The Gazing Spirit by the Big Two-Hearted River

The Gazing Spirit by the Big Two-Hearted River

The Spirit of the Pine had found herself to be further restricted due to the burning of the forest and this caused her much distress. In the late past when the people, whom she had guided, provided for and protected, had ran through her woods like that of the brother trout through their streams, she too had much space to pass through. This freedom had allowed her to guide and shepherd both her forest and the ancient peoples who had dwelled within her. Yet as time went and the pale ones had pushed her sacred people out and away from the pines and into the reservations and cities, parts of her forests had been torn down to make room for the pale ones and thus she found herself limited. If anything she felt lonely as the forest had shrunk from its former glory. Most disconcerting was that the Spirit of the Pine had found herself cursed as the fire only seemed to take even more away of her and her Sister of the Sky had failed to give aid during her time of need.

Though fire is always significant for rebirth and renewal of the forest, this fire had been costly and had taken a great toll upon the Spirit of the Pine. It had caused her to retreat into the forest’s deepest interior, where she resided in a state of semi-conscious only vaguely aware of the state of her forest. From this enclosed vantage, she was brought news from both the whispering winds and swaying pines as they relayed the destruction to her day after day. As time went though, she eventually shut herself out from these trusted advisers as she could no longer bare the news anymore and in an attempt to block the pain of loss she further cocooned herself.

It was only after what had seemed an eternity that the Spirit of the Pine was finally stirred from her slumber and as she brushed the sleep from her eyes did she happen to view a pale one. She was astounded and instantly frighten that more of her precious forest would be taken from her. Yet with a quiet calmness she held her fright in check and promptly decided it was prudent to observe the creature. Also though, she was curious. It had been many a season since she had last laid an eye upon humanity, pale or not, and she found herself intrigue with this pale creature who had ventured out from the burned plains beyond the pine islands of the forest.

With the aid of the pines and the beasts that had survived within the remaining forest, she had come to learned that the nearby human dwelling outside her boundary had too been lost (Hemingway, 253). The wind had whispered to her, telling the Spirit that the village had burned to the ground with little left but old cinders. So from a comfortable distance she observed the pale one and discovered it to be a man. He was as pale as the drifting clouds and upon his back he was laden with a heavy pack, a pack that “was much too heavy” (254). Yet despite this burden he was seemingly happy and the Spirit watched from the islands of pine as he made his way through the forest.

The Spirit sensed something from this pale man. He was young in appearance but his manner and the movement of his body as he stalked across the pine was different. He was no hunter like the sacred people whom she had so missed and desired but instead he did contain the air of a warrior who had seen much battle. This much she could gage as he trudged with ease “walk[ing] through [the] clumps of jack pines; a long undulating country with frequent rises and descents” (255). With every step he took of the “sandy foot” she in turned felt more compelled to come closer and ever closer to observe him not through the eyes of the pines but rather through her own of the spirit (255).

Both as he had napped in the earth and later when he had eventually reached his destination she watched, high above, among the interlocked branches. Without realizing it she had coalesced the whispering winds to cool the pale man warrior, as she had come to accept his presence, and one point among the branches she had been certain that he had seen her as a “wind high up in the branches” had gently shook causing him to stir and open his eyes for a brief moment (255). The Spirit of the Pines held her breath in disbelief but realized quickly that he had not seen her and with another cool breath she exhale among the pines.

From that point she watched him with curious intensity as he made camp and proceeded to farm for grasshoppers the following day, preparing to fish the brother trout. As he waded out among the fish of the meadow stream, the Spirit peaked out from the trunk of a pine along shore. She found that she admired the way his body looked despite the obvious paleness to his skin and this was a feeling that had been unknown to her for quite some time. That is to desire the company of a human creature and surely this would be a first to have such a feeling of curiosity towards that of the pale man whose ancestors had come from across the ocean of many waters. She found this creature, who would on occasion would startle her as he would speak aloud at different times taking to himself with reassurances, different as he seemed very at home within forest (254,256 and 257). It was a feeling that she had missed from when her sacred people had resided among her. The speech of man.

She wasn’t sure if he knew of her presence. If he knew that she was watching him he didn’t let it be known but she had felt the impression that perhaps even if he was unaware that maybe he would eventually feel her presence among him. As the Spirit of the Pines studied this pale man warrior she came to understand that he was here to reconnect not with just nature but with himself as well. He was here to heal both his mind and body from the rigors of the conflict that he had survived. She could smell it. The dirt of the land and blood of people from across the ocean of many waters was still upon him and though he did not realized it he cleansed unknowingly in the waters of the brother trout (260). What had surprised her the most though was his inherent wiseness as he subconsciously concluded that to heal his body and mind would take more than a day. He returned to the shore with only what he needed and when he reached the camp “he looked back” and she correctly surmised that “there were plenty of days coming when he could fish” and heal himself, both body and mind. The Spirit of the Pines would do so too, healing herself as she would continue to watch on this little bit of humanity that had come to heal within her.

Works Cited

Hemingway, Ernest. “Big Two-Hearted River: Part I and Part II”. The American Tradition in

Literature. Vol. 2, 12^th ed.  Boston: McGraw Hill. Creat eText. http://create.mcgraw-hill.com.

Parker, Janet and Julie Stanton, Eds. Mythology: Myths, Legends and Fantasies. Australia:

Global Book Publishing. 2003. 422-472. Print.

Note to Readers: My short story work is based upon Ernest Hemingway’s short story the “Big Two-Hearted River: Part I and II. The premise of his story is that his character, Nick, returning home from the First World War wanders the woods. The purpose of my short story was to give a different point of view Nick through the eyes of a Native American spirit of my own creation. I do however give credit to Hemingway as I properly cite him, where applicable, in both the body as well as Works Cited. I intended to give a view of a Native American spirit that observes Hemingway’s character, Nick, as a comparing view and is intended to build upon the notions of Nick’s inherent PTSD from the First World War. Despite the conclusion of the First World War nearly 100 years ago, dealing with the effects of PTSD from combat was just as relevant in Hemingway’s time as it is now at the concluding moments of these two long wars that the United States and its allies have fought. The source material for the use of Native American mythology is meant to be vague as there a great deal of sources to utilize but also I fear that I may disrespect a certain tribe of peoples whose beliefs may not be these. I did conduct research but I crafted my own words in order to do my best to avoid disrespecting a dying and fading culture. Expect though to see the Spirit of the Pine in future stories.

Emerson J. Sullivan

30 January 2014