A short story in construction, working on editing and adjusting. This one is an attempt at flash fiction. If you enjoy it please visit my Short Stories Page to find more.

596 words

 

“You don’t understand, something is really wrong.” The hippie whined and I sighed sitting down my ‘eagle father’ pulled from a turkey and dyed. I never used this real thing with clients, not these kinds of clients anyway.

 

I brushed my hand over the silken scarf I folded over my feathers and took a deep breath. I could feel the power of Kawkaw’s feathers within and wondered how the General would feel if I used one of hers instead of the turkey’s.

 

Qaltnat was uncommonly quiet which was nice because they could often be a distraction, and I needed this check to get us through the next month. I smiled my most serene smile at the old hippie and waved some burning pine smoke towards them.

 

Qlatnat slipped though the smoke as gracefully as a dancer. Moving with the curling spiraling swirls that filled the air. I was transfixed and wondered what the hippie thought of it all.

 

I charged for cedar and sage, but to actually use either for this would dirty the air of my business. Nobody should burn either unless trained, and obviously not for something as simple as all of this.

 

It is the highest of taboos to buy somethings and so the bundle I set on the table was also pine with a few wraps of dried flower petals I had pulled from a street garden for color. I know the hippie would claim to be ‘part Native’ as if that did not make violations worse instead of better. The hippie couldn’t tell the difference anyway, so here we were.

I put on my most deep ‘Indian’ prayer voice and said as stoically as possible, “the smoke will cleanse the pains within you. Light it within your home and breath deeply, you will feel your spirit cleansed and protected from all that you suffer.”

 

“Are you sure, it feels really bad this time,” the hippie coughed and I frowned waving at them with my feather. They did look uncomfortable, scared even, but then these kinds of people always saw things they wanted instead of reality.

 

“I am sure, a good ‘smudge’ with this and all your ills will be cleansed away,” I patted a bony shoulder, “have I ever steered you wrong?”

 

“No no, I am sure it will work, it always works.”

 

“You told me that your ancestors gave you permission to use sage and cedar?”

 

“Oh yes in a dream, the dream, remember I told you.”

 

I smiled, “Then you have nothing to be worried about do you.”

 

I smiled and leaned forward towards the door. I did not point out the credit card machine, nor mention it, we were not so crass, but they knew they needed to stop, and I knew there would be five grand in my bank account before they left. Solving problems was not cheap, and not easy.

 

As the bell above the door chimed Qaltnat spoke as they flitted around the room coughing up pine smoke, “Now they have some real problems,” the pause was short but filled, “someone should really help them.”

 

“They are a paycheck Qaltnat, the only thing wrong with them is their imagination.”

 

Qaltnat spun and swirled before stopping to stare me in the eyes, “As you say, as you say, as you say, we shall talk about it another day, for now, can we go for berries, I hear of berries in the mountains and that means for sale along the roads?”

 

I smiled a simple life when all the creatures around me were so easy to please.

 

 

End

 

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