The Inheritance Trail

As Winona entered in, she noticed that a great deal had changed since her last visit. The one storey buildings were boarded up, shards of glass and redundant rope lay scattered across the dusty ground and neglected wagons sat here and there. A ghostly ambience now filled the air.

Winona stopped in her tracks and turned to her right. Before her stood a rundown office. A sign still miraculously hung above the door. It read: Rutherford and Company, Family Solicitors.

Winona gaped for a while and then closed her eyes.

‘To my beloved Edward, James, Thomas, Helena and Sarah I jointly leave my fortunes and estates. And finally to my sixth and eldest beloved grandchild Winona I leave my most treasured possession.’

Winona took the brown envelope from the family solicitor and opened it. She found inside a hatpin made of silver, with a wooden pinhead, shaped as a curved bear claw. The pin measured about twenty centimeters.

She tried to look grateful, as her brothers and sisters stared at her with expressions of amusement. But Winona felt hard done by. Why had she been given an object that held wimples and veils in place, whilst her siblings had received things of higher wealth?

Winona opened her eyes and began to think about her brothers and sisters who had all died, way before their time. She held no remorse for their past actions.

She then pushed on up the dusty road, passing the remains of a saloon, a barber shop and a general store.

A moment later she reached the edge of town. She briefly looked back and then walked away.

Winona soon found herself in a quarry, where a barren mine lay. A group of wooden huts rested within. She then noticed smoke rising from one of the hut’s roof tops. She slowly walked up to the hut and pushed the door inwards.

Pottery jars sat against the walls, crafted wooden implements hung above and a small yew bow lay near a lighted fire. By the flames sat an old man cross legged.

Winona entered the hut and stared at the old man. He was dressed in a dark cloth shirt and leather pants. On his feet he wore buck skin moccasins and around his grey hair a feathered headdress.

‘You have come Eldest Daughter.’ the old man then said.

How did he know she was coming and what her Sioux name was? Were the questions that ran through her mind.

‘Are you Sewati?’ Winona then asked.

‘I am he.’ said the old man.

Reassured, Winona sat down and asked her next question.

‘Did you know my grandmother?’

‘I met Elizabeth when we were both children,’ answered Sewati. ‘She was a true friend.’

Winona stared in disbelieve. This Native American was over one hundred and forty years old.

‘What can you tell me about this hatpin?’ Winona then enquired, as she removed it from her hat and passed it over.

Sewati received the pin and looked it over, but did not respond to the question.

‘What can you tell me?’ repeated Winona.

‘I gave Elizabeth the curved bear claw.’ said Sewati.

‘I know that part. What is its significance?’

Sewati sat in silence for a few minutes and then proceeded.

‘My name means curved bear claw. The bear is sacred to our people. If you are a blessed one you can bless others. I gave Elizabeth my blessing.’

‘Would you mind telling me what the blessing was?’ asked Winona.

‘Long life.’

‘Can the blessing be passed to another person?’

‘Yes, I believe Elizabeth gave you the blessing.’

Winona had worn this hatpin every day since the will reading, not knowing until now that this was the cause of her longevity.

Sewati gave the hatpin back to Winona. She reluctantly took it in her left hand.

‘You are troubled Eldest Daughter.’ said Sewati.

‘I wore this hat pin as a sign of respect to grandma,’ said Winona. ‘But now I know the power it possesses, I’m not sure I want to wear it again.’

‘That is your choice to make.’

‘Will I die soon, if I don’t wear it anymore?’

‘Death is not chosen by man. His destiny lies within the stars.’

‘What does that mean?’

‘That is for you to find out.’

Sewati then reached down and grasped the small yew bow. He handed it to Winona.

‘Take this Eldest Daughter,’ said Sewati. It is my gift to you.’

‘Thank you,’ said Winona, as she received the bow in her right hand. ‘And thank you for answering my questions.’

‘You are welcome. There is much of Elizabeth in you. Until we meet again.’

Winona left Sewati, the hut and quarry behind.

She soon found herself by a glistening lake. She sat by the water’s edge, laid the yew bow and hatpin on the grassy ground and shut her eyes.

* * *

Winona woke a few hours later to a crescent moon in an evening sky. She got to her feet, picking up the yew bow and hatpin as she did so. She then gazed at her dark surroundings in more detail. A multitude of stars encircled her. One constellation in particular out shone the others. The stars joined to form the shape of a bear.

Looking back down to the lake she noticed something quite odd. The bear reflected upon the lake’s surface, but none of the other constellations showed.

Taking this as a sign Winona decided to act. She knocked the pin, just like an arrow and slowly raised the bow skyward. She then pulled back the bowstring with all her strength and released. The pin rose into the night’s sky. It seemed like a life time before it descended. But it eventually fell, within the bear’s reflection. A split second later it pierced the lake’s skin and then it was gone.

After a breather, Winona turned her back with her bow in hand and walked away, with a sense of freedom. For her the adventure of life had just begun.