Quickly, and with seemingly divine inspiration, Feng jogged to the large stone near the tree and tried to lift it. Nothing. He crouched beside it and tried to push it. His feet slid away from the stone and he nearly fell forward. He chastised himself for lacking Herculean strength. He found a large stick nearby and tried to use it as a lever to roll the rock over. He grunted. Just as he felt he might move the stone, the stick snapped and nearly impaled him. Hopping to the side of the splintering wood, Feng sighed at the truth. He would not assemble the Thunderbird’s Nest on this day. He gained a new respect for Bugz’s Ancestors.

Feng wiped his brow and looked to the sky. A cloud cast a long shadow over him. Suddenly, the rays of the sun burst through the cloud and shone brilliantly. For a fraction of a second, he could not see. But when his vision returned, he was moved.

A feeling formed in the pit of Feng’s stomach as he examined the cloud ensnaring the sun. In its center, as though pierced, was a hole through which the light shone. A moment later, the wind carried the cloud forward. It obscured the sun and covered the land in shadow again. Nonetheless, Feng knew what it meant.

A hole in the day.

As the wind picked up, Feng decided to make things right with Bugz. He turned and ran back toward the Rez.

CHAPTER 56

As Bugz approached the hospital exit, she pictured Waawaate smiling. She pictured them dancing at a pow-wow together. She pictured beadwork. She pictured flames consuming her happy memories, leaving only ash and pain behind. The doors slid apart and the cool damp air wrapped itself around her. Stormy arrived a short time later.

“How’s it going?” she asked.

Bugz shook her head in response. The corners of her mouth became too heavy to lift. She didn’t want to speak. She just kept shaking her head.

“Aww, you poor thing.” Stormy pulled her in for a hug. Tears welled in Stormy’s eyes too. As they walked across the street to the picnic table, Stormy reached for Bugz’s hand. Bugz felt the warmth of her touch and thought of Feng. She shook her head as Stormy led her to the table and sat down.

They reminisced about Waawaate. They repeated the cheap joke Chalice had made at the pow-wow about whistling at the northern lights. They laughed at Stormy’s genuine fear of someone calling the aurora down to earth.

“ ’Member? You were so scared,” Bugz said through smiling eyes.

“Don’t even start!”

Their laughter trailed off. Bugz felt a looming dread creeping up behind her.

“It’s so messed up that he wants to leave us…,” Bugz observed herself saying. “I mean, of anyone on the Rez, Waawaate is the one out of all of us who is actually living. He should live forever.”