Broken Wing noticed the crow flying with her as she gathered the healing plants that Grandmother had sent her out for today. Grandmother was the healer for her people and needed these plants to make a special mixture to apply to the wounds of Stands Tall. The man had been injured by the long tooth tiger on a hunting trip and the People feared they would lose their best hunter.

“Caw! Caw!” she heard the crow call out, noticing it was flying off toward the East winds.

“Oh, Sister Crow, I can’t follow you today. I must gather a few more of these plants and take them back to Grandmother. She is worried that Stands Tall will soon have his life waters turned to yellow if we don’t get fresh plants on his leg.

Broken Wing heard the rumbling voice of the Thunder Beings and knew she must hurry back to camp. Before she went but a few paces the sky turned dark and the winds began to blow fiercely. The Thunder Beings began dancing in the sky all around her and the Sky Waters stung her skin as they fell.

Sister Crow came flying from the East Wind cawing loudly. She circled Broken Wing and started flying back to the east. The bird turned toward her cawing frantically. Again, she turned back to the east.

“Follow me! The Swirling Wind is coming! Follow me!” she heard the crow call out.

Broken Wing heard the roar behind her and without looking back ran after the crow. As her little lungs began to ache from running, she saw the crow fly into a cave. She followed the bird without hesitation, fearful of the approaching Swirling Wind.

“You have saved my life, Sister Crow. Thank you!” Broken Wing let out a nervous giggle before saying, “I thought I heard you say in my people’s words that the Swirling Wind was coming and to follow you. But, that is silly, Crows can’t talk! It is so dark in here and cold. I wish I had the makings for a fire to keep us warm.”

Broken Wing had no more said the words when a fire started in the center of the cave. She backed into the cave wall in fear as she noticed that the crow was no longer a small bird but was as large as she was. Crow was standing by the fire motioning for her to come closer.

“Don’t be frightened, Broken Wing. Come sit by the fire and warm yourself.” As Crow spoke she transformed into a woman with long flowing black hair. She wore a long hide blanket with crow feathers attached to it. “Keep your heart brave, little one. I am Crow Spirit. The Spirit Creatures of the sky, the land, and the great waters wish to speak to you on this day. Listen with your pure heart, little one.”

Broken Wing saw the figures approaching from the darkness of the cave. At first they appeared as though they were of white smoke. As they got closer to the fire she could see them each as an animal. There was buffalo, bear, coyote, and eagle. One of each of the creatures seemed to walk out of the darkness toward her, forming a council circle around the fire. As each sat down, they transformed into a human wearing clothing made from the creature they had been.

Crow Spirit handed a talking stick to buffalo after the last animal had transformed.

“Broken Wing,” the Buffalo Spirit began. “We chose your spirit long ago to be the one who would teach the People about us and our medicines. We knew that the two legged humans would come to a time when they would need to know of our existence. The People would need to learn of the lessons our spirits can give them to help them live prosperous lives in balance and harmony. The day has come and you will be their teacher.”

“But I am only a girl of ten winters. I know nothing of these lessons. My people will not listen to someone as lowly as me. They will laugh or throw stones at me,” Broken Wing said with a heavy heart.

“Before we leave this council fire you will be given all that you will need to teach the People. They will see that you are different when you return to your camp,” said the Bear Spirit as he took the talking stick from Buffalo and then passed it on to Eagle.

“You are to be called White Crow from this day forward. White is a sacred color and Crow guards Sacred Law and ancient wisdom. You will travel from camp to camp telling the People stories of the creatures of the Great Spirit. You will be the first in a long line of storytellers teaching of our protection and medicine. The People will begin to learn from you that we are all related and belong to the Great Spirit.”

The talking stick was passed to each creature and the young girl heard all of their stories. The talking stick was, at last, passed to her. As she took the stick into her hand, energy flowed through her body. The talking stick transformed into a white crow feather. She pointed the feather in each of the four wind directions and said, “I am White Crow, the first teacher of the Creature Spirits. I am White Crow, the teller of stories to help all Peoples walk on the Good Red Road.”

Each Spirit began to fade, the fire went out and White Crow stood alone with no fear in her heart.

As she walked back into her camp, the People noticed that there was something different about her. They gasped in awe as a white crow flew over her and then landed on her shoulder.

“My People, I am White Crow. I have much to tell you of the Creature Spirits that live with us….

© 2010, Bev Owens. All rights reserved.

When the shoulders of the other kids fell in disappointment over the report assignment, I was grinning from ear to ear and couldn't wait to get started. I've always loved doing research on topics and then writing about what I've found. My newest endeavors are blogging and writing fiction.

Bev Owens

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Tags: broken wing, creature spirits, Flash Fiction, storyteller

This entry was posted on August 8, 2010 at 11:39 pm and is filed under Bev, Flash Fiction. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.