Chapter 17: Tthe first great hop together

Chapter 17: The first great hop together.


The next morning the great hop together was planned.
We should go with Great Bob to the reservation of Wise Feather. Great Bob would go first to make sure the place was safe.

Soon he came back, together with Wise Feather in full regalia: there was a Pow-wow going on in the reservation he lived in.
So a few more or less people would not be noticed, when they did not looked to different.
Groups of people had been invited to celebrate the Moon-ceremony with dances and food and story-sessions, and a lot of people were around.

Wise Feather looked at the dresses of the most women, and said: “Bob, that is a big surprise, you did not tell me about. All these women are dressed, like the ladies were in olden times, when the first settlers came in.
What we can do, to make such a large group more acceptable, is acting out the first Halloween. Remember the story? Where the Indians rescued the settlers, who did not know how to live from, and with the strange lands?
How they did learn them to catch the turkeys, and find food, also in winter time? “

As well Bob as the Lady nodded, and I could not hold in a small: “Hurray, that’s fun!” for our teacher and our family always told this story on Thanksgiving, but I never was on Tribal territory before, and had wished to do so whole heartedly.

Wise Feather also did bring, on demand of Old Bob, with him an some enormous posters of the festival, and together they decided, that the one who showed the dancing-place from half-way up the mountain would be the safest one.

Most people would be on, or around the dancing floor, so the mirror-hop would not been seen.
When Wise Feather came down with this group of ladies, people would think, they came from a ‘dressing space’ somewhere up there.

But alas for me, I only could mirror-hop with them, and had to hop back immediately, for otherwise there would be gone to much time in my own world.
That would make, I could not be home on the promised Sunday-morning.

But at least, I had seen where they went to, and could store in my memory the picture of the place, and all the lovely, original costumes.
So when all the others should come back, I would know, what they were talking about.

I got another duty to do: go with the first women, together with Cindy.
She would stay there, knowing the most about the things, going on in my world, and I would leave a picture with Cindy of this gateway, for those who never had used one before.

I quickly did draw it on the backside of one of the posters, so it would be big enough, even if they would use the ‘men’s travel way’ in case of emergency.

The mirror-hop was easy, at least for us. We had done it so often lately, it became a kind of habit. I should remember when this adventure was over, to use the bike or bus again!

The others told later, they had a successful performance, for they just had to be themselves, only doing, as if they did not know how to survive.

Me in the meantime, did help prepare the girls who had been adventuring with the men, on what the whole purpose of this all was.
So me and one of the Elder, Geerta, told them what all the others did hear before.

Most of the girls agreed, only one, with the nickname of Rotty was stubborn, and wanted to go back to the men to tell on us.
I did ask her: “Why do you want that? Is the gang you do belong to, such a good gang? Are they doing such nice things?”

She did look me in the eyes with a gaze of; what do I care what you think, and said; “I am the second in command in my gang.
There is only one man above me, and while he loves me above all, I can get whatever I want. Why should I give that up for you?”

Geerta, who did not know that much about gangs, did not know, what to say.
And me, only hearing of them from television, wondered, so I asked: “What did you have to do, to become number two in your gang?
And besides that, explain what you have to do, to stay number two, or become number one?”

At the last question Rotty’s eyes panicked a little, and she looked around, if nobody she feared was around.
“I did earn my place, by doing what the men did too: first stealing and robbing, although girls do not have to rob a bank mostly, when they are nice to the boys.”
She blushed, while she told that.

So I was more interested: “what are you driving at, saying it that way?”
Rotty looked at me and said: “That you do not understand yet, you are still a girl!”

Geerta took over: “And she will be a girl, as long as she can, and enjoy that, so close your mouth. There is only one thing left for us to do: prevent you from going back to the gang, you belong to.

So all the girls, who have chosen to help us, to go back to the good olden ways, where adventuring did not do harm, nor bring havoc to another world, now have the chance to prove that.
Strip her from everything, except her underwear.”

Although not every girl did help with all the enthusiasm of the world, thinking they could be asked to do the same.
Rotty made it easy by doing so herself, thinking, we should overlook she had very thick, curly hair, bound together with a scarf.

That willingness made me suspicious, so I was the one, who took of that scarf, unveiling a big, folded ‘mans’s gate drawing’, hidden in the folds of that scarf.

It was the picture of the city in the jungle, and by better looking at it, I did see, it had to be somewhere near Rio de Janeiro, while I did recognize the large, white statue on the top of the mountain, I had seen on television.

Geerta asked: “Are there some other girls, who do have a ‘man’s gate drawing’ with them?
You better share them with us, so we can do our job’s better.
Later, when you have proven to be reliable, we will teach this girls the woman’s way to travel.”

