The Roots Fairy II: Indian Summer (Part 3)

The next part by BLZBub. I'll post a long one of mine some time tomorrow, so stay alert.

The Roots Fairy II: Indian Summer
(Part 3)

by BLZBub

The night before she was going up to the Indian Reservation, Sahkyo couldn’t sleep. She had put off going to the reservation for a while so she could enjoy her temporary adulthood, but now she’d be going there. She knew she ought to be excited about it, but she couldn’t help but feel some dread. It still seemed very likely to her that the reservation was going to be so boring. She couldn’t imagine there’d be a lot to do up there. But she was out of excuses now and she had to go now. She hoped the Roots Fairy would keep her promise that it wouldn’t be dull.

The next day, Sahkyo got dressed up in more casual clothes. She didn’t know what to expect out at the reservation, except that it was probably going to be hot. She hoped the place wouldn’t be completely tech-free. There were still a few electronics she could operate without a problem, like fans. And she would desperately need a fan if it was going to be hot as she thought it was going to be.

And yet, when Sahkyo got there, it was not nearly as uncomfortable as she was dreading. The abode houses were build to keep the interiors cool despite the desert heat. Besides, just because they lived the Native American way didn’t mean they were savages: they had plenty of fans and Wi-Fi here. Not that Sahkyo could enjoy the Wi-Fi very much since she didn’t have a phone.

It also turned out that Sahkyo’s family wasn’t the only ones revisiting their roots this month. There were plenty of other families here and there other women that were in Sahkyo’s apparent age group. One of them was particularly friendly with her. “Hi there, you must be new around here,” said one young woman, “My name’s Cherish. You’re gonna have a lot of fun here.”

“Well, I hope so,” said Sahkyo, “There doesn’t seem a lot exciting here.”

“You know, I thought that too the first time I came here,” said Cherish, “But there’s a lot to enjoy about the Navajo way. For instance, I learned how to make my own dress.”

“Really?” asked Sahkyo.

“Yes, I’ll show it to you,” said Cherish, “Just give me a few minutes.”

“What do you think?” asked Cherish. Sahkyo had to admit Cherish’s dress was better-looking than she had expected. She wasn’t sure how close it was to true Navajo style. She was pretty sure that the Navajo wouldn’t wear so much grey or something so reflective. But the lapis stones did compliment the dress very well. Sahkyo felt it was a bit close to what Cherish had been wearing before and that was probably not a coincidence.

“Did you make this by yourself?” asked Sahkyo.

“Well, I had some help from my grandma,” said Cherish, “And Radmilla was a big help as well.”

“Who’s Radmilla?” asked Sahkyo.

“Oh, you haven’t met her yet? You simply have to,” said Cherish before taking Sahkyo’s hand and leading her through the village.

Cherish led Sahkyo to a house separate from the rest of the reservation, one that was a lot more modern. It was meant to be a community center for those who couldn’t bring their own computers to the reservation. In the computer room, they found two young women who were chatting happily. It was pretty obvious that they were sisters. It was also obvious that they had something other than Navajo ancestry. Sahkyo wasn’t the best judge on these things, but she was fairly certain they had some African-American in their bloodline. But that wasn’t that out of the ordinary. There were as many people of mixed blood here as there were pure Amerindians.

“Sahkyo, these are Radmilla and Jamie,” said Cherish, “Girls, this is Sahkyo. This is her first time here, believe it or not.”

“Good to see new blood here,” said Radmilla, shaking Sahkyo’s hand.

“This wasn’t what I expected the reservation to be,” said Sahkyo.

“You were expecting it to be dusty and low-tech?” asked Jamie, “So did we. But we still have modern stuff. It doesn’t get in the way of following the old rules. No rules against technology in the Navajo.”

“So…I hear you guys helped Cherish make her dress,” said Sahkyo.

“Yeah, that was a bit of work,” said Radmilla, “But it was fun as well. I put just as much effort in my dress. You want to see a picture?”

“Sure,” said Sahkyo. Radmilla pulled out a photo and showed it to her.

“Wow, you did a great job with this,” said Sahkyo.

“A lot of work went into it,” said Radmilla, “I suppose I could make you one, though it will take a while.”

Sahkyo was tempted to say ‘yes’, but she’d probably be back to being a kid long before the dress would be done. “No thanks,” she said, “But I have to say, the Navajo way is a lot more impressive than I thought it would be.”

“Oh, this is nothing,” said Radmilla, “Tomorrow, we’re going to be doing some reenactments.”

“Reenactments?” asked Sahkyo.

“Yeah, we’re going to dress up like actual Navajo and act like we’re really living in the Old West,” said Cherish, “There’s also going to be some cowboys coming over. You should totally join us.”

“I’m not sure,” said Sahkyo, “I don’t have anything to wear and I don’t know how to act.”

“Oh, we can get you the stuff to wear,” said Jamie, “And acting will be no problem. It’ll be fun.”

Sahkyo was doubtful for a moment, but hanging out at the reservation was more fun than she had imagined. Maybe this reenactment thing wouldn’t be so bad either. “Ok, I’ll give it a try.”

Part 1
Part 2

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The Roots Fairy I