Starvation

"That winter the snows piled high and lasted long into the spring. The food supplies were exhausted. There was no game. Many people died of starvation and of cold. The next winter was bad too, and the next. At the end of three years, the entire tribe was wiped out, except for the few survivors you have met, whom you call the Ancient Ones. 

"Travelers from the Stars arrived and gave food to those remaining, so they lived," continued the Old Humpback. "However, we told them to expect a fatal blow to Nature which would occur in the 21st century, and we instructed them to prepare for it. The Ancient Ones retreated to the caves in the Third World, where you met them."