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Where Did You Go?
"But where did the Anasazi people go?" asked Meredith, longing to understand this age old mystery.
"We were far away, yet very close," answered the shaman.
"What do you mean by that?"
The shaman offered no explanation, but pointed to her pack. "Have you brought the chanuga?"
"The peace pipe? How did you know?"
"There is much that I know," said the shaman.
A Great Medicine
"We were given a Great Medicine to guard until the day when it would be most needed," said the shaman.
"You must use it now," said Meredith. "Surely this is the very last chance for the people of earth. Please show me how to find it."
"You will find it, but first you must journey through the Four Worlds. Only then can you enter into the Fifth World where you will find what you are seeking."
Meredith thought deeply for a moment, then said, "It seems that I must make this journey to the Fifth World. Please, will you be my guide?"
The shaman rose to face her saying, "The road will be hard and dangerous, but I will go with you, as far as the Fourth World."
Which Fourth World?
"Can you not take me to the Fifth World?" Meredith asked the shaman.
"I can only take you to the Fourth World. There you will find another guide."
"Aren't we in the Fourth World already?" She knew from her mother's childhood myths that the Fourth World was the world of the present.
"Yes, but it is the Fourth World of the Spirit that you must find. That way leads to the Fifth World."
Saw Her in Visions
"Where is this World of the Spirit?" asked Meredith.
The shaman removed his kachina mask. His hair was long and gray, bound in braids. His face was deeply wrinkled.
"It is here around us, yet unseen. I will show you."
"It is my deepest desire to see it."
"We have seen you before this day, Meredith," the old shaman said, laying his hand upon her shoulder.
"We have seen you in our visions, in the fire's flames, in the Cave of Fire, in the world of spirit, which is my home. We have awaited your coming."
Sent by Gray Dawn
"It's almost as if you knew where to find me," said Meredith.
"Gray Dawn prophesied that you would arrive here today. She is our headwoman. I came here expecting you, but I could not have appeared if you had not called me."
"But you wouldn't speak to me at first."
"I wanted to test you, to be sure you were the right person, the one I was waiting for."
Two Visions
"It is as if our two visions are coming together," said Meredith. "You from your world envision me, and I from my world envision you. Our visions meet and are joined in a shared world."
"Yes, that is true."
world of Fire, and became my people, the Ancient Ones, but we too failed to grow in full harmony with all things, and so our world was destroyed by fire.
"A handful found their way to the Fourth World, the world of Air, which is your modern world. But the people of the Fourth World have been consumed by greed and the lust for power, and have put their faith in possessions and the marvels of science. So their passions are blinding them and hurrying them on to an even greater disaster. They will be destroyed by poisoned air.
"Perhaps a few will emerge to the Fifth World, the world of the Spirit, where they may finally come to understand the secret of life. There is always hope."
Storyteller
"I will tell you a story," said the shaman, "a story of creation." He donned his eagle mask and stamped his feet, rattling his bone anklets.
He danced in a circle, spreading and closing his eagle wings, chanting an ancient tongue, softly and slowly at first, gradually increasing in volume and speed. Meredith in her trance-like state could understand him perfectly. It was the tale she had heard her mother tell, now coming from the lips of one to whom it truly belonged.
Creation Myth
"When Time began, the Ant People emerged from the sipapu into the First World, the world of Earth. At first they were happy and successful, but they did not know how to live. They fell to quarreling and fighting, bringing about earthquakes which soon destroyed their world.
"A few escaped to the Second World, the world of Water, and became the Dog People, but when they flourished, they did not heed the limits of their world, so their world was destroyed by famine and flood.
"Those who escaped reached the Third World, the
Time Travel
"My people, the Ancient Ones, are able to travel back and forth between these Worlds," said the shaman.
"We would call that 'time travel'," said Meredith.
"Time travel?" said the shaman, twisting the words on his tongue, "Yes, that is good. We are the original travelers in time."