Second Spirit -12- by Melanie Brown

Melanie Brown

Advisor: Lisa Charlene
Copyright © 2024

Part 12

Carol let go of my hand as we entered a small bedroom. “You can use my guest room until we finalize your transfer to a new family.”

I climbed up onto the bed, sat down and stared at her. “Why can’t I just stay with you? Why complicate things?”

Carol smiled weakly as she leaned back against the door jamb and folded her arms. “You’re already a little complication. As much as I wouldn’t mind keeping you, for the entertainment value if nothing else. But honey, you need a real home. To learn who you are. And how you fit into the world.”

I folded my arms as well. To me it was a gesture of defiance. “I know who I am. You just don’t believe me. I was on my way to a great career with my comp sci degree, but I had my life stolen from me. I’ll admit that maybe I deserved to get slapped down. I get it. I’ve changed. I want my life back.”

Carol sighed. “Linda, trust me. Even if I believed that you... just… magically transformed into a little native girl, you have no path back. For your sake, you need to drop this whole pretense that you used to be a male college student. Some colleagues think you have a dangerous mental instability and should be institutionalized for your safety and safety of others.”

I slid off the bed and shouted, “I’m not nuts! You can’t deny I exist!”

Carol shook her head. “Sit down, Linda. Honestly, you don’t exist. Now now. Just sit down and listen for a minute. I’ve checked. You don’t exist. We’ve had your blood tested and DNA checked. We contacted local police, the FBI and even InterPOL. You have  no birth records. Your finger prints match no one currently on the planet.  DNA tests show you to be the most Navajo on record. We’ve contacted other tribal communities. No one has ever heard of you.”

She said all that while looking directly at me, but she wasn’t done. “At first the hospital thought you were just traumatized by being kidnapped by the original criminals who kidnapped Jack McDowell but…”

“Nobody kidnapped me, dammit!” I shouted. “I’m right fucking here!”

Carol frowned. “But, the expects say there’s no sign of that. You’re a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma. You’re a total cipher to us.”

“Occam’s razor dictates that I what I say has to be the truth,” I said earnestly.

Chuckling, she said, “There’s not a court in this country that would accept that as an argument. Face it. You’re a twelve year old native girl. Period. Deal with it. Even if I accept that you were transformed through magic, you have no way back. Accept who you are.”

“There’s nothing I can say to convince you?”

Carol shook her head. “No reasonable person will believe a white male college student was transformed into a twelve-year-old Navajo girl.”

She changed direction. “Look. I’ve talked with Mr. Rainwater and he agrees that you should be placed into a native family to bring you back into the community. You don’t want to be an outsider in your own community. There’s so much you need to learn – or re-learn about your own heritage.”

She smiled like it mattered. “Tomorrow you’ll be placed with a family who are excited to have you in their family. You’ll get enrolled in school as well.  And he’ll plan a ceremony to give you a Navajo name and bring you into the tribe. And there are some ceremonies you’ll have to participate in.”

“I have no choice?”

Carol gave me a cold stare. “No.”

                    *

“Hello?”

I paused for a long moment. Carol had left me alone in her house/office to attend to some tribal business. She made me promise not to run away. Like where was I going to go anyway? Running away was a dead end.

But I wanted to try one more thing. Using *67 to shield the phone number, I used the second line in Carol’s office to call Sheila. Rather than just relying on my phone to remember her number, I had actually memorized it.

“It’s me, Sheila. Please hear me out.”

With an angry shout, Sheila demanded, “Who is ‘me’?

I took a deep breath and swallowed. “It’s Jack. It’s so great to hear your voice.”

“It’s you!” she accused. “That fucking little heathen girl. What did you do with Jack? Are you calling about a ransom? How did you get my number, anyway?”

“No, babe. It’s me. Honest to God. I need to talk to you.” I tried without success to keep from tearing up.

Sheila growled, “That’s funny, coming from some Godless heathen. What did you do with Jack? Did you kill him? Why did you call me, bitch?”

“I just wanted to tell you…” I paused. Tell her what? I felt as if someone had just poured a bucket of ice water on my head. She’s never going to believe me. She’ll reject me the same as Dad had. Who the hell would believe such a fantastic story? Who am I kidding? I’m never getting my life back.

“… tell you that Jack is gone forever.” I hung up the phone and began to cry uncontrollably.

                    *

“Hey, sugar,” said Carol as she entered her office. I was at her desk using her computer to watch videos. “Sorry I was gone so long. By the way, who did you call?”

A bolt of cold went down my spine. “Wha… what do you mean?”

She set her case down on her desk. “Did you think I wouldn’t notice?”

I sighed. “I was calling my past to sever ties with it. I’m done fighting.” And sadly, I realied I was being dead serious.

She came over to me and gave me a hug. As she brushed her fingers through my long, black hair she said, “I’m glad you finally turned that corner. I was worried that was going to be a major block to your happiness. Accepting who you are is a big step.”

“Yay me,” I said sourly.

Carol grinned. “Let’s celebrate. Are you hungry? Where would you like to go?”

I sat back in the chair, folded my arms and said, “Whataburger.”

Shaking her head, she said, “I think Albuquerque is a little too far. I think I know a place.” She extended her hand towards me. “Let’s go.” I slid off the chair. She led me out to her car and let me ride in the front with her.

As we drove to whatever this restaurant was, Carol engaged in small talk. “Are you excited about meeting your family tomorrow?”

Adding a bit of sarcasm to my voice, I said, “You can’t imagine how excited I am.”

“Things will go easier if you embrace your new life,” said Carol as she drove into a parking lot of a restaurant with the odd name of Dine. What else would you do?

“New life? Hah. So you admit this is all new to me!” I exclaimed.

“You know what I mean. Now hop out. This place is good. Let’s go eat.” She turned the ignition off and opened her door.

I got something called a Navajo Taco. Hey. I’m trying to embrace my new heritage. It was bigger than I was expecting. About halfway through eating, I stopped and just stared out the window.

Carol looked at me. “Are you okay, honey?”

I shook my head. “Tomorrow I start my new life and I’m scared.”

End of Part 12