A total of seven other pictures appeared.
Most were of busy street-corners, but also some in a back-yard of a house that did not look to well kept. Most girls looked relieved, when they gave up the pictures.

I heard mumble: “to be honest, I am glad, I do not have to go back there.”
That was answered with a lot of nods of agreement.

After that we sat around a small fire, and I did make use of the experience of the camping with Cindy, remembering it made things easier to tell, when you did feel warm, safe and cozy with a hot drink.

So I was the one who started: “You do know I am from that other world, and this is my first visit here?”
Most nodded, some just said “Yes” so I went on.

“There is a big difference between you all, and me.”

I did see the attention grow, all eyes on me so I went on: “and that is, I always live there, in MY world, except when Cindy invites me here.
For me this visit takes only one night on earth, so when I go back, everything for the rest of the world will be as good, or as bad, as it was before I came here.

For you that is different, while on this world time is different.
When you are hurt, you go back through your gate.
For the other members of the gang it is just, as if you stayed home, or out of sight for a couple of days, to heal your wounds, or only to rest.

What they do not know is that you stay here, until you want more adventuring.
You have a kind of holiday, before you go on doing bad things.
The rest of the gang is not able to do so.

You did misuse the trust of people, who could see you.
You did mistrust the olden bond between our worlds, in which you were the guardians of all that was worth-wile, and instead played your own game.

You had the duty to tell about the good things, to people worthy to see you, and do good with that for their world.

I wonder, how many of the man, or even you, did use the fact that most people could not see you in our world, when you did not want so?”

Some of the girls did bow their head in shame.
The color of their cheeks did tell I was right.

Geerta asked: “Are there many men, who do use this trick?”
She looked around the circle. Again there were hesitative nods.

Rotty, now revealed she was one, who knew much more than we did, did see we were right.
She said: “Most men do not like to be blamed, for when things went wrong.
So they have pointed out the people, who can see them, and in olden days would have been their steadfast friends, to their ‘second in command’.

This way, they themselves got out unharmed mostly, although sometimes hurt, while there was some unexpected shooting or so.
By going home they seem to be invincible, and therefore great leaders.”

Geerta went on: “Just as Bobby told, when his father had to be rescued from the earth quake.
He would not have survived, while the normal people of that world do not see us.”

One of the other girls tried to defend herself: “But the people on earth do also want adventures, they tell so themselves. And they like to be part of a gang, to belong to us!”

“SSSSSOOOOOOO!!!!” I could not hold in a big, big yell: this answer made my world shake!
“Now I really do know what Cindy meant with: a gang is the other side of friendship!”

All the girls looked at me with eyes that asked for an explanation.
So I told them what Cindy and me found out about friendship, and belonging to a gang. What that had in common, but also, what was the difference.

“The biggest difference is: real friendship is equal from both sides.
You both give and take, you both give trust and get trust.
You both do things for each other, without wanting something back, while the other is your friend.

When you do not look well, it looks in a gang the same at the first glance.
But what is NOT there, is the equality:
The boss of the gang is more boss than others think, while he can do what he wants.
He also demands to be obeyed, otherwise there are sanctions, not trust or talking about things.

They did change the rules of friendship, to the rules of dictatorship, like my teacher in school told about the Aztecs!
Their Kings had the same sort of rules.
And the people had to obey or die. And the ones who kept those rules where mostly the priests-soldiers. They acted just like that!”

I remembered the movie my teacher had showed at school, and still could get angry, when I did think about that. That I tried to show this girls.

Round us an applause went up. In my zeal to help the girls learn, what Cindy and the others taught me, in what looked days now, I had not noticed the other people coming back and listening in.

In the tradition of the land of paper, where everything had its own place, there wás place for all.

Wise Feather said: “That was not a bad comparison. That was a highly developed culture, until the nasty things did crawl in, may be even the same way it did now.

That culture did not survive. Luckily much good parts of our native culture does still survive.
But the world now has many different cultures.
That fact also has both sides: good and bad.

But how do we turn the nasty things around, so this world we live in, does not end the same way, as the Aztecs, but still keep the lovely diversity it has all around?”

I did wonder: diversity of cultures?
Another thing to investigate, for now so many people entered the conversation, there was not so much time for asking about that.
That also had to wait till a later time, for now I wanted to hear from the others first.

My head was flowing over with thoughts.
I do think, that Cindy and me never could have imagined, what all was involved.
We simply had not learned enough about how things worked.
Now it was time to listen first, so we could see, how things worked out when adults did so.


© Nan van Daalen, All rights reserved